It's been a while in the making, but finally starting to get all the bits put together: prototype Orange frame (I thought it was a Sub-zero, but suspect it might actually be a mIII?), hammerschmidt + alfine drivetrain & E150 fork… it's going to be an interesting experiment this 🙂 it'll probably be a hopeless pig to ride, but nothing ventured nothing gained eh?

Should be all built up by the end of the week, ride report to come, stay tuned if you're interested 8)

Do you have money to burn? 😀

always good to experiment… looks interesting indeed!

that'll have the steering circle of an oil tanker

the future starts here…………….

God, I hope you don't need to adjust the chainline much! 😉

that'll have the steering circle of an oil tanker

yeah… I suspect the fork might be a bit loooong… I thought the frame was a Sub-zero, which is cool with up to 160mm (I think?) but if it is a mIII then I think it's designed for 100-130mm…

the future starts here…………….

Hopefully, derailleur-less riding FTW! 😆

Looks interesting, how much was the hammerschmidt out of interest? and did you fit it to the frame yourself? very tempted by one!

Looks interesting, how much was the hammerschmidt out of interest?

I got mine from the States, £300 all in (cranks, shifter and BB), luckily avoided customs etc by having it brought in through LHR with a mate travelling from NYC 🙂

Ended up having to buy another BB as they sent me the FR version rather than the correct AM model… still, worked out much cheaper 🙂 Only concern will be warranty, touch wood I have no issues!

did you fit it to the frame yourself?

you need to get your BB & ISCG mounts faced with a specific (and expensive!) tool, not many bike shops have it to hand, I used Leisure Lakes and can highly recommend them 🙂

Do you have money to burn?

So far, what you see here owes me 'just' £700 or so, final build cost should be around a grand(ish)… not too bad I don't think 🙂

that looks great so far, looking forward to the full build pics and hearing how it rides, seriously want a hammerthingy too, maybe santa will bring me one!

God, I hope you don't need to adjust the chainline much!

Hopefully it'll all line up OK… don't have a chain handy to try it out, but it looks OK by eye (and there is the option to put spacers on the BB I guess?)

BTW, anyone have a thought on the frame, ie. more likely to be a prototype of which: Sub-zero or mIII? Might call Orange in the 'morrow to get a definitive answer (it's stamped Proto 15 on the BB, not much help!) Should really check with them as to what fork it's designed for!

Seems a bit of an odd build. Is there any point in the hammerschmidt on that bike? Will you be using it for xc?

It would be quite smart if you ditched the Alfine and just had two gears at the front. Also the forks are a funny choice unless you got em dead cheap

Be very interested to hear how it goes running an Alfine hub and a Hammerschmidt crank setup at the same time… Hurry up and get it rolling! 😉

Will you be using it for xc?

Ummm… no… more 'all-mountain' / 'trail centre' type stuff 🙂

It would be quite smart if you ditched the Alfine and just had two gears at the front

Certainly on the cards… but will try the Alfine hub out for a bit to see how it goes.

Also the forks are a funny choice unless you got em dead cheap

Bought them ages ago as a spare set for my Enduro, and yes, I did get them pretty cheaply 🙂 Some don't like the E150, but I find it a very good fork, love it on my Enduro so hopefully it goes well in a hardtail setup!