Orange bikes, love or hate?

My 14yo son thinks they are cool as **** and would happily donate a kidney for one. He’s riding a single pivot Marin That predates the 5. And loves it. Simple design that seems to work fine.

Personally, I like bikes. All bikes. If I only had a dutch shopper, I’d still ride the trails on that. I will however be test riding a Gyro, an Epic 29er and possibly a Tall Boy before purchasing an FS bike to go with my SS.

Actually, on the note half way up this page about bike porn. I’m still baffled by how a 5-Spot is bike porn, and a Five is ugly, might just be me 😕

If you relax your eyes when looking at the images, you should be able to see a bike fade into view around the brand name.

I’m with you there Toasty, the only Turners I like the look of are DH bikes.

for such an outdated suspension design Orange did pretty well at the recent Macavalanche event! I know it’s also down to the rider but the guy’s on Orange bikes were’nt the only good riders there.

There are far uglier bikes around than the Five, but it’s all down to personal taste. Personally I think Fives look pretty good- solid, no nonsense and purposefull.

My Five is good fun and I won’t be replacing it for a long time.

Sh**, I ride a Meta 5.5 and drive an Alfa Romeo……livin’ on the edge!

Actually, on the note half way up this page about bike porn. I’m still baffled by how a 5-Spot is bike porn, and a Five is ugly, might just be me

They are both ugly. From someone who used to own a 5. I think the Turner might out ugly it though. Just.

And it riles the thinkers right up! They’ve just spent the best part of 6 months agonizing over a new bike purchase. Reeling off endless amounts of dribble on forums about carbon lay ups, axle paths and shock tuning

owners then feel they have to reel off endless amounts of dribble on cycling forums about how much fun they are, how well they ride, how well they descend (thats what we ride to the top for, eh!) etc. With no real proof/data/figures to back up these claims.

but truth be told, they’d be happy riding any bike.

FTFY

Anyone who ‘hates’ a bike company has some serious issues, quite frankly.

Look at the angle they’ve had to use to make the orange photogenic.
Had to get its best side!
Turner’s far prettier, not that it matters.

I love mine, possibly the best bike I’ve had, it does everything its supposed to very well. I could have bought a Trek or Specialized etc, with slightly better spec, but that wouldn’t have made it ride any better and as its a bike that’s whats important.

I like the look of it, they look much better in the flesh. In fact I get more “that’s a nice bike” comments on it than I have on any other bike. Not that I really care TBH, its a bike not a fashion accessory.

The original Orange Clockworks and even posher P7 were great when they first came out back in the day and were quite special as were PACE bikes of the time.

Orange for me lost their way for me when they started manufacturing abroad, and started becoming a mass producer of bikes, but still kept prices high.

Also when they told my mate that he was reponsible for the crack that had appeared on his Orange 5. The poor lad has never ridden a bike hard in his life, would let alone ride hard enough to crack one!

I like my Orange, it’s not been as reliable as my last few bikes, but it’s a lot of fun. I may or may not get another Orange when it finally dies.
Probably won’t ever buy an Audi though 😉

After a K2 Proflex 4000 (stolen), 2001 Specialised Stumpjumper (still got), Rocky Mountain ETSX (broken), I finally ended up with my 5.

Simply the best. Won’t be going anywhere else.

I had an Evo2, which i loved.

Then i had a Sub3, which was bouncy and horrid.

I also had a early 90s C16r, which was way too big for me.

Overall i’m ambivalent.

“Hate” is a strong word.

It’s all about the LOVE.

Ride….
Life….

Go get both and smile 😀

evo2 – which i didn’t like

five – which i like

patriot – which i loved

It doesn’t really add anything to the pro’s/cons, love/hate, like/no-likee debate whatsoever, but myself and my Orange are off up here…

shortly. Just thought I’d mention it 😀

Inteesting discussion. They certainly polarise opinion. Given that this is really about the eponymous five, my thoughts are that the five is an excellent do-all bike. is it the best climber? No. is it the best descender over rocky terrain? No. Will it twist and turn round the tightest singletrack at the fastest possible rate of knots? Probably not. But if you want a bike that will do everything to a good standard and iron out the imperfections (some would say steamroller everything) then it’s the one. personally I like something that means I have to pick my lines and live on my nerves a bit more, but its horses for courses. At the end of the day it does what it does (a bit of everything), well.

Oh yeah, that was the other thing I don’t like about them, the ridiculously short and limited warranties. A 3 year warranty on the Five is bad enough, but 2 years on an Alpine 160 or 1 year on a Patriot or a 224!!! I’m sorry, but only giving a product a 1 year warranty says they don’t believe in it, and it should cost a fraction of what it does.

Unlike some people I actually still think single pivots make sense sometimes. Orange have clearly refined the design over the years so the bikes ride well, that much nobody is likely to dispute. Though obviously different things for different people and all. I’d actually like to try out a modern 5 to have a go on (if I could find one to fit, which stupid idiot decided to make a 17″ model when people have been crying out for one for ages, but use the TT length off the 18″ model so there’s essentially no difference between the 17 and 18! The 16 would be too short for me, the 17/18 too long). But I don’t think it would ride any better than a lot of bike costing a lot less than it do, usually with better warranties.

It comes back to the same old thing with me. The bikes aren’t bad, overpriced yes, not the best looking (though some are worse granted), but it’s that seemingly every 4th Orange 5 owner (it’s never a Hardtail, or an ST4, or a 224 etc.) has to go on and on and on and on until you want to smack him in the mouth, just about how good his bike his, how everyone else is jealous they don’t have one, and why his bike is so much better than yours!

