ladri di biciclette

the 09 orca.

its looks almost exactly the same as


the 08 one

in fact i would say this is a step backward
the frame shape and everything remains almost exactly the same
the sweeping top tube lines used to be accentuated by the contrast glossy paintwork in the 08 model
now its just one clean white line on the edge
and the bike only comes in a matt raw carbon finish
at least to me
a raw carbon finish when carbon was new in the market would've impressed me
however, most taiwan frames come in the same kind of raw carbon finish
so i think it devalues the bike in a sense
if you look at the other major bike brands like trek/giant/pinarello
all have their own distinctive styling and colour scheme
orca is squandering their aggressive 08 orca/ordu legacy of aggressive styling
and giving us some sub par "minimalism"
i just dont buy that
going raw is the easy way out.
but you must give concessions that there have been some new features
magnesium seatclamp
(this will probably corrode in spore)
integrated headtube badge cum cable guide
(this one's cool but gimmicky)
and replaceable dropouts
(oh come on... like this wasn't done so long ago)
so even if they have nifty new stuff
i think it was more for lack of a better idea.