# I've got Spirit! (Caution: Steel is still Real!)



## ekoostick (Aug 6, 2006)

Hey everyone, Been lurking (and stealing peaks at 07 stuff) on here for a bit and I just recently finished putting together my first road bike. Its is a NOS 2005 Orbea Spirit with Zeus SL fork. This is a more uncommon Orbea (well its not carbon  ) but let me assure you that it is a DREAM to ride. It's made of Columbus Spirit tubing and came in right around 1600g. I don't race and will usually do 20-40 mile rides on the back roads of New Hampshire so I figured this would be the perfect bike. I stuck with the Centaur Century Grey kit because I felt it was the best for the money (and its not Shimano). So without further ado...


































The groupo is all Centaur C-Grey 10-speed. The stem, headset, seatpost and handelbars are Ritchey WCS alloy. The saddle is Fizik Pave HP (super comfy!). The wheels are handbuild by me and they are DT Swiss RR1.1 with Competition spokes and Centaur hubs. The pedals are some old eggbeaters until I can afford some road pedals/shoes. The final weight with computer, pedals and H20 holders is 18.5lbs.

I have about 100 miles on it so far and I cannot believe how well it rides. I have been on some carbon bike demo rides (Time's, Look's, Orbea's) and although those feel nice, I would not trade it for this bike. I will give you more of a review once I get more miles on it!

-Keith


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## santosjep (Jul 15, 2004)

*Nice!!!*



ekoostick said:


> Hey everyone, Been lurking (and stealing peaks at 07 stuff) on here for a bit and I just recently finished putting together my first road bike. Its is a NOS 2005 Orbea Spirit with Zeus SL fork. This is a more uncommon Orbea (well its not carbon  ) but let me assure you that it is a DREAM to ride. It's made of Columbus Spirit tubing and came in right around 1600g. I don't race and will usually do 20-40 mile rides on the back roads of New Hampshire so I figured this would be the perfect bike. I stuck with the Centaur Century Grey kit because I felt it was the best for the money (and its not Shimano). So without further ado...
> 
> The groupo is all Centaur C-Grey 10-speed. The stem, headset, seatpost and handelbars are Ritchey WCS alloy. The saddle is Fizik Pave HP (super comfy!). The wheels are handbuild by me and they are DT Swiss RR1.1 with Competition spokes and Centaur hubs. The pedals are some old eggbeaters until I can afford some road pedals/shoes. The final weight with computer, pedals and H20 holders is 18.5lbs.
> 
> ...


HI Keith!

Awesome awesome bike!!!! I never really was a fan of the Spirit paint job. I thought it was a bit too bland but your bike changed my mind. Congrats on the build. 

I'm a fan of steel Orbeas too. I have a Zona for my long distance rides (Got it from Wheelworks back in 2004).

Enjoy your ride.


Joe


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## ekoostick (Aug 6, 2006)

Thanks Joe!

To tell you the truth, I really wanted the blue. I worked at an Orbea shop and our rep has a Blue one. There was one Spirit Carbon in blue but the whole carbon thing doesn't get me all gitty. I wanted a classic steel ride. The rep called me and let me know that Orbea only had 1 spirit left in stock in a 57cm so I ordered it without hesitation. I knew it would be the black one but I knew I wanted it for my first road bike. When the frame came in I instantly fell in love and knew that I needed a special build kit for the bike. I started buying the Campy Centaur pieces one by one with each paycheck. Well after the 07 pictures got released, I noticed that the distributor changed some of its 'Out of Stock' signs to 'Discontinued' ones. I didn't want a half grey, half silver set so I took some of my savings and bought the rest of the kit. I am so glad I did too because I really think it makes the bike unique. Thanks again for the compliments, as you can tell I am very excited with the bike!

-Keith


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## vanjr (Sep 15, 2005)

Very nice looking. Classy. You are a fortunate. Hope it stays that clean!


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## airman6997 (Aug 3, 2006)

sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet ride keith!! im a big fan of the steel as i am STILL riding my 15 year old masi 3V. its a classic!! 

good luck with it!

joe


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## DRLski (Apr 26, 2003)

VERY NICE, I'd love to get myself a steel orbea


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## ekoostick (Aug 6, 2006)

Thanks for all the compliments guys! I have been riding it a lot the past couple of weeks (when it hasn't been raining :mad2: ) and I must say that I am in love. I have been a little over a hundred miles since my post and the thing is a dream. It climbs very very well and descends like a bat out of hell. I took it on a very hilly climb the other day which is about 35 miles and had a max speed of 46 and an average of 16.5mph. I am in love.


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## Falldog (Aug 27, 2006)

*What is the Wheel Set?*

I noticed your rims were DT Swiss. I am looking to build up a set of road wheels. The DT Swiss rims look like good quality. I used DT Rims on my Mnt Bike. Did you buy a pre-made DT Swiss Wheel Set? What Hubs are you using with the rims? What Spokes? Are the Spokes bladed?


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## ekoostick (Aug 6, 2006)

I am using the same spokes I did for my 29er mountain bike, DT Swiss Competition 2.0/1.8, which are butted but not bladed. I weigh about 190 with all my gear so I opted not to go for the DT Swiss Revolution 1.8/1.6. The rims so far feel very solid and were pretty darn light! The brand new DT Swiss 1.2's have more of a mid V shape and were a little bit heavier. So the complete wheel build is:

-DT Swiss 1.1 32 hole rims
-Campagnolo Centaur C-grey 10 speed hubs
-DT Swiss Competition 2.0/1.8 butted spokes black
-Gommitalia Calypso 700x23 tires

I built the wheels myself and opted for a triple cross pattern. IMO its a little more tradtional and thats the feel I wanted on this bike. Plus the strength is there. Let me know if you have any more questions on the wheels!


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