Hello and Question

[D_Mike]

Hi guys,

I just joined. I like the website/forum etc.

I wanted to pose a question - I am not a hardcore mountain cyclist by any means, but when I was young I was very into the hobby (as in, er, i read a lot of magazine and rode my cheapo raleigh everywhere i could). I remember a holiday in italy, perhaps in 1998, although I'm not too sure, where I took along a mountain bike magazine with me. In this magazine, there was a review of three rigid bikes (no front suspension)... in the review, there was an Orange bike. (not orange, but made by orange). I would like it if people could suggest what it was....

So: Fully rigid, aluminium, made by orange, it was shiny silver (just lacquered i guess rather than painted). From around 1998.

I'd really like to track one of these bikes down and buy one as I was so enchanted by it as a boy.

any ideas?

 

[adambooth]

Easy,

Orange didn't have a huge range back then so it could only be one of a few, hard to say, but one of the most popular rigid frames was the Clockwork, which I seem to remember came silver polished. I'm sure other guys on here have a much greater knowledge than me, but it's a good place to start. Incidentally, I've just bought my boyhood dream bike a Pace RC 200, purely for the same reasons as you. And it's damn satisfying.

 

[TheGreenRabbit]

not sure of the dates but could have been a aliminium O ?

 

[kaiser]

Hello, have a look herehttp://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=3349 which is hopefully a link to the orange gallery where there are 97 98 and 99 catalogues. May take a while to load but you'll get there.

BTW if the link doesn't work got to, at the top of the page: gallery&archive, manufacturer gallery, orange......

 

[SLIM]

all of them here , back to 91

http://www.indiansummer.ch/downloads_1944705.php

 

[orange71]

most likely an Aluminium 'O' I would say. Clockworks were all steel. Like this but bare:

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... highlight=

 

[JeRkY]

Hadnt the O been replaced by the O2 by then? Which wasnt silver.

When were the nickel P7's? I know they were not alu but they could be mistaken for "aluminium coloured" if your not entirely sure what your looking at.

Also the P7 would more likely have been available as a rigid bike, pretty sure the O2 was shipping with shocks by then.

 

[Huntso]

I had an O2 from 98 and that had suspension.
It had white paint that fell off if you looked at it,rotten bike and should have learned my lesson after buying a Clockwork
The angles and sizes of Orange bikes just don't work for me,always feel a very strange ride.

 

[OrangeRetro]

If it was aluminium it would have either been an O2 or an E4, but I have to agree that it is unlikely that either of these would have been sold with rigid forks. I would go with a nickle plated P7 as the most likely candidate.

Saying that, all three are fantastic bikes and would make a great basis for a retro build..

 

[Xesh]

Could it be an Aluminium Elite? The one that I had was polished and rigid.