Nick reviews the Orbea Terra

For 2024 Orbea has updated its gravel-specific drop bar bike, the Terra, with geometry updates throughout. As we are seeing more often, the latest release hosts minor tweaks and changes throughout as opposed to major overhauls, which we see as an evolution over its predecessor. 

We’ve been lucky enough to spend a fair amount of time riding Orbeas over the years, ranging from the Oiz XC whippet to the Wild full-powered e-MTB. More recently we’ve been been testing out this Orbea Terra M20Team to see how it would fit in amongst the current crop of gravel adventure and gravel race bikes.

Bright is an ideal place to test a gravel bike, nestled in the Victorian High Country and surrounded by endless mountains and access roads. But don’t expect to see much ‘Champagne gravel,’ and many of our test loops traverse rugged fire roads that traverse through the hills providing the ideal venue to expose the limits of any gravel bike. The Terra shon brightest on faster, smoother sections of gravel and impressed with its comfortable geometry. On the flip side, the aluminium handlebars and stiff fork resulted in harshness in the front end and limited the capabilities on rougher terrain. 

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Orbea Terra overview

Frame features include plenty of accessory mounts for fenders, up to three water bottles and tyre compatibility up to 45c. Setting the saddle height is taken care of by an inbuilt wedge controlled via a 4mm hex head bolt, covered by a neat rubber cap when not in use. Near the bottom bracket is a small hatch secured by two small bolts providing access into the lower downtube, aiding cable routing when the time comes for a complete rebuild. 

Cable routing is completely internal except for a few centimetres near the stem, which we must admit looks very tidy. While we are fairly vocal on our stance against headset cable routing for mountain bikes, this has been the norm on road and gravel bikes for quite some time. Seeing as these bikes cop far less abuse, the service intervals for headsets are generally longer and hence we aren’t as worried about the additional hassle when the time comes. 

There is no Universal Derailleur Hanger to be seen on the Terra, those looking to run SRAM’s latest ‘Full Mount’ Red XPLR groupset will have to look elsewhere. Down below we see a Press Fit 30 bottom bracket interface in lieu of the common threaded BSA or T47 systems, generally adopted to save weight and improve bottom bracket stiffness. 

In-frame storage is a feature we are pleased to see on the Terra, and is one that is becoming more common on gravel bikes. Included within the frame are two storage socks to load up with spares and to prevent them from rattling around within the downtube. 

Geometry & Fit

The latest generation of the Terra doesn’t stray too far from the norm but does see the adoption of the brand’s gravel-specific geometry. Compared to its predecessor, this sees a longer wheelbase and chainstay along with a lower bottom bracket aimed at improving its stability on mixed terrain. A longer top tube combined with a shorter stem aims to improve steering responsiveness, and a shorter seat tube increases the amount of seatpost extension aiming to improve compliance. 

Both the aluminium and carbon variants of the Terra are available in six sizes ranging from XS to XXL, alongside all of the standard stem/handlebar adjustability for dialling in the perfect fit. Our size large test bike sports a 71° head angle, 73.5° seat tube angle, 395mm reach and 1,044mm wheelbase. 

Price & Specs

We had the pleasure of testing the M20Team flavour of the Terra, slotting in as the brand’s mid-tier offering in the carbon frame. Coming in at $6,599 AUD, the M20Team sports a carbon fibre frame, Shimano GRX 2×12 speed drivetrain and a pair of aluminium rims laced to Shimano hubs. 

The top tier offering will set you back $9,999 AUD and sports the same carbon frame, SRAM Force XPLR AXS 1×12 speed drivetrain and a pair of Oquo Road Control RC25TEAM carbon hoops that spin on ZIPP ZR1 hubs. At the cheaper end, the Terra is available in three aluminium models ranging from $3,599 – $4,299 AUD. Chasing a specific colour, carbon wheels or a different groupset? Orbea offers the Terra through its customisation platform allowing the customer to select each individual component and choose the paint job, and there is an incredible range of options to choose from. 

• Frame | Orbea Terra carbon OMR Disc, PF30 BB
• Fork | Orbea Terra ICR Carbon
• Wheels | Orbea Alloy, Tubeless Ready, 700c
• Tyres | Vittoria Terreno Dry CX-Gravel G2.0 TNT 700x38c
• Drivetrain | Shimano GRX 2×12 speed RX820, 48/31t Chainring, 11-34t 105 Cassette
• Brakes | Shimano GX820 w/ 160mm Centrelock Rotors
• Bar | OC Gravel GR31 Aluminium, Reach 70, Drop 110
• Stem | OC Road Performance RP10, -8º
• Seatpost | OC Performance XP10 Carbon, 27.2mm, Setback 0
• Saddle | Prologo Akero AGX STN size 155mm
• Price | $6,599.99 AUD
• Colours | Ivory White/Spicy Lime, Cosmic Carbon View/Metallic Olive Green, Wine Red Carbon View
• Confirmed Weight | 10.06kg

Orbea’s Terra M20Team doesn’t pose gob-stopping value, and is priced slightly higher for similar build kits compared to its direct competitors. For reference, Trek’s latest gravel adventure scalpel, the Checkpoint SL 6 AXS Gen 3 retails at $5,999 AUD with a carbon frame, SRAM Rival AXS 1x drivetrain and aluminium wheels. From Giant, the Revolt Advanced 0 is the most comparable and retails for $5,199 AUD, and sports a carbon frame, Shimano GRX 2×12 drivetrain and the brand’s in-house CXR carbon wheels. 

