UPDATED | Orange Bikes Calls In Administrators

While it may be legal, it’s no morally different to being a thief or shoplifter.

Is morally completely different. One is intentionally depriving someone of an asset. The other is agreeing with someone that they will extend credit/goods to you, at their own risk, so they’re better positioned to shift more of those goods, and that risk not paying off. A better analogy would be accidentally dropping a bottle of wine on the way to the checkout.

The only difference between the Patriot and Patriot lt was the shock. 190×50 vs 190×57. They were the same otherwise afaik.

There was another key difference. If you tried to run v-brakes on an LT the seat tube could hit the cable and pull the brake on, just when you’d least want it to (in their defence, they made it clear the LT was disc only because of this)

The UFO was a urt bike. It fully died in 1999. The Mr o was new for 2000, it was similar to the Mr white but had a different front end

Yup. Y-frame with URT, then Y-frame with single pivot, then Mr White/O using the new big downtube followed by the last version using the big downtube with an extra brace/tube at the top to avoid the cracking issues they’d had

My only mountain bike is a 2000 Gringo, bought by my wife for my fortieth. Only the frame original but still very loved, as I said in the discontinued thread I was hoping to have enough from the sale of my parents house when it sells to treat myself to my first full suspension. I hope they continue in some form, local manufacturing is important for skills retention. 

This is really sad news.  I’m one of those 40 plus riders who had a softspot for the brand, my friend had an Orange Prestige, a pretty classy piece of kit.  Recently I bought a new bike,  for quite some time I really wanted an Orange stage 6 .  I loved the single pivot design, simple to maintain but I could never afford the price.  I went for a Specialzed Stumpjumper Comp Carbon in the end as it was a much more affordable bike.  I would have loved to buy a UK made bike but I couldn’t afford it. I hope they find a way through.

I was a little gutted seeing the news yesterday. When I got back into riding 13 years back friends were riding Five (all lads from Halifax or Huddersfield  ) and I saved like mad to get in on these bright coloured Fives. I was lucky to buy Lesters old 26inch five in neon orange  and it was brilliant but knowing now it was way to small for me . I managed to but an alpine five which was again a rocket ship well ahead of its time with geo wheelbase and big old 29er wheels .

I think the use of social media around the time of 14-15 and the problems with the frames caused damaged to their  reputation and daft pricing . They seemed to me to have tomany models out there and unlike others never really out sourced meaning higher build costs .  I would have liked to get back on a Neon coloured Orange in the near future   I do hope something is sorted  but truth be told I fear the worst for the Stainland massive.

Very sad news – my first proper 1990s mtb was an Orange and I’m still regularly riding one I bought 22 years ago as my winter ride- just bought a heap of new bits to keep it going. Good luck to all the employees. I had a look on their site last week doing imaginary shopping, and the only bike that would have suited me was just shy of 6k, so I could never dream of buying another.

I raced both a 222 & a MsIsle from 99-05 (still have the 99 MsIsle) this is really sad news, but since the handover in 2015 it’s really not a surprise the line up is just confused and over priced. Even for the die hard fans of single pivot and the brand as a whole it’s been a step too far. There are just better bikes out there for the same or in most cases a lot less money & made in Halifax just wasn’t enough to man maths the price tag. Such a shame they didn’t keep innovating it’s like they gave up after Peaty won his crown on one.

after Peaty won his crown on one.

His world championship? That was on Santa Cruz.

I meant his crowning win with orange fort bill in 2005 it was like after that they just stopped rested on the laurels peaty moved on with Santa Cruz which rocketed bringing with it the syndicate (like an orange/animal hey day beast of a team) and orange were like they had been left tinkering in the shed.

It’s OK to have pride in home grown production without being accused of having a far right small minded mindset. Making stuff here is something to be proud of, not ashamed and it isn’t easy, so anybody doing it should be applauded and supported.

Definitely this , I moved to New Zealand a year ago and I’ve gone from wondering how a company like Zerode survives to seeing a couple every time I go to Rotorua. Supporting local manufacturers and buying local doesn’t make you a some mad right wing GB news watching Brexiteer . It’s also a fairly good way of being a bit more environmentally friendly .The little England comment is rather pathetic or a troll , not sure what’s worse .

