[Closed] Orange Four - anybody got one?

Anyone?

Yes. It's lovely.

Any other comments?

I have only seen 1 out on the trails (BPW) although i know of 2 people that have recently bought them and seem to like them. I was all set to push the button and buy one until i found I couldn't swap my kit over. Transition scout ticks my boxes now thanks to standard rear end.

I have yet to see the Mk2 segment out and about, my riding buddy was looking at upgrading his Mk1 seggy, until he found out he needed new wheels etc.

I do wonder if Orange have gone a step too far with making all of the new bikes Boost, but thas a thought based on no actual fact.

have a look at the post below from [url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/been-living-under-a-rock-for-4-years-bike-advice-pls ]this recent thread[/url]

Beagleboy - Member
I just swapped from a 2009/10 26", 3x9 Orange 5 to a 'modern' 27.5", 1x10, Orange 4 a few weeks ago.

I honestly haven't been able to say I can tell any difference from the wheel size, but the total lack of any stem to speak of and a huuuge handlebar certainly changes the handling characteristics! The steering is much lighter and faster than my old bike, really forcing me to push my weight into the corners. I'm liking it!

I thought the 1x10 might be a problem for me as I'm quite a biffa, but I got it fitted with a Hope T-Rex, 40t ring on the cassette, which although looking decidedly odd, seems to me to be the equivalent of my much needed and abused, granny and bailout gear for climbing Dumyat, my local haunt. I'm also quite liking the simplicity of the 1x10 setup with the Hope chain retention thingy.

Haven't a clue about suspension setup, just pumped them up to the recommended 30% sag setting and left it, as you don't get supplied with manuals anymore, so I've no idea what the knobs and twiddly bits do!

All in though, I'm really pleased with the bike as it feels a bit faster rolling and more funner than my 'old school' Five. Definitely a bit more confidence inspiring than my older bike as even in my rather fragile, slowly recovering from injury state, the bike convinced me to whoop into a drop off that I've always baulked at on my older bikes. My only slight disappointment is in not being able to tell the difference between 26" and the new 27.5" wheels, but that's well buried under the sheer pleasure of finally swapping my 'Battleship Grey' Orange 5 for an 'Atomic Orange' Orange 4. It's just so....orangey!

Go for it, buy a new bike. They're more shiny than old ones, make you go faster and I'm quite certain that it'll make you more attractive. Or in my case ...even more attractive.

Had a quick spin but just on tarmac through potholes, cobbles etc - felt mint in terms of geometry, sizing etc etc. Sure it's a very fine bike. MBUK has a glowing review of it this month. Crap mag, but I can get what they say about the four - describe it as 'intoxicating' and just handles everything you throw it at, deceptively so when you consider the modest travel.

russyh - thing with Orange is that Boost has allowed them to widen the pivot, making a stiffer frame. So for Orange, there's more to it than just stronger wheels.

Yeah i get that wl, just makes it bloody expensive all of a sudden when you need to replace wheels and all the other gubbings. I love Orange. But I cant justify the cost to change with the other bits. Its a shame, looks like the perfect bike for me and UK riding.

I think they look great (I had an 08 Orange 5 and loved it) and it would be on the list if I was replacing my Anthem SX. I bought the Anthem last year as a light short travel FS to compliment my Soul, and it's ideal really. I would struggle with the fact that a similarly specced 4 costs about 30% more than it though....

If you have Hope or DT hubs you can buy hub adapters from wolftooth so boost is not a big deal really

I got one about 3 weeks ago, but I'm maybe not the best person to ask how they ride at the moment I'm afraid. 😕

[URL= http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a182/Beagy/new%20bike.jp g" target="_blank">http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a182/Beagy/new%20bike.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]

I got it as a treat to myself for being an unbelievably lucky git after breaking my back while snowboarding in Bulgaria back in February and now making a full recovery with nothing worse than an extremely, bloody sore back, and a mild addiction to powerful prescription painkillers! 😛

My point being, until about a week or so ago, I haven't ridden a mountain bike in six months and even now I'm being very, very careful as I drag my hugely unfit carcass around my local trails.

