# Orca, Part Deux



## Arginine (Nov 14, 2007)

This will tie in with my "Dreaded front end shimmy's post". I now have a new Orca ('08).
I had a relatively slow speed crash on my white '07 Orca. I was watching my fork for any shimmy, like an IDJUT, when I should have been watching the road, when I ran over a full plastic pop bottle and went down. Wasn't even that bad of a crash. I was fine. Bike was fine. Or so I thought. I stopped a while later to check the bike out more thoroughly, and noticed an impact had happened on the top tube. The carbon was crushed in in one spot. The frame was toast. Bummer. Orbea sold me a new frame for a "crash replacement discount". They didn't have any more white '08's in stock in my size, but my LBS had a red '08 on the shelf. So I now have a red '08 Orca. On the shimmy issue....I've only had this new bike up to 38mph so far, but it's stable there, and that speed would have had my old one shimmying badly. I need to get it up over 40mph to be sure, but I'm becoming convinced this frame/fork is better.


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## BunnV (Sep 7, 2005)

That's one way to fix it for sure!
According to my Garmin GPS, I got my Orca up to 44.6 this Sunday and it was perfectly stable. LOVE IT! :thumbsup: 

Total Time (h:m:s) 3:41:35	4:33 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 3:03:13 3:46 pace
Distance (mi )	48.55
Moving Speed (mph) 15.9 avg. 44.6 max.
Elevation Gain (ft)	+3,931 / -3,977

Avg. Heart Rate 126 bpm	Zone 2.8

Temperature (°F)	79.7°F avg.	84.2°F high
Wind Speed ( mph) NE 2.3 avg. NE 5.8 max.


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## Big Jim Mac (Jun 28, 2007)

Sounds like you are back in business. Assuming you swapped your kit from the old bike, the problem must have been in the frame?? I was thinking about you yesterday when I rode my Onix on a 20 mile route with many hills, up and down. Never seen a more stable bike, even on chip and seal at speeds up to 42. Lets see a pic of that red machine:thumbsup:


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## Arginine (Nov 14, 2007)

Here's a pic of the new ride:


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## Arginine (Nov 14, 2007)

All the same parts I had on the other bike (luckily all the DA parts survived with only minimal cosmetic damage). Sooooo, assuming the bike remains stable as I take it over 40mph (which I've yet to do), I must assume the shimmy problem was something to do with the frame, fork, or headset. 
Except for the new-and-improved stability, the bike rides the same as the old one, which is terrific. I had the option of buying a different frame instead of doing the crash replacement with Orbea. My LBS let me try a Trek 5.2 for the weekend (Bike Peddler in Greeley, CO. Fan-freaking-tastic shop. They've really taken care of me, from an awesome fitting that has made me much more comfortable on the bike, to letting me demo a new bike for a weekend, to swapping parts on my new Orca, to lots of great training advice-a great LBS is priceless).
I didn't like the Trek at all. It had a very stable, predictable ride, and was really comfy and smooth, but the ride felt much more "dead" than the Orca, and it seemed less responsive. My LBS tried to order me a Felt Z1 frame, as we thought the fit would be great for me, but none were available. After riding the Trek (which really is a good frame, just didn't have quite the ride characteristics I like so much about the Orca) I decided what I really wanted was another Orca. So, here I am with a red one. I'm getting used to the color-it's a bit flashy for me, and I still think I prefer the white, but all in all I'm just happy to have my ride back. The Orca is a really good bike, and right now, the right one for me.:thumbsup:


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## BunnV (Sep 7, 2005)

Arginine said:


> Here's a pic of the new ride:


Sweet! I like the look of the FSA cranks and the silver Ksyrium wheels against the red frame. My friend has the same red '08 and that bike was the inspiration and motivation for my orange/copper '07. Congratulations! :thumbsup:


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## Big Jim Mac (Jun 28, 2007)

Nice bike, all of the Orca colors look good. I too was looking for a different color but all they had was read (Onix) and now I really like it. Blackburn makes a red and black cycle computer I am thinking about getting as I was able to score a bottle cage that is a perfect match for the bike.


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## Arginine (Nov 14, 2007)

Thanks guys. The red will undoubtedly grow on me. It's just gonna take a little while. You know what's great? Buying a new bike, putting a couple hundred miles on it, and realizing you made EXACTLY the right decision. Bliss.


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## Big Jim Mac (Jun 28, 2007)

Arginine said:


> Thanks guys. The red will undoubtedly grow on me. It's just gonna take a little while. You know what's great? Buying a new bike, putting a couple hundred miles on it, and realizing you made EXACTLY the right decision. Bliss.


A big +1 on that!


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