OK, I know the Strange 29er is still just a prototype. But what do we reckon? Will it be worth the wait? I mean they already have the Gyro and the Strange prototype looks as though it’s just a Gyro with a bit more travel and a slacker head angle. Sounds good, but that also means longer chain stays and a bit more weight (the Gyro is no lightweight either).

Depends on whether you want a longer travel, slacker Gyro I suppose? Shirley?

I do. But I don’t want a heavier one with longer chainstays.

Still, it doesn’t look as though anybody wants to play this silly game anyway.

I believe the Strange is made from thicker gauge filing cabinet for better stiffness, so it will be heavier on that front too.

I had a very brief razz on one of the prototypes and it felt, surprisingly enough, very much like a Five with big wheels – fairly hefty, still very keen handling, but unstoppably bulldozer like rolling ability. I’ve not really played around with 29ers though, so don’t have much to compare it with.

I’ve had a car park pedal on Tom from Mojo’s proto. It’s much more ‘built’ than the Gyro in the Swingarm and heavier – his was as light as my Gyro but he had carbon wheels, full XO, gripshift, 1×10. I think it’s 140mm at the back so it’s a lot more travel and it’s a lot more slacker. It is going to be heavier. It’s going to be a lot of bike.

I wouldn’t get too hung up on stays length, it’s the new headangle when it comes to obsessive bike geometry disorder. I’ve ridden the Whyte M-109 with it’s super short stays and it was nice. But then I have a Gyro and it’s also really nice. Conclusion, don’t judge a bike on a single figure in the geo table.

You won’t be waiting long, I hear they’re taking preorders on the LT Gyro shortly.

The Gyro is very much Rumblefish territory, or slightly burlier than a 120mm forked Tallboy…

Sounds as though it could be more of a 29er Alpine than a 29er Five then. Especially if you believe the “140mm on a 29er is like 160mm on a 26″ bike” mantra.

Not quite, the Gyro’s swingarm is not as hefty as the the Five’s… and the big wheels only compensate when you’re actually on the ground ploughing through stuff. Drop to flat and 110mm is 110mm regardless of wheel size.

I think there’s going to be some overlap. Gyro – Five – Gyro LT – Alpine 160

There’s no 36mm 29er forks which is going to be the big factor. Gyro LT with 34s will prob come close though.

I wonder whether the Gyro LT will replace the current Gyro, in the same way that the Five got a bit longer and slacker after 2007, or whether they are really aimed at different riders.

It’s also interesting that Orange can’t make a 29er that rides like a Five. Or maybe they just don’t see the need.

No one makes a 29er that rides like a 26er. Is that not the point? They’ll always be different. And I did just say the limiting facotr would the 36mm stanchion forks, which is the fork maker not Orange.

Gyro was an ST4 replacement loosely, or rather it signalled the death of the ST4 in the lineup anyway. Gyro LT will be a bike in it’s own right.Tallboy LT hasn’t replaced the Tallboy for equally obvious reasons. Tallboy LT doesn’t ride like a Blur LT for equally obvious reasons.

Although I would say the Gyro rides just like a Five in that it’s a swingarmed, single pivot bike that’s a shed load of fun.

Thanks. I wasn’t having a go at Orange. Rather the prevailing wisdom that 26″ bikes will eventually be replaced by their 29er equivalents.

Of course, it may still be that the Gyro (or Gyro LT) represents a better set of compromises for most people than any of Orange’s 26″ offerings, which could then fall by the wayside. Only time will tell I guess.

Gary, any idea how your gyro compares to more XC bikes such as the Giant Anthem, Trek Superfly or Specialized Carve full sussers. Most of my rides are ~2hrs in the chiltern hills. I enter a few endurance events each year e.g .Kielder and Brass Monkeys XC so looking for a good all round 29er that will be fun on my normal rides but will not be overly cumbersome on the odd long race.

