# 07 Opal vs 08 Orca



## vsimmons (Sep 21, 2007)

I just bought an 07 Opal and like it a lot. For little training rides of 2hrs or so it is perfect. But if I do a longer ride, say 3-4hrs or so, it just kicks the c____ out of me. Besides, I think the frame is a tad to big for me. It is a 54, and I think I should have gotten a 51 (it's not the store's fault. I was looking for a "killer deal" on an 07, and calculated this to be the correct frame size for me. OK! I'm amateur! moving on...) 

The store, quite graciously, will swap out the frame and rebuild the bike for 1750. I really want a bike I can sit on for hours. Will I get used to the harder ride and slightly stretched out form, or do I just bit the bullet, and get the bike I should have, and go on with life. As you can see, I'm a bit of a novice in the roadbike world. I come from the mtb world. (You know, they are right. Roadbiking does miracles for your mountain biking.)

I should mention that I only paid 2700 for the opal with ultegra, so even with the additional 1750 I'm still in the ballpark, though no longer in the "smoking deal" category


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## vsimmons (Sep 21, 2007)

And would you go with red or white?


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## xcool (Oct 9, 2005)

*Not a good deal!*

$1750 sounds like a bit too much to me. According the orbea website, a brand new opal 08 frame is only $2099, that's only $349 more. I would just buy the new frame and ebay the old one. I'm sure you can get more than $349 for you old frame if the condition is still new.




vsimmons said:


> I just bought an 07 Opal and like it a lot. For little training rides of 2hrs or so it is perfect. But if I do a longer ride, say 3-4hrs or so, it just kicks the c____ out of me. Besides, I think the frame is a tad to big for me. It is a 54, and I think I should have gotten a 51 (it's not the store's fault. I was looking for a "killer deal" on an 07, and calculated this to be the correct frame size for me. OK! I'm amateur! moving on...)
> 
> The store, quite graciously, will swap out the frame and rebuild the bike for 1750. I really want a bike I can sit on for hours. Will I get used to the harder ride and slightly stretched out form, or do I just bit the bullet, and get the bike I should have, and go on with life. As you can see, I'm a bit of a novice in the roadbike world. I come from the mtb world. (You know, they are right. Roadbiking does miracles for your mountain biking.)
> 
> I should mention that I only paid 2700 for the opal with ultegra, so even with the additional 1750 I'm still in the ballpark, though no longer in the "smoking deal" category


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## vsimmons (Sep 21, 2007)

Ya, I agree. I thing the thing to do is just get used to riding the Opal, then buying an Orca next year. I'm just not used to riding in "road bike position" for 4 hrs. I'll just get some good climbing wheels for now...


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## jorgy (Oct 21, 2005)

What about the bike makes you think it's too big? Your fit on the bike can be tweaked by things like flipping the stem up, getting a shorter stem, and by increasing your own flexibility. 'Fit' is something that changes, especially when your just getting into riding.

I also don't know whether the Orca is going to be any more comfortable for longer rides than the Opal is.



vsimmons said:


> I just bought an 07 Opal and like it a lot. For little training rides of 2hrs or so it is perfect. But if I do a longer ride, say 3-4hrs or so, it just kicks the c____ out of me. Besides, I think the frame is a tad to big for me. It is a 54, and I think I should have gotten a 51 (it's not the store's fault. I was looking for a "killer deal" on an 07, and calculated this to be the correct frame size for me. OK! I'm amateur! moving on...)
> 
> The store, quite graciously, will swap out the frame and rebuild the bike for 1750. I really want a bike I can sit on for hours. Will I get used to the harder ride and slightly stretched out form, or do I just bit the bullet, and get the bike I should have, and go on with life. As you can see, I'm a bit of a novice in the roadbike world. I come from the mtb world. (You know, they are right. Roadbiking does miracles for your mountain biking.)
> 
> I should mention that I only paid 2700 for the opal with ultegra, so even with the additional 1750 I'm still in the ballpark, though no longer in the "smoking deal" category


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## Slave2Gravity (Jul 13, 2007)

I think shelling out more money so early in the game would be a bad idea. As mentioned above, there are a lot of factors that will effect rider comfort, including fit, fitness and flexibility (sorry for the redundant F's). It could also be the saddle. I like specialized's saddles (I use a Toupe gel) b/c the Body Geometry saddles are the only ones clinically proven to increase blood flow to the nether regions by 80%. That little bit right there can significantly improve comfort. You may also just need to get used to riding in a road bike position. The Opal gets a bad rap for being abusively stiff. Everybody's different, but I logged a 7 hour ride a couple weekends ago on my Opal and was never once sore. Exhausted yes, but no pain. Save your money, for now anyways, and gradually ramp up the miles and intensity of your rides.


