Orro Venturi STC SRAM Force eTap Tailor Made 2024

The Orro Venturi STC aero road bike has undergone some subtle tweaks that have made it lighter, with cleaner, smoother aesthetics. The great thing is, though, Orro hasn't touched anything that would affect the ride quality, handling or speed: this is still an incredibly smooth, 'real world' fast, comfortable and fun bike to ride.

For more options, check out our guide to the best aero road bikes.

> Buy now: Orro Venturi STC SRAM Force eTap Tailor Made for £4,999 from Orro Bikes

Orro Venturi STC: Ride

With its angular tube profiles, and aero sections increasing the size of the junctions, the Venturi STC looks like it should be a very firm ride, putting speed over all other considerations. But it's not like that at all.

This is a stiff bike, there is no denying that, but a combination of the grades of carbon used, the way it's laid up in the mould, and/or the profiles used throughout the frame creates a bike that has a surprisingly smooth ride.

There is basically no harshness whatsoever, and it's not a chore to ride on poor sections of road. That makes it efficient – by not getting pummelled by broken tarmac, you feel fresher for longer, and that makes it a fun bike to ride over all kinds of distances, so you aren't just limited to shorter, faster blasts.

The Venturi STC is a surprising all-rounder road bike.

The comfort from the frame is bolstered by the geometry. The front end isn't as steep as you'd expect, which just slows the steering down a tiny mount, removing any twitchiness. I found that had no drawbacks on my steep and technical test descent. The handling is still direct and fast enough to cope with the off-camber chicane section at the top, while also mastering the faster, flowing corners further down the hill. Even at speeds approaching 50mph through the various bends it felt well planted and gives plenty of confidence.

This also means you can ride the Venturi past a gateway without worrying that your front wheel is about to take a slap from a crosswind. When it happens, the lack of twitchiness means the bike doesn't feel nervous or a handful.

I like a bike that offers a lot of feedback, letting you know everything that is happening beneath the tyres, and this Venturi does an excellent job of this. The lack of harshness means there is no road buzz to interfere with the signals coming through from the tyres, so you know what the bike is up to, and this all adds to the rider/bike experience. It's an easy bike to ride fast, and you don't need to be a demon descender or seasoned race to get the best out of it.

Away from all of those descending shenanigans the Orro is a capable climber, too, in part thanks to its stiffness through the lower half of the frame, but also the fact that it registered at just 7.55kg on our scales. None too shabby for an aero bike with deep-section wheels.

Overall, I don't think the Venturi STC really puts a foot (or should that be wheel) wrong in terms of the ride, especially if your main focus is on speed.

Orro Venturi STC: Frame & Fork

Up above I mentioned that the Venturi has seen a couple of small tweaks over the previous version that I reviewed back at the end of 2020, although they aren't necessarily noticeable from the outside.

Orro designs all of its bikes in the UK and it has manged to reduce weight from the frame – by around 80g in this medium size – without sacrificing stiffness. An EPS latex core is now used in the mould, too, which makes sure that the frame is clean and smooth internally. That reduces excess material and therefore weight.

It still uses the same spread tow carbon (STC) which means the fibres are arranged in flat, wide tapes like ribbons woven together.

This is how Sigmatex, which produces it, describes it: "Spread tow fabrics are very thin, are ultra-lightweight, have near zero crimp and fewer interlacing points. As well as being aesthetically pleasing, this technology has improved mechanical performance at a reduced thickness and cost when compared to standard 2D fabrics using 1k fibres. It is said to reduce weight and increase stiffness."

You can also get this model of Venturi in three colour schemes: this matt black, black/gold gloss and blue/silver gloss.

The frame and fork are designed around a 28mm tyre, with areas like the down tube and seat tube sitting very close to the tyres for that aerodynamic effect. The fork crown is integrated into the frame as well.

As for the brake hoses, they are run internally right from the levers to add to that clean and smooth look, while the seatpost is also an aero design, with the clamping system integrated into the seat tube.

Orro has designed the frame to use a BB86 press-fit style bottom bracket. Pressing the bearing cups into the frame rather than have them sit outboard means the bottom bracket shell can be wider without affecting the distance between the cranks, the q-factor.

The wider shell means the down tube can be larger, as can the other tubes that adjoin it, which gives increased stiffness at this important area – ideal for resisting high pedalling forces, especially when out of the saddle.

