# Orca Rear Tire Clearance



## kkowalsk (Sep 5, 2005)

Quick question. Cleaning my bike other night, pulled off the rear wheel and was surprised to find scratches in the clear-coat in the wheel cutout near the rear brake. I am assuming it is from dirt / debris passing through stuck to the tire. Polished it up really not much of a problem and put a piece of wide electrical tape their to prevent it in the future. The tire clearance is very tight maybe a little over a 1/16" with the Pro Race 2's. Dropped another wheel in with a fairly new tire and the clearance was much better. Maybe the stock tires are tall?? Seems like a really tight fit. I would think riding like that over a period of time would scratch the crap out of the wheel cutout.


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## mloywhite (Jan 26, 2006)

My first '07 Orca frame had such a tight fit where the top of the wheel passed through the frame, that I found a rut worn way deeper than the clearcoat when I took my wheel off to clean the bike. I tried a different tire on the same wheel, and two other wheels and tires. All had an extremely tight fit. My shop sent the frame back to Orbea. They agreed it was a problem, and replaced the frame. The next one had a little better clearance, but 40 miles into the first ride, the rear brake mount broke, the metal fitting just came loose. They immediately replaced it, shipping me a new one that day. The new one has a little better clearance, and is otherwise perfect. I don't have any scratches or damage to the frame after riding it, and I don't think it has the problem of the earlier one. Overall, I love the bike, and have been very happy with Orbea's service. Obviously, I would have preferred to have had no problems, but they have done their best to make me happy. I think the brake mount thing was just a fluke, never seen anything like that on any other bike. Also, for what it is worth, I found Maxxis tires to have the least clearance, Vittoria were better, Continental the best (those were what I had available to try). I would not hesitate buying another Orbea. Notwithstanding the earlier clearance problem, the bike is awesome, and the construction/finish on the frame is excellent, the best of any I looked at while shopping for a new frame.


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## Arginine (Nov 14, 2007)

Just checked on my Orca, and it seems to have maybe 1/4" space there, maybe a bit less. It came with the same tires as yours, but I've since put a Continental Grand Prix Force on the rear,so the spacing may be different from original. I haven't noticed any problems, and when I just checked it, didn't see any scratching of the frame there. Don't know, hopefully the new tires will work out for you...


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## kkowalsk (Sep 5, 2005)

Thanks!!

I measured mine last night by putting layers of electrical tape on the tire until it just hit the frame. The clearance is .052". That is tight considering no load. My frame size is a 57, 700 x 23 tires at 105-110 psi. Just thinking, the tire probably typically doesn't contact the frame until you hit bumps and the frame or wheels deflect, which they are designed to do. I am definitely a long way away from the 1/4 inch you are talking about. I put a layer of electrical tape to protect the frame and this is quickly getting scuffed up. Tried the different tires; no difference. I asked the tec last night at the shop when they were tuning the bike and he told me some story about new close tolerance bikes and basically it was not a problem. To me tire hitting frame equals problems. I looked at the TT and Tri bikes that have the rear wheels tucked very close to the frame and they are not this close. I'm going to email Orbea and get their take on it.


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## Arginine (Nov 14, 2007)

Yeah, I would contact Orbea and see what they have to say. That area on my bike gets dirty, but it looks like dirt that was thrown up from the tire, not stuff contacting the frame while it's still attached to the tire. There is definitely enough clearance there so that I would have to have a LOT of mud stuck on the tire for it to hit the frame (deep in cyclocross territory ).Also, when I clean it out, I don't see any scratches on the frame there. 
Sucks haveing problems right out of the gate; hopefully your LBS and Orbea will take care of it.


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## kkowalsk (Sep 5, 2005)

I took my bike to LBS last night. They said the tire was definitely too close to the frame. They have been very helpful. The shop called today, talked to Orbea and sent pictures. The shop was in process of stripping the bike to send the frame back to Orbea. Kind-of a sad thought. They said Orbea would either repair or replace the frame. I sure hope they don't repair it. I can't imagine how you would repair this. I guess this was a problem with early 07' frames.


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## mloywhite (Jan 26, 2006)

When I read they might be changing the dropouts to a one-piece version in newer Orcas, I figured they were making some change to the dropouts to increase the tire clearance. Probably not, but it would seem like that would be the simplest way to make a change, without changing the way they manufacture the entire frame.


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## Arginine (Nov 14, 2007)

Any further developements, kkowalsk?


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## kkowalsk (Sep 5, 2005)

*New frame in Transit*

Called the shop today and they received an email from Orbea that it's on its way back. The shop really didn't know what that meant. 

So I decided to call Jason at Orbea; he said that they shipped out a new frame yesterday to the shop. Should be to the shop this week.  

I took the bike in last Monday, the shop stripped the frame and shipped it out on Tuesday and a new one was shipped back yesterday. That is amazing!!!


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## Arginine (Nov 14, 2007)

That's good to hear Orbea is taking care of you, plus it sounds like you have a good LBS, which can be critical with things like this.


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## kkowalsk (Sep 5, 2005)

The shop called on Thursday and they had my bike finished. I still cannot believe it only took a week and a half for a complete rebuild. The shop has been great along with Orbea. The tire clearance is much better. About .10" clearance with new tires. The seatpost clamp also fits the frame much better.

I assume the replacement frame is an 08' model. I cannot decipher the serial number code. The frames look identical except for the metal chain guard has been updated with different decoration and a better fit. 

I cannot wait for the weather to warm up a little. I can hear the bike wining in the basement to be let out.


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## Arginine (Nov 14, 2007)

The proper way to handle a problem! Just like it never happened.


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