As an Orange Crush and Whyte T130 owner, I have been looking at options for the next bike for my daughter (currently on a 405). I have been looking at secondhand small Orange Fours (and Whyte T130s) but am not the familiar with the Halifax made frames.

I have seen quite a few posts about cracked Orange frames and wondered whether it was a something to be concerned about ? Also, whether the Orange 4 is a good option for a small person ?

Cheers in advance.

MY wife is 5ft4 and loves her small 4 – not sure how much shorter it would take though. Looked for ages for a S/H one – all the ones I saw were almost as much as could get one from my LBS for new – though I have seen a few around since. A friend has just ordered a small 4 (again from my LBS) having tried the wife’s – great bikes, perhaps not the cheapest – am not aware of any 4s cracking but TBH I ride a Stage 5 and P7 so I’m a bit of an Orange fan!

Agree with the above, not heard of many, if any 4’s cracking. The Alpine 160 of a certain vintage seems most venerable.

Some belting deals on new 4’s about as they have not updated it in a while. Check out Sunset MTB.

I’m also a Orange fan and have had 3x 5’s, a 5 29 and a Segment, non of which have cracked.

My wife has a small Orange 4 and loves it. Not heard of any cracking. I have one too and I’ve given it a lot of abuse and I’m “somewhat” heavier

a cracked orange is a rarity and for some reason the internet forums and social media users loose there s##t when one cracks.
these generally tend to be the same people who love to quote filing cabinet.
instead im proud that a relative small local to me company like orange make products in the uk employing people in the uk and doing a very good job of it too.
if they can take a few sales from taiwan in the process of earning a few quid im all for it.then theres the pmba sponsorship they do etc .
yes there are bikes that perform better but as a whole package there hard to beat.

As chestrockwell said Sunset have some really good deals on 4s ATM (less than some used ones I’ve seen for sale!)- no sure how many smalls they have though

I have been riding my four for almost 3 years. I’m almost 14 stone and haven’t found any cracks on my frame thus far

It’s a great bike, by the way.

Mine cracked last year, near the bottom of the down-tube.

Orange replaced the front triangle and resprayed the whole frame, my choice of colour. The local bike shop and I split the bill for stripping and rebuilding as Orange wouldn’t do it themselves and wouldn’t pay anything for workshop time (apparently some other manufacturers do compensate shops for this).

The idea of low maintenance single pivot was definitely part of the appeal of the bike as I ride Calderdale all year round in all conditions, but I guess I could have had a lot of pivot bearings changed on other bikes in the same time I was without the four whilst Orange replaced the frame (over a month).

Otherwise it’s been a great bike; I have a lot of fun riding it, like the look of it and it’s nice to support local industry / have a bike made in my home town.

So not an Orange die-hard, but very happy with my Four and I don’t really think about the frame issue. If it happened again I’m sure I’d think differently but for now at least it’s not something I worry about.

I’d say get one if you can find one for sensible money.

a cracked orange is a rarity

No it’s not – loads of Alpines cracked on the swing arm. One of our riding group had two warranty replacements crack. The weird thing is why Orange fanboys get so defensive.

Thanks all for the comment…

I did it, bought a SH frame (size small) hopefully arriving tomorrow.

I have a spare 2017 boost Pike fitted with a 140mm airshaft. Will it be OK or should I put it back to 130mm ?

Cheers,

Paul

I would keep it at 140mm and fit offset bushings to slacken and lower the bike slightly.