Update: statement from Orange 8th January, 1pm: In response to current speculation regarding the position of Orange Bikes and the recently ...
By stwhannah
Get the full story here:
Wasn't there already a thread about this?
Why close the thread on the forum? Could have linked this piece at the same time but no need to end the discussion there?
Steve Wade and Lester Noble were founders.
There was but it has been closed...I thought the threads were being linked/combined these days instead of being closed?
Ah well...
A bit of a surprise this news to me...I didn't think they were struggling as much as they appear to be.
I don’t think I’m surprised by this. They are incredibly expensive these days, with a really limited USP. Long gone are the days of them being the trail centre fashion brand of choice, and telling that the replacement (Santa Cruz) might even represent better value
Let's just hope Mike Ashley doesnt buy it. It would be depressing to see an orange bike in a sports direct shop!
The original thread has gone into administration 😀
😢😢😢
Pinkbike comments section are gonna have a field day.
33 models? thats far too much from a small boutique brand with limited global appeal due to the niche looks...they've always been divisive.
I'm a Stage Evo owner and it's one of the best bikes i've ever had....its a rocketship.
That weird Switch6 they recently released was one of the worse looking bikes ive ever seen mind.
From the “other” thread:
There was a time in the early/mid 00’s when every other bike on the trails was an Orange 5. I remember MBR raving about each new model nearly as much as they raved about anything from Specialized.
And then…. Nothing. Just seemed to vanish from the scene. 🤷🏻♂️
Sad news though, definitely one of the early iconic brands.
Carbon happened, at scale, allowing for more innovative shapes and suspension designs. Halo bikes were carbon, reviewed well, and their alloy alternatives were sold to the most of us.
Orange should’ve gone carbon. Innovate or die.
This thread is generated automatically by the publishing of the story.
To be clear. we've known about this for several days now and had this story drafted. We were waiting as we also heard from one of our sources that Orange were hoping to wait until next week before this went public as employees had not been informed - so we held off on publishing. Carlton didn't wait but then I imagine he didn't know that Orange were waiting to tell staff.
This is shit for them but hopefully it's a restructuring exercise and the company will survive this.
Everyone working digitally from home. No one needs filing cabinets any more.
Gutted, owned 2 in the past and they were faultless.
The range is stupid now though, too many models, no focus and sadly no ‘five’ - no rowdy trusty trail bike. Looks like they just throw out lots of ideas out and hoped one would sell. But in reality kind of confusing.
If they did a carbon five back when they were popular it would have been quite the thing…
I don't think I've seen an Orange in the past ten years. The only time they were discussed on here seemed to be when some little-Englander decided they wanted to build a bike made from bits made in Britain. Other than heritage it seems they had nothing to offer.
I don’t think I’ve seen an Orange in the past ten years
Its an interesting comment this - out of interest, where are you riding @scotroutes?
I still see them a lot here in Yorkshire. In fact - I've had two brand new frames from Orange in the past 5 years, so I feel particularly sad about this news. They are divisive, but it wwuld be a massive, massive shame to lose them.
no focus and sadly no ‘five’ – no rowdy trusty trail bike.
Stage Evo. Thats exactly what that bike is, and exactly what its marketed as. They have ALWAYS had something in the range under that description!?
Other than heritage it seems they had nothing to offer.
Not ridden a modern Orange then I presume?
Hope this all works out as well as possible for all the staff, they’ve been producing great new bikes in recent years.
MTB design just got a little more boring and samey.
In an industry where its so easy to slap your stickers on something out of a catalogue they did things the hard way and I will always respect that.
V sad news, I hope they can survive this.
I know their full build prices were challenging in terms of value (but they’re far from the only brand doing that) but I feel they suffered unfairly by using what people thought was a dated design because it didn’t have a load of pivots and linkages or swoopy carbon fibre.
In reality the suspension kinematics works very well, their geometry was often ahead of the curve and their alloy full-sus frames were as light as many carbon competitors. I’ve seen so many fantastic reports on how recent Oranges ride from MTBers whose opinion I trust.
I’m sure they’d be in a much stronger financial position if they’d outsourced manufacture to the far east, switched to carbon and added more pivots. I hope that sticking to their guns doesn’t kill them off because I want UK manufacturing to survive - we don’t all want to drive laptops for our job, or spend every day moving boxes in and out of warehouses. Making stuff is much more rewarding!
@snotrag - Not trail centres. Mostly out and about in the Scottish Highlands. I don't think I've seen an Orange since I moved here from Edinburgh, when I used to occasionally visit Glentress.
I still see them a lot here in Yorkshire.
Possibly some local "loyalty" thing ogoing on?
a modern Orange
An oxymoron.
I never see them down South. I also wonder if they didn't (unfairly) suffer from a part of their demographic of buyers having become older and gradually migrating to other brands or having stopped riding altogether while younger generations just either didn't know the brand or didn't get the brand or couldn't afford the brand or simply perceived it as their Dad's brand. So no way of replacing their ever dwindling customer base compounded by the recent shrinking of the overall market.
Obviously pricewise there may have been an issue but some of the margin may have been needed to be spent in brand awareness.
The half price £1099 bike posted up thread is still terrible value even at that price.
An oxymoron.
You’re a what?
