Yesterday evening I collected my new bike and had it fitted having handed over my old bike. Today I was off work and got to ride it for the first time. It was fantastic! There’s nothing quite like riding a brand new bike.

It’s an Orbea Avant M20 Team that comes with Shimano Ultegra disc brakes and 11 Speed groupset. I upgraded the wheels and went for the optional FSA Powerbox power meter.

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This is a big upgrade for me and has some new tech for me to get used to. I’ve gone from an entry level aero styled carbon frame to something more mid-range but with endurance geometry that will better suit my riding style and preferences.

Disc brakes are a change I’ve been looking forward to for a while now but especially over the last couple of weeks as the weather turned wetter and I was riding every day. Lots of times I’ve yearned for the control and stopping power of disc vs rim brakes.

The Mavic Cosmic wheels are tubeless which is a change I was less sure about until experiencing the incredible comfort of them today. I was nervous about the ability to seal punctures and I’m still concerned how easy a roadside puncture repair will be but so far the feeling of them is winning out.

The final piece of tech is the power meter. Changing from riding by heart rate to riding by power will take a bit of getting used to. I did do a Zwift FTP Test back in April so I have some information to set training zones but I’ll have to complete a road test and do some more research before I really know what I’m doing and get a score that is up to date. For today I was pleased to see power data and pleasantly surprised to see my average power output.

To get a feel for the bike I kept my maiden spin to 50km, long enough to know how it feels and short enough in case anything feels off. Nothing did! It was pretty much perfect and such an enjoyable ride.

It’s wonderful to ride a brand new bike, everything just works perfectly and it’s so quiet. The change from 105 to Ultegra is really noticeable with smooth, sharp gear changes, 105 is good but Ultegra is great. The smooth, comfortable feel of the tubeless tyres combined with the improved shock absorption of the frame was amazing. Virtually no discomfort or numbness simply allowed me to enjoy the ride.

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It’s a beautiful bike and a pleasure to ride. I’m looking forward to many more rides and testing it on some proper long distance endurance spins.