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## vsimmons (Sep 21, 2007)

You're right. I'm going to chill. I really like the bike, especially out of the saddle. I just need to develop the tolerance to saddle time. Heck, even my leather couch at home isn't comfortable after 4 hours!


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## ltspd1 (Oct 18, 2006)

What tire pressure do you run? I dropped down to about 95 psi and found it's made the ride on my 06 Opal much smoother. I've also seen several studies that say super high pressures can actually be less efficient than those around 100. Don't know if it's true, but I haven't felt less efficient and my Opal is much more comfortable. My 2 cents worth.


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## Slave2Gravity (Jul 13, 2007)

ltspd1 said:


> What tire pressure do you run?


I run Specialized S-Works tubes at 110 psi. 95 sounds really low to me; I'd probably worry too much about pinch flats. I find 100 psi to feel "mushy" anyways. Of course various tube / tire combinations will affect comfort, rolling resistance, etc.


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## Big Jim Mac (Jun 28, 2007)

Hmmm. I've been running 100. Is that not enough? I cringe every time I pump it up, keep waiting for something to blow. I'm a mountain biker too, though got to admit I'm enjoying the road rides just as much. I run about 30 pounds in the MB, what a difference these skinny tires are! You are right, the road riding has done more for my mountain biking than anything else I've done. I think it's becuase it's so much easier to get on the road right out the door that to haul the mb to the trail, which might not be rideable.


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## Slave2Gravity (Jul 13, 2007)

ltspd1 said:


> I've also seen several studies that say super high pressures can actually be less efficient than those around 100.


If you run across one of those studies would you mind sending it along or posting? That would be a pretty interesting read. Jim, you're probably fine at 100psi. As I said, I personally find it to not feel as good in the handling department that 110. I've run them up to 120psi though without worry of a blow out (in fact, I flat maybe 2 - 3 per year between all my bikes).

Also, completely agree with the MTB - Road - MTB skills transfer. However, I think I'm at a disadvantage of being a roadie turned MTB'er. I've spent a number of years looking for the "smooth, fast" line that I get really nervous going through rocky stuff. I'm working on it, but its been a long, frustrating progression.


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## ltspd1 (Oct 18, 2006)

Slave2Gravity said:


> If you run across one of those studies would you mind sending it along or posting? That would be a pretty interesting read. Jim, you're probably fine at 100psi. As I said, I personally find it to not feel as good in the handling department that 110. I've run them up to 120psi though without worry of a blow out (in fact, I flat maybe 2 - 3 per year between all my bikes).
> 
> Also, completely agree with the MTB - Road - MTB skills transfer. However, I think I'm at a disadvantage of being a roadie turned MTB'er. I've spent a number of years looking for the "smooth, fast" line that I get really nervous going through rocky stuff. I'm working on it, but its been a long, frustrating progression.



Well, I went back and tried to find the actual studies, and all I could find were dopes like me saying they've seen studies indicating lower pressures can be more efficient, but I found no actual studies. The below is one such example taken from a previous post. Do a search for tire pressure and you'll see a lot of discussion on the subject.


"The source of this information is REPEATED published work on the subject. When the tire becomes too hard, it transmits energy to the rider in the form of vibrations, and that energy is lost as heat due to tissues "shaking." The tire "kicks back" when it encounters road surface roughness. At lower pressures, the tire can conform to road surface roughness and minimize this energy loss pathway. At lower pressures still, the tire flexes too much and results in high energy losses (your example of cutting pressure in half). For typical narrow road tires (23-28 mm) there is an optimum, typically around 100-110 psi (7-7.5 bar) and more generally around 90-120 psi where you get the best balance of traction, comfort, rolling resistance, and tire wear. Read up on the topic and get back to us"


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