Orange Prestige 92/93 Period Correct (hopefully!)

[Anthony]

I'd be interested to see your frame. You say it's a 92, but you're taking as an inspiration the 93 range featured in 11/92 MBUK. I thought there were significant differences between the 92 and 93 Oranges?

I see you have top tube rm routing, but a down-pull fm, which you sometimes see but I haven't yet been able to tie that down to a particular year. Does your serial number help to tie down the precise date of the frame?

 

[john]

Look forward to seeing the whole build. Good to see that colour scheme too, seem to recall this being quite popular bitd but most you see now are in the more iconic white/orange or black.

 

[FluffyChicken]

I'd be interested to see your frame. You say it's a 92, but you're taking as an inspiration the 93 range featured in 11/92 MBUK. I thought there were significant differences between the 92 and 93 Oranges?

I see you have top tube rm routing, but a down-pull fm, which you sometimes see but I haven't yet been able to tie that down to a particular year. Does your serial number help to tie down the precise date of the frame?

The inverter wheel was 93/94 I thought, not until the P7* was there any 'significant' alterations, well looks wise. I'm ignoring tubing as I have no idea about that.
The bike they tested will be pretty much a 1992 bike with possibly some 1993 'idea' stuff like the XC Expert MD groupset. it was publish Nov 1992 (article) so in shops a month before that and tested some months before that still.
I don't the bikes where ever help back that far in advance and launched like they are nowadays (other than maybe GT, Trek, Marin types) just wasn't the setup at Orange for that. More a bumbling evolving setup I always gathered Hence maybe the decals still being serif ?

Who are our Orange technical experts ?
I would say what they tested would not be what you bought in 1993 in the shops.


*But then a P7 is not a Prestige.

 

[Anthony]

The inverter wheel was 93/94 I thought, not until the P7* was there any 'significant' alterations, well looks wise. I'm ignoring tubing as I have no idea about that.
The bike they tested will be pretty much a 1992 bike with possibly some 1993 'idea' stuff like the XC Expert MD groupset. it was publish Nov 1992 (article) so in shops a month before that and tested some months before that still.
I don't the bikes where ever help back that far in advance and launched like they are nowadays (other than maybe GT, Trek, Marin types) just wasn't the setup at Orange for that. More a bumbling evolving setup I always gathered Hence maybe the decals still being serif ?
Who are our Orange technical experts ?
I would say what they tested would not be what you bought in 1993 in the shops.
*But then a P7 is not a Prestige.

As you say, the Nov 92 MBUK will have gone on sale in mid October, having gone to press probably in mid September and the test wouldn’t have taken place any later than end July. I agree that Orange were always more haphazard than US brands, but the cover says it’s a test of 93 bikes, and it seems to me most likely that’s what it is. They don’t usually put developmental mock-ups in group comparison tests because they know their readers want to know about the bikes that are actually on sale.

Similarly the Stiff ad says it’s about the 1993 range, and again I would guess that’s what it is. Most brands start selling the range for year X in the autumn of year X minus 1. Frames built in Taiwan are built many many months before they’re due to go on sale, because they have to be taken by ship to the other side of the planet and they have to fit in with the production schedule of the huge factories there. A frame dated say April 1992 is most likely for a 93 bike. That's why I suggest northerndave should start from his serial number.

The two frames shown below look similar in most respects, but one has top tube routing and a pulley for a down-pull fm, the other has down-tube routing. Both are thought by their owners to be 92 frames, and I accept that unless somebody can prove it’s wrong. I don't know much about the serif font, but I think it was earlier, 92 and 93 frames mostly seem to have this square font.

 

[brocklanders023]

Seem to remember Orange getting the '93 groupsets early. When MBUK tested the '93 LX gear it was on a Clockwork as they had them first.
We've discussed this before on here and I think the general view was that Orange frames evolved throughout the year. There's many examples of same year frames with different features.

Looking forward to seeing this build Dave. Doing a very similar build to this myself. The grey frame was my favouite bitd so when I can find a colour match I'm getting one of my frames painted up in it.

btw, I have a resprayed and mint Stalk that might be some use. Think it should still be on a for sale thread somewhere

 

[clockworkgazz]

looks great dave looking forward to this biuld.

 

[northerndave]

Sorry chaps, been off this thread for a bit. I'm well excited about this build though. Some SS7's are sitting in the post office for collection in the morning and I've got a pair of XT AND DX thumbies on my desk thanks to a over zelous RetroBike finger. Probably gonna fit the XT's

Serial number is 92 model, think August if i remember.

I've been doing so much research on model years, meticulously inspecting catalogues, my old photos, digging round in my teenager memory and other bits it's stupid. The only constant I can garner is really that with Orange there is no constants and they changed the bikes all the time.

Take for example the 92 catalogue (A new phase). You've got old stock photo, some bikes with big toptube/seatstay drops and some of the smaller models with stays and top tubes that meet. 2 types of prestige decals no indication of colours. Basically a minefield.

In my mind the model/year idea is in fact not applicable to Orange and all you've got is a definite manufacturing (welded in the far east) date from the frame number but that's about it. The bikes developed all the time and some of the statements in the catalogues are testament to that - "we reserve the right to constant change etc etc".

Not that this is unique to Orange, take this Fat Chance gem I've picked up along the way. I've got a Saratoga built fat and aparently when Fat moved to Saratoga and chain stay bulleting machine didn't go too. So you can tell a raw frame's origin by it either having one piece stays or it having the bullets welded on. All well and good, but than apparently Chris took a heal of old tubes with him so some Saratoga bikes have welded bullets and some from tubes brought from Massachusetts. Gotta love bikes.

Some big model 'type' indicators, at least on the prestige seem to be front mech routing and tuptube/stay drop.

In terms of the MBUK bike, that's gotta be a 92 manufacturing date bike and 93 model year bike.

So I'm assuming my frame was made in mid 92 and it would have been painted and finished any time between Q4 92 and anytime 93.

But anyway, it's a fun build I'm stoked at trying to get it period correct and I'm well happy with it so far. That Orange/Purple paint is a bonus too - not seen too many of them at all.

 

[sinnett177]

Crikey I can still smell that catalogue! Go on have a sniff.


And no I've no written this on the wrong forum

 

[brocklanders023]

Get some more pics up dave!

Oh, I've got a bone to pick with you too as this thread spurred me into action and my Clockwork frame is now sitting at the powder coaters waiting for a grey paint job. Got to work out how I'm going to pay before I collect it next week! :roll:

 

[northerndave]

More pics will be ip this weekend, although they might just be more teasers! Shifters and levers will make it a rider, but does that mean it's finished? Probably not....