Pro bike: Georgia Gould’s Luna Orbea Lobular Cross

<source media="(max-width: 320px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975275-1cr45goavf3pr-fcbbfd2.jpg?quality=90&resize=160%2C208, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975275-1cr45goavf3pr-fcbbfd2.jpg?quality=90&resize=320%2C416 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975275-1cr45goavf3pr-fcbbfd2.jpg?quality=90&resize=480%2C624 3x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975275-1cr45goavf3pr-fcbbfd2.jpg?quality=90&resize=615%2C800 4x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(max-width: 375px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975275-1cr45goavf3pr-fcbbfd2.jpg?quality=90&resize=190%2C247, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975275-1cr45goavf3pr-fcbbfd2.jpg?quality=90&resize=380%2C494 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975275-1cr45goavf3pr-fcbbfd2.jpg?quality=90&resize=570%2C741 3x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975275-1cr45goavf3pr-fcbbfd2.jpg?quality=90&resize=615%2C800 4x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(max-width: 425px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975275-1cr45goavf3pr-fcbbfd2.jpg?quality=90&resize=215%2C279, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975275-1cr45goavf3pr-fcbbfd2.jpg?quality=90&resize=430%2C559 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975275-1cr45goavf3pr-fcbbfd2.jpg?quality=90&resize=616%2C800 3x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(max-width: 768px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975275-1cr45goavf3pr-fcbbfd2.jpg?quality=90&resize=295%2C383, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975275-1cr45goavf3pr-fcbbfd2.jpg?quality=90&resize=590%2C767 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975275-1cr45goavf3pr-fcbbfd2.jpg?quality=90&resize=616%2C800 3x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(max-width: 992px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975275-1cr45goavf3pr-fcbbfd2.jpg?quality=90&resize=136%2C176, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975275-1cr45goavf3pr-fcbbfd2.jpg?quality=90&resize=272%2C353 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975275-1cr45goavf3pr-fcbbfd2.jpg?quality=90&resize=408%2C530 3x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975275-1cr45goavf3pr-fcbbfd2.jpg?quality=90&resize=544%2C707 4x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(min-width: 993px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975275-1cr45goavf3pr-fcbbfd2.jpg?quality=90&resize=155%2C201, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975275-1cr45goavf3pr-fcbbfd2.jpg?quality=90&resize=310%2C403 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975275-1cr45goavf3pr-fcbbfd2.jpg?quality=90&resize=465%2C604 3x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975275-1cr45goavf3pr-fcbbfd2.jpg?quality=90&resize=615%2C800 4x" type="image/jpeg"> <img class="wp-image-274227 size-portrait_thumbnail image-handler__image image-handler__image--aspect no-wrap js-gallery-grid-src-image" src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975275-1cr45goavf3pr-fcbbfd2.jpg?quality=90&resize=295%2C383" width="295" height="383" data-crop-width="" data-crop-height="" alt="Georgia Gould's (Luna) Orbea Lobular Cross rests peacefully in the sun atop the 'green monster' one day before the start of the New Belgium Cup in Fort Collins, Colorado" title="1291111975275-1cr45goavf3pr-fcbbfd2" style="width: auto; height: 100%;"> Georgia Gould’s (Luna) Orbea Lobular Cross rests peacefully in the sun atop the ‘green monster’ one day before the start of the New Belgium Cup in Fort Collins, Colorado James Huang/BikeRadar

Marketing folk love to push the latest and greatest technologies on the public but when it comes to cycle racing it’s still the rider who does the work, and few examples demonstrate that old adage better than Luna’s Georgia Gould.

Gould’s Orbea Lobular Cross does without most of the current buzzwords, with its straight 1-1/8in head tube, threaded bottom bracket and normal-sized tubing throughout – not to mention the full alloy construction.

But the US mountain bike and cyclo-cross pro has still nabbed wins at two USGP races and the Boulder Cup, plus numerous podiums, while competing against riders on more technologically advanced hardware.

Barring the different paint job, Gould’s Orbea is the same model she used last year. “It’s pretty straightforward but this sucker gets it done!” she told us just before the New Belgium Cup in Fort Collins, Colorado. “I get what I get and everything works well and it’s quality – that’s for me the biggest thing, to have stuff that works and lasts.”

