very very good frame part from on the older modles they have put a normal bb and on the new ones its a heavy duty one so go out and buy a misile cus there the next best thing to da aero.
Submitted by
Mike Square
a Weekend Warrior
from uk
Date Reviewed: August 12, 2001
Strengths: Strong frame,8.4 miles of stand over hieght ,high bottom bracket hight,indestructable gusseting um......Handles like a leming pumped with steroids(well).Nice 4" thick Down tube not likely to break this side of the millenium. handles much better with long travel forks( Z1 mcr qr20)
Weaknesses: Rear gear cable rubs against brake mount (rear Mech cable) easily fixed though,seat stays may flex with powerfull v-brake without brake booster.
Bottom Line:
Smart bike if set up to how you like it. Good for trials(zero too short+crap),Jump,trails,maybe even xc, could be used for duel but ms-ile better for that. great for learning how to risk your life going up and down. You either have to be really Stupid or amazingly god like to snap the frame.
Similar Products Used: Dr Hyde(identt) 14" Kona Stuff 14"
Bike Setup: Orange Air-O frame Deore gear set up 9spd, DDG trials Cranks taya chain rigid cro-mo forks, 24 seven bars+stem+grips Azonic Hot seat =Titec seat post, Sun Mum-Muff on Deore hubs Avid sd1 levers with ad3 brakes Tioga 2.1 factary DH with IRC DOWNHILL TUBE Hope that got you modaratly breathless.
Strengths: Small flickable frame, Ideal for trials, street,and trails as long as your'e not too tall. Love it.
Weaknesses: If I had to think of one I'd say the weight, although its not the heaviest out their by a long way.
Bottom Line:
I have been riding this frame for just under a year now, and have never regreted choosing it, it is a great bike for, dare I say it "free-riding" (Uhg!) Its at home anywhere and instills a sense of confidence whether you are jumping over things or hopping up/off them.
i am very pissed off with Orange. They have now had my frame for 6 weeks! 6 weeks. I phoned orange after 2 weeks of them having it to be told that they still had not opened the box that i had sent the bike in, they said they would get it sorted straight away! The next day i recieve a call from the shop where i bought it from to say they would replace it for me. i was quite happy at this point as i thought i would have my bike sorted so i could ride again, later that day i recieved another call from the local bike shop saying that as it was a weld that had cracked they would weld it back up for