I almost bought an Orange stage 5 last year but ended up with a ibis ripmo AF as it was considerably cheaper and a better spec and I suppose that’s the problem, 2 aluminium full suspension MTBs and the one that’s made 300 miles away is 2 grand more than the one made 5000 miles away . It shouldn’t be the case but unfortunately it is .

Sad news and i hope they pull through, Always had a soft spot for them with owning a couple of Fives in the past, a clockwork and currently a Steel P7 29 ( used to be a Crush but it cracked unfortunately) which is brilliant fun.

It’s also a fairly good way of being a bit more environmentally friendly

I suppose that’s possibly true. Shame about the majority of Orange bikes in that case, with them being manufactured in the far-East. That’s an awful lot of carbon to offset for over 35 years.
Which is why the UK made tag is a bit misplaced; absolutely they’re a British company, but look at it subjectively and it starts to seem a bit like flag waving without the facts to back it up.

I think they need to branch out a little more cut the existing lineup to types i.e. trail fs, hard tail, full-sus downhill and e-bike. They they need to embrace new technology to show they are doing something different even though they probably aren’t ;-) Oh and get into gravel biking a bit more to diversify. Cycling is a fickle market and ever changing.

Damn shame all I can say though, but I hope a phoenix rises from the ashes…

 

BR

JeZ

Fingers crossed they can find a solution to keep people in their jobs, and to continue folding sheets of aluminium into full-sus frames in the UK.

I’ve had a few, currently riding a Stage Evo – all have been brilliant bikes.

I will say I’ve had to go secondhand to afford them, with the aspirational pricing of recent years – and I have no idea how feasible it would be to address that issue.

Which is why the UK made tag is a bit misplaced;

Back in the day though they were all hand made in Halifax. They then shifted to ‘hand built’ in the UK (bit patronising) but kept charging the high prices. There was lots of chat about it on here at the time.

I guess thats when they started loosing their customer base.

Bring back PACE I say (the original ones, not the ones we have now)

Back in the day though they were all hand made in Halifax.

I don’t think that’s correct – I’d be very surprised if my (very) early Orange turned out to be UK made, and the same for every Orange I rode in the ’90s. I was always under the impression that the Clockwork, Prestige & Aluminium O (and later variants) were built overseas, and comments in this thread support that.
The top-end and race bikes may well have been Yorkshire built, but Pace they weren’t.

Shame if they go I had an Original Clockwork that I had for years as my main XC bike then used it as a commuter then I got Lee Cooper cycles to convert the rear to sliding dropouts and rode it for years as a Singlespeed. Tried a P7 but never got on with it and sold it on. Personally, I never liked the looks of their full-suspension bikes.

Sorry to hear this.

As someone with a design/manufacturing/engineering background I have a certain pride in UK made products without feels too jingoistic. Whilst I test rode a couple way back, Orange has always been a brand I was glad existed but never imagined buying. I guess the problem is that an increasingly large number of people felt the same. You can’t finance a company on warm thoughts alone.

The irony is that the single pivot five, built a bit burly to stand a bit of abuse and wear and tear (rather than riding like a god) is probably more appealing to me now, more than ever. It almost feels like the right recipe for someone looking to ride for fun, ride a lot and keep the cost of keeping it maintained from getting out of control….as long as it’s not too expensive to buy in the first place. 1X and better shock technology should have made it more rather than less relevant.

Back in the day though they were all hand made in Halifax. They then shifted to ‘hand built’ in the UK (bit patronising) but kept charging the high prices. There was lots of chat about it on here at the time.

Completely wrong, but don’t let that stop you.

Was going to say, they are still handbuilt in Halifax aren’t they? The sheet metal owners do some bits and then the Holywell Green factory stick all the bits together?

For the kind of riding I do, I can’t imagine a better bike than my Five Evo. Absolutely love it… Cheap they aren’t but then what decent “premium” bikes are these days?

We’ve had a response from Orange and updated the story.

