From paintwork and graphics, to components and finishing kit, make your own perfect bike with Orbea’s MyO personalisation system

Earlier this year, we looked at the 185-year history of the Orbea brand, a company that actually started life by making guns for the local populace in the Basque Country. One of the things that set Orbea apart, even back then, was the amount of personalisation customers could specify.

In a strange quirk of fate, the modern Orbea brand has also become synonymous with personalisation of its products, albeit pedal-powered rather than gunpowdered.

Orbea’s MyO personalisation system – now in its 10th year – allows customers to specify almost any element of their bike build, from gear and brake choice, to wheels, tyres and even frame colour and graphics. 

You simply choose all the options you’d like, create the package you want and order online, or you can take the order to your local Orbea dealer, or even personalise your bike when ordering in-store. The bike will then be available to collect from your local dealer, who can make the final touches by ensuring you have the right finishing kit so your bike fits you perfectly.

All bikes are painted and finished by hand at Orbea’s factory in Mallabia in the Basque Country, and orders generally take two to three months to be delivered.

It’s important to point out, there’s no upcharge for making your bike your own. Obviously, there are surcharges if you choose to upgrade any stock parts, but if it’s just a question of changing the colour or sizing, you won’t pay any more.

So we’ve had a play with the MyO designer on the www.orbea.com website – it’s good fun to experiment with and dream, even if you’re not buying a bike just now – to see what we could create for three distinct types of rider. Read on and see if you agree with our choices or if you could put together a better package yourself!

Bike 1: Orbea Orca M30 (from £2,399)

Who for: Entry-point personalised road bike for the returning rider who wants to maximise fit, comfort and performance. 

While Orbea’s entry point Orca M30 doesn’t enjoy the full MyO system’s ability to specify paintjob and appearance, it is still possible to customise parts and components to ensure the bike you buy is mechanically the machine you want it to be. And in any case, there are already three very attractive finishes to choose from.

We decided to go for the cobalt blue and raw carbon frame in a size 55cm – which should be perfect for a 6’ rider – fitted with a Shimano 105 36×52 chainset, with 170mm crank length. With also gone with a wider range 11-36t cassette, 100mm stem and 400mm handlebar, although all those can be adjusted to suit your own preferences.

We’ve decided to keep with components that retain the standard price, although the Orbea website does allow you to upgrade to power meter cranks for £219; or fit an OC Performance seatpost for £75. 

Bike 2: Orbea Terra M30 Team (from £2,599)

Who for: The rider who wants the ultimate daily commuter – and weekend adventurer – finished in their own signature style.

For £200 more than the Orca M30 we can start getting to grips with the full range of MyO possibilities with Orbea’s awesome Terra M30 Team gravel bike. 

Starting with the frame, we’ve opted for a suitably mud-friendly matt finish in Mango for the main colour, with Spicy Lime for the second colour, Metallic Burgundy Red for the Orbea logos, Peach Orange for any other logos and Explorer Landscape Brushed Titan Grey decals on the lower part of the fork. It should be easy to spot in the office bike rack!

The Terra M30 Team comes as standard with a fantastic Shimano GRX gearset and matching hydraulic disc brakes. We toyed with the idea of upgrading to Oquo’s Road Control RC25PRO wheels (+£265) and the OC Gravel GR10 Carbon handlebar (+£175) but decided to keep most things stock, opting only to spend £69 for Apollo Orbit mudguards from and rear. 

In terms of fit, we specced an 80mm / +15-degree stem, 170mm cranks and 420mm handlebar width. We finished by asking for the text ‘Do It All Daily’ to be written on the seatstay.

OK, it might be something of an acquired taste, but this is a custom-designed package that screams fun.

Bike 3: Orbea Orca M20i LTD Power (from £5,599)

Who for: The road rider who wants a bike as dedicated to their racing as they are – free from compromise, and uniquely theirs.

OK, we had a bit of fun with the smile-inducing Terra commuter-cum-do-anything dream machine, but what about if you’re a serious road rider who wants a serious machine that fits in with your approach to cycling?

We’ve gone with a patriotic colourway and a sleek gloss finish on the Orca M20i LTD Power’s market-leading OMX carbon frame. Starting with Metallic Cobalt Blue for the main frame colour, Pure Red for the secondary colour, and Metallic White Chic for the tips of the fork dropouts. For aesthetic details, we went with a Metallic Spark Silver main Orbea logo and Cool Gray Wave graphics at the seatpost end of the top tube.

The Orca M20i LTD Power comes as standard with a Shimano Ultegra groupset, which is probably the sweetest spot of performance, price and reliability, including a 4iiii left power crank. But you can tweak the spec to suit exactly what you want, right down to what rotor size you want with the Ultegra hydraulic brakes. Other than choosing component sizes to fit us, we also decided to upgrade to Oquo’s Road Aero RA57LTD wheels for a little bit of extra aero.

It all adds up to a truly top-end road bike, built exactly to your specifications and finished exactly the way you want it. 

To find out more about Orbea’s MyO personalisation system, head to the Orbea website