Escape Collective member Francis Lim loves light bikes, and over the years he’s built his fair share: an ultralight Factor O2, a Focus Izalco Max Disc 9, even a brandless 8.2 kg MTB.
Today, in the latest instalment of our Joy Rides series, we feature Francis’ next eye-catching build: an Orbea Orca OMX that’s unlike other Orcas you might have seen.
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Orbea’s Orca OMX was designed to be a lightweight road bike, but Francis Lim wanted to go further. With his latest build, he wanted “to show that actual light is different than marketing light.” He also wanted to pay tribute to one of his favourite riders: Spanish former pro Sammy Sánchez, a rider who rode an Orbea for much of his career, for the fan-favourite Basque team, Euskaltel-Euskadi. You might recall that Sánchez was also an Olympic gold medalist, having won the road race in Beijing in 2008.
While Sánchez retired in 2017, he’s left a lasting mark on Francis.
“I liked the way he rode, the all-around brilliance even if it didn’t equate to GC wins, the underdog status, and I really liked the way he rode in orange colors,” he tells Escape. “Orbea hasn’t had anything significant until this Orca model and so when they released it, something really light and technically up to date, I figured I could build it into something good. And 2024 being an Olympic year just falls right into a Samuel Sanchez throwback.”
Francis got his hands on an Orca OMX frame, chose colours that reflected the Sánchez/Euskaltel-Euskadi theme, then personalised his design via the Orbea MyO program. And then it was time to start tweaking.
The biggest challenge
In trying to make the bike as light as he could, Francis identified one area where he could make a significant improvement.
“The Orbea OEM cockpit was very heavy at 240 g for the stem alone,” he says. “The goal was to have an integrated cockpit (bar and stem) that was about the same weight combined, while still using a full internal routing integration and not just a plastic fairing under the stem.”
As a landscape design consultant by trade, Francis is plenty familiar with 3D design software. And so he started tinkering.
“The solution was to design a new compression ring with routing access and a headset cap which allows routing under the stem at a bend which won’t sacrifice braking, while still being completely integrated,” he explains. “I did the 3D modelling on a software I use for my architecture work and had it 3D printed locally by another guy. It took around five prototypes before it was finalized.”
Francis’ handlebar of choice – a Darimo Ellipse to add to the Spanish vibe – added another challenge that needed to be overcome.
“The Darimo bar has a 6 x 11 mm hole at the back, designed to run the Di2 cable internally,” Francis says. “It definitely was not designed to house two brake hoses. It cannot be routed directly – the Darimo stem is a two-bolt stem which inserting a handlebar into is already a task in itself.
“Fishing lines were used so we could pre-route the lines into the holes, insert the bar to the stem, and fish out the cables from the holes near the shifters.”
Other build details
Francis says that once the issue of the stem and bars was sorted, the rest of the build was “straightforward”.
“As with all my previous builds, no THMs were used,” Francis says, referencing the super-light components brand. Instead he used “a good number of Asian and unbranded components.”
While much of the road cycling world has pivoted towards tubeless tyres in recent years, Francis decided to stick with tubulars for this build. He tried switching to tubeless at one point, “but unless I get a small compressor for my workshop, I can’t inflate those things by a track pump. So I’ve stuck with tubs and I’ve actually had a good run with them.”
Francis pulled the build together himself in his workshop – “a bit of space in the basement floor of our house” – and a friend helped him with the final brake tune. Ultimately, the build tips the scales at a very feathery 5.23 kg.
VeloExpo
Francis took his finished build to the 2024 VeloExpo, an annual custom-build bike show on the island of Cebu in the Philippines, where he now lives. He managed to win Best Road Bike at the show, took fifth in the Best of Show category, and, despite bringing a 5.23 kg build, was third in the much-anticipated Lightest Bike Weigh-Off competition.
“Winner was 4.92 kg, second place was 5.23 kg – same as mine but he won on a technicality because he has a bottle cage attached,” Francis explains. “Rules are that all road bikes must be disc brakes, at least 11-speed, and all holes like steerer, bar ends, cable holes must be plugged.”
Lessons learned
As with every build he does, Francis learned plenty along the way with his Orbea Orca OMX. One of his biggest learnings this time around was to do with the custom compression ring and headset cover he designed.
“I haven’t yet researched 3D printing at all – I just asked the local printer to print with the most durable thread available here which is ABS plastic,” Francis says. “I probably would want to know more if there are stronger materials available; the reason being on road impacts like potholes, the headset will give a shudder. One of the reasons I see also is the design of the compression ring which is a C-shape to allow better cable routing. Maybe I’ll try a full circle with specific holes for the cables and a thicker headset plate cover.”
Everyday mode
Francis doesn’t ride the bike in its super-lightweight guise, on account of the road conditions in the foothills of Cebu.
“Because of house chores, I am only able to ride around 8am, which means traffic, so what I do is I pass through the backroads which are technically farm-to-market roads,” he says. “Lots of debris, small stones, livestock and the occasional off-road segments. So I need a light and capable bike as a 19/21 mm tyre and disc brakes will easily skid me down the pavement.
“This [ultralight] version was built for the VeloExpo Bikeshow so I chased the lightest I could go. If time will allow and I visit my friends back in Hong Kong where the roads are super smooth, then I’ll bring this build. It would also be a capable build to do the Taiwan KOM Challenge this year. But for everyday riding here in Cebu, a change of tyres or a wheelset, full tapes and padded saddle is the key.”
More specifically, Francis made the following changes when readying the bike for everyday mode:
- Out: Tufo Elite Jet 160 tubular tyres | In: Veloflex ProTour 28 mm tubulars
- Out: Unbranded ultralight bartape | In: 2.5 mm perforated bartape with an extra layer on the bar tops
- Out: Berk Lupina Short custom saddle | In: A padded Berk Lupina Short
Even with those changes, the “everyday” build of Francis’ bike is far from heavy at 5.84 kg. Still properly light: not just bike-marketing light.
Build list
The following list shows the parts included in the ultralight build. Any changes made for the everyday build are listed in brackets.
- Frame: Orbea Orca OMX custom MyO colorway, size 49
- Shift kit: Shimano Dura Ace Di2 9250 12-speed
- Crankset: Elilee X-Novanta cranks/ Extralite OctaTamp RC2 chainrings 50/34
- Drivetrain: Neutron ultralight cassette 11-34T / KMX X12 chain
- Pedals: Speedplay custom with titanium spindles, bowties, and bolts (Speedplay Zero Ti with stock bowties and bolts)
- Brakes / calipers: Hope RX4+ quad-piston calipers
- Rotors: KCNC Razor 160 mm front and rear
- Handlebar: Darimo Ellipse road bar with Di2 hole
- Stem: Darimo IX2AL stem with custom cable holes
- Saddle: Berk Lupina Short pre-production prototype (Berk Lupina Short, padded)
- Seatpost: Unbranded carbon ultralight 27.2 mm (Unbranded carbon with Ti hardware 27.2 mm)
- Tape/ grips: Unbranded ultralight tape (2.5 mm perforated tape)
- Wheelset: Unbranded custom tubular rims, Yuniper Nitro disc hubs, carbon spokes
- Tyres: Tufo Elite Jet 160 tubular (Veloflex ProTour 28 mm tubulars)
- Special parts: Own-designed/ modelled, 3D-printed headset cap / compression ring, revised full internal routing system, Overfast carbon thru-axles (bottle cage, bolts, full aluminium axles).
Gallery
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