However, compared to my old, 2009-10 Orange Five, the Four is noticeably lighter, even though I've gone from a 'L' Five to a 'XL' Four. It's definitely faster feeling, although it could be debated that I'm just keecking my pants more, both in straight line speed and in cornering (the light steering forces me to be much more aggressive, 'over the front' in corners).

In my local woodlands on Sunday I rolled up a rocky, rooty step much easier and smoother than my Five every made it, and on the descent I launched off a drop that I've always avoided. I think this is probably down to a combination of the bigger wheels, bar and pretty much non-existent stem making me feel more in the bike. Actually yeah, I'd liken it to the almost invincible feeling I used to get as I sat 'in', rather than 'on' my beloved old Orange Patriot.

I couldn't feel or see any noticeable 'single pivot bob' whilst climbing, could this be because of the pivot point being tuned to a single ring setup? Oh, and I'm not a good enough rider to have ever encountered the fabled 'Brake Jack' phenomena either. So under my limited climbing ability, and whilst descending at what for me was quite a speed, I felt totally in control and comfortable on the bike, even in my still rather scarily fragile state.

I'm very, very happy with it and for me, it's a better bike than my old Five!

C.

The bloke above can't tell the difference between 26" and 650b but goes on to tell us the 650b is faster rolling 😐

I fancy a new Orange but unsure if I should go Segment or 5 as there are some cracking deals about.

The lad at the side of me bought the ex demo Four that was on the Orange website on Friday evening (rs spec four for £2700 freaking bargin ) The bike is stunning to look at and lighter than my 30 lb Five , hes proper happy with it and ive had a play on it too

My thoughts , yes slightly lighter than my five 26" and smaller (both a large but large in the 2016 four is an 18" frame ) wheel base is longer buy a few inches and bb is lower by 5mm ,

The first think I felt from the bike is that it was like a hardtail very little bob from the rear perhaps not %100 set up for me and why should it be, I really don't think there is any real difference is rolling speed , if anything it felt slower to me , and in the rough the five was where is was at all day long , climbing the four way top dog but only just

Im not %100 on the four , I think that whyte have the 130mm trail bike sewn up ,my mates chuffed to bits but I know where my money would have gone ..

Cant see why you'd buy a Four over a Segment. 10mm difference in travel with the ground covering benefits of 29"

Sorry dude, I was just trying to think through how the bike feels compared to my older bike and trying to suggest why that might be the case for me. 🙁

I was of course forgetting that this isn't the Singletrackworld/ GoFar forum that I joined back in the day which was full of helpful, nice folk interested in riding mountain bikes and sharing their experiences. 🙄

I should remember that whatever I say on here, some brave little Richard is going to go on the attack. Thanks for the reminder. 😉

Id be more tempted by a segment with 140 folks on it to slacken the head angle 🙂

Or more that point Orange please re design the Alpine -five 29er with boost spacing and a 160 front 🙂 then my money will be yours again !

I have a Mk2 Segment and like it a lot,had a quick go on a 2016 5 and it was alright but I prefer the bigger wheels of the Segment

I had one on a demo weekend a couple of months ago. It rode very well. Climbed better than my 26inch 2009 Five and was better in the twisty's than my 29er Stumpy FSR. Also seem very solidly built. I'm getting one to replace my aging Five for all my winter riding duties. Just got to decide on the colour 🙂

Beagle, I recently got a new bike with the mahoosive bars tiny stem, makes a huge difference to my 760mm bars and 90mm stem of old!!

There's more to riding than just covering ground though. The Four will be damn good fun as well as pretty efficient, even if a bigger wheeled bike will munch more miles in a given time.

Sorry dude, I was just trying to think through how the bike feels compared to my older bike and trying to suggest why that might be the case for me

If that was directed at me then I'm sorry for coming across as a twot. My only point was that you suggested you couldn't tell the difference but then went on to say the opposite.

Wouldn't mind seeing some more pics of your bike. 😉

Hi Chesty,

Hopefully going out for a spin again tonight if my back survives the commute home, if so, I'll try and get a couple more pics for you.

