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Orbea revamped its flagship Orca for 2009(Image credit: James Huang)
Orbea doesn't bolster the bottom bracket area of the Orca as much as some but there's more than enough rigidity for all but the most powerful riders.(Image credit: James Huang)
We went with the compact version of SRAM's Red crankset(Image credit: James Huang)
The down tube isn't as massively oversized as some but the upside is thicker tube walls that should hold up better to abuse.(Image credit: James Huang)
New one-piece aluminium dropouts are lighter and stiffer than the old two-piece units(Image credit: James Huang)
The matching fork boasts stout legs for predictable handling(Image credit: James Huang)
We're guessing this little cutout is more for style than weight savings but it's an interesting detail nonetheless.(Image credit: James Huang)
Drop-dead gorgeous lines(Image credit: James Huang)
Orbea included carbon-specific pads with the SRAM Red calipers but they still howled loudly under hard braking.(Image credit: James Huang)
Orbea Orca(Image credit: James Huang)
We couldn't come to terms with the Zeus Cat II handlebar no matter how we rotated it or positioned the levers.(Image credit: James Huang)
The old aluminum head tube badge is now carbon and still acts as the housing stop.(Image credit: James Huang)
As usual, the SRAM Red rear derailleur rattled off dependable shifts though they're not quite as smooth as those of Campagnolo or Shimano.(Image credit: James Huang)
The Reynolds Assault hubs may be made in Asia but we had no issues with them during our test period.(Image credit: James Huang)
Our tester came with Reynolds Cycling's new Assault deep-section all-carbon clinchers.(Image credit: James Huang)
If the Selle Italia shape works for you, you're certainly going to be happy with the Flite Gel Flow.(Image credit: James Huang)
The new magnesium seat collar neatly integrates with the rest of the frame(Image credit: James Huang)
The front triangle's curves carry through the seat stays all the way to the dropouts(Image credit: James Huang)
The medium-sized stays strike a good balance between rigidity and comfort.(Image credit: James Huang)
The Zeus stem is an actual carbon unit and not just a cosmetically wrapped skeleton but it still wasn’t as rigid as we were expecting.(Image credit: James Huang)
The four-bolt faceplate provided a tight grip on our test bars(Image credit: James Huang)
Michelin's new Pro3 Race clinchers delivered a fast roll and good grip.(Image credit: James Huang)
There's a surprisingly amount of room for wider tyres(Image credit: James Huang)
This certainly is no plain round tube.(Image credit: James Huang)
