Orange x1 or Orange P7

[RTSclassic]

I am the current owner of a Orange x1 which I love but I think I may have to accept is a little small for me. I am tempted to swap it for an Orange P7 keeping in mind I live in the flattest part of britiain East Anglia I am looking for opinions on whether I should make the move back to a hardtail.

Incidentally I may be looking for a 21" frame if anyone has one for sale, also let me know if you may be tempted by the X1 frame 19" running it with a Rock shox at the moment but have the original shock as well and full set of spare graphics. Foolzgold was the previous owner you may remember him posting it for sale a while back.

Cheers

Mark.

 

[drystonepaul]

I'm not familiar with the X1 but I have got a 2006 P7 which I can highly recommend as a fantastic bike.
Great heritage and, dare I say, a modern classic. Very versatile frame too depending on how you set it up.
I live and ride in the Peak District and have never felt that a hardtail is in any way a disadvantage even on the big rocky stuff.

 

[RTSclassic]

Thanks for the response Paul, yep your one of the many who is singing the praises of the hardtail. I have enclosed a pic of the X1 purely in case you were wondering.

 

[Anthony]

To be blunt, the X1 wasn't one of Orange's best designs and the P7 was. But as it's a case of which to have, it's chalk and cheese really. What kind of bike do you need?

The X1 looks in superb condition, but it has two design features that were soon dropped by full-suss designers - a steel mainframe and a URT suspension system. I think the X2 for 98 had an aluminium frame, but was still URT. Although URT got a bad name, it could have been an over-reaction against the hype surrounding it when it came out. A lot of people with URT frames say they like them. I suspect a big part of the problem was the crude shocks they were using back then, but it looks as though you've upgraded yours from the original Shockworks?

 

[RTSclassic]

It's running a rock Shock at the moment which is giving a good blend between travel and avoiding the typical bounce associated with full suspension.

I need an education what is the URT design you mentioned? I actually really like the bike but it is a little small for me and I question if a lighter hard tail may be of more use to me given 1. my level of ability and 2. the pimples we call mountains in East Anglia.

M

 

[Anthony]

I think it depends how rocky/bumpy your trails are rather than mountainous per se. The bumpier the terrain, the more likely a full-suspension bike will be quicker. My fastest time around Bewl Water is on a hardtail, but my fastest time on my fs bike is only one minute slower. But my fs is a scandium RM Element with a Float RL shock. It weighs 24lbs, I don't experience any uncontrolled bouncing and the fs bike is definitely my best climber, owing to the superior traction.

The Element has a four-bar system sometimes known as faux-bar, but that's just a bit of stupidity related to a Specialized patent. Either form of four-bar seems to suffer less from bobbing than a Unified Rear Triangle system. [I hope the X1 is a URT after all this! It looks like one, and that's the way I recall it.]

With URT, the bottom bracket is part of the suspension arm and generally there's only one pivot. This keeps the distance between the cranks and the rear axle constant, but on the other hand it means that the cranks move relative to the mainframe including the saddle. That seems to make for unwanted effects in the way that pedaling affects the suspension. As I said, the better the shock, the less you'll feel the unwanted effects, whatever system you use.

If you feel the X1 is slower and/or less fun than a hardtail, then pretty clearly you should consider a hardtail. But I don't think that's intrinsic to full-suspension. I don't find the Element either slower or less fun than a hardtail, they're about equal.

 

[brocklanders023]

I think you should get a P7 frame as they can be picked up for cheap cheap then swap all the parts. Keep the X1 frame as if you let it go you'll probably regret it later and then struggle to get another in that condition.

 

[RTSclassic]

Your right I should keep both but I am trying to appease the MB gods by off setting the cost of a new frame with the sale of the X1

 

[john]

Sell the X1. History doesn't look kindly on URTs.

 

[RTSclassic]

John don't slate it too much I won't be able to sell it