I might be a bit oversensitive as I'm tired and sore all the time. Let's be friends again 🙂

C.

In a slightly but not massively more descriptive manner than my previous 'It's lovely':

I've only had mine a week but I'm loving it. It's replaced a 2007 Five. I tried a 2016 Five, which was great but when I demo'd the Four it just felt perfect for me and the riding I do. Very compact and more than capable on Calderdale trails. Razzing round Elland and Rastrick woods last night was as near to a perfect ride as I can remember 🙂

'Ard Rock next weekend, so it's going to get a different workout. I feel confident that it'll be just fine. Unlike its owner....

I was out again on my new Four last night around a mostly dry, but very rooty and rocky, 12 mile XC loop. The bike is noticeably faster rolling over the roots and rocks here than my old 2009/10 Orange Five ever was. That was very obvious on this loop, and the addition of the 40t Hope T-Rex on the cassette allowed me to get most way up the sharp climbs that normally have had me perched on the nose of the saddle in the lowest, 3x9, granny ring gear possible! I didn't clear the steepest climb, but I reckon that's down to my post injury fitness, rather than the gearing of the bike.

The steering is also way faster, as I've suddenly gone from a 630mm bar and 90mm stem combo to a Renthal 780mm bar and 31mm stem...woof! Please excuse me if I have a sudden tendency to steer into trees and ditches for the next few weeks!

Descending back down towards home the bike picks up speed noticeably quicker than my old Five as well. I'm sure this, and it's root / rock garden eating ability must be down to the larger wheels, even though when lined up against my mate's bike, the difference in size is barely perceptible to me!

It feels really planted, and really secure. Turning fast, rolling over everything it meets, climbing brilliantly (as much as I can manage at the moment), and descending really, really fast. As I said before, I haven't felt this confident on a bike since the days of my old Patriot which used to just bulldoze its way through everything, but this bike feels the same and it's half the weight!

[URL= http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a182/Beagy/20160728_193306.jp g" target="_blank">http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a182/Beagy/20160728_193306.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]

I opted for the Orange Four Pro...but then got a wee bit carried away with the plethora of upgrade choices. Really, really carried away actually. 😳

I'm not sure, but I suspect that the Orange frame designer have probably had their feelings hurt by the haters on here so many times that they put a considerable amount of effort into the aesthetics of this frame. They seem to have taken on board the fact that for lots of people, what the bike looks like is way more important than how it rides. 😉 Hopefully you can see from my slightly fuzzy and shaky picture that pretty much every tube has been manipulated to produce what I think is a very pleasing looking frame, that still rides as well, if not better than any other Orange I've owned. The amount of work that's gone into the frame also makes the sheet metal worker in me (I was a TIG welder for five years in a sheet metal factory 25yrs ago), step back in admiration. I know for a fact that had we been asked to do this amount of manipulation back then, we'd all have been sucking air in between our teeth whilst slowly shaking our heads and internally clocking up the £££ signs. I'm sure technology has come on a long way from then, but I still admire the amount of work and sculpting that's gone into this frame.

I've been riding Orange bikes now since the late 90's, and this is the best one I've ridden yet. I'm very pleased with it.

C. xx

Anybody got a pdf or scan of the mbuk article? Our local shop doesn't sell it

Beagleboy - where were you riding ? looks familiar but can't place it...

had a mate's new five frame in my hands last year and the level of manipulation and detail that had gone in to it was amazing. they were always quite expensive, and still are, relatively, but you can see where that money is going now.

These look nice.

Will be looking for a shortish travel 650b bike next year, this'll be on the list along with Whyte T130, 5010, Transition Scout, Devinci Django and Orbea Occam. And probably about five others given my crippling indecision.

Hmmm

If anyones interested in something similar but less expensive, the Kili Flyer frames are great, very similar geometry, dropper routing etc., and only 599 at Evans in smaller sizes. Leaves's a lot of money left over for fancy bits!

