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I see a new DJ bike at eurobike on pinkbike and they says it’s announced along with 6 other bikes. Any idea what they are. Can’t seem to find any other info
I heard they're changing their name to Bronze
Good one
Found a rather industrial looking e-bike on Instagram and an enduro ish looking thing called a satsuma. The e-bike is next level filing cabinet aesthetic.
Have they kept the existing 36-bike range and now added another 6? Sounds like lessons have been remembered...
and an enduro ish looking thing called a satsuma
That’s a kids bike. A very nice enduro one, but definitely a kids bike
Phase Evo (Bosch SX) is now available in full 29er
It's not a surprise that Orange struggle financially. Whilst ebikes are constantly evolving, they are trying to sell one that looks like the analogue bikes they were selling 20+ years ago
Instead of a huge lump of melting carbon?
All the new bikes:
https://m.pinkbike.com/news/orange-launch-five-new-bikes-at-eurobike-2024.html
Phase Evo sounded good at 19.5kg but when MBR weighed the mullet version it was 20.8kg.
Wow. Orange really do only have one furrow and they're ploughing the shit out of it forever and ever.
I want to like Orange, y'know UK bike and all that, I have an older 26in bike that looks a lot better than any of these new models and rides great and still hasn't cracked, I'm a fan of single pivot bikes. But, I get the impression in their factory they only have a metal guillotine and a flat sheet bender, they need to invest in a tube bender and some rollers so their bikes don't have multiple small folded flat sheets of metal welded together all over the place that look like a GCSE DT project.
How did anyone know they were new. They look like the old ones. Are as expensive as the old ones and as desirable as the old ones. Clearly lessons weren’t learnt
I would also like to like Orange. They're local, hand made, unique, stubborn as hell. If the bikes were nice I'd be all in.
Disclaimer: I had 4 Orange's in a row from around 1999 to 2010
‘New’ is doing a lot of heavy lifting there…
Looks depend on the model for me. Patriot = hideous...Phase Evo = not hideous. The ride quality of current models stands up to the competition. They ride comparably, sometimes better, than other high end suspension bikes. All else being equal if Orange frames were suddenly changed to carbon or tubed aluminium it wouldn't magically make them ride any better. Same goes for the suspension design. It's not the best I've ridden, but there are many far more complicated designs that aren't as good.
If Orange want to keep making the frames themselves, at a small scale that is saleable for them, and be able to proclaim they're "Built In Britain" there may not be much choice but to keep going with the folding. Are there any aluminium companies here making tubing good enough? The cost of procuring a tubing machine is probably in the hundreds of thousands. One capable of the hydroforming quality produced by Taiwanese frame makers could well be in the millions. And then end up with a bike that rides no better.
They appear to have 38 models in the range and each have a few variants. Absolutely no idea how that makes money...and looking at many, the front wheels appear to have left the rest of the bike quite far behind!
I loved my P7 back in 1997, but I'm completely lost amongst so many options.
I’d really like to think that the absolutely massive chainstays are a design choice, and not just what’s needed to avoid the tyre hitting the seat tube
At least on a couple of their bikes, it seems to be that the smallest size of that model has reach equal to chainstay length. That's the M for 29ers or S for mullets. The rest of the sizes of that model (in the same rear wheel size) get the same chainstay length.
1 year warranty on a £1000 dirt jump frame ?
Sadly I don't think it'll be long before they go pop again. Too far behind the times and their profile has dropped massively
an enduro ish looking thing called a satsuma.
I heard whisper there's a Chinese made version coming too... the Mandarin.
Boom-tish!
I generally dislike the look of ebikes but that new Patriot looks like quite a weapon. Seems like they've now managed to find the balance between their usual boxy downtubes and the ability to fit a battery in one without making them significantly bigger. I actually like them both.
New Stage 6 - wow its got a storage compartment. Just save money and weight and build one without one.
Satsuma - they'll sell millions of kids bikes that cost I assume at least £3000. Yeh...
Disappointed with the pinkbike article that mentions this new £1000 jump frame but has no pics. Hope its a new-age MsIsle... Thought it sounded spendy but a SC Jackal is £900...
Plenty kids will be riding bikes that price...aware it happened a lot more down south, but go to any race these days and there are many kids on very nice kit.
It shouldn't be a surprise, the price certainly is, but equally isn't either.
I’d really like to think that the absolutely massive chainstays are a design choice, and not just what’s needed to avoid the tyre hitting the seat tube
They are a design choice. Orange have been pushing the envelope on geometry and these bikes with the huge long chainstays can go very fast.
Too far behind the times and their profile has dropped massively
I'm obviously a bit of a fan, but I really don't think they need to "get with the times" - the bikes are sooo much fun to ride.
You are bang on about their profile though, it is a big concern. And they could obviously do with getting the pricing a little less aspirational too.
But even as an Orange enthusiast, I'm not loving the new downtube design - I'd rather go without storage and water bottle space (if it has that)...
Against the grain on here I quite like the new frames TBH, Finally a well placed bottle mount too! I'll always like Orange as they're the home team (had enough of 'em) However they're not good value for money, So I've jumped ship (still want a Stage 5 though)
They need to get rid of the storage and stick another set of bottle bosses in that location. That plus a small bottle on the top tube would be enough.
No doubt a bit easier to make as well as looking much nicer. I think the Stage 6 etc without the storage look great in the flesh. Pictures never do them justice. And they are great fun to ride, though the newer ones are too long for my liking.
I’d really like to think that the absolutely massive chainstays are a design choice, and not just what’s needed to avoid the tyre hitting the seat tube
Seems like the latter. This is a Phase Evo mullet of unknown size (all 448 chainstay anyway) rotated around the pivot:
I think the STW image upload isn't working on the new server yet, so https://postimg.cc/vcvQsWs6
Oranges have straight seat tubes (except the small BB offset on some models). This provides deeper dropper insertion and keeps the actual and effective seat tube angles similar. IMO preferable to a huge bend for additional tyre clearance and shorter stays that leaves little dropper insertion and a seat tube angle which is far from accurate at heights above or below where the company measured. The low bottom bracket also sits the seat tube down closer to the tyre. I think those long-ish chainstays are chosen for stability as much as tyre/seat tube clearance, like Geometron and others are doing. The tyre gets close to the seat tube on my Stage Evo, but doesn't touch, unlike a certain Kona with short stays I had a few years back.
I don't really think Orange are behind the times. The construction method is just a different way of doing things and does have it's own set of benefits and negatives. I wonder how many carbon bikes produced now look modern from the outside but are actually primitive outdated ways of doing things that more advanced manufacturers left behind 10-15 years ago?