so following on from my last thread. I’m in the market for a new bike. There’s some great deals about at the moment but I think i’ve finally narrowed it down to the choice of two.
The Cannondale Supersix EVO 3, or the Orbea Orca M30i
The supersix comes in at a little over £3000 but I think I’ll find one somewhere within budget. Now I could go for an M35i on the Orbea, but i’ve been offered an M30 from where I got my bike fit done for £2699 and I’ve seen Zipp 303s on offer for £785 Zipp 303 S Carbon Tubeless Disc Brake Wheelset | Sigma Sports Which brings me in at £3,484.
So I don’t know if I should spend the extra and get the Orbea with the cool wheels, get the orbea and weight for a few months and get the wheels down the line. Or get the Cannondale.
The cannondale out of the box seems the better bike, but from reviews I’ve seen of the Orbea it appears to be the better frame so I wonder if the Orca and the Zipp would become the better bike in the end. Sure I could put different wheels on the Supersix too…and get a cheaper version to bring it all in around the same cost… argh!!!
The attraction of the Orbea is mainly having it setup included in the price i.e. bike fitter will size and adjust it. That’s a huge attraction.
I assume in all reality, being as I’m currently riding a 2017 Specialized Roubaix with Tiagra I’ll see a difference in whatever I choose. I just don’t want to regret this amount of spending is all.
I have been looking and come up with exactly the same two bikes, I’ve found the Supersix evo 3 for £2900 if I can stomach the neon green. And the m30i in my size for £2500, I’ve got a set of wheels already I will add to either.
It seems either there has been a lot more r&d or possibly just marketing budget put into the supersix, lighter, faster, more aero etc etc, I do believe it is fact that it’s lighter than orca by a few hundred g, and it certainly looks more aero, on paper it looks like a more advanced frame etc. Orbea on other hand is marketed as lightweight climbing bike, but in this frame it is not light, so what really is it? That being said I am being drawn to it, it’s cheaper, imo looks cleaner, almost a classic shape no nonsense, no bells and whistles, round seatpost and 2mm more tyre clearance all reviews seem to say that it is extremely nimble and comfortable which is perfect for dodging potholes and the horrendous roads round here.
Would love to know anyone in the uk riding the super six and how it handles our roads, borderline need a gravel bike round here!
It’s a pain isn’t it, trouble is the reviews you find online are all mainly geared at the top end of the line for both models. The stuff people actually buy seems to go under the radar somewhat - and even more so for orbea.
I’ll likely opt for the orbea simply as the shop will fit it to me. But I certainly think I’m going to look back and think “what if”
If you’re geometry agnostic meaning you can ride just about anything and the handling doesn’t bother you then go with your head/heart/wallet and whichever has more shop support.
But these bikes have pretty different geos to contend with and if nimble, traditional race geo is your thing and where you’re coming from and comfortable with then the Orbea will fit the bill. If however you’re interested in something on the more stable, planted side of racey the Cannondale is that bike (there’s another thread on this forum dedicated to the supersix for more insight on how it rides). One person’s nimble/responsive is another’s twitchy/nervous just as one person’s stable/planted is another’s unresponsive/dull.
Interesting, in terms of fit I can get into my position on both with a 90mm stem on the size 53, I have long legs and short back, for handling are you looking at the wheelbase and fork rake? I have seen that the ss is longer and front wheel is a bit further forward, with 90mm stem I think I would rather be on the shorter frame and the with less take so I’m a bit more over the front wheel
Indeed as far as stack and reach go for the 53 orbea or 54 cannondale it’s within a few mm so if those numbers work for you either bike will certainly fit you just fine. But yes, as far as head angle, wheelbase, BB height/drop each frame will illicit a different feel when it comes to handling. It’s something I didn’t pay attention to till I got my first roadie road bike with road geo and felt sketchy to me in certain situations. Mainly steep, twisty downhills and occasionally taking corners slower even though the bike took them plenty fast because it could but I didn’t feel up for it. The rest of the time the bike felt fine. If you were putting the Orbea up against a Giant TCR or Trek madone then those are close enough geo wise to be comparable where as the supersix has a geo more similar to “endurance” heading for some makers like the Giant synapse. It’s a food for thought kind of thing because I actually feel faster on the more stable platform because it inspires more confidence for me.
just beware with cannondale you have to re-dish any wheels you plan on using. Great bikes but a nuisance if you have other bikes
For some reason orbea has been all over my FB and insta feeds lately with nothing but warranty complaints about them denying what seem like straightforward broken frames. Take it for what its worth
That’s a decent spec for £2,000 and if I just took the wheels off, left them as they are for wet weather etc and bought some road bike wheels with tubulars i.e. Zipp 303s say 30mm would I end up with a better bike that’ll do everything?
After the numerous posts about different bikes that you might buy - all of which are fine machines, I am starting to wonder who will be the first to give in to the urge to type JUST BUY ONE AND RIDE IT
As someone who also likes to weigh all my options, loves good value and sometimes falls into analysis paralysis, here is my advice.
First order is to assume they would all fit. If not, should not be in your consideration at all. After that, pick the one the calls to you in your gut the most rather than outright the best “deal.” It is likely the one you will be happy with long term. Over my years of buying bikes I have realized that I even if it is a good deal, I won’t buy a bike if I don’t like the paint job or some other aesthetic detail. I didn’t like it from day 1 and 3 years later, I don’t remember the couple hundred bucks I saved, but I still don’t like the way my bikes looks.
But for the record, I think the Cannondale is the best all arrounder here.
I’m definintely feeling the analysis paralysis right now!
I “think” they all fit, by that I mean I don’t really know what to look for in a fit, my 54cm Roubaix fits nicely it seems (after a bike fit) so I’m assuming I can get something of similar size and be comfy.
That being said, the ones with integrated cockpits are more of a risk as I can’t easily adjust anything there to suit anything I need to suit. Well, not easily anyway.
The paint job is important to me, in fact it’s why I looked at aero bikes in general, they look cool. Nothing beyond that.
I like the cannondale but it just looks dull to me. That’s what’s putting me off it. My friend has an older super six, in red and white and it’s amazing looking, despite mine being newer, his would still be FAR cooler and who wants that!
There’s loads of other bikes in the price range too, so i’m at a bit of a loss. I’d narrowed it down to these two but realistically I’m being a magpie and seeing what shiny thing catches my eye. Then I look at used bikes too… ivegotabike was right, I just need to buy something and ride it.
the main rush is to take advantage of end of year sales really.
ok… so…
I think i’m going to get this… which I hadn’t seen before.
It’s Black - I like that
Comes with the correct sized tyres for what I want and Carbon wheels.
it’ll take 34mm so I’d expect I can put mudguards on it from the get go and be fine.
It has Ultegra Di2 which is better than any other options.
It’s the endurance spec which will be ideal and if I do look to do TTs and anything else in the future, I’ve always got this as a “do it all” bike.
I can’t see a better option really, it’s ticking alot of boxes.