When did you last ride an Orange bike? They’ve kept on the ball with geometry and handling, in fact being arguably ahead of many.
I don’t think I’ve seen an Orange in the past ten years. The only time they were discussed on here seemed to be when some little-Englander decided they wanted to build a bike made from bits made in Britain.
I'm far from an Orange fan but when I think of Orange I always think of Joe Barnes.
I'm not 100% sure but I don't think he's from little-England or judgemental...
I never see them down South
I see a few in the Surrey Hills, but not remotely as many as Spec and Santa.
Stage Evo. Thats exactly what that bike is, and exactly what its marketed as. They have ALWAYS had something in the range under that description!?
Yeah, or the Five Evo which is literally the current version of the Five! They offer full suss bikes covering the same bases as they did 20 years ago!
As for too many models, yeah, maybe so but if you make them by hand, down the road you can almost build to order so why not offer a range? I think they've hung on to 27.5 longer than most and gone harder on MX so they basically have the same bike in each wheel size, which makes it look excessive. At the back end of Steve and Lester's time they had slimmed the range right down so perhaps that's the way to go again?
I don’t think I’ve seen an Orange in the past ten years.
I said this on the original thread before it got closed but there was a time (about 20 years ago!) when every other bike on the trails was an Orange 5 (or a Marin Mount Vision).
And then.... Nothing. They just sort of seemed to drop off the scene. No idea why - did other bikes make giant leaps in terms of tech or riding and Orange just made a slightly different but basically the same single pivot girder each year?
Is it a bit like Kona (amazing hardtails in the 90's / 00's followed by ever more ugly and expensive / poor VfM full sus bikes before finally trying to go back to their roots)?
I also wonder if they didn’t (unfairly) suffer from a part of their demographic of buyers having become older and gradually migrating to
other brandsebikes or having stopped riding altogether
FTFY
I can honestly count the number of Orange bikes I've seen here on the mainland. One around 2013/14 in Saalbach being ridden by some English geezer. The second in Finale in 2018.
Going by that, I doubt they'll be greatly missed.
Shame, I always had a soft spot for orange. suprising to see so many being dicks about it though.
some little-Englander decided they wanted to build a bike made from bits made in Britain
Yeah that's pretty shitty tbh. Did you have similar scorn for TJ's Shand? Nothing wrong with supporting homegrown manufacturers, see also European Bike Project.
I also wonder if they didn’t (unfairly) suffer from a part of their demographic of buyers having become older and gradually migrating to other brands or having stopped riding altogether while younger generations just either didn’t know the brand or didn’t get the brand or couldn’t afford the brand or simply perceived it as their Dad’s brand.
Most of the ones I see are ridden by young teenagers riding with dads in their 40s. It always looks like dad used to have an Orange so picked up a bargain for the kid (or passed on his old one), but dad's own bike isn't an Orange anymore.
I see plenty up County Durham way.
"Shame, I always had a soft spot for orange. suprising to see so many being dicks about it though."
Welcome to the Forum.
This news makes me sad, it's never good to see an iconic UK manufacturer in trouble. Hopefully they can find a way through.
they suffered unfairly by using what people thought was a dated design because it didn’t have a load of pivots and linkages or swoopy carbon fibre.
along with poor looking welding and a not great reputation for cracking, whilst being top dollar pricing. They didn’t do themselves many favours
I’m far from an Orange fan but when I think of Orange I always think of Joe Barnes.
Who doesn’t ride for them these days
Will be a sad day if they fold.
Hopefully they can find a way through.
This is more like the sentiment I was expecting of this thread, and I’m with you completely. I hope there is a way through this that keeps the brand alive, as many of the staff as possible in their jobs, and manufacturing staying in the UK.
Sad news. Bought an Orange in the 1990's & currently have one of their newer bikes, but bought 2nd hand as tbh their prices always seemed premium. I'm from a Yorkshire but love in Scotland and honestly can't remember the last time I saw another Orange out on the trails.
I always wanted an Orange; when my beloved Yeti 575 finally reached its sell by date I bought one. The Yeti was a thing of beauty and the welding a work of art. Tbh the Orange was a bit rough. Not subtle and the welding was not something to be proud of. I never really got on with the Orange and sold it at a big loss. The Sonder I now have is again a thing of (Ti) loveliness with superb welding. For me, if you're going to make your USP folded sheet seam welded box frames, you need to do that well - assuming you want to be a premium brand.
A real shame as a Hope equipped Orange in principle ticked all the boxes for me - it just didn't deliver I'm afraid. I'm still sorry to hear this news though. Hopefully Orange can recover and thrive as an independent British company manufacturing here.
I love Oranges (Had 2 Crushes and 2 Fives over the years, plus they're the 'home' side) Saddened by this but not entirely surprised they've been too expensive for a long time, which is why I no longer ride one. Still have an itch for a Stage 5 though.
They’ve kept on the ball with geometry and handling, in fact being arguably ahead of many.
I think my old 2014 Five29 was ahead of its time, perhaps a little short by modern standards but would still hold its own today!
Terrible news!
I really hope they pull through with as many/all jobs secure. I have owned 2 oranges before and often look at their website when considering new, but havent had a new bike in 6 years.
Bit disappointed by the negativity on this thread. The employees will be going to be wondering how to pay the mortgage/rent and feed the family
