Orbea is using the Cape Epic to showcase a new colorway for its Oiz cross-country bike. As with any high-profile multi-stage race, Cape Epic is proving to be a goldmine for bike-watching, having played host to Lachlan Morton's Cannondale Scalpel and Jordan Sarrou's Specialized S-Works Epic.
Now it's the turn of Orbea Team Rider Ibon Zugasti to show off his factory Edition Oiz, featuring the latest in Orbea colorway and graphic design.
The Spanish cycling brand prides itself on offering custom finishes for its customers, using its 'MyO' paint and component finish selector. Zugasti’s Oiz has a combination of green, black and white as its colorway, while the headtube sees a fade effect alongside a scratch pattern.
Although the factory edition Oiz colorway is not available to customers, Orbea is evaluating responses and enquiries generated by Zugasti’s bike, to consider its future viability as a customer derivative.
Big tires on the Oiz XC bike
The Oiz is an ideal choice for any Cape Epic campaign, considering the challenging terrain and multiple crashes seen in stage 2. In XC trim, it runs an efficient 100m of suspension travel at each end, while geometry is also towards keeping the rider in a powerful position when climbing.
Unlike its slacker TR sibling, Orbea’s Oiz sits at quite a steep head angle, of 69 degrees. This helps keep that front wheel from edging into the air on those desperately steep climbs that are part of the Cape Epic experience.
Rugged descents, often along long fire roads, are a feature of the Cape Epic, and on a short-travel bike, you need to be sure that a succession of terrain impacts at speed won’t accidentally bounce your chain off the chainring. To this end the Oiz has a small integrated chain guide.
Meanwhile, pro tire choice is one of the relatable things about the Cape Epic. If you are a Maxxis brand fan, you’ll be heartened to know that Zugasti’s Oiz rolls on Rekon Race 29x2.35in tires - evidence to the fact that 2.25in tires are no longer considered the default standard for stage race mountain biking.
