Bike Check: Catharine Pendrel's Orbea Oiz - Nove Mesto World Cup XC

May 22, 2015
by Richard Cunningham  
Catherine Pendrel s Orbea Oiz
Canada's two-time World Champion XC racer has been lucky on the Orbea Oiz. The 2015 version is a ground up redesign that can be had with either 29 or 27.5-inch wheels. Pendrel's races 27.5's. The Luna Chix rider uses a Shimano Di2 one-by-eleven drivetrain. Her Fox iCD shock and fork are also electronically controlled.


Catherine Pendrel s Orbea Oiz
Pendrel's mechanic must have been in a hurry to get her Shimano Di2 rear derailleur installed. This is not the wiring one would expect to see on a World Champion's bike.
Catherine Pendrel s Orbea Oiz
Her Shimano XTR one-by has a 32-tooth chainring. The titanium tooth profile is said to resist derailing, but we have yet to see pros run one without a guide. This is an e*thirteen XCX.


Catherine Pendrel s Orbea Oiz
Catherine Pendrel s Orbea Oiz
Up close look at the Fox iCD shock. Fox uses the same e-tube wiring and electronics as Shimano, but as yet, there is no app to pair the two systems. Pendrel puts the Fox control alongside the right-side shifter.


Catherine Pendrel s Orbea Oiz
Shimano XTR rims begin as super thin aluminum extrusions, which are then hand-overlaid with carbon. The spoke reinforcements are a half-dozen layers the size of postage stamps.
Catherine Pendrel s Orbea Oiz
Tires are Maxxis Pace 2.1 inch. The book says they weigh 575 grams, but that seems heavy for Pro XC. Do the team get factory tires?


Catherine Pendrel s Orbea Oiz
Shimano's XC racing M9000 brake lever has no mechanical servo, so it is lighter weight and has a much slimmer profile. The lever is carbon fiber.
Catherine Pendrel s Orbea Oiz
Orbea's Oiz uses flex in the rear triangle in lieu of heavier pivots. The 140mm rotors are ICE tech, but there are no finned brake pads - too much weight.



See more of Matt Delorme's race photos.



MENTIONS: @shimano , @foxracingshox

Author Info:
RichardCunningham avatar

Member since Mar 23, 2011
974 articles

44 Comments
  • 31 9
 I pretend I'm a carrot
  • 13 7
 Sometimes I paint myself yellow than climb a tree and pretend I'm a banana
  • 14 6
 orange ya glad i didn't say banana?
  • 12 14
 Sometimes, I put a slice of bread in each side of my face and I say I'm an Idiot Sandwish
  • 1 1
 Just in the way you wrote this, I genuinely feel that you are probably a beautiful carrot.
  • 2 1
 Gordon Ramsey is that you?
  • 2 1
 ...it is.
  • 15 2
 You are pretty serious about being light weight when you start leaving out pivots and bearings to shave a few grams!
  • 9 0
 no cooling fins... too much weight
  • 21 2
 No pivots or finned brake pads because of the weight penalty. Yet, there is at least an inch of spacers and steerer tube protruding above the stem. hmmm
  • 4 1
 The fins come on the trail version and no fins on the race version, those are what you'd get straight out of your lbs
  • 15 0
 when its how you earn a salary then it does become serious business.
  • 3 1
 and carbon fiber brake levers?
  • 14 4
 Great to see Canadians covered on a Canadian website, but In Canada (and the rest of the world) its carbon FIBRE. Only American's spell it as FIBER.
  • 27 9
 Would you like a dash of aluminium and some ground up tyres with that Canadian high fibre diet?
  • 7 1
 canada smart ass, not UK
  • 17 11
 Oh, that's right..... wait for it.... Canada is in America. - at least one of the Americas. Colour me wrong.
  • 9 5
 haha what? why does pinkbike let invalids like you work for them?

also way to spell colour correctly.
  • 6 1
 COLOUR!!!!
  • 13 6
 Sorry. Still learning to speak Canadian
  • 4 2
 does that mean canadians pronounce it carbon fi-bruh?
  • 12 10
 Fiber originates from the french fibre and the latin fibra. However, since americans are mostly stupid they can't handle non phonetic spellings or pronouncations hence why they can't sound oregano, aluminium and a whole host of other words properly or spell them correctly. Heck you can't even use the right way to show the date Wink
  • 7 12
flag thustlewhumber (May 23, 2015 at 10:19) (Below Threshold)
 Sorry, can't hear you over my FREEDOM!
  • 9 0
 I find the whole 'land of the free' thing just hilarious these days...America aint free my friend, I wish it was but that is just not the case.
  • 3 1
 so the patriot act is freedom. You'll also find that people over this side of the pond, particularly in scotland, don't care about the war of independance
  • 3 2
 1) www.tep-online.info/laku/usa/rights.htm

2) I'm pretty sure the British cared about the Revolutionary War

3) Don't take the internet so seriously
  • 2 1
 They probably cared at the time like in England but that was 200 years ago

You do realise where your "freedom" comes from don't you
  • 2 0
 In France we say carbone. easier.
  • 1 0
 Well, without France, America would not have their 'freedom' (or should that be America would not have their 'freedom fries'). America at that time wouldn't have beaten the British alone. Also, your national anthem isn't even really American.
  • 5 0
 Any word on total weight?
  • 5 0
 Dream xc bike
  • 4 0
 I have the exact same water bottle!!
  • 2 0
 I wonder which material would last longer for a pivot less chain stay. Titanium or carbon fiber?
  • 4 2
 Looks sketchy..................
  • 2 0
 Yeah Kika! Looks like it'll get you across the line before the rest
  • 3 0
 Kamloops for the win.
  • 2 0
 I used to ride with 1 spoke missing on my rear wheel, can I be XC?
  • 1 0
 what seat colar is that? Tune carbon fibre?
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