Orange Sub 3 refresh/modernisation

[sparkybhp]

Hi, thought I’d share the progress I’ve been making with my full-sus Orange which I picked up fairly recently.

I'd been watching it on eBay as it kept being re-listed with the price dropping each time. I eventually got it for £125 with no others bidders interested. I thought that was a bit of a bargain, it was well used and the crappy pics in the listing didn’t help I suppose.
There’s no dents or cracks to the frame but the components were mismatched and some were worn out.
I stripped it down and rebuilt it, upgrading from 80-100mm forks and decided to go 1x9 with Avid BB7 disc brakes for now:

I really rate the way the bike rides, roads are a bit bouncy but the bike comes alive once you hit the trails, it’s surprisingly light too for what it is.
I’ve got some more upgrades planned with some Hope wheels and some hydraulic discs too, so stay tuned for updates..

 

[Carge]

I had one of these - put it on a diet - and it was bl**dy awesome.
I had an RP23 rear shock which took out the bob on the road and climbing etc.
Magura Durin up front, Syntace Carbon bits and Tune cranks, Hope hubs, Crest rims and Rocket Rons brought the weight down nicely.

I seem to think it was about 23lbs - there's a build thread somewhere on here

 

[W7Ford]

Very nice! It might be worth considering a cassette with a bigger range on the back to compensate for the lack of front, depending on your chosen riding type. I went for a 9 speed microshift one and it works fine with my LX rear mech.

 

[sparkybhp]

Hope hubs, Crest rims

Thanks for the positive comments and advice, I’ll keep a look out for a RP23 shock as the SID does need attention anyway, the negative side looses pressure between rides.
I have Hope hub/Crest rims to go on - bit of a coincidence, just waiting on tyres.

 

[Carge]

Build thread here - final spec list on Page 4 - sub 23lb
https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/orange-sub3-build-thread-now-with-pic.194314/page-4

 

[sparkybhp]

Thanks for the link above . I actually read through your thread when I was researching the bike before I bought it! Yours turned out nice - I’m surprised that you found the fit better on the 16” as we’re the same height and mines an 18” which I like. Horses for courses I suppose!

Got the new wheels cleaned up - I could’ve sworn the rims were crest but they’re DT Swiss..

I’m going to try these forks on it in place of the Manitou which are on it now.

 

[sparkybhp]

Oh yeah!