2021 Orange Five Evo and Stage Evo go big on geometry not travel!

The latest Evo bikes from Orange are short on travel, big on geometry and full of fun. Full details of the Orange Five Evo and Stage Evo.

MY21 bikes seem to be following a similar formula no matter which brands are announcing them. It seems for 2021 the idea is to increase travel, boost reach, steepen the seat tube, drop the seat post while at the same time making very little difference to the ETT.

It’s not a new trend, but 2021 sees the most extreme bump in travel and geo for some years, with some trail bikes approaching the realms of enduro racer.

But not Orange though! At their HQ in Halifax, the masters of single pivot have announced a couple of new Evo models that focus on geometry rather than travel. In fact, the new Five Evo and Stage Evo come with less front and rear suspension than the Five and Stage 5 but boast more potent geometry.

2021 Orange Five Evo

The new Evo bikes are the first 2021 models for Orange to launch this year, and for the time being each bike will be offered in an LE launch build featuring top draw kit from the likes of Hope, Burgtec, Shimano and RockShox.

The Five Evo is the smaller wheeled 27.5in bike and features 140mm front wheel travel and 130mm of progressive rear wheel movement. As with all Orange suspension bikes the frame is manufactured in the UK from sheets of aluminium that are folded and shaped into a complete monocoque.

Though smaller in the wheel department the Five Evo is bigger in geometry numbers with a large frame sporing a 485mm reach, 64-degree head angle and 76-degree seat tube. Before you jump into the comments and discuss how long the new Evo is, keep in mind that there’s only a 5mm difference in effective top tube length between the Five and the Five Evo, so it may look longer on paper than it feels on the trail.

Orange fans will notice that the new Evo gets a split rear triangle design normally associated with the Alpine 6 and Stage 6 bikes instead of the Five’s one beam design. According to Orange, the split design offers better performance on more aggressive trails, so suits the Evo’s intended purpose.

2021 Orange Five Evo Geometry

Orange Five Evo LE Specifications

• Frame: 6061-T6 Monocoque frame, 27.5in wheels, 130mm travel
• Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate 190 x 45
• Fork: RockShox Pike Ultimate, 140mm
• Shifter: Shimano XT 12-speed
• Cassette: Shimano XT 10-51t
• Rear Mech: Shimano XT 12-speed
• Chainset: Hope with black 32t chainring.
• BB: Hope
• Headset: Hope
• Brakes: Hope Tech 3 E4 203mm front, 180mm rear
• Handlebar: Burgtec RideWide Enduro 800mm
• Stem: Burgtec MK3 Enduro Silver 42.5mm
• Seatclamp: Hope
• Seatpost: SDG Tellis 150mm
• Saddle: SDG Radar Cromo rail
• Grips: Strange 130 single lock-on black
• Wheels: E13 TRS 30mm, 27.5in rims with Hope Pro 4 hubs.
• Tyres: Maxxis Minion DHF 2.5 WT front, DHR II 2.4 WT rear.
• Colour: Sparks Blue
• Sizes: S,M,L,XL
• Price: £5300

2021 Orange Stage Evo LE

Prefer bigger wheels? Then the 29in hoops of the Orange Stage Evo are a calling. With the larger wheels improving the ability to roll over obstacles, Orange has been confident enough to reduce travel on the Stage Evo further still.

130mm travel on the front and 120mm on the rear might sound like numbers from an XC race bike, but the geometry looks like something from the EWS. Again we’re looking at a 76 degree seat tube for a comfortable pedal position, while the front end is 65 degrees rather than 64.

Orange has developed its own 29er specific geometry for the Stage Evo too, so a large size frame has a slightly shorter reach of 478mm. Again the new Stage Evo is designed to be built with a shorter offset fork and run a short stem.

2021 Orange Stage Evo Geometry

Orange Stage Evo LE Specifications

• Frame: 6061-T6 Monocoque frame, 29in wheels, 120mm travel
• Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate 190 x 45
• Fork: RockShox Pike Ultimate, 130mm
• Shifter: Shimano XT 12-speed
• Cassette: Shimano XT 10-51t
• Rear Mech: Shimano XT 12-speed
• Chainset: Hope with black 32t chainring.
• BB: Hope
• Headset: Hope
• Brakes: Hope Tech 3 E4 203mm front, 180mm rear
• Handlebar: Burgtec RideWide Enduro 800mm
• Stem: Burgtec MK3 Enduro Silver 42.5mm
• Seatclamp: Hope
• Seatpost: SDG Tellis 150mm
• Saddle: SDG Radar Cromo rail
• Grips: Strange 130 single lock-on black
• Wheels: E13 TRS 30mm, 29in rims with Hope Pro 4 hubs.
• Tyres: Maxxis Minion DHF 2.5 WT front, DHR II 2.4 WT rear.
• Colour: Smoke White
• Sizes: M,L,XL
• Price: £5300

Both the Orange Stage Evo and Evo Five are listed on the Orange website now with complete bikes costing £5300. More builds and frame only options will be introduced to the range later in the year. For those of you wanting to see one in the flesh, your local Orange stockist should have them in-store from today.