[Closed] Orange Blood

Defo a 135mm on the older frames, for the life of me can't remember my BB shell size though (mine's an '09).

I love mine, great do it all bike. I do long days, kid-trailer pulling and everything in between on it. Bit of a grind up the steepest hills, but makes up for it the rest of the time.

Thanks Brycey. I wonder what else they changed then as they made it one degree steeper for 2011 (or maybe 2010?) - did they lighten the frame at the same time?

I didn't think they'd changed anything other than the components, but I've got very little to base that on.

My 2010 frame is 135mm rear and has a 72mm bottom bracket. Frame will be for sale soon if you're looking for one.

i tested one for a few days at herts. rides well but the linkage plates were so sharp they cut my shins on inverts etc. 🙁

Inverts? Oh yeah, I do those all the time.

If you remember, Tony, it's dead sailors for me! 😀

So what sort of weight is the Blood frame? Same as a 5 or thereabouts?

Pedants corner......unless your frame has been made by Ragley,mtb bottom bracket shells are 68mm or 73mm (or 83mm for 150mm rear spacing).
You're welcome.

You wanna HL 5 Spot Rickyboy!

Sorry, Rorschach - I bow to your superior pedantry.

Chunky - just weighing up options for next year.

2009 Blood frame was 135mm rear (m)axle and 83mm BB, however the BB changed to 73mm at some point during 2010.

Great bike and proper fun for playing in the woods for a few hours. Low BB & large(ish) Q factor (esp with big flat pedals) can result in a few more pedal strikes than normal when negotiating rocky ascents or climbing in narrow ruts, but this bike is such a giggle on the descents.

Will be interesting to see if Orange come up with a replacement for the Blood. They're still doing the ST4 so I don't think they've ditched the single pivot linkage actuated design just yet.

If buying a 2nd hand Blood watch out for cable rub around the swing arm

As Brycey says, they didnt change the frame they just stuck smaller forks on one of the range which gives you the steeper head angle.

So what sort of weight is the Blood frame? Same as a 5 or thereabouts?

I'll pop mine on the scales later and report back.

Love mine - '11 frame here, 135mm rear hub and 73mm bb shell.

use mine for everything - best bike i've ever owned. You can run it with 140mm forks as per the "trail" build last year, but works best with some 160mm forks up front IMHO.

*waits on edge of seat*

Has he weighed it yet?

Digby - thanks for the info. Means I'd need a part way through 2010 version onwards.

*waits on edge of seat*

Your wait is over!
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Queue tension building Take That song.....
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4060g with a DHX 3 shock and headset cups installed. So probably something like 3.7kg with an air shock and no headset.

Oh 😐
Just over 8 pounds with air shock - heavier than I was hoping for. I can't justify all that burliness with my mincing style. Looks like it'll be at the back of the queue on my speculative frame list.

They do look ace though!

That's for the 15" frame too 😯

Mine, when built up for 'cocking around DH [i]tm[/i]' weighed in at a hefty 36lbs

I had one on test for a couple of weeks - unfortunately mine had 140mm Floats and a knackered RP23 fitted that made it just awful. I think a coil with 160mm up front would suit it best. My immediate thoughts were that you'd have to be a strong rider to use as an all rounder, and it felt noticeably heavier than the 2011 5 I had at the time with a very similar build. Hyave a look art my profile for a tediously long review i wrote.

Bizarrely, though my comments seem quite negative, I still think it is a fantastic format for a fun bike, and still hanker after a frame (17" if anyones got one), to try my CCDB and Devilles on.

my bottlerocket weighs 34lb. the blood i demo'd was lighter

only changes i am aware of is a change to a large can air shock and different shock tune

according to the internet the frame weight is 3.3kg with shock. my inaccurate bathroom scales puts my frame and rp23 at 3.5kg ish. not terribly heavy, its the 160 forks that will make it 32lbs ish i reckon.

i bought a frame with the intention of building it up because after a demo 2 years ago and despite some obvious flaws (uphills) it has a certain crazy quality i havent quite found in any other bike....

Rick. Stop stealing my bike ideas...

this is mine, use it mainly for 2 hour blasts in the lakes, did 25 miles the day this photo was taken, not a problem. reckon its about 34-35 lbs. going of the trusty bathroom scales.

[img] [/img]

mildred - thanks. Looked up your thread and that must have been where I got the idea that it was 150mm rear axle as a couple of people say it on there. Good thread.

Hmmmm...

From this:
[IMG] [/IMG]

To this:
[IMG] [/IMG]

And everything in between. I know I keep banging on about it, but a true do it all bike (as is any decent 5" or 6" bike these days I suppose).

Oh well if we're posting pictures I may as well leave this shoddy photo here.
[IMG] [/IMG]

Love the colour combo huws.

Just love the look of delirious joy & happiness on Brycey's face 😀

Ha ha, yeah fair point.

what about a NP mega? anyone compared the two

it has the advantage that you can still buy one (if they have stock)