If you like Orange Bikes & titanium, you better get in quick – there are only 15 of these worldwide

No, this isn’t breaking news. But when we’ve got all these pretty pictures to show off, do you think we give two hoots about that?

Pah – just look at this thing!

So the bike is called the T7, and it’s from Orange Bikes. The ‘T’ stands for ‘Titanium’ and the ‘7’ refers to the 27.5in wheelsize. So what you’re looking at here is essentially a titanium version of the Halifax brand’s P7 hardcore hardtail.

Officially released at Core Bike The Bike Place in January, the T7 was accompanied by a 29in version called – wait for it – the T9. These two bikes are rather unusual models for Orange, mostly because they’re made in Taiwan (though to be fair, all Orange hardtails, including steel and alloy models, come out of Taiwan), but mostly because they’re made from Titanium – a material that Orange hasn’t worked with for about a decade.

The T7 and T9 have been made in celebration of Orange’s 30th Birthday, and to celebrate, these frames will only be offered in extremely limited numbers; there are just 15 of the T7 and 15 of the T9.

We caught up with Jay from Orange Bikes at the London Bike Show, and he mentioned that while some bikes have already been snapped up by customers, the rest of the bikes are currently looking sparkly on bicycle showroom floors around the country. And because of those limited numbers, if you’re even remotely interested, you best get in touch with your local Orange dealer to see if you can get one.

Will they make any more? Jay said that it wasn’t strictly out of the question, though he acknowledged that at the price they have to sell them for, the number of folks willing to pay that kind of cashola is very, very small. However, the high-end titanium fabricator that Orange is working with in Taiwan is quite unique in that it’ll open production runs as limited as 15. So if the demand is there to do another run, then there’s no reason why not…

But enough of that, let’s just look at this thing;

Orange T7 Factory Features

• Limited edition titanium hardcore hardtail
• Made from 3AL 2.5V titanium tubing
• 27.5in wheels with clearance for up to 2.8in tyres
• 150mm travel Fox 36 Float Factory Series fork
• 64.5° head angle
• 73° seat angle
• 425mm chainstay length
• 51mm bottom bracket drop
• Available sizes: Medium, Large & X-Large
• Reach: 426mm (Medium), 447mm (Large), 646mm (X-Large)
• English threaded bottom bracket
• Integrated 1x chainguide
• 148x12mm rear thru-axle
• Frame RRP: £2200

As the titanium T7 is largely based on the steel P7 (and the T9 based on the P9), it too is also a hardcore hardtail designed for ragging about in the woods, and just generally getting into more mischief than you should without a rear shock. It comes stock with a huge 150mm travel fork (a Fox 36 Factory Series fork in the case of the T7) and a straight 44mm head tube to accept the tapered fork steerer. Other features shared between the two frames include a threaded bottom bracket shell (hooray!), external cable routing (yahoo!) ISCG 05 chainguide tabs, and a 148x12mm thru-axle rear end.

However, there are some key differences to the geometry and frame features. Firstly, the T7 will accommodate chunkier tyres – up to a huge 2.8in width in fact. The head angle is half a degree slacker at 64.5°, the seat tube is a full degree slacker at 73°, the bottom bracket is 3mm lower to the ground, and the chainstays are 5mm shorter at 425mm.

Interestingly, according to the geometry chart Orange was showing at the London Bike Show, the T7 is shorter in its reach compared to the P7: 14mm shorter for the Medium, 9mm shorter for the Large, and 11mm for the X-Large. Likewise, the wheelbase measurements are a tad shorter on the T7, though it does have a touch more standover clearance. The other bigger difference is that the T7 doesn’t come in a Small frame size – it’s three sizes only.

So…do you also want one now? Are you also trying to scramble for ways to justify the addition of one of these in your current bike shed? Doing the maths to work out how many bikes/organs are required to afford one?

Yep, us too.

Luckily there are sweet FA of these in existence, so chances are slim-to-nil that you can get one anyway. If you’re absolutely hanging though, call your local Orange dealer to find out if you can go to the ball. Or go to the Orange Bikes website and drop them a line directly.

Or if you think Orange should make more of these, perhaps in a different wheelsize/geometry/travel flavour – tell them in the comments section below.

2018 Orange T7 Factory Specifications

• Frame // 3AL 2.5V Titanium
• Fork // Fox 36 Float Factory FIT HSC/LSC, 150mm Travel
• Hubs // Hope Pro4, 110x15mm Front & 148x12mm Rear
• Rims // Race Face ARC 30, 32h, 30mm Internal Rim Width
• Tyres // Maxxis High Roller II EXO 3C Maxx Terra 2.4in Front & Maxxis High Roller II EXO 2.3in Rear
• Chainset // Sram X01 Carbon Eagle GXP w/34t X-Sync 2 Chainring
• Rear Mech // SRAM GX Eagle, 12-Speed
• Shifter // SRAM X01 Eagle, 12-Speed
• Cassette // SRAM X01 Eagle, 12-Speed, XG1295, 10-50t
• Brakes // Hope Tech 3 E4, 200mm Front & 180mm Rear 2-Piece Rotors
• Bars // Race Face Next R Carbon, 35mm Diameter, 10mm Rise, 800mm Wide, 50mm Long
• Stem // Race Face Turbine R, 35mm Diameter, 50mm Long
• Grips // Strange 130 Single Lock-On
• Seatpost // Fox Transfer, Kashima Coat, 150mm Travel
• Saddle // SDG Fly MTN Titanium rails
• Sizes available // Medium, Large & X-Large
• RRP // From £5900

---