'91 Orange Alu O - the reason I came here in the first place

[Carge]

A long time ago - I bought an Orange Alu O frame - fresh and new.
As time went by, I bought what I wanted on it - XT running gear.
Mavic rims on DX hubs from two guys in a Highbury basement - calling themselves CycleSurgery.
I managed to find some Manitou1 forks from Wildside Cycles in Tunbridge Wells.

A good friend was a pro photographer - a did a studio shot of it.




Oh yes - Pace 48T chainring, XT thumbies, SS7 levers and 987 cantis, Odyssey brake straddle and a custom Fuquay stem.
Interestingly, the Smoke/Dart combo are blackwall - not amberwall.

Time went by - kit wore out - and the bike evolved. Major evolution was the swap from a 19" to a 17" frame .
The DX rear hub gave up and I came to Retrobike in 2009 to find a replacement - slippery slope

These days, it looks like this......



The Manitous got written off and the Pace went on in '92
DX front hub was upgraded with a Hope Suspension - laced to X517.
Fuquay stem has been swapped out for a Syncros - XT thumbies for GripShift on the original RC-130 bars

It comes out to play for a gentle spin from time to time - and it still makes me grin

 

[brocklanders023]

Lovely, just right.

 

[Carge]

So digging back in the memory - as it was then.....


Frame: Orange Alu O 19"

Fork: Manitou

Headset: YST ?
Stem: Greg Fuquay custom
Handlebar: Pace RC-Sub130
Grips: Onza PorciPaws
Barends: n/a

Brakes: Dia-Compe 987
Brake Pads: Dia-Compe
Brake Cables: Shimano
Cantilever cable hangers: Wire straddle
Brake Levers: Dia-Compe SS-7

Shifters: XT Thumbshifters
Front Derailleur: Deore LX
Rear Derailleur: XT
Derailleur Cables: Shimano
Cassette: XT
Chain:
Cranks: XT
Crank Bolts: Shimano
Chainrings: Pace
Chainring bolts:
Bottom Bracket: Unbranded Titanium
Pedals: MKS clipless

Hub Skewers: Shimano
Rims: Mavic 230
Hubs: Shimano DX
Nipples:
Spokes:
Tyres: Panaracer Dart/Smoke
Tubes: Air-B - red caps

Saddle: Flite Ti
Seatpost: USE Aluminium
Seatpost Binder:

 

[DrGooGoo]

You replaced the frame, stem and forks?

What ever happened to the old 19' frame, stem and manitou forks?

 

[Carge]

The Manitou orks were written off in spring '93 ish - as I hit a ditch at speed and woke up with a crowd around me.
The Pace forks were the sensible replacement

I bought a 17" Orange O2 on here and realised the smaller frame suited me way better than the 19". So I bought a 17" ALuO and transferred the kit over. The 19" went to Cheshire1980, which I believe he still has

The stem - well I'd always hankered after some Syncros kit - and when a NOS stem came up - I went for it. Polished the USE seatpost to match.
The custom Fuquay stem is still about - I've seen it recently, lurking in a parts box somewhere.

 

[clockwork davo]

Lovely that
Possibly your 19” I got from Cal last year

 

[jimwise68]

A guy I worked with bought one of these when they came out BITD. Beautiful in the matt grey colour.