I have waited long enough...

 I have been a fan of Orbea Bikes for some time now I even considered buying a road bike  way back in 2019 and blogged about it. Of course in the 3 years since, bikes have come a long way. The bike I have been looking at is a gravel ebike with the emotion X35+ system

Orbea Gain M20 1X

 

Of course, not everyone is a fan of the ebike scene, and some even consider it "cheating". Well for me if I was to say to a norm, "yeah let's go out for a ride, but you only use one leg otherwise it's considered cheating", well you would probably think I was a bit bonkers. What I am trying to get at is that for people with  lower limb disabilities, an ebike can be set up in such a way that it gives you back some of that lost power and make a ride that little more pleasurable, rather than beasting yourself to keep up with your mates, not that I have too many mates. I'm quite happy just talking to myself as I tootle along and listen to the odd tune.

So getting back to the Orbea brand, I have been waiting and waiting, and then waiting some more for an Orbea Gain M20 1X which is the gravel bike variant to become available here in the UK. I had my sights set on a Silver-Grey & Black model, however there are just none available in a size Large. Then one afternoon whilst perusing the interwebs I spotted an Ice Green/ Black model. At first, I wasn't entirely sure I liked the colour combo, however the more I checked it out, the more I liked the colour. The bike was at Leisure Lakes and as far as I could see the only one available in a size Large anywhere in the UK.

I still wasn't entirely sure whether to purchase the bike, over the next few days, and kept checking it out online as I came in from work. Then following treating a few patients at work, I kind of had the thought "Ahhh what the hell it's only money, you only have one life, and you have to do what makes you happy". So I pulled the trigger when I got home and bought myself a new bike.

Why a gravel bike. Well for starters I have never owned one and as I am tending to do a lot of indoor turbo training on my road bike I thought a gravel bike would be ideal so that I could ride on the roads without the drag of my mountain bike tyres, then when I wanted to head off on some gravel/off-road trail I could do that too.

Hopefully the weather will stay fine for a while yet, and I can get out for a few rides and hopefully the fresh air and activity will help with my low mood which I have been struggling with for some time now.

Do you think it's more difficult when you have more choice?

After starting to feel much better at the start of this year and getting back to both cycling, with the help of my new eBike and swimming (I did 70 lengths today at our local pool, which is just over a mile) well the inevitable has happened, and my addiction has returned... Yes "Bike Porn".
 
Last week, whilst venturing down to Pace Rehabilitation's Manchester clinic in Bredbury to pick up my awesome looking and of course feeling cycling socket, both Ern and I took a slight detour and headed to Cycle Gear  in Halifax. The reason for me wanting to visit there is I had seen online that they were a dealer for Orbea bikes and actually had a size large Orbea Gain in stock. I wanted to have a sit on one and see just what it felt like in comparison to my Derosa Idol.

The young lad at Cycle Gear, named Luke, was spot on and invited me to have a sit on a bike that was already fitted to a turbo trainer. Although I was not set up for riding, no Bartlett Tendon Knee, or my correct shoes and pedals, sitting on the bike gave me a good idea of size. The bike I perched myself on was a road going version, where as I fancy the "All Road", basically a cyclo x version, so fewer gears and slightly fatter tyres. Overall the bike felt good, the bike I sat on having a 120 mm stem, so think I would change that for a 110 mm as I just felt I was overstretching. Oh! and one addition I would definitely like to make, should I manage to save up enough pennies, is to fit a dropper seat post. As yet unsure whether I could fit a stealth remote or just have to pop an under saddle lever version, like the KS version I have fitted on my road bike.

Originally I had quite wanted to opt for the alloy framed version of the Gain, as there are mounting points for mudguards and panniers, however upon seeing the carbon version, well it just looked so dam pretty. There is a £1000 difference in price, and it's all in the frame as far as I can see, as the components all look the same. I could have quite fancied the Mavic Cosmic Pro Carbon Wheel set, however that adds another £719 on to the bike.

Orbea's site is pretty neat. I like the way you can customise your ride on the higher level bikes, things like colour, wheel set, bars, stem, saddle etc.

As I spoke to Luke about delivery times etc, he mentioned that I could potentially have the bike customised paint wise. He also informed that if I got the bike through Cycle Gear they could offer me 10% off, which is £400 so nothing to be sniffed at.
 
Now, then this custom paint job. It has me in a spot of a dilemma. I mean it's great being able to have a nice choice of colours, however I now find myself in the position of "Oooooh what colour" I am like a kid in a sweet shop and there is just too much choice. Sweets are a lot cheaper, and you can get a sort of a mix up, where as once I have chosen a colour for a new bike I have to live with it.


Here are some ideas I have in mind...Ern quite likes the yellow version...

Yellow n Blue

Orange and Black

Orange and Blue

Blue and Fuschia

Fuschia and Yellow with Mavic Cosmic Pro Carbon Wheel set

I have just mocked up this version and man those wheels look sweet, Dang it more saving to be done I guess. I know colour is a bit out there but hey, kind of my personality, LoL

Oh! And what you may not realise is this bike is also an eBike. It has a hub motor and a smaller battery than what is in the current mountain bikes. The range should be something around 50 miles, I am hoping.

Watch this space, and please feel free to leave comments, why not pop over to Orbea and spec up a favourite colour...