We see how the Orbea Ordu OME M20i Ltd fares…
First Ride
This is Orbea’s new mass market triathlon bike. It’s 17 per cent stiffer and generates 16 per cent less drag than the Ordu Silver it replaces. Prices go from £1,699 to £5,899 for this bike with Ultegra Di2 and Vision Metron 55 carbon clinchers. Regular brakes and an easily adjusted cockpit make it easy to set up. To save your legs, the seat-tube is 78 degrees and the saddle clamp has 6cm of adjustment. The cranks are downsized, too.
Fast Ride
With few reference points at all, it’s hard to gauge the Ordu OME’s aero performance, but it’s stable at speed and we did bag a KOM on a long drag climb that we rode hard. The Vision Metron 55 wheels are a highlight, their stiffness and stability shining through in windy conditions. You never get a heart-stopping snap across the road in a gust. Braking is good in the dry and okay in wet, with the usual carbon delay.
Hilly Ride
While the front triangle is pretty stiff, when climbing steep out of the saddle and in a low gear we could clearly feel flex. Similarly, the steering is neutral but the fork isn’t as accurate as it could be so technical descents are not much fun. The Vision brake levers come at the cost of the Di2 base bar shifters. The extra buttons are the main attraction of Di2 on an aero bike and we really missed them on climbs and twisty roads.
Long Ride
The OME does all it can to make a five-hour-plus bike leg bearable. The ride is smooth and the frame is shorter and taller than its extreme OMR sibling. The broad adjustability makes it easy to find your ideal position. The Vision base bar – carbon on this top model – is stiff against hard efforts but not harsh and the arm pads are like sofas. The Zero Tri T2.0 saddle has a full-length centre channel and most testers liked it.
Spec Sheet
Price: £5,899
Contact: orbea.com
Size tested: M
Sizes available: XS, S, M, L
Frame: Carbon fibre
Fork: Carbon fibre
Seating: Orbea Ordu OME carbon post, Prologo Zero Tri T2.0 saddle
Handlebar/stem: Vision Trimax Carbon SL Aerobar, FSA ST OS 99 stem
Gears: Shimano Ultegra Di2
Brakes: Tri Rig Omega, Vision BL-KO-99 levers
Wheels: Vision Metron 55 carbon clinchers
Tyres: Challenge Elite 23mm
Overview
Pros: Braking is good in dry conditions
Cons: The fork isn’t as accurate as it could be so technical descents are not much fun.
- Price: £5,899
- Contact: orbea.com
- Size tested: M
- Sizes Available: XS, S, M, L
- Frame: Carbon fibre
- Fork: Carbon fibre
- Seating: Orbea Ordu OME carbon post, Prologo Zero Tri T2.0 saddle
- Handlebar/stem: Vision Trimax Carbon SL Aerobar, FSA ST OS 99 stem
- Gears: Shimano Ultegra Di2
- Brakes: Tri Rig Omega, Vision BL-KO-99 levers
- Wheels: Vision Metron 55 carbon clinchers
- Tyres: Challenge Elite 23mm