Orbea Terra weight

This Orbea Terra M20Team built with Shimano’s GRX 2×12 speed drivetrain, aluminium wheels and an aluminium bar/stem combination tipped the Flow Scales of Truth at 10.06kg, with tubes and the in-frame storage pouches.

This is on the portly side, and when put in perspective compared to the Cervelo Aspero we’ve had on test recently, is a sizeable 1.36kg heavier on the scales. This caught us by surprise, as the Terra’s ride qualities didn’t suggest it to be at this end of the scales, with the stiff frame delivering a sprightly demeanour. 

What did we dig?

What became quickly apparent was the quick and agile handling that the Terra possessed, which came in handy when dodging rocks embedded in the clay roads and sticks from the towering trees in North East Victoria. Jumping out of the saddle and laying down a couple of extra watts, the Terra leapt forward with agility, thanks to the oversized downtube and stiff wheels. Stability on the rough descents was admirable thanks to the longer wheelbase and chainstay, and this could be further improved by increasing the stock 38c tyres to the maximum 45c the frame can handle. 

We found the geometry of the Terra comfortable right away, although at 188cm Nick was at the upper limit of the size Large. Orbea actually recommends an extra large for his height, however being a mountain biker who dabbles in curly drop bars as a side hobby, Nick prefers a shorter reach than what is typically recommended. 

It doesn’t sport any fancy flex couplers or suspension similar to Trek’s IsoSpeed or Specialized’s ‘Future Shock’ rear suspension, however the rear was plenty comfortable on the rugged fire roads. This comfort was largely an attribute of the shorter seat tube and carbon seatpost, delivering a smooth and compliant ride. Riders with less post out of the frame will likely have a slightly firmer ride, although this will unlikely result in any harshness. 

What didn’t we like?

We are completely on board with the adoption of in-frame storage within the industry, and there are some excellent examples of how it can be executed such as the latest Specialized Stumpjumper. We love to see it being brought across to gravel bikes, but the ‘Lockr’ storage on the Terra was too small to be overly useful. Fitting a tube and CO2 is manageable within the opening, but you certainly won’t be fitting a burrito in the downtube, unless deconstructed and stowed away one grain of rice and black bean at a time. The latch was also rather small, and was difficult to open when wearing gloves. On a positive note, the weatherproofing was excellent and remained sealed and dry throughout testing. 

The Terra feels at home on smoother faster terrain and is better suited to groomed gravel roads or adventures involving a mixture of tarmac and gravel. The front end of the Terra was reasonably stiff and harsh when delving into slightly rougher terrain. This is likely due to the combination of the aluminium handlebar and stout fork construction, which, when compared to the compliant rear end, felt a little unbalanced. 

Looking at the tyres, it’s been some time since we’ve seen a gravel bike stock with anything smaller than a 40c tyre, and we’d like to see Orbea make better use of the built-in tyre clearance. Slotting in something wider would not only address some of the harshness we encountered, but also improve the confidence and capability of this bike for the terrain Orbea has designed this bike to excel. 

Flow’s Final Verdict

Orbea’s take on a gravel bike is a brilliant example of one that is tailored for fast-paced adventures on smoother off-road terrain. It isn’t cheap and is priced slightly higher compared to comparable builds from its competitors, however the paint and frame finishings are top-notch and are backed by Orbea’s lifetime warranty program. 

Our M20Team was on the heavier side of things, however we suspect some serious grams could be shed by upgrading the aluminium wheelset for a carbon variant through Orbea’s customization platform. Carbon handlebars also may shed a few grabs, and will likely assist with absorbing some of the front-end harshness we felt.  

Shimano’s GRX 2×12 speed drivetrain performed flawlessly throughout the test with clean crisp shifts, although the 2x system definitely adds a little complexity compared to the GRX 1x variants. We have a full review of Shimano’s GRX 2×12 RX820 that is worth checking out if you are curious about the latest mechanical system from Shimano.  

It wouldn’t be our first pick if we were trying to conquer terrain typically reserved for an XC whippet, something like the Santa Cruz Stigmata has that covered. This also isn’t a purebred gravel race bike, a rig such as the Cervelo Aspero’s geometry and handling is better suited for aggressive racing scenarios. The Terra is an all-around adventure gravel machine, with its ideal ride being one that blends tarmac back roads along with gravel country roads, and even the occasional overnight bikepacking trips. 

ABOUT THE REVIEWER - Nick Martin

Hometown

Bright, Vic

Height

188cm

Weight80kg