Picture the scene, you turn up to go ride with a group of people you’ve known a while. 2 of them have just bought new bikes. Bob has just bought a new Cannondale/Trek/Giant/Marin etc. Trevor has just bought a new Orange 5, complete with matching frame coloured rims (you know the ones!) and everything on it anodised and made by Hope… Conversation goes like this…

“Hi Bob, nice new bike you’ve got there, how does it ride?”

“Yeah, it’s alright, bit better than the old one, got a good deal on it, pretty happy thanks. How’s you?”

All good… Until you say hi to Trevor…

“Hi Trevor, new bike too, how’s it ride?”

“Well… Let me tell you… It’s the best thing since……………………………… blah blah blah folded from sheet metal in Halifax blah blah blah…………………. Guy Martin, you know him off the telly, rides one blah blah blah……………….. Single Pivot cos it just works none of that crappy stuff you don’t need blah blah blah………………… Slack head angle for going downhill like a DH bike, but steep seat angle so it still goes uphill as fast as an XC race bike blah blah blah……………..”

“See ya later Trev, we’re off for a ride, you can join us if you like in a bit when you’ve finished your 5 minute sales pitch on Orange 5’s!”

😉

What’s an Orange Five?

cows in cars, youre wrong and dont understand comedic concepts. Jokes get funnier with repetition.

My Orange Alpine 160, yesterday.

Jokes get funnier with repetition

That concept works, but the joke has to be funny in the first place.

That concept works, but the joke has to be funny in the first place.

I know it must be tough to laugh if you’ve spent 3 grand on a filing cabinet. But come on, you said it before: its a bike, not a fashion accessory (or a piece of office furniture)

What happened mboy, we’re you bullied by an Orange 5 at school or something?

I bought a 2012 five frame with Ccdb, still preferred my old blur 4x. but hated having to put bearings and bushes in the bastard every couple of months. Think I’m still adapting to it perhaps? im going to try a 2010 Rp23xv I got off a mate as I found it a bit dead on trails, but it did piss past a bloke on a trek session up cwmcarn dh.

Don’t get the hatred myself, ride what you want.

Yes I do ride an Orange though, a 2011 G4, and why, because I like them.

1990 has an Emmelle Cheetah, wanted an Orange, couldn’t afford one
1994 same story, bought a rockhopper
2000 same story, bought a marin alpine trail
last year after several years off MTB and on motorbikes I wanted another one. This time could afford one, so I bought one.

No regrets, great little bike even if it is “just a hardtail, frame made in taiwan”

what I didn’t realise is that during my 7 year break from mountain bikes that such a hatred/fanboi attitude had appeared about a brand, baffles me.

the other bike shock on returning to MTBs is trail centers, where did they spring up from(along with Am/freeride/4x/trail)WTF its a bike, just ride it.

the other bike shock on returning to MTBs is trail centers, where did they spring up from(along with Am/freeride/4x/trail)WTF its a bike, just ride it.

Commercialisation and clever marketing

skywalker – Member

That concept works, but the joke has to be funny in the first place.

Tell that to the writers of the Fast Show.

Oh yeah, that was the other thing I don’t like about them, the ridiculously short and limited warranties. A 3 year warranty on the Five is bad enough, but 2 years on an Alpine 160 or 1 year on a Patriot or a 224!!! I’m sorry, but only giving a product a 1 year warranty says they don’t believe in it, and it should cost a fraction of what it does.

under EU law it must have a two year warranty. Oranges are way over priced and made badly by muppets in England. Nude calenders on the wall at work, how professional.

Nude calenders on the wall at work, how professional

Office worker then…

I have nothing for or against Orange bikes accept that I know a lot of people who ride Orange fives and rave about them, I wanted something a bit different and have always wanted a Turner 5 Spot, doubt if I ever broke it or my son took up mtbing I wouldn’t buy an Orange. I reckon my next bike would be a 650b Turner if they produce one.

Nude calenders on the wall at work, how professional.

Its called clever marketing. Same thing as having some Northern chap who pretends to drink Stella as your number one rider, it appeals to a certain type of person.

Office worker then…

i work in a hospital.. doing some thing useful sorry. Its also not acceptable for a work place as many people i.e women, religious people , people with a brain would find it offensive, also shows the mental level of its employees, have u seen the guts on some of them, clearly they haven’t ridden a bike for quite some time. They are over priced and badly made by fat balding men. How cool.

I cant figure out why people want to buy a bike with an out dated rear suspension design?

Its called clever marketing. Same thing as having some Northern chap who pretends to drink Stella as your number one rider, it appeals to a certain type of person.

that sort of person being a fat middle aged man with a audi???

This place just gets worse 😐

[/quote]have u seen the guts on some of them, clearly they haven’t ridden a bike for quite some time.[/quote]

And the problem being?

If I want something welding ask a welder, something making ask a machinist/engineer

Danny MacAskill / Mark Cavendish may be fantastic riding a bike but could they make,manufacture/weld one.

What a charming little fella you are ihaveabike? The second coming of jumpupanddown?

ihaveabike – Member

have u seen the guts on some of them, clearly they haven’t ridden a bike for quite some time.

On the other hand, I ride bikes all the time and weigh under 10 stone but I’m an incredibly bad welder. Who would you choose to work in your bike factory?