Orbea already updated their excellent all-rounder Orca carbon road race bike earlier this year with the latest OMX. Now, as the Fundación Euskadi development team steps up to UCI Pro Conti Team status to race with the world’s best, Orbea celebrates their home Basque team’s climb with custom bikes subtly calling out the Orange Tide & the mountains where they train.
Orbea Orca Euskadi of Basque Pro Conti team Fundación Euskadi
Besides my personal soft spot for a good looking orange Euskadi race bike, this new paint job is interesting because Orbea has made a habit of transitioning paint schemes & detailing from pro bikes into their MyO customization program.
This year their Vital Concept – B&B Hotels team paint job was the driver for the new colors & fades we saw with the Orca OMX launch. Plus, that’s where these new fork style decal kits came from too.
So, while Orbea tells us this exact paint scheme and specifically the Euskadi orange tide & Basque mountains design aren’t available “at the moment”, it’s not a huge stretch to think they could make it into MyO in the future. As they put it, “competition is a great test field for brands” to gauge consumer interest.
Orbea Orca OMX – Complete Fundación Euskadi race bike build
Now that I’ve fawned over a relatively simple but classy paint job, we can take a look at what kit the Fundación Euskadi Team will be racing. Of course the newly updated monocoque carbon Orbea Orca OMX Disc will be the team’s bike, kitted out with a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset and fully internal cable routing thanks to the separate Orbea OC2 carbon stem & handlebar, plus an integrated Acros headset.
Team bikes opt for FSA K-Force carbon cranks in place of D-A. And they will roll on assorted Vision Metron disc brake carbon tubular wheels wrapped with Vittoria Corsa tires. Prologo saddles and Orbea tape with orange accents finish out the Euskadi team’s contact points.
Catch up with the climbers on the Fundación Euskadi Team who will race next season on the now 833g disc-only Orca OMX…
