There are few brands that are as iconic and rich in heritage as Orange, their single pivot frames still sharing the same silhouette as they did when they first headed down that design path in the nineties. Their aluminium monocoque fabrication is pretty unique within the cycle industry and is a technique they have been developing and honing over a long period of time. Pulling out the flat sheets of aluminium from the racks it’s hard to imagine the final product destined to be ripping down the trails…
Based over three sites a stone's throw apart in West Yorkshire, Orange has always stayed true to themselves, their philosophy, and is far from the image of ‘a bloke in his shed’ that has been thrown around before. I’ll admit to being naive to the amount of time, effort, and sheer skill these guys put into their bikes, but seeing the production first-hand makes it clear in my mind of not only what makes an Orange an Orange, but why they have and will continue down their individualistic road.
Last year was a transitional phase for the company with original founders Lester Noble and Steve Wade stepping aside and Ashley Ball taking the reins; a man no stranger to the company having been in charge of Bairstow Sheet Metal, the company that fabricates Orange’s iconic frames. Now with both companies ‘unified’ and under the same guidance of Ashley, it has opened up a fresh and exciting chapter for Orange to push forward into the future.
MENTIONS: @orangebikes /
@rossbellphoto
Lovely.
@Paul1967: it makes more sense, otherwise the pic with the frames waiting to be powder coated would have represented quite a few weeks worth of work!
I wonder how many frames they get back through warranty claims?
Look nice though
Sorry bro; we stole it.
Best bikes by far ... shhh stage 6 inbound
I think you're doing fine. Thanks for answering
See this: 4.bp.blogspot.com/-EcIIq7Z39j4/VEjkiCyWa5I/AAAAAAAAEJ0/ljxajWQDTKE/s1600/derosa2.JPG
vs this: www.mtb-mag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/IMG_0089.jpg
Personally I prefer the chunky, industrial look of raw-ish welds.
'http://s35.photobucket.com/user/Inferno182/media/IMG_20140206_200834_zps665ba5bb.jpg.html
look at those oranges in the first few pics, theres some genuinely ugly welds there.
compared to some of the welds we see in this article.
i think a lot of the flak regarding oranges welds stems from that trade show article.
s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/ee/c2/8a/eec28aea6ada8e8468f203cc5f77adad.jpg
Stack o' dimes is where it is at. Also talented and skilled workers on the TIGs and proper QC FTW!
check his other stuff
The design / look follows through the range and they have obviously got to the stage where they can produce a strong, light, stiff frame using that style of production, are they 100% as refined as they could be with other methods of production, possibly not - But does that really matter? Would 5% lighter or stronger really make enough of a difference to can their whole niche?
I for one would be mortified if orange went to boring hydroformed tubes and I think a lot of their customer base would be too.
Also, the way you just ignored everyone telling you how ludicrous your original post was is kind of funny too.
It doesn't matter how many welds it's got once it been through the heat treating process it's like it's made from one piece of aluminium.
If hydroforming was ludicrous i'm sure the bigger bicycle manufacturers wouldn't do it. The front triangle is ecentially 3 main tubes like any other bike, and I personally think that an Orange with less welds on it would be better, especially when you could keep roughly the same overall appearance.
They have a totally different riding quality to anything else you can buy, if you like that then they're great. The fact that Orange are in business, making money and still producing well-reviewed bikes that you see regularly on the trails says everything you need to know about how well they are doing.
I would love to demo the new stuff as mine was before the recent slack and low era.
love the ones i have but i cant say im digging the looks on the latest models, leave the curvy tubing to hydroforming madness like the nukeproofs. Give me something that looks like a girder.
Oh and bring back the patriot (66/07-09 era which had the shock shuttles) that was a bike you could setup however you wanted
Hoping the new one won't be too much better as I really can't afford to drop £3-4k on a bike right now!
Plus UK tax costs, land costs, material costs. Probably 95% of all bikes that are made come from Giants factory in Taiwan, why do we need to question and hate on other companies that dare to build a bike in the UK? Yea you can buy a YT for less, and I am sure you will be happy as you sit there in the car park at the trail centre looking at a sea of other people on YTs. Obviously there is a market out there for people, otherwise they wouldn’t still be going.
Also some good rumors on frame reliability on show here, I have cracked 6 Tai made frames over the years, is this not like the pot calling the kettle black?!
I dont feel the price of orange frames is unjustified at all. You set the price for your own products and should never have to justify it.
Id also be willing to bet that on an average weekend at a UK trailcentre you see more boutique brands now than you do the "big brands", disregarding the entry level stuff of course.
For the record I aint mad keen on Orange bikes as something I would ride, Single Pivot aint for me. But I respect them as a UK company trying to make their way, mass producing lots of high end bikes. Excluding HTs I cant think of another UK company that mass produces full sus bikes here in the UK, DMR have only just joined the party designing full sus for example and the bikes arent UK built. Whereas Orange throw out thousands of these. Whilst they aint for me I have a massive amount of respect for them for doing that,
I dont think they are deliberately over charging for the sake of it, its probably what it costs
Supply and demand dictates that if demand is high, price will be high. Clearly the demand for Orange is high, judging by the number of them you see about.
Clearly my plastic fantastic made in China Nomad is a better bike, objectively speaking, but I still love the look of Oranges. I personally would never buy one, because I think for the tech you get, they are overpriced. Made in the UK or not. They are not worth the money to me, but that says more about my inability to get myself into a better earning job than it does about their ability to set prices for their own bikes.
Regarding the R&D argument, I have always thought it was bollocks. Bike companies have designers on the books full time. A prototype run of frames in Taiwan is cheaper than a prototype run of tyres. I heard that from the horse's mouth in Taiwan. And yet, new tread patterns always cost the same as the old ones! It's a big lie, the "we have to cover the costs of R&D". Clearly Orange don't have to cover the cost of R&D hahaha! (Unless you call changing the angle of a jig by one degree R&D).
I think they have reached the point where the distinctive look is the hallmark of orange - Love it or hate it they ride well and will hopefully continue to be a strong business - Who is left commercially producing bikes now in their own country since Intense have packed it in? - Nicolai, anyone else?