Despite the lack of carbon fiber, Gould’s all-alloy Lobular Cross frame is still competitively light at around 1,400g and in fact, weighs less than some composite chassis we’ve tested. Moreover, the modestly massaged tube profiles – especially the lobed down tube from which the frame gets its name – helps eke more performance out of the triple-butted 6000 series alloy.

<img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975335-1106roahifuxl-e789880.jpg?quality=90&lb=1067,800&background=white" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975335-1106roahifuxl-e789880.jpg?quality=90&lb=940,704&background=white 940w, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975335-1106roahifuxl-e789880.jpg?quality=90&lb=728,545&background=white 728w, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975335-1106roahifuxl-e789880.jpg?quality=90&lb=556,416&background=white 556w, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975335-1106roahifuxl-e789880.jpg?quality=90&lb=355,266&background=white 355w, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975335-1106roahifuxl-e789880.jpg?quality=90&lb=340,254&background=white 340w, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291111975335-1106roahifuxl-e789880.jpg?quality=90&lb=320,239&background=white 320w, " sizes="(min-width: 992px) 940px, (min-width: 768px) 728px, (min-width: 576px) 556px, calc(100vw - 20px)" width="1067" height="800" class="wp-image-274251 alignnone size-full img-container__image" alt="Orbea's Lobular tubeset features a down tube that morphs from vertically ovalized at the head tube to horizontally ovalized at the bottom bracket – with a unique four-lobed shape in the middle" title="1291111975335-1106roahifuxl-e789880" data-source-name="James Huang/BikeRadar"> Orbea’s lobular tubeset features a down tube that morphs from vertically ovalized at the head tube to horizontally ovalized at the bottom bracket – with a unique four-lobed shape in the middle: orbea’s lobular tubeset features a down tube that morphs from vertically ovalized at the head tube to horizontally ovalized at the bottom bracket – with a unique four-lobed shape in the middle James Huang/BikeRadar Orbea’s Lobular tubeset features a down tube that morphs from vertically ovalized at the head tube to horizontally ovalized at the bottom bracket – with a unique four-lobed shape in the middle

The build kit is straightforward as well, with a Shimano Dura-Ace 7900 drivetrain, carbon-spoked Mavic R-Sys Premium wheels wrapped in Maxxis clincher tires, Kore wide-profile cantilevers, an Easton EC90X carbon ‘cross fork and a Selle Italia SLR saddle. Changes from last season include the new PRO carbon seatpost and alloy bar and stem.

Total bike weight as pictured here is a respectable 7.88kg (17.37lb). Gould was running a two-ring setup when we caught up with her in Colorado but she says she’s done it both ways and doesn’t have a strong preference in most cases.

“I’ve done the double and I’ve done the single in the front,” she said. “There are some courses where I haven’t even ridden that much in my big ring but the double in the front is definitely great, especially for Europe where you have a 200m paved start. When I was running a single 42T at the front I’d be a little spun out.”

<img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291112325685-16mfkt9mov82i-025e651.jpg?quality=90&lb=1067,800&background=white" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291112325685-16mfkt9mov82i-025e651.jpg?quality=90&lb=940,704&background=white 940w, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291112325685-16mfkt9mov82i-025e651.jpg?quality=90&lb=728,545&background=white 728w, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291112325685-16mfkt9mov82i-025e651.jpg?quality=90&lb=556,416&background=white 556w, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291112325685-16mfkt9mov82i-025e651.jpg?quality=90&lb=355,266&background=white 355w, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291112325685-16mfkt9mov82i-025e651.jpg?quality=90&lb=340,254&background=white 340w, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291112325685-16mfkt9mov82i-025e651.jpg?quality=90&lb=320,239&background=white 320w, " sizes="(min-width: 992px) 940px, (min-width: 768px) 728px, (min-width: 576px) 556px, calc(100vw - 20px)" width="1067" height="800" class="wp-image-274304 alignnone size-full img-container__image" alt="Shimano don't offer dedicated Dura-Ace 7900 outer chainrings in 'cross-specific sizes so the usual seamless look is somewhat interrupted here" title="1291112325685-16mfkt9mov82i-025e651" data-source-name="James Huang/BikeRadar"> Shimano don’t offer dedicated dura-ace 7900 outer chainrings in ‘cross-specific sizes so the usual seamless look is somewhat interrupted here: shimano don’t offer dedicated dura-ace 7900 outer chainrings in ‘cross-specific sizes so the usual seamless look is somewhat interrupted here James Huang/BikeRadar Shimano don’t offer dedicated Dura-Ace 7900 outer chainrings in ‘cross-specific sizes so the usual seamless look is somewhat interrupted here

Experienced ‘crossers will quickly deem Gould’s clinchers to be inferior to most of her competitors’ more supple tubulars. However, Gould successfully runs her Maxxis tires at shockingly low pressures – as low as 23psi up front and 25psi out back – and says the company’s latest Mud Wrestler tread offers excellent traction: “I raced these at the Boulder Reservoir and they were awesome in that loose, sandy stuff.”