Sounds like a hell of a bike. Love to try one. A Dorado 29er fork though overkill for most of the UK would make it a real plough machine.

bruceandlauren: Oh it’s much ‘bigger’ than an Anthem or a Superfly. Although it’s only 110mm on the rear it really needs to be thought of as a 120mm bike – think Rumblefish, not Superfly (which I also have in). Weights below for size medium pro.

I’ve played with a variety of spec configurations.

Off the peg pro with PD-M505s is 31lbs
Off the peg with PD-M505s, bashguard double, Fox Doss and Hans Dampfs is 32lb 11oz (this killed it a bit)

Just changed the stock wheels for American Classic All Mountains and switched to new XT cageless pedals, done the Hans Dampfs Tubeless, still got the Dropper on: 31lbs 2oz

The current and last spec spec means I’ve managed to get a dropper and killer tyres on for almost the stock weight, and it’s really fun. It’ll currently skin a Five on anything except steep gnadgecore and bigger drops and jumps. As far as 31lb dropper equipped trail bikes go, it rides very light for what it is.

As for XC, I’ve done the maths and I can hit 28lb if I stick 2.25 Rocket Rons on those American classics and lose the dropper post and bashguard. 27lb might be doable if you throw silly money at it but I think you’d be missing the point of the bike.

I’d probably race it for fun at the 28lb spec above but don’t be under any impression that this is an Anthem or a Superfly. Think ‘attempt anything’ all day XC bike at one end of it’s spectrum, and hardcore trail bike and UK Enduro bike at the other.

A few words here, this is mostly based on me riding it as an almost stock bike so pre-dropper, pre hans dampfs, pre AC wheels.

http://www.cyclistno1.co.uk/blog/longtermer-orange-gyro-pro-2.htm

Double…

Ah, so it’s your blog that’s been making me lust after a Gyro then!

It’s the ” except steep gnadgecore” bit that puts me off though. I reckon a Gyro would be better than my 2006 Five for 90% of the natural Scottish trails I ride. But what I most want is to extend the range of stuff that I can get down. So a bike that is worse at the extremes may not be the way to go. Great blog though. Please keep it going.

I’ve had a few 29ers, with the early ones getting the front wheel up and over trail obstacles was very difficult, sometimes they didn’t actually want to go around corners either favouring straight on instead. To be honest I was almost put me off for a while.

I then got a 2Souls with super short stays/frame tucking the back wheel under you; the front comes up easily but is not excessive; it will stay down (fantastic hardtail). Goes around corners as well.

So thought I would get a Gyro, didn’t think the stays were that long (but come to think of it they probably are); but guess what the front comes up almost as easiy as the 2Souls, again not in an excessive way.
I haven’t ridden mine as much as Gary but in my view a great all round bike; I need to try it with a dropper post to get the best out of it down hill but at the moment, from experience it feels more like a SC Superlight (but less sketchy) rather than a lighter 5.

Having said that; ‘Roverpig’ a 2006 Orange 5 is more similar to the SC Superlight than the 12/13 Orange 5 which is a lot more bike (All Mountain some say). I think as a direct comparison you probably wouldn’t find the Gyro a less capable bike. I am guessing Gary was comparing the Gyro with more recent 5s and not an 06.

I reckon a Gyro would be better than my 2006 Five

I am guessing Gary was comparing the Gyro with more recent 5s and not an 06.

Ah, 2006 you say. Newer Fives are quite different geometry wise… I’m basing that on the newer slacker Fives of late as John says. I’ve ridden it down the Forest of Dean downhill trails which have plenty of steep, root filled little section and it was no bother – my gut feeling is that a ‘Scottish XC bike’ (not racing) is exactly what it is! I’ve got an ’08 Five and it’s certainly no more capable. So this is all based on the newer ones…

You could probably ask for a 140mm fork to be put on too if you wanted a bit more steep stuff capability…

Ah, so it’s your blog that’s been making me lust after a Gyro then!

