Orange is moving fast in the e-MTB space and at Eurobike 2019 launched 2 new Orange e-Bikes and announced an update to the current Orange Charger.
Orange e-Bikes at Eurobike
One of the benefits of handing the design, manufacture, and finish of your bikes in-house is that you’re able to react quickly to market trends or component launches. So when Shimano came along with an updated internal 8035 battery, Orange we’re able to leap on it fairly quickly. And seeing the popularity in mullet bikes, they were able release bikes that benefit from mix wheel sizes too.
At Eurobike Orange had a total of 2 new Orange e-Bikes to show us, plus an update to the Orange Charger e-MTB that we reviewed just a few months ago. The new Orange E.P.O range now consists of the Orange Charger, Orange Surge 29, and Orange Phase along with the previously announced Surge 27.5.
2020 Orange Phase
The Orange Phase was a bit of a surprise for us at Eurobike. We had heard rumours of the new Surge 29, but the Phase was something we had no idea about.
Those of you who have already read about the new Orange Switch 6 know about Orange’s new mismatched wheel bikes, and the Phase is basically the Switch 6 with a Shimano motor and battery attached.
Carrying you over bumps, rocks and roots is a front 29er, while the rear of the bike uses an agile 27.5in wheel. The idea being the Phase will be able to charge and roll-over the big stuff, while retaining the playfulness and agility of smaller wheeled bike.
The Phase, like all of the Orange E.P.O bikes this year, uses a Shimano STEPS motor. Orange uses the E8000 motor for all of its full-suspension e-Bikes, and all bikes feature the more compact Shimano BT-E8035 internal battery.
Using this new battery has given Orange a chance to redesign the downtube of the bikes, it’s now a lot slimmer and has a much lower profile than before. Moving to the 8035 battery also means that the Phase benefits from the new keyless battery latch. The system uses a single 4mm Allen key to remove the battery.
Other than those changes, this E.P.O is your typical Orange single-pivot suspension design with 160mm of rear-wheel travel, and 160mm upfront. There will be various build options to choose from, plus all the usual Orange colour and decal options too.
Stainless steel bashguard. 2020 Orange Phase at Eurobike 27.5in rear wheel, 29er front. 2020 Orange Phase. New power button on top-tube.
Orange Phase Features
- 160mm front travel, 160mm rear.
- 29in front wheel, 27.5in rear.
- New slimmer downtube with Shimano 8035 internal battery.
- New keyless battery removal.
- New power button location.
- Shimano Steps E8000 motor.
2020 Orange Surge 29
You might be forgiven for thiking that the 2020 Surge 29 is just the 29er version of the Orange Surge that launched earlier in the year and paved the way for the new breed of Orange e-Bikes. Well, it is and it isn’t.
The Surge 29er does add larger wheels to the big travel e-MTB platform, but just as we have seen with the Phase, it also gets an updated internal battery, and with it, the benefits of a lower profile downtube, better weight distribution and new power button placement.
Metric shocks. New top-tube power button. 29in wheels front and wheels.
Orange Surge 29 Features
- 160mm front travel, 150mm rear.
- 29in wheels front and rear.
- Slimmer downtube and Shimano 8035 internal battery.
- New power button on top tube.
- Alpine-Trail Honed Geometry.
Orange Charger
Although the Orange Charger launched just a few months ago, Orange has given it the same updated battery and downtube treatment as the newer bikes. The previous Charger had already benefited from a seriously tweaked downtube, but now with the slimmer internal battery, Orange has been able to do more to slim the bike down more.
In our review of the Orange Charger, we were super impressed with its speed and handling, those characteristics will still be there, but now in an even more refined package.
Low-profile tubing on the new Charger! Charger 2.0 The new Charger gets a slimmer downtube and new battery.
Orange Charger Features
- 150mm front travel, 145mm rear travel.
- Slimmer downtube and internal 8035 Shimano battery.
- Keyless battery removal.
- Trail geometry.
- Shimano E8000 motor.
All the new Orange E-Bikes should be added to the Orange website soon, and they should be available to test at upcoming demo events held across the country soon.
