Briefly, the frame is a medium Orange Blood, with Rockshox 2Step Lyriks, Race Face cranks, bars, stem and new SRAM XO shifters and Elixir brakes (in pink and purple respectively)
NukeProof wheels, an E-Thirteen chain device and just ignore the saddle and seatpost – they’re off his touring bike…
Chipps adds…
Wow, you stick up a quick picture before going off for a long weekend and look what happens 🙂
To answer some of the questions and comments:
No, that saddle isn’t staying – I clearly said it was just whipped off my tourer because I currently don’t have a 27.2 post spare. Something squishier will go on it. The tyres, too, are easily changed. This isn’t being presented as ‘This is how all bikes should be set up’ – it’s being shown as a ‘Look, I just finished this before the weekend, here’s a quick picture…’
Yes, I AM mainly an All day/XC rider – and as such quite representative of the average Singletrack reader. I figured that as I have the chance to build up such a (silly) bike, perhaps my thoughts and experiences on such a bike might be of interest to those fellow mid-life-crisis riders who wonder if getting a ‘rad’ bike will make them radder (it probably won’t, but it should make being rubbish a whole lot of fun).
I won’t be the only rider on it. It’ll get its share of other testers on it. In fact, if anyone’s passing, they’re welcome to give it a go one evening and show everyone how it’s ‘meant’ to be ridden. It’ll be ridden in Calderdale, but also around the place at trail centres, all day rides and whatever sounds fun. It weighs in at 33lbs currently in the build in the picture. Just swapping the saddle out saved half a pound off that…
There’s nothing wrong with pink. I merely have a dry and rather contrary sense of humour and I figured if I’m going to be riding like I’m on a Barbie bike*, then I might as well showcase it. (* I would say ‘Riding like a girl’ but I know far too many VERY fast girls…)
The anodized components were a mix of what had just been sent in (SRAM XO in pink) and a few bits designed to clash with everything else (the Race Face cranks, Elixirs, pink grips and blue zip ties…) – Lighten up everyone, it’s not meant to be a concours fashion winner. 😉
I’m running Rockshox Lyriks because we’ve not seen a pair of the 2-Steps since our previous pair were recalled a couple of years ago.
How’s that? Keep the comments coming… The near-final build will appear in issue 50 of Singletrack.
. . . actually are you looking to employ an aesthetics technician at STW towers? . . . I have plenty of experience [img]http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/my-plugins/bb-smilies/default/icon_wink.gif[/img]
my helius AM has a low BB for a 167mm trail bike and i suffer mega pedal strike on air and coil [ccdb] shocks, irrespective of sag.
That’s a problem you suffer, not everyone will. Most DH bikes have a far lower bb than your helius and you don’t get everyone moaning about them.
Poor workman blames his tools.
anyone know which way the entrance is ???
“Most DH bikes have a far lower bb than your helius”
I don’t think he was referring to riding it like a DH bike all the time though
He did question its ability on techical climbs, which I believe Ben then added that the only climbing it would be doing was on roads and smooth tracks
How much does it weigh? It looks quite heavy? A Blur 4x would EAT that thing for breakfast!
Frame weight is apparently 3.3kg with shock, but I don’t know what kind of shock.
The BB height looks to be the best thing about this bike, certainly when coupled wih the 45″ wheel base and 66 degree head angle. My trail bike has a super low 13.2″ BB with 140mm of travel. Before that it had a 13.7″ BB and 150mm of travel; the bike became noticeable faster around corners when I reduced the travel and dropped the BB.
My contention is that low BBs are key to a bike that rails corners; the Blood looks like it could do everything – light wheels plus air can for trail riding; burly wheels and a spare coil shock for any UK DH track.
This might be the first iteration of a very different bike, but I reckon that Orange are really onto something here and are going to set a trend; it looks like the sort of bike that everyone who ended up buying 160mm trail bikes for the UK, should have bought instead but couldn’t because there wasn’t really any such thing outside of more specialist 4x bikes.
[i]”Ben then added that the only climbing it would be doing was on roads and smooth tracks”[/i]
I can’t really comment how/where Chipps is going to ride. I said the Blood was best suited to riding where the climbs are done on smooth/fast surfaces.
Hora – I would’ve thought weight isn’t really that far up the list of what makes a bike ride well on the types of trail the Blood is for. Geometry and suspension action would be though IMO 🙂
Ben the thing with this bike is that at 127mm of travel, there will be people who want to use it as trail/play bike so weight is a bit of an issue within reason. If the frame weight was 4kg with shock, then who wants to pedal that around even for only a few hours. If it weight 3kg (which it more or less appears to) then bingo, you’ve got a 30-31lb trail bike that with a different set of wheels can also be enjoyed on a DH track.
Ouch what have you done to upset hh45 chipps?
Good on chipps for having a go at stuff he hasn’t been comfortable with in the past.
And while I normally bemoan anyone getting too hung up on aesthetics either way, you chose those purple (purple for gods sake!) parts, presumably with an eye to color co-ordination and they look awful. Otherwise I like the look of it.
Er Chipps you missed out the Halo SAS Sam Pilgrim wheels. I’m not sure where you are going with the saddle mind. Still. She’s A beaut.
geetee1972 – yep although people will no doubt want to use if for trail riding, I would imagine the designers would happily point them at the Orange 5 rather than compromise the Blood. Orange should be applauded for designing bikes around geometry and bike-handling first rather than mm of travel 🙂
And once again… that Brooks saddle was only on there so that there was something for the photos… 🙂
errrrr…. liking the saddle but thats it 🙂
I’ll have the forks off you (mail in profile)