^^^^ and in a similar vein, you could have 2 of the currently discounted Anthem SX's..... [url= http://www.wheelies.co.uk/p84125/Giant-Anthem-SX-2-27-5-2016-Mountain-Bike.aspx?sku=277763&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=prod_ads&gclid=Cj0KEQjw_eu8BRDC-YLHusmTmMEBEiQArW6c-J_dawFAk2nY-n2m6KJkbQgkz4Sbiz8EJDRzsJyr2p4aApYx8P8HAQ ]here[/url]

😀

Loving mine , been riding exclusively fully rigid for a year or so previously so can't really compare to previous bikes and haven't givin it a run on the Trail centre/DH stuff yet but around the local stuff it rips !
Set up chubby 2.5/2.4 on 40mm rims and feels great.

[url= https://c3.staticflickr.com/8/7380/27287779370_44cdbd8b88_h.jp g" target="_blank">https://c3.staticflickr.com/8/7380/27287779370_44cdbd8b88_h.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/Hzk17E ]DSC03591[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/135192907@N03/ ]Andrew Eades[/url], on Flickr

[url= https://c6.staticflickr.com/8/7248/26955971773_7e6a459149_h.jp g" target="_blank">https://c6.staticflickr.com/8/7248/26955971773_7e6a459149_h.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/H51ph2 ]DSC03590[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/135192907@N03/ ]Andrew Eades[/url], on Flickr

[url= https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7325/27491881641_360be15050_h.jp g" target="_blank">https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7325/27491881641_360be15050_h.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/HTn5Bk ]DSC03603[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/135192907@N03/ ]Andrew Eades[/url], on Flickr

Any chance of a photo with the wide rim and 2.4 on the rear to show clearences on the frame?

Cant see why you'd buy a Four over a Segment. 10mm difference in travel with the ground covering benefits of 29

Coulrophobia

Rik - Member
Any chance of a photo with the wide rim and 2.4 on the rear to show clearences on the frame?

Yeah here you go.

[url= https://c2.staticflickr.com/9/8699/28550789641_e106aec9b0_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://c2.staticflickr.com/9/8699/28550789641_e106aec9b0_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/KuWg4P ]DSC_0632[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/135192907@N03/ ]Andrew Eades[/url], on Flickr

[url= https://c4.staticflickr.com/9/8855/28013390043_809ec52fa8_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://c4.staticflickr.com/9/8855/28013390043_809ec52fa8_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/JFrWTv ]DSC_0633[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/135192907@N03/ ]Andrew Eades[/url], on Flickr

Doesn't look too bad that at all. Thanks for the photos 🙂

Going to have to search out a copy of MBUK

Those Kili Flyers at that price are very tempting. That's the last thing my wallet needs at the moment sadly!

Not usually an Orange fan, but that Four looks bloody brilliant and makes a lot of sense for normal trails etc.

Been over to Blazing Saddles today and have to agree that the 4 looks ace. Didn't know it had the same pivot placing as the new 5 and Alpine.
Like the look of the XL above too. 8)

Chap in the shop said they're selling more 4's than any other Orange, even more than the 5. Still think I'm leaning towards the Segment though.

Is that green one an XL, looks great for a big bike

My Green one is an L

Hi Iain,

I'm pretty sure you're from around my way, I was in Plean Country Park, Stirlingshire. 😉

Beagle - yes, been along that path, but not on a bike ! Aye, we have some links on FB !

So, i stumbled across an ex-demo four on Oranges website, with a few upgrades. A rush of blood to the head has seen me full of buyers remorse. Happy with the bike, just thinking my wife is going to rip my head off my shoulders! anyone want to buy my Five! ha

Coulrophobia

(Fear of clowns. Joke of the week went begging)

I'm seriously considering either a Four or a Mk2 Segment.
Unfortunately a testride isn't possible over here..

My brother got a Four RS, mountain mint, yesterday. Excellent bike and really good spec. The orange bikes on offer webpage has amazing deals. It's even better value now as the new bikes have gone up in price as I think the components are more expensive following brexit.

This was an ex demo bike without a blemish on it besides a scratched rock shox decal and sum rub on the cranks. Frame unmarked.

Not sure where a bottle cage goes though!