Ridley Orion & Bike Purchase Phobia!

jimmyjacob

I've posted a few times now looking for advice on a bike purchase, and got some much appreciated good advice. This, I hope, will be the last time I ask about a bike. It seems I've developed an addiction to perusing the internet and visiting bikes stores, pontificating about bikes, but never committing to buying one. At this rate it'll be winter before I'm riding one.

So, I've put a deposit on a bike. But now I'm wavering.

It's a 2010 Ridley Orion 1005A Ultegra 6700 (except for brakes). Been offered it for €1570.

Only reservation is weight and the head tube seems quite tall even with all the spacers removed.

Anyone with any experience of this bike? Sounds like a good deal, what do you guys think? Should I bite the bullet?


(Was gonna buy an Addict R4 for €1780 online but I like the convenience of a bike store in case there are issues. Plus this one's a bit cheaper.)

JacksonHeightsOwn

as a matter of interest, where did you see an Orion for that price? sounds bloody great, my brother paid close to 1800 in February for his

jimmyjacob

I've been sworn to secrecy! Sorry chrisbonnie. (Maybe I shouldn't have boradcast it here.)

I would be buying it alongside a wealth of other bike goodies, including shoes that cost more than my current bike! So maybe that gives him a bit more room to maneuver.

How has your brother gotten on with his Orion?

I have one- it's great, very stiff, a real race bike. What size frame is it? The head tube on my large frame is pretty short, even with a few spacers I can get an aggressive race position. That's a great price too btw.

JacksonHeightsOwn

jimmyjacob wrote: »

I've been sworn to secrecy! Sorry chrisbonnie. (Maybe I shouldn't have boradcast it here.)

I would be buying it alongside a wealth of other bike goodies, including shoes that cost more than my current bike! So maybe that gives him a bit more room to maneuver.

How has your brother gotten on with his Orion?

he loves it

he's racing the past 4 weeks with it and finds it a dream

he had his heart set on ridley from the start, and had fluttered with the idea of a Cube and a few others, but the ridley was the one for him

nice and stiff, and he claims its super comfortable over bumps as well

i personally am not mad about the colour of the bike, but then again, i always wear white runners, have a white bike, and white bar tape

so all in all, i like white

yoda81269

jimmyjacob wrote: »

I've posted a few times now looking for advice on a bike purchase, and got some much appreciated good advice. This, I hope, will be the last time I ask about a bike. It seems I've developed an addiction to perusing the internet and visiting bikes stores, pontificating about bikes, but never committing to buying one. At this rate it'll be winter before I'm riding one.

So, I've put a deposit on a bike. But now I'm wavering.

It's a 2010 Ridley Orion 1005A Ultegra 6700 (except for brakes). Been offered it for €1570.

Only reservation is weight and the head tube seems quite tall even with all the spacers removed.

Anyone with any experience of this bike? Sounds like a good deal, what do you guys think? Should I bite the bullet?


(Was gonna buy an Addict R4 for €1780 online but I like the convenience of a bike store in case there are issues. Plus this one's a bit cheaper.)

I've a 2008 Ridley Orion, super bike and definitely built for Irish roads !! All the Ridley's have a sticker on them claiming 'Tested on Pave', I can certainly vouch for their performance on cobbles which I tested extensively in the Tour of Flanders Sportive this year !! All in all I would highly recommend this bike, very stiff and light enough for climbing etc. Ultegra groupset gives it usual reliable performance. The only thing I changed was the wheels from Fulcrum 7 to Mavic Kysrium Elite.

jimmyjacob

Thanks guys. Found it prettty comfortable alright. Sounds like it might be too good a deal to pass up.

chrisbonnie: Yeah. White bikes are beautiful. But they make me nervous. Maybe that's because my mum always made me get black runners when I was a kid, so they'd last longer. Now I go through a pair of white runners every five weeks, after which they're unrecognisable.

Black, white and red isn't my favourite colour combination. Too much like Radioshack... but it'll go nicely with my new clown red road shoes!

JamesL85: It's a large frame, with a 19cm head tube. That's 3cm taller than the 16cm Addict head tube.

Would swapping for a longer stem help me get into a slightly more aero tuck?

Lumen

jimmyjacob wrote: »

Would swapping for a longer stem help me get into a slightly more aero tuck?

Possibly, but that's going to mess with the fit.

FWIW, the rise difference between a 17 degree stem and 6 degree stem is about 30mm for a 120mm length. I'd love a 17 degree stem - nice and horizontal. Thompson do one, the Elite X2.

Obviously 30mm is a lot.

There are more extreme solutions too.

BeepBeep67

Just put a deposit on one of these myself - some of the comments in this post help with my research - will post back once I had it on a few spins.

jimmyjacob

Hope the bike serves you well. I'm smitten with mine.

The frame is very stiff and with the Ultegra 6700 setup seems to transfer power really well. When up to speed it barrels along. It has fantastic handling and has given me huge confidence on fast steep downhills, holding sharp lines without any twitchiness whatsoever. The stock Ridley (4ZA) brakes, which are the only non Ultegra part of the setup, are very good: firm and assured.

To anyone considering buying one, the frame dimensions are very large for their size. My large frame is almost 60cm.

I have Fulcrum 7s on it which I'm looking to upgrade with a pair of racing wheels at some stage but which have stood up to some tough roads remarkably well until now.

The Ridley 4ZA contact points work well and are of high quality, but I've made a few changes:

The Ridley (4ZA) saddle that comes with it is pretty comfortable but heavy. I've upgraded to an Arione.

I've swapped out the good quality 4ZA 120mm stem for a 100mm (3T ARX Team alloy stem) based on recommendations from Aidan Hammond of Bikefitting Ireland and the advice of some helpful Boardsies.

Aidan also pointed out that I had been riding my saddle way too high with a ridiculous saddle to bar drop and that this was probably why I couldn't feel my knackers for two weeks after the Wicklow 200.

Apart from that, I'm thinking of upgrading to a carbon seat post because the road buzz over some of the rougher, gritty roads is a killer after a couple of hours in the saddle. I'm not sure whether this is due to the 4ZA seatpost or the stiffness of the frame. I'll probably be looking for some helpful suggestions here sometime soon

In summary, I'm very happy with my Orion. The 2010 model seems to be a good deal for a very good package that would benefit from a few minor upgrades but is a great ride as is.

BeepBeep67: Interested to hear how you're finding yours.

BeepBeep67

Been on a few spins at this stage and I'm lovin' it, don't have much to compare in terms of road bikes, but the ride feels great and very responsive.
Just back from a fitting and also have suggested a shorter stem for me or to try fliiping the other one around and loosing some of the spacers.
How did you get on with the 100mm stem?

jimmyjacob

Reducing the stem from 120mm to 100mm has made a gig difference in my comfort. I'm not hunched in the shoulders anymore. And the 3T stem I went for seems of good quality to my eye, with little noticeably flex. Though the stock 4ZA stem seemed pretty decent too.

Glad to hear your enjoying yours BeepBeep67. I've been in the UK for the past two weeks without it and I'm really missing it. It leaves a big hole an excercise bike can't fill. Will be reunited with it in Aix en Provence this weekend. Mont Ventoux is looming...

BeepBeep67

jimmyjacob wrote: »

Will be reunited with it in Aix en Provence this weekend. Mont Ventoux is looming...

Spent a week down there in April (Eguilles) - running not cycling - great part of the world - we took in Casis, Avignon, Gap and even made it to Claviere (Italy) - now there's a climb from Breacon to Montgenevre!