Orbea revamped its flagship Orca for 2009 (Image credit: James Huang)
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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)
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We went with the compact version of SRAM's Red crankset (Image credit: James Huang)
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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)
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New one-piece aluminium dropouts are lighter and stiffer than the old two-piece units (Image credit: James Huang)
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The matching fork boasts stout legs for predictable handling (Image credit: James Huang)
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We're guessing this little cutout is more for style than weight savings but it's an interesting detail nonetheless. (Image credit: James Huang)
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Drop-dead gorgeous lines (Image credit: James Huang)
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Orbea included carbon-specific pads with the SRAM Red calipers but they still howled loudly under hard braking. (Image credit: James Huang)
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Orbea Orca (Image credit: James Huang)
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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)
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The old aluminum head tube badge is now carbon and still acts as the housing stop. (Image credit: James Huang)
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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)
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The Reynolds Assault hubs may be made in Asia but we had no issues with them during our test period. (Image credit: James Huang)
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Our tester came with Reynolds Cycling's new Assault deep-section all-carbon clinchers. (Image credit: James Huang)
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If the Selle Italia shape works for you, you're certainly going to be happy with the Flite Gel Flow. (Image credit: James Huang)
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The new magnesium seat collar neatly integrates with the rest of the frame (Image credit: James Huang)
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The front triangle's curves carry through the seat stays all the way to the dropouts (Image credit: James Huang)
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The medium-sized stays strike a good balance between rigidity and comfort. (Image credit: James Huang)
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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)
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The four-bolt faceplate provided a tight grip on our test bars (Image credit: James Huang)
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Michelin's new Pro3 Race clinchers delivered a fast roll and good grip. (Image credit: James Huang)
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There's a surprisingly amount of room for wider tyres (Image credit: James Huang)
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This certainly is no plain round tube. (Image credit: James Huang)
