# Newbie



## Koop (Oct 23, 2005)

New to this forum and soon to be an owner of a new Onix. 10 days ago I was hit by a car while riding, destroyed my Trek and my left shoulder. Although it will be another 4 to 6 weeks before I can ride again, I began bike shopping right away. A wise man told me; there are two kinds of bike riders, those that suffer an accident and vow to never get on a bike again and those that see an accident as a good reason to buy a new bike. My short list included Trek Madone, Specialized Roubaix, Litespeed and Orbea. My LBS had an '05 Onix in my size (54). After doing a bit of research I found that the '06 Onix will be slightly downgraded (alloy steerer rather than full carbon). I pulled the trigger and the bike is being set-up with Ultegra/10 and Ksyrium SSC SL's. I'll probably bring it home next week just so I can look at it in my living room  although I won't be able to complete the set-up until I get some range of motion in my left arm. I'm excited and had to tell someone about my machine!


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## MaestroXC (Sep 15, 2005)

Awesome, good luck with it! Lemons and lemonade, all that jazz. What color is it? Be sure to post pics.


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## Koop (Oct 23, 2005)

MaestroXC said:


> Awesome, good luck with it! Lemons and lemonade, all that jazz. What color is it? Be sure to post pics.


It's blue. I'll post pics as soon as I can.


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## koolrider67 (Jun 5, 2005)

*Congrats you'll love the Onix*

Just picked an O5 Onix about a month ago and loving the ride. Coming from an aluminum bike the Onix is way smooth but still responsive. I had the choice between the 06 and 05 and went with the 05 for the same reason that you did (the slight downgrade on the 06). Hope having the bike in the living room speeds your recovery.


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## Koop (Oct 23, 2005)

koolrider67 said:


> Just picked an O5 Onix about a month ago and loving the ride. Coming from an aluminum bike the Onix is way smooth but still responsive. I had the choice between the 06 and 05 and went with the 05 for the same reason that you did (the slight downgrade on the 06). Hope having the bike in the living room speeds your recovery.


Thanks. Good to hear you're loving the Onix. I'm coming from a Trek 2300 (Aluminum/carbon seat stays & fork). Like just about everyone, I'm looking for smooth and responsive.


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## Fredke (Dec 10, 2004)

Koop said:


> Thanks. Good to hear you're loving the Onix. I'm coming from a Trek 2300 (Aluminum/carbon seat stays & fork). Like just about everyone, I'm looking for smooth and responsive.


I came from an aluminum Trek to an Onix and the difference was so great I couldn't believe it. The Onix was the first bike I'd ridden that literally felt like an extension of my body---on fast descents it felt as though it read my mind. The road feel was so smooth and responsive without losing the stiffness I require when stomping on the cranks that the first time I took it out for a solo half-century I ended up riding a full C and still felt good.

I've since traded in my Onix for steel, but I'm sure you'll love the bike. Also, if you crash this one, Orbea has a good crash-replacement discount and they're good people to deal with.


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## Koop (Oct 23, 2005)

Fredke said:


> I came from an aluminum Trek to an Onix and the difference was so great I couldn't believe it. The Onix was the first bike I'd ridden that literally felt like an extension of my body---on fast descents it felt as though it read my mind. The road feel was so smooth and responsive without losing the stiffness I require when stomping on the cranks that the first time I took it out for a solo half-century I ended up riding a full C and still felt good.
> 
> I've since traded in my Onix for steel, but I'm sure you'll love the bike. Also, if you crash this one, Orbea has a good crash-replacement discount and they're good people to deal with.


Thanks, I'm really looking forward to riding this bike. Why did you trade yours already?


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## Fredke (Dec 10, 2004)

Koop said:


> Thanks, I'm really looking forward to riding this bike. Why did you trade yours already?


I ride hard and after six months on the Onix a bad shift while I was hammering up hill out of the saddle cracked the drive-side dropout. At first, Orbea thought they could replace the dropout, but when they looked at the bike they decided that they couldn't get the dropout out of the stays without weakening them and making the bike dangerous. They recommended (and so did the LBS owner) that I switch to steel because it can be repaired if there is minor damage to the frame. They would have sold me another Onix for $700 as a crash replacement, but I followed the recommendation and went with steel.

I got an Orbea Spirit and have been very happy with it. Everyone was great about it---Orbea sold me the new frame at cost ($500) and the shop (Gran Fondo in Nashville) gave me free labor for taking all the components off my old frame and building up the new one.


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