Kelly Benefit Strategies will have a fleet of the Mavic Comete (rear) and iO (front) wheels for the time trials this year.
Kelly Benefit Strategies is stepping things up in 2010 with new gear from Contour, Orbea, Mavic, SRAM, Lazer and others.
The biggest change is the switch to Orbea bikes. Last season the team rode Gary Fisher Cronus race bikes, which are sometimes viewed as “race utility” bikes for their taller head tubes and optional hidden fender mounts. Orbea, from the Basque country of Spain, is supplying the team with the Orca, a pure race bike, first and foremost.
At the Kelly team camp this month, team mechanic Eric Jellum said that they have no problem getting bike weight down to the UCI legal minimum. New this year, the Orca incorporates a BB30 bottom bracket and its attendant added stiffness. As is the current trend in frame design, the Orca also uses a tapered 1.5-inch lower, 1 1/8-inch upper head tube, which is said to improve front end stiffness.
