Joe Barnes Bids Farewell to Orange Bikes

 I’ve got a Stage 5. Test rode one expecting it to follow all the online tropes. But it was actually really fun and playful and surprisingly light too. So I bought one. No issues in last 2 years and its been great on local mellow rides and BPW gives loads of confidence.

Anyway off topic.

Joe I’ve enjoyed your videos that buck the usual bike edit trend, especially the Bee Gees 4th member vid and look forward to hearing your plans. Hope it is Hope. That would be a nice move.

 Totes. In the Enduro thread about 30% of the posts are about cracked frames on 2020 and 2021 bikes. They have become throwaway items (that cost £3500 for the frame only). Having my bike last 20-odd years is a fantasy.
What P7 have you got, the nickel plated one?

 Bombproof? Really? A lot of my British mates used to ride Fives and as simple and basic as they looked (the bikes, not my mates) they actually rode pretty well but bombproof they were not hence none of my mates ride Orange anymore. Every single one of the frames cracked sooner or later (swing arms, seat tubes, ... ) and some of them multiple times. Nice thing is, every time you crack the swing arm, they replace it plus you get a new set of bearings and since that seems to happen every year and half you never have to buy new bearings! On top of that, they seem to discontinue old colour schemes after each season so you also get a new paint job with the new swing arm! One of my mates bikes is like a chameleon, it has a different colour each season.

I kinda dig the unique look of them, they are nice to ride but way too expensive given how failure prone they seemed to have been and how relatively simple the engineering behind them is.

 @PetrC: That's probably part of the expense, factoring in the replacement swingarm cost.
But have you seen the modern frames up close? They are very complex pieces of folded metal, much more impressive than a standard four-bar alu frame. That's part of the cost too (plus the UK wages vs Taiwanese wages).

 @jaame: Yeah bud. The nickel plated one. Its still got the original Pace RC35 forks on it. Amazingly it has the original Alivio rear mech which hasnt needed a jot of maintenance. Ironic compared to the xtr mech that lasted less than 2 years.

 @PetrC: So if they replace the items FOC then how does that make them expensive?

 @bombdabass: because the warranty (and extra) cover for anything you buy is rolled into the purchase price. You get nothing actually for free

 @PetrC:
We sell a brand of American carbon framed bikes with 100% warranty claims so far ….not one lasted longer than 20 months!!

 If you want bomb proof buy a Geometron!!

 I’ve snapped three

 @bombdabass: he wasn’t talking about the expense of the bikes. He was talking about their “bombproof-ness”

 @Murfdog: I'd love to know which brand this is

 Other than the geometry changes your 11 year old blood probably rides similar to the new Orange bikes.
Personally I could see them being a good buy if they were priced accordingly. Just have a hard time why anyone would be willing to pay a premium price for a non premium bike. For the same (or less) money I would much rather have something like a Santa Cruz or Yeti.

 @murfio: lol you wouldn't?

 I couldn't agree more! I always get so stoked watching Joe ride and schralp turns. All the best to Joe!

 Is that a hint of where Joe is going, Hope so?!

 I don’t understand this comment. Do you mean that riders who already ride and enjoy their Orange bikes will have a diminished experience now that a rider is no longer sponsored by Orange?

 @pmhobson:

 What? Are you saying Joe is really ugly? LOL!! JK.