1993 Orange Prestige - accidental project revival

[spatuluk]

This morning wasn't quite like other days. I didn't have to go to work, my son had a full day at nursery, and the wife had to go to London for the day. Cool! That meant I could finally take some photos of all the bike junk I'd acquired and flog it!

So, I went into the loft and dug out a Giant ATX 970 and an Orange Prestige frame that I'd bought last year and never got around to starting. I don't have any space for any more built bikes, so I may as well sell them..

aah, but as I took photos of the rust and knackered decals of the Prestige, I remembered the plans I had - it was gonna be so cool! Also, the rust had gotten a bit worse in the loft, and I didn't think I'd be able to get back what I paid for it..



On top of that, I'd bought some F7 forks that I'd never even got around to seeing if they fitted properly or not. Turns out; they did fit!



It was around this point that I decided to keep it.

The next step was to get it powder coated before it turned into a heap of brown stuff. That meant removing the headset cups and the BB. The cups were easy, but the BB was too stubborn for my rubbish, un-securable BB tool. A quick trip to the LBS sorted that out! Thankfully, he wasn't busy, so he did it while I watched, which left plenty of time to get to the powder coating place that I'd used for my Kili Racer.

ooh, but one thing still had to be decided - colour! After much looking at other people's Oranges, I plumped for something unofficial:



It was either that or grey or black. I think it'll look pretty sweet!

As for bits to put on it, I've got some Magura HS33s (not sure about having an empty cable stop on the back), an LX crank, some XT thumbies, and f&r XT mechs. I think I've got a seatpost that'll fit it, and I've got enough stems and bars to at least do something temporary. It'll share wheels with the Kili Racer to save space. I just need to buy some pedals!

ETA for the powder coat is just over a week, so I'll update some more when I get it back.

oh, and decals. Need to order some of those, too. hmm.. what colour....

 

[spatuluk]

I haven't got it back yet.

I'm starting to wonder if my colour choice was a good idea.. the plan was to add black or gunmetal decals, which I *think* would look pretty good, but could it be better? Maybe matt gunmetal, or a dark purple (similar to the official purple), or even just black? If only they hadn't said that I could change my mind! :roll:

flickr wasn't playing nice yesterday, so I couldn't upload all of my photos. Here's a couple more that I'd wanted to include:





Not looking very prestigeous at the moment, that's for sure!

 

[brocklanders023]

Re:

Watching with interest.

 

[hamster]

Good on you for a hot-rod paint scheme rather than the crashingly dull and unimaginative 'period correct'! Looking forward to the result.

 

[spatuluk]

Me too!

Something never felt right about the green, tho.. it reminded me too much of a colour that Rover Minis and Metros came in for a while (Rio special edition, I think), and it was a bit rubbish. I don't think it's a PHWOOOAR colour.

So, for inspiration, I have been looking through images I've saved of bikes that made me think PHWOOOAR! I've saved images of a few black bikes, but I don't think that'll work for me (too generic/potentially stolen). A nice aquafade Yo Eddy? That won't work in powder coat (mint green? hmm...). Some Agean blue Saracens. Yum! But I don't think it'll work with the Orange logo. Yellow? Nah. Metallic orange? Already got a bike in that colour! A purple Specialized M2 S-Works?

Bingo!



I've requested the colour change. Unlike the green, the more I look at the purple, the better it seems. I'm afraid it does veer closely to the original purple & orange colour option, but I think the purple's a nicer shade, and it won't be getting orange coloured decals.

Now that's decided, the next job on the list is to refurb the Maguras. I don't think scratched-up red will compliment the paintjob, so it's paint strippin time!

 

[spatuluk]

The frame is back!

It hasn't turned out quite as expected, but it's still pretty good. It's turned out a bit.. er.. pinker than expected.. :roll:







Because the colour is in the lacquer, some parts of the frame don't have quite the same coverage as other parts..


I reckon dark colours would work best with the near-pink of the frame, but that's going to be a long time off, as another project has crossed my path, and I'm now not sure what to do with the Prestige. I definitely don't have room for it, so do I sell it, or keep it for another day? For now, it's gone back into the loft, to be revived a different day.

 

[Minifreak]

Keep it and love it

I recently sold a very Orange Prestige frame, just sorting out a deal on a full bike in the same colours as yours was. Only sold as it was a little too big but built into an amazing bike:

 

[gusman2x]

That's a gorgeous colour.

 

[mamadirt]

Awesome finish

 

[spatuluk]

Keep it and love it

I recently sold a very Orange Prestige frame, just sorting out a deal on a full bike in the same colours as yours was. Only sold as it was a little too big but built into an amazing bike:

I had a look at your build thread for inspiration. I really liked how yours turned out, and would probably have gone orange if I didn't already have an orange coloured bike.

The more I look at the colour, the more I like it. Here's one other pic that I took before it went upstairs:


A new shed is in the works (the current one is tiny). Maybe I'll be able to squeeze 4 bikes into it, somehow, and the Prestige can come out of hiding.