UPDATED | Orange Bikes Calls In Administrators

2014 gravel bikes, pfffft singular had the 29er drop bar gryphon in 2009, just goes to show again, its always the smaller niche boys that do the interesting stuff and the boring vanilla mainstream catch up eventually 😂

See also, fat bikes, 29ers, 29+ etc….

Does every thread on here turn into a debate on the origin of gravel bikes if it runs long enough?

Does every thread on here turn into a debate on the origin of gravel bikes if it runs long enough?

Dunno, but who made the first e-bike?

Does every thread on here turn into a debate on the origin of gravel bikes if it runs long enough?

How to dry a cat is more interesting than gravel bikes…

Right then. Other than Whyte, Specialized, Surly, Genesis, Kona, Van Nicholas, Santa Cruz, Ibis, Kinesis, Cannondale, Marin, PX/OO, Pinnacle and Singular who else was way ahead of the curve by offering a gravel bike in 2014?

Weren’t folk riding their bikes on gravel tracks and in the woods back in the 60s, before bikes were invented, or something like that?

I’m just going to jump to the end and say Kirkpatrick MacMillan.

Kirkpatrick MacMillan was the first to make an ebike.

Oh, and no one was the first to do Gravel Bikes because Gravel Bikes aren’t real.

Like birds.

who else was way ahead of the curve by offering a gravel bike in 2014?

…back in the early 80’s I rode my 10 speed racer – fitted with cow-horn handlebars – around the local woods and footpaths! 🙂

Does every thread on here turn into a debate on the origin of gravel bikes if it runs long enough?

Or it becomes an discussion about Israel and gets closed down.

Or it becomes an discussion about Israel and gets closed down

Wrong type of Ms Isle

Have you seen bikeperfect having a dig at this thread/ article.

“To make the sting even worse, Singletrack magazine stated (on a now deleted thread on their forum) that this was the first time most of the workforce knew about it”

Who/what is bikeperfect?

BikePerfect is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher.
Copied from their web page.

bikeperfect.com
Article written by Guy Kesteven.

Without trawling back through the thread, has the post in question been deleted?
If yes, would anyone at STW care to explain why – and why did they not double-check before posting?

Guy Kesteven, conveniently ignoring it was Carlton Kirby who broke the news, first, on Forbes…

And the thread hasn’t been deleted, only closed.

Orange bikes to appoint administrators

Who/what is bikeperfect?

A quick peek since I’ve never heard of it before either seems that its yet another bike “news” website.

Article written by Guy Kesteven.

Since they seem to be reading this then you’d kind of hope that such a well thought of bike journo may have done a little more research before regurgitating something off a forum 😀 I got sent a link to the Forbes story before anything appeared on STW.

So why not contact bikeperfect/Guy Kesteven pointing out their error and ask for comment and/or retraction?

Guy Kesteven, conveniently ignoring it was Carlton Kirby who broke the news, first, on Forbes…

Yep, I read Mark’s comment with the STW story as having a subtext of “Carlton is a bit of a tool”.

Because he does seem a bit of one.

Having read it, it looks like he mentions Forbes. Not having a go at STW

Shortly after the news that Orange Factory Racing – once home to internet favorite Joe Barnes – was not surviving into 2024, worse news broke last weekend when Forbes reported that the firm was going into administration. To make the sting even worse, Singletrack magazine stated (on a now deleted thread on their forum) that this was the first time most of the workforce knew about it.

Except Stw stated that they held off on publishing the news as long as possible so that employees wouldn’t hear about the issues 2nd hand, so sounds like a drama queen.

Perhaps STW can send Guy a bag of chips to review for his shoulder. Impartially, of course.

Two bags of chips – one for each shoulder to ensure balance.

Nice piece by Alex at Bikeradar: Orange Bikes helped shape my MTB story – and I’m far from alone – BikeRadar

BikePerfect – never heard of it!

Must be run by some fly-by-night newbies.

Weren’t folk riding their bikes on gravel tracks and in the woods back in the 60s, before bikes were invented, or something like that?

As the bike was invented well before tarmac I think we can assume it started with gravel

@tomhoward I read what you posted and understood the context, shame nobody else has bothered.

bikeperfect.comArticle written by Guy Kesteven

Did he rate it 5/5 like every bike he seems to review? 

Guy wasn’t having a pop at anyone on here or STW.
Read it again.

back in the early 80’s I rode my 10 speed racer – fitted with cow-horn handlebars – around the local woods and footpaths!

if you’d left the drop bars on you’d have invented gravel bikes!

Guy wasn’t having a pop at anyone on here or STW.
Read it again.

Where would be the fun in that for those with an axe to grind?

Right then. Other than Whyte, Specialized, Surly, Genesis, Kona, Van Nicholas, Santa Cruz, Ibis, Kinesis, Cannondale, Marin, PX/OO, Pinnacle and Singular who else was way ahead of the curve by offering a gravel bike in 2014?

You missed Salsa! And how come no one’s mentioned John Tomac’s Yeti yet? 😉

And how come no one’s mentioned John Tomac’s Yeti yet?

Meh, he was just a Jacquie Phelan wannabe! 😉

ummm, Cotic? wasnt the X out 2010ish? even the Roadrat was marketed as Gravelable wasnt it?

Yeah, >x< was 2010… but we had dropbar Roadrats before that as well. The Americans hadn’t given us the “gravel” moniker at that point… but drop bar off road bikes had already been around for years.

….. but not very popular, until later, which was my point. Maybe it was blind luck but out of nowhere (for them) Orange produced a bike that fit in to a bracket that was about to become huge.

As the bike was invented well just before tarmac I think we can assume it started with gravel

I think the first bike was developed in German about 1817, whereas tar sealing of “macadam” surfaces didn’t start until the 1820s. But stone paved roads have been around a lot longer, back to Roman times at least, so gravel riding did not necessarily originate from the birth of the bicycle.

They didn’t produce it “out of nowhere” though. I’ll requote the line I was responding to…

they were way ahead of the curve originally, just as they were with other trends. Who else was offering a gravel bike in 2014

In fact there was nothing “trend setting” about the RX, and as we’ve shown, they were simply following a path trodden by lots of other manufacturers and made what was, in my opinion, simply a copycat bike specifically for Orange fanbois.

You were quick to jump on another forum user for getting facts wrong earlier in this thread. I thought you might like to have this one set straight to save yourself from making the same error again in future.

Anyway, my Orange branded polo shirt has arrived, ordered just before the website was closed. Who was the first to market branded polo shirts? I think Fred Perry?

copycat bike specifically for Orange fanbois.

A copy cat of a niche that sold in small numbers and very few MTB’ers took notice of, or a copy cat of a trend that grew in to the latest ‘thing’ that became the style of bike to have? I could explain what I meant further but find you achingly tedious so will leave you to your pissing contest.