2007 Orange Clockwork Ltd edition

[Wold Ranger]

C16

I had a C16r and it was quite a bit whippier than my 98 Clockwork, which also has a 1 and 1/8th head tube and Geometry for 80mm travel forks. The late models are very rare as there were not that many produced and Aluminium frames and FS had all but taken over by '98. I'll do a piccy of mine in a bit for you, get your tissues out for the drool¬

 

[bkt]

haha wicked ill look forward to it

 

[jonnyboy666]

@wold ranger,

what's not to get about the 07 clockworks? they aren't trying to be the old clockworks and i think that is the point.

when i spoke to the guys at orange before they launched them, they asked us why we weren't selling as many orange bikes as we used to, simple answer was that fewer and fewer of their bikes suited the area down here, all their bikes seemed to be aimed at abusive or freeride style riding except the the 2 gringo's and the evo models. we as a shop asked them to bring back the clockwork for that year as did others. orange themselves weren't happy with the sales generally so the p7 got a massive revamp a year or so before and suddenly went from old school geometry to what it is now, like the bike or not it flew off the shelves, so when they launched the clockwork it had to be disc compatible and had to take atleast a 100mm fork.

in real terms the only similarity between the old retro clockworks and the 07 one is the paint design, and orange haven't tried to hide that, as one of the guys put it

"we haven't had the clockwork for a few years but we think this is how it would be now if we had tweeked the design each year and kept the model in the range"

think about it this way, specialized made the stumpjumper back in the day, does the current stumpy look anything like the original? no! it's a full susser!!!

i'm sure there is an element of cashing in on the name and the retro revival but who cares, they're a business after all! the clockwork is aimed at people like us, some of whome lost interest in bikes coz they grew up got married and had kids and the bikes had to go! then that guy decides to get fit again and sees a similar paint job to what he had BITD and thinks "yeah, i miss my clockwork! i'll have that"

personally i'm really glad they did make these frames coz i'm chuffed as nuts with mine!!

you and me both know we can get retro clockworks but the average guy probably thinks they are long gone and also probably wants the ease of just buying off the shelf, and lets face it the modern position is better for most peoples backs aswel. definately is for mine!

personal preferance is always gonna be the thing that makes us choose different things

 

[Wold Ranger]

Oranges

 

[jonnyboy666]

liking that what is the chain? kmc?

and i just re read your first post, thought you wrote, i just don't get the 07 etc as opposed to don't get because! not that i meant to sermonise!

 

[Wold Ranger]

Juicy

The chain is as you say a Kmc Gold Ti Nitrided, bit pricey but very light and work much better than Sram or Shimano.
Sorry I'm unfortunately 52 and had every damned mtb under the Sun just about! I just find the "Ltd" rides, well odd compared to the older models. I had some of the originals and never really felt the desire to buy a Ltd when they came out, although one of my LBS's pushed me hard to. What is the tubing on the Ltd 200 frames? Is it still Tange Infinity?
The Clockwork in the piccy is a 98 and will take a 100mm fork Geometry wise, but I run the Rebas at about 70 with plenty of sag. I've tried it with shorter Forks and the ride is awful, way too twitchy with wash out on corners.
The shot of the P7 shows how the Geometry has changed since Bitd and was designed for 140/150 forks, they're also now built for serious abuse and even have an IS chain device mount on the BB shell. However the Ltd seems still be sat back a lot with a modern Long travel on? Just looks that way to me.

 

[jonnyboy666]

no, it's not infinity, it's "series 7.7 custom drawn micro butted cromo".

i seem to remember being told by the guys they chose it for it combination of (relatively) lightweight and springy feel. i run my reba's on 100mm, it rides fine with a flat bar but i prefer it with a riser. if i go back to a flat bar on it i'll run the forks shorter travel though.

 

[Wold Ranger]

Steel

Is that not the same crmo they now use in the P7? If so that would explain the different feel to the ride, as the Tange Infinity was always reknown as being extremely whippy.

 

[jonnyboy666]

not sure what the p7 has now tbh, haven't looked coz it's not my style of bike, i'm not keen on hadtails with more than 120mm absolute max.

 

[Wold Ranger]

P7

You can run a P7 down to 100mm no problem, but up here Long travel hard tails are pretty much the necessity, FS has its place, but can be a handful on the tight twisty turney steep stuff and the rear bounce can be a hinderance at times. The Pace 303/305's were specifically designed for our terrain.