Upgrading an Orange E2/E3

[sirbicycle]

Hello,

I believe I have an Orange E2/E3 bike from the 1990s, originally purchased by my father. He recently passed it down to me, and while I intend to keep the main parts of the bike original, I want to upgrade its mechanics to modern standards, making it a more practical and contemporary ride.

I plan to update components such as the sprockets, rear derailleur, front derailleur, chainwheel, chain, cabling, bottom bracket, bearings, and any other recommended parts.

A few additional points to note:

The wheels currently have 26x1.95 tyres, which I've found difficult to source in decent quality. I am interested in fitting cross tyres (like gravel tyres) to ride both on and off-road. Should I change the wheels to accommodate different tyres, or can I fit larger tyres on the existing 559x17 wheels?

I prefer to use Shimano components for the upgrades if possible, but this isn't essential.

I've noticed that many vintage Orange E2/E3 bikes feature front suspension. Was this an original upgrade from Orange? If so, which front suspension was used, and if I want to add front suspension, what would you recommend?

My budget for these upgrades is £1,000, and I plan to purchase both new and secondhand parts in excellent or new condition.

Lastly, I must confess that I know very little about bikes, so please pardon any novice errors. I simply seek advice on how best to upgrade this bike.

Thank you.

 

[brocklanders023]

Nice project! To be honest I wouldn’t spend anywhere near £1000 changing stuff on that. The chainrings look okay to me so if everything works then just get a bike shop to replace the cables (if you can’t do it yourself) a it’ll be good to go.

You should be able to fit 2.1 tyres easily enough and Panaracer still make Smoke/Darts if you want original style.

If you really want to upgrade the gears then ask on here for some 8sp XT or XTR bits as it’s the best place to get good quality parts. Fork wise something like a Pace RC36, Rockshox Judy or Marzocchi Bomber would be about right. 80mm travel max though.

I really wouldn’t spend too much as these frames are fragile and you’ll never get the money back. You’d be better doing a sympathetic and inexpensive restoration as I’ve suggested or spending more money on a more modern bike.

 

[Bike Hoarder]

They're cracking frames... no, I mean literally! Watch the headtubes, weak as fook. If it's not cracked already I wouldn't go anywhere near the headset and certainly wouldn't be changing it.