£5,358 Versatile ride, versatile builds, but is it a jack of all trades? Weight 9.1kg (XL) Frame Carbon Fork Full carbon Gears SRAM Force AXS 12-speed (40t, 10-44t) Brakes SRAM Force AXS Wheels Fulcrum Rapid Red 500 DB Finishing kit OC Road performance RP10 stem, Easton EC90 AX Carbon bar, OC Performance XP10 Carbon 27.2mm seatpost, Selle Italia SLR Boost manganese rails saddle, Pirelli Cinturato Gravel H 700 x 40c TLR tyres
THE LATEST TERRA AIMS TO BE ALL the gravel bike you need, no matter what sort of gravel you ride. The original 2017 Terra was based on the brand’s Avant endurance bike, albeit with bigger tyre clearances, a slack head angle and a longer wheelbase. The new Terra, however, is designed to be nimbler in the rough and allow more versatile builds.
The Terra can have a mechanical or electronic drivetrain in 1x or 2x and can be run with 700c or 650b wheels (with 45mm clearance in 700 and a huge 50mm in 650b). The carbon frameset comes on bikes from £3,199 upwards, and builds can be personalised using Orbea’s MyO system.
Framing it
The long, 390mm Terra carbon fork allows for a suspension option. Up front, the Terra uses Orbea’s clever internal routing design OC ICR and allows you to run any stem/bar combo. The standard round seatpost also allows you to run any option, including a dropper post (there’s internal routing for that too). There are bosses for full-length mudguards and triple bottle cage mounts.
A LOCKR storage box sits under the down-tube bottle cage bosses and has room for a spare tube, multi-tool, pump or CO2 cartridge. The bottom bracket shell has a covered port for a Shimano EW-RS910 Di2 junction box and charge port (for GRX Di2 and 11-speed Di2 systems). The kinked fork shifts the fork crown forwards to better dissipate vibrations and absorb impacts.
The compact frame design exposes plenty of skinny carbon seatpost, helping it flex. The seat-tube design and carbon use at the bottom bracket joint also help add compliance at the rear end. Chainstays are just 420mm long: impressively short for a bike that can take such large tyres. Asymmetric chainstays allow the Terra to run a double chainset, should you wish.
All rounder
Geometry is halfway between a fast gravel bike and mountain bike-inspired designs. Reach is long compared to an endurance road bike: 402mm on my XL test bike. The head angle is steepened to 71.5°, and pairs with a 100mm stem to keep the steering fast. That’s enhanced by the short trail.
The bottom bracket is low to help the bike feel more planted on rough descents. Whilst a generous wheelbase helps the bik