Yeah sorry about that… 😳

So thought I would get a Gyro, didn’t think the stays were that long

The thing is, a single pivot with forward axle path, the stays are essentially shortening as you go through the travel. So as you as you sag the suspension, they’re already shorter than measured. And if you’re really squirting it hard out of a corner, guess what, they’re even shorter. Just another reason why it’s better to test ride something rather than get hung up on geo charts.

Dont trust him, he once bought an ick yellow Oo 456 😆

if it helps though, he also annihalted(sp) me on said Gyro on ‘my’ trails he hadnt ridden before 🙁 😯

Dont trust him, he once bought an ick yellow Oo 456

Haha!

(By the way, I think we’re coming up for the party, just sorting childcare and aiming to book a room somewhere)

Oh, Mark, just a heads up but I’ll be at FOD on Sunday, mainly a chilled/slow social going away ride for a mate if you fancy it?

excellant – mail me over at big vern 52 at hotmail dot com and we can discuss…im off hunting trails that way on the weekend so would be interested!

I rode both the Gyro and the 140 29 er at an Orange uplift day at Cwm Carn back to back with a Five ( I own a Five as well), the Gyro was staggeringly good, better up hill and equally good and probably faster than a 140 mm Five downhill.
The 140 29 er was a rocket ship, so fast it was unbelievable, in fact I could not slow it down and went over the top of a berm, could have been in the next county!
Steve Jones of Dirt mag reckons the fastest most capable 140 trail bike he has ever ridden is an Intense 29 140mm travel bike.
However I contacted some friends in Molini where I rode last year, posing the question of 29 er use on their Superenduro trails, and the riders using 29 ers did struggle on some of the super steep tight gnarly bits.
Certainly as an avid supporter of Orange bikes, I cannot decide to go down the Gyro route, given at 57yo I am getting a more wheels on the ground rider!!
No help really !!

The 140 29 er was a rocket ship, so fast it was unbelievable, in fact I could not slow it down and went over the top of a berm, could have been in the next county!

Uh huh. The bike was tooooo fast for the corner…

If I was being critical, the Hope X2 brakes with Hans Dampfs on could do with bigger rotors (or just bigger brakes)

See, there’s the problem. It looks as though a Gyro might be a nice upgrade from my 2006 Five (for the sort of riding I do), but the 140 29er could be even better. Oh well, guess I can keep my powder dry until it is actually released.

Thing was Jam bo, it picked it speed very quickly when the trail pointed downhill and was not in any way disturbed by the underlying trail, very smooth and fast lulling me into a false sense of security!!
I guess it would take a little longer to get used to its smooth trail ironing speed.

roverpig, we’ll have to wait and see but I think the LT is going to be a chore uphill and along compared to the Gyro.

Thing is, if you buy a bike for 90% of your riding you’ll enjoy it. If you buy a bike for 100% of your riding, you’re actually buying a bike for 10% of your riding if that makes sense.

Thing is, if you buy a bike for 90% of your riding you’ll enjoy it. If you buy a bike for 100% of your riding, you’re actually buying a bike for 10% of your riding if that makes sense.

Yes, that does make sense and is very sensible 🙂 The problem is, though, that I tend to judge the success of a ride by the toughest thing I’ve managed to ride. I care not a jot for average speed (that’s what the road bike is for), but if I can ride a section that I haven’t managed before (and am still in one piece) then it’s been a great day. Mind you, clearing a new climb counts just as much as a new descent.

Just had a nudge from Orange, I was wrong on the forks front, Gyro not warrantied for 140mm – my mistake! 😳

Used to say 140 on the 2012 Gyro Black n Gold page but now says 120, 😀

Is that because they kept breaking at 140mm or are Orange simply trying to create some space in the market for their new 140mm offering, I wonder 🙂

probably dont ride very nicely at 140, maybe more balanced at 120, never ridden one, like the look of them though 😀 cant imagine breaking one , they are pretty well built bikes at Orange.