Orange Aluminium O info needed

[captaincowelly]

Orange not my area of expertise,unless you count my "It's too Orangey for crows,it's just for me n my dawg!" recital.
I'm looking to source an Aluminium O for a good mate/work colleague.Very well travelled,groundbreaking pioneer in the whelking industry (true!),general legend.He had one back then but was stolen.Currently on a Whyte E-something (not electric) but is missing the ride/geometry of the 90's.Would love to find/build a good one for him.Will be a rider.
I need help to identify the right bike before I try to source one.He said it was a '94 but of course as we all know memory can easily slip a year or two.Checked archives but couldn't find what I needed there.
His had Pace forks and was a grey colour,not polished.He sent a couple of pictures,reckons it was like these;

Have to say this model,with this finish,kind of passed me by.Saw very few Oranges round here.I do really like it.Love those stays and the cable guides are a nice touch.
Also size wise,not familiar with how these are sized.He mentioned 18".I would say he's 5'10 plus.Is that going to be a 19 or 17.5?
Assistance would be greatly appreciated,thanks in advance!

 

[boy"O"boy]

Wow....that Kia Ora recital is a blast from the past! ....like the emoji explanation too!
If it was the other one...the marmoset picked the mardarin!

Back on topic. The Aluminium "O" was in the Orange model line-up from 1991 - 93.
It could be possible your mate bought it in 94 if a shop had unsold stock.
The 1st and 2nd Gen models (1991) had down tube routed cable guides and the rear brake via the top tube. The rear mech hanger is non replaceable.
1st Gen serial numbers start A9102xxxx
2nd Gen serial numbers start A106xxxx

For the 1992 model year, The Aluminium "O" had revised features such as 1/2 " shorter chainstays, all 3 cables were top tube routed and a replaceable mech hanger.
3rd Gen serial numbers start A108xxxx
4th Gen serial numbers start A112xxxx. These are identified due to lack of chainstay bridge.

Early models were orange/white fade or the Matt Silver pictured. Those are Cheshire1980 and clockworkdavo's O's btw.
Gen 2 added Satin Black to the colours.

These colours continued with Gen 3&4 but with revised graphics. Anodised Purple was also added in 93...most likely to clear the remaining frames. The Aluminium Elite appeared alongside the "O" as the superior model in 1992.
The "O" was dropped from the range in 93 and the Elite eventually evolved into the E- series evolutions.

Size wise. 5' 10" should be the 19" frame size.
I'm the same height as this but my personal preference is for the 17" frame.
Having riden both frame sizes back to back on the same trail in the same day confirmed my preference for the smaller 17" frame size.

Bit of a ramble.
Hope there's info in there for you Captain.

Aye aye.
boy"O"boy

 

[captaincowelly]

Now that is a reply!Thanks boy“O”boy!
Just realised what the “O” stands for.Not “On” as I suspected
And Um Bongo! in there too!Quite possibly the most effective advertising jingle ever known,inspired a generation of rappers.
Couldn’t have asked for a better lesson thanks for taking the time with that.
Although if it were me I’d probably have added a lot more irrelevant,random information and dragged it out a page or two.
10/10 for owner verification too!I’m guessing he pulled the pic from Google.
Will have a chat with him n see if we can pin a year down but I suspect he just wants something rideable in the same vein rather than a detailed reconstruction.
Thanks again,really appreciate that,at least I know what I’m looking for now.Albeit a grey Orange.Will check my lunchbox.

 

[Carge]

Size wise. 5' 10" should be the 19" frame size.
I'm the same height as this but my personal preference is for the 17" frame.
Having riden both frame sizes back to back on the same trail in the same day confirmed my preference for the smaller 17" frame size.

Same here - at 5'10" both will work - had one of each.
If that's Callum's 19" O - then that probably used to be my frame from BITD - I now have a 17" and much prefer the fit.

If you want something similar - the Orange O2 is an option. Certainly lighter, probably stronger, usually cheaper - 1 1/8th head tube and sensible seatpost size.

Link to my O here - https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads...reason-i-came-here-in-the-first-place.429183/

 

[Cheshire1980]

Still got the Aluminium O pictured with the pace forks. Its my main MTB rider still. The other O pictured I sold to Davo, which i originally bought off Carge.

 

[FluffyChicken]

My O's linked in my sig if you can see it, I no longer have it but the frame may be around here somewhere. I could ask.
It's 19" and at a tad under 5'10" myself I can't ride the smaller frame.
19" seems right.

They also came in a gloss (well not quite gloss, more smooth black) , I've see a few now. A sort of Plastic Coating type of paint. Mine was, and under is was the Satin Silver at the parts I chipped off. So probably another get shut of em stunt by Orange et al.
Warning is they Evolution headset (1 1/4") so if doing for a rider, just get some reducers and make life easy.


Link to Wiki
https://www.retrobike.co.uk/wiki/Orange

 

[captaincowelly]

Thanks chaps,that's a great help,takes a lot of the pain out of a search.I'll have a word with him n see what frame he wants to go for,then get a wanted ad up.
Thanks for reminding me about the Wiki FluffyChicken!Had honestly forgotten about that section.Think my old brain just automatically rejects any newfangled terminology

 

[clockwork davo]

This is the second O in the picture, now also built up with Pace forks although, rigid not suspension!

 

[Cheshire1980]

 

[Cheshire1980]

My O in its current form