Orro Venturi STC: Geometry

The Venturi is available in four sizes, with top tube lengths of 523mm up to 576mm.

The medium here has a 540mm top tube, and a head tube length of 143mm. As I said earlier, that head tube doesn't sit at as steep an angle as you'd expect, though, just 72 degrees in fact.

The seat tube is steeper at 74 degrees, which enables you to get yourself in a forward position over the bottom bracket to really drive the power out.

The wheelbase is 988mm, so short enough to keep the bike feeling nimble, which is what helps it feel so much fun in the corners.

In terms of stack and reach, this bike measures 542mm and 385mm respectively.

Orro Venturi STC: Finishing kit & prices

Orro offers a range of Venturi STC models, all of them using electronic groupsets from either Shimano (Di2) or SRAM (eTap).

The Shimano builds are 105 (£3,199.99), Ultegra (£3,799.99) and a limited-edition Signature model with Dura-Ace and Zipp 404 deep-section wheels among other extras. It's a web exclusive offering at £6,599.99. SRAM options include Rival eTap (£3,599.99) and Red (£7,299.99).

Then on top of those builds you also get the choice of the Tailor Made models, which get an upgrade in components and wheels. The 105 Tailor Made is £3,999.99, and the Ultegra is £4,699.99. Rival costs £4,599.99 and the Force Tailor Made model we have in for review is £4,999.99.

Our build consists of the latest SRAM Force eTap groupset (of which a review is imminent) which uses a 48/35-tooth chainset and a 12-speed 10-33 cassette.

I've said this many times before, but I get on really well with the ratios on offer with SRAM's groupsets. The smaller chainrings suit my high cadence style and I find the 48T ring efficient with pretty much the whole cassette. The single button operation on each shifter works very well, too.

The handlebar and stem are both from Vision, with the alloy SMR Integrated used for the latter paired to the Trimax Aero bar.

The carbon bar is comfortable with its flat, aero-styled tops, and the use of a two-piece cockpit gives you plenty of adjustment options over an integrated setup.

For the saddle Orro has specced a San Marco Shortfit Racing model on its website, but our bike came fitted with an Orro branded SLR, which I found to be a lovely shape with my preferred minimal padding.

Orro Venturi STC: Wheels & tyres

The wheels are also from Vision in the shape of its SC55 which, as their name suggests, has a 55mm-deep carbon fibre rim.

It's a fast-feeling set of wheels which, when paired with the frame and fork, complete the aero package. Above 20mph you get a noticeable boost of speed for your effort compared with shallower rims, and they make that cool 'wooshy' sound as they roll.

Stiffness is good throughout, so there is no noticeable flex when you're out of the saddle when sprinting or climbing.

Again, we have a different model to what is specced on the website when it comes to tyres, which sometimes happens on review bikes. Ours is fitted with Continental's GP5000s while Orro's component list says they should be Vredestein Fortezza.

Orro Venturi STC: Value

I've always considered Orro's pricing on the Venturi STC models competitive, and that hasn't changed.

I rated Handsling's A1R0evo highly when I reviewed it last year, and it's a similarly styled bike to the Venturi. But in a Force eTap build with deep-section wheels it comes in at £5,719.99.

Specialized claims that nothing is faster than its Tarmac SL8, and Jamie was certainly impressed when he reviewed the S-Works model at the end of 2023. But with a similar build to the Venturi STC, the SL8 Pro costs a whopping £8,000, which even the addition of a DUB power meter can't balance out.

Canyon's Aeroad is a very slippery, fast bike, and with its integrated cable and hose routing looks just as clean as the Venturi STC. The CF SLX 8 comes with a Force eTap groupset which includes a powermeter, and Zipp 404 wheels. Weight-wise it's around 300g heavier than the Orro, and money-wise it's a bit pricier too, at £6,299.

Orro Venturi STC: Conclusion

The Venturi STC has long been one of my favourite bikes and that continues to be the case. While the updates to the latest version are minimal, it at least means that Orro has tweaked a winning formula. On top of the performance, the Venturi is very well priced for the specification, which means that overall it is a very impressive package.

Verdict

Real world aerodynamics and well-designed geometry create an excellent bike that is fast and easy to ride