Gould says her main goal for the rest of the season is to the win the US cyclo-cross national championship in Bend, Oregon. Depending on the outcome, her season may simply end there – or not.

“Winning nationals is a big goal of mine,” she said. “If I win nationals I have to go to worlds and definitely, if you have a chance of getting on the podium or winning the world championships, you should probably go! I’m definitely open to it but I’m not going for Christmas week or Koksijde so if I do end up going it’ll probably be right before or maybe 10 days before.”

<img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291112325673-t0l76j0ubvrr-7e125da.jpg?quality=90&lb=1067,800&background=white" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291112325673-t0l76j0ubvrr-7e125da.jpg?quality=90&lb=940,704&background=white 940w, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291112325673-t0l76j0ubvrr-7e125da.jpg?quality=90&lb=728,545&background=white 728w, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291112325673-t0l76j0ubvrr-7e125da.jpg?quality=90&lb=556,416&background=white 556w, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291112325673-t0l76j0ubvrr-7e125da.jpg?quality=90&lb=355,266&background=white 355w, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291112325673-t0l76j0ubvrr-7e125da.jpg?quality=90&lb=340,254&background=white 340w, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1291112325673-t0l76j0ubvrr-7e125da.jpg?quality=90&lb=320,239&background=white 320w, " sizes="(min-width: 992px) 940px, (min-width: 768px) 728px, (min-width: 576px) 556px, calc(100vw - 20px)" width="1067" height="800" class="wp-image-274296 alignnone size-full img-container__image" alt="Georgia Gould (Luna) says these Maxxis Mud Wrestler clinchers offer excellent grip in the wet – and that she's able to run as little as 20psi up front" title="1291112325673-t0l76j0ubvrr-7e125da" data-source-name="James Huang/BikeRadar"> Georgia gould (luna) says these maxxis mud wrestler clinchers offer excellent grip in the wet – and that she’s able to run as little as 20psi up front: georgia gould (luna) says these maxxis mud wrestler clinchers offer excellent grip in the wet – and that she’s able to run as little as 20psi up front James Huang/BikeRadar

Gould says these Maxxis Mud Wrestler clinchers offer excellent grip in the wet – and that she’s able to run as little as 20psi up front

Complete bike specifications

Frame: Orbea Lobular Cross, 54cm Fork: Easton EC90X Headset: FSA Orbit IS Stem: PRO Vibe 7 OS, 90mm x -6° Handlebar: PRO Vibe 7 OS, 42cm (c-c) Tape: cork Front brake: KORE Race+ Rear brake: KORE Race+ Brake levers: Shimano Dura-Ace STI Dual Control ST-7900 Front derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace FD-7900-F Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace RD-7900-SS Shift levers: Shimano Dura-Ace STI Dual Control ST-7900 Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace CS-7900, 12-27T Chain: Shimano Dura-Ace CN-7900 Crankset: Shimano Dura-Ace FC-7900, 172.5mm, 39/46T w/ Thorne outer chainring Bottom bracket: Shimano SM-BB7900 Pedals: Shimano XTR PD-M970 Wheelset: Mavic R-Sys Premium clincher Front tire: Maxxis Mud Wrestler, 700x35mm Rear tire: Maxxis Mud Wrestler, 700x35mm Saddle: Selle Italia SLR Kit Carbonio Seatpost: PRO PLT Critical measurements

Rider’s height: 1.75m (5ft 9in) Rider’s weight: 61kg (135lb) Saddle height, from BB (c-t): 748mm Saddle setback: 55mm Seat tube length, c-t: 585mm Seat tube length, c-c: 545mm Tip of saddle nose to C of bars (next to stem): 515mm Saddle-to-bar drop (vertical): 60mm Head tube length: 155mm Top tube length: 550mm Total bicycle weight: 7.88kg (17.37lb)