@the-muffin-man
“…to let the cycle press know before their staff is bad form.” – Just wanted to clarify that bit. Orange didn’t let us know anything in advance. Singletrack had other info on the goings on at Orange (Companies House etc…) but we were trying to get a confirmation from Orange before breaking the story. Unfortunately, Carlton at Forbes ran with it anyway, so we followed suit once the story was out there.

Quick edit – while I was typing this, we HAVE now had a response from Orange. It’s in the updated story above.

Thanks for the update Mark.

Hopefully they can continue to trade.

Hopefully they can continue to trade.

 

Often the idea/point for administration, consultancy i used to word for operated in administration for  just over 2 years before all sorted out and then continue after (with some selling / acquisitions etc.)

 

markdoyle

I really wanted an Orange stage 6 . I loved the single pivot design, simple to maintain but I could never afford the price. I went for a Specialzed Stumpjumper Comp Carbon in the end as it was a much more affordable bike.

moonsaballoon

I almost bought an Orange stage 5 last year but ended up with a ibis ripmo AF as it was considerably cheaper and a better spec

I guess that’s the reality – when times are tough, and folks who actually like and want your product still end up choosing something else, then you are going to struggle.

Completely wrong, but don’t let that stop you.

Ok well tell the correct story then ?

Orange Bikes and its associated companies are currently working with Specialist Business Rescue Advisory firm J9 Advisory, with a view to restructuring the businesses in order to provide a viable platform to service our customers in the best way possible, safeguarding jobs and ensuring the continuation and strength of the Orange Bikes business moving forwards.

That’s exactly the same (apparently ‘morally dubious’) process I was talking about. Reboot the company without any debt…

Ok well tell the correct story then ?

I did, a page or two back. Long story short, only the folded aluminium frames, from the late 90’s on were hand made in the UK, all the rest, including the original Clockwork, Prestige, P7, Elite, Vitamin T, C16, O, etc, etc. have been sourced from the Far East. I can point you in the direction of an early 90’s MBUK article about Orange and Pace where it’s discussed if you want? The only exception I am aware of is the late 80’s, very early 90’s steel Formula that they got various frame builders to make to order, before Steve Wade made the last few, usually for mates.

@chipps

Thanks for clearing that up. It read like the press had been given the scoop a few days before. And I wasn’t pointing fingers at STW as I can see your hand was forced to release the story. 👍

chestrockwell

Maybe I am confusing you? When Orange started they only made the folded aluminium frames. It was an off shoot of an engineering firm where the engineers like riding bikes too so they started making their own.

The USP was they looked industrial and were hand made in Halifax. They became popular very quickly and people bought in to it as they were locally made/manufactured and were pretty unique in their day. They then introduce all the far east stuff you suggest above, and shifted production of the folded frames too, but still kept the high prices of the folded frames high but changed from ‘hand made’ to ‘hand built’ – I suppose getting a bike out of a box and putting the bas and pedals is building it. This peed alot of people off at the time.

I dont think they recovered since, also the problem of having such a unique looking USP, same with cars if too obvious it can date you.

Looking at the updated statement it doesnt look great – looking like cash flow issues. At least they are trying to sort it before administrators

Maybe I am confusing you? When Orange started they only made the folded aluminium frames. It was an off shoot of an engineering firm where the engineers like riding bikes too so they started making their own.

Its a bit off topic, seeing as we are talking about administration, but that’s just not correct.

Orange were selling Far East built Clockworks from 1988/89 onwards. I remember being very jealous of a kid at school that had one while I had to make do with my specialized hardrock.

Aluminium full suspension bikes came later.

A not aluminium Orange.

Yep, wasn’t the Clockwork the first Orange,and the X1 the first full suss.

Sorry @FunkyDunc but Orange were doing bikes long before the folded aluminium bikes…they didn’t start with those…unsure where you have read that info but it is very wrong…

Probably a good place to leave this

https://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/our-top-12-orange-bikes-from-the-past-30-years/

Ok sorry must be me that got my understanding wrong

I’d say I was accidentally brainwashed into wanting an Orange from an early age. I used to be a member of UYC and Lester, Wade and their families used to come down regularly and I used to see the VW camper van and all their branded logo all the time, along with seeing the bikes quite often too. As soon as I got into MTB the only bike for me was an orange and I was not disappointed whatsoever, excellent service, warranty support and I feel the price reflected the fact they were handbuilt in the UK in a town I spent a good amount of my youth growing up in. Halifax and Elland. Supporting good paying UK jobs and they were often kitted out with Hope components another local/ British company. For that reason along with the excellent spec and reviews they had I couldn’t say no, yes they cost a bit more but that money goes/went into supporting the local economy. I work in the fish industry and completely advocate the same approach for sourcing British produce as it’s better for both the UK economy and the quality difference is night and day. 

As mentioned above however, as the bike is/was built like a tank it’s still going strong and can easily get at least another 2/3 years out of it, I’ve had it 9 years this year and it will be passed down to my younger son to ride, once I replace it. Provided they are still going I will buy again or get a second hand one if not.

It’s a brand with a great back story and fantastic history IMO which also cements part of the reasons why I choose to support them. 

One thing I would also say is, from a business point of view the range is far too big and has too much crossover. Focus on your key lines and concentrate on making them be best sellers, ticking boxes to please all is both costly and poor business sense. One thing that also made them unique the colour schemes and graphics, a huge USP which since 2015 they have almost completely toned down and got rid off them. I had a neon green Alpine and wanted it resprayed on a warranty check but they discontinued that colour and neon pink which was my go to alternative. I genuinely believe quite a few people myself included were swayed by the crazy colour schemes and bold graphics. If you tie in these changes and the downturn of sales etc this seems to be perhaps a contributing factor. 

Back to the range size, they really only need 

1 DH bike

1trail bike – 5 with 27.5/29 option

1 enduro bike – alpine 

2 hard tails models 1 aggressive & 1 trail – crush /clockwork only in 27.5/29

1 kids bike

1 commuter/hybrid 

1 lightweight ebike for trail and 1 heavy weight enduro ebike.

The above covers pretty much all categories of their target audience, component choices as well are overcomplicated with too much crossover, they should have 1 budget ,1 mid and 1 high end of each, then offer a complete custom/boutique service for those who want to completely DIY on certain models. Take a look at Bird bikes I have one of their hard tails and the business model and build options they offer are brilliant and clearly works in a business semse.🤷

Just my 20P worth

God yes. We delivered the powder to them,  Neon colours were a massive usp . Orange and Yellow but even now at close to 50 id happliy ride a neon pink five

Orange were selling Far East built Clockworks from 1988/89 onwards. I remember being very jealous of a kid at school that had one while I had to make do with my specialized hardrock

A guy in the year above me at school (early/mid 90’s) had a steel Clockwork. It was far and away the nicest bike in the school bike parking!

I had a steel Saracen…

But yes, those steel hardtails were the original Orange bikes; the full sus “sheet metal” stuff began in about 1998/99.

1 DH bike

1trail bike – 5 with 27.5/29 option

1 enduro bike – alpine

2 hard tails models 1 aggressive & 1 trail – crush /clockwork only in 27.5/29

1 kids bike

1 commuter/hybrid

1 lightweight ebike for trail and 1 heavy weight enduro ebike.

Not even sure the range needs to be this big.

DH bikes – how many people buy DH frames/bikes anymore? Think I’d be tempted to pull the plug (even if temporarily) on the big bikes and focus on the core range.

1 trail – yep.

1 “enduro” – yep.

Hardtails – yep, 1 trail/general all rounder and one at the more extreme end of the scale.

Kids bikes – sack those off. The number of people wanting to buy their rapidly growing offspring a £1000+ bike must be pretty small.

Hybrid/commuter bikes – sack those off as well.

Include a gravel bike for those who are that way inclined.

E-bikes – whatever people want here, big one and a less big one for people who can’t be arsed to pedal.

6/7 core range of no-nonsense premium bikes that if you’re focusing on a smaller range, should (maybe) mean you’re able to reduce costs to build and pass some of that cost save onto the consumer.

Oh and whilst I’m at it, stick stupid gimmicks like bike gloveboxes where the sun don’t shine. Give people a free bum bag or something instead.