[Closed] 29er Hardtail Clockwork conundrum.

Maybe take a look at the Ragley Big Wig. I'm having a lot of fun on mine and I'd be happy to use it for something like the Tour de Ben Nevis. Sizing wise I'm just over 6ft 1" and the 18" frame fits great with a 45mm stem and 750mm bars. More here.....

http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/ragley-bigwig-yes-or-no/page/3

Thanks for the reply Yetiman. ragley is one i looked at also. i will have a read.

If you are a lover of orange, you should know that a Clockwork should not be Ally or have 29" wheels
Go for the transam

I first bought a 29er ht for a similar reason. Most of my local off-road requires some tarmac work to either get to or link up. Either that or to use on a towpath that hasn't got tarmac but is flat, etc.

Firstly I had a Spesh Carve Expert which was great (now my son has it after outgrowing his hardrock and loving the carve from the day I got it) but I had an old school call for steel. So now I ride a Solaris which is a bit more all rounder than the carve and I absolutely love it. Mine is on 100mm forks but you can run 120mm to make the HA a degree slacker if you prefer.

Thanks guys, im under no illusion that Orange will re make the P7 and the clockwork in steel one day and i appreciate the old school train of thought on what orange should have done. I cant help but wonder about the lack of reviews on the 29er clockwork or indeed interest in the bike which probably should tell me something about it. Ive been reading alot about the Solaris though Normal man and they only get good feedback. Oh the choices!!!

On one parkwood?

Think WMB reviewed it and like the bike in general. Been plenty of owner reviews on here and they all seem to really like the Clockwork. If you're looking for bang for buck there's better specced bikes out there but if I was in the market for a 29" HT the Clockwork would be near the top of my list.

I suspect the clockwork is suffering from being mostly sold as built up and priced to sit well below the full sussers, hence will come up heavy. Reality is that the frame will weigh the same as a carve/mamasita/alu xtc etc so would happily build up to 24-25lb bike without much bother, but have the extra capability to take a 120m fork.

Whilst from the orange site, here's a nice clockwork built up for the same race:
[img] [/img]

hmmm vid link doesn't work

Thanks Yak, thats ruari watts bike, Ive spoken with him regarding this clockwork and what appeals to me is the 120mm of travel as opposed to the 100mm Orange are offering on the new 2015 model. ive emailed orange and they will not be giving the option to upgrade to a 120mm and will not honour the warranty even though the frame geomerty is exactly the same as the 2014 model (and you could upgrade). they aslo offer no hope upgrades either which is a real shame. i can only imagine this not to be an option as they are also running a 650b clockwork with a 120mm fork and dont want to muddle the two up. i really like the clockwork i have to say but somethings niggling at me...

I've got a Solaris and it's a great bike. Mind you, I'm sure the Clockwork (and all the other bikes mentioned) are great too. But coming from an Alpine I wonder whether a HT 29er will give you what you need. I dare say it will be faster uphill, but less comfortable and less capable going down. Isn't the Tour de Ben Nevis one of those events where you get most of your points on the descents? If so, you might just find that you have less fun, suffer more but don't actually finish any higher than you would on the Alpine. Mind you, I've never done the event, or ridden an Alpine, so take all that with a pinch of salt.

Not at all Rover pig, i absolutely take your point. the tour de ben nevis is one of those races/events that you score points for 5 timed sections. The alpine is a fantastic bike for the descents but im reasonably happy i could do this ok on a hardtail. The benefits for me are on the climbs and the bike and hike section. The amount of hardtails out on the day outweighed the full sussers this year but that said there are so many parts of any event like this where you would love to have three bikes in the bag to cover all bases but that's not going to happen. I have to say the solaris looks like a great bike.

Horlix, you need to look at Orange's website as they still warranty the Clockwork for a 130mm fork.

http://www.orangebikes.co.uk/support/warranty/

I run 120 on my Clockwork 29er and this was the bike that convinced me to sell my Five 26er.

hi curvature, according to the email i got from Orange today they said the warranty was void if i put any other fork greater than the stock 100mm on it.... Ive read the link and this conflicts with the email. Either the dude doesnt know what hes talking about or they will change it. On the 100s page it says there is no upgrade option..

I'd say who ever emailed you doesn't really know what they are on about.

I have found Orange's customer support really good in the past so if I were you I would give them a call. 😉

And if you do buy one print that warranty page out!

ive found them really good too in the past, i just cant help feeling like im enquiering about buying a bike less than 2k and that service may have lost its edge opposed to if i were buying a higher priced machine... the emails were pretty blunt to be fair. anyway ive emailed them back and pointed the warranty issue out...

Did you get anywhere with this Horlix?

Orange themselves are showing a Clockwork built up with 120mm forks on their Facebook page.

Ive got a 2014 clockwork in medium which suits me fine at 5'11" used it for general xc riding , some mini DH and done the Morvelo citycross races on it
http://www.orangebikes.co.uk/news/view/keeping_the_piece_at_citycross
its the one at the bottom , albeit a bit tricked up from standard its a superb bike that I wont be letting go anytime soon

I'm running a clockwork that I built up from a frame...

I really like it but it does have one significant drawback, and a few minor ones (to my mind)

The main issue I have, is rear tyre clearance, on the chain stays...
If you are coming from a big hitting full sus, and ride in a rocky area, you still want decent volume.
I found with a 2.25 ardent, I would buzz the stays when putting down the power or cornering.
and I am hard on tyres, and ride in a rocky area, so have settled on a crossmark exo 2.0, as about the biggest "tough" tyre I can get to fit.

minor issues are;
I would rather the seat tube was 31.6 not 30.9
and I would prefer cable routing for a dropper post.

I might be going bonkers here ...but I bought a clockwork s 2013 & it's fitted with 120mm as standard

I like the 650b version

[img] [/img]

which comes with a 120mm fork.

I'd wanna be able to get a 2.2" Rubber Queen in the back though.

And shame only option is a dropper, and none others.

Still want one though...

Lovely bike Creaser - I have had the picture of your bike as my screen saver for nearly six months now! Was going to build on the same colour frame but settled for a chrome clockwork25 29er frame instead. I love my medium 2014 clockwork 29er - I also bought a pre made basic - really cheap when the 2015 came out. Loads going cheap on ebay/pinkbike. And definately comes with warranty for up to 130mm. You can pick them up for £500 nearly new. Heard a few people complain about tyre clearance and my issue is the plastic cable clips - they do have a tendancy to come off - resorted to cable ties now. I noticed they don't seem to sell just frames anymore for the clockwork - I wonder if that will change.

I've been mulling over a 29er hard tail

I've no real plans to buy but enjoy looking

At the risk of stating the obvious Canyons send you a lot of bits for the money

To the point where you wonder if even if you didn't keep the frame you'd still be quids in

On the other hand I road my ancient Gringo today and it is still a great bike and shows, to me, that Orange can comission good aluminium frames from the East

Crush 650 on 140 mm job done ,I'm 5'9" & got a medium I've gone 1 x 10 & it's mint bike !.

Take a look at singular. The swift looks so good you just know it's going to be good. Reviews are ace. Genesis high latitude, comic solaria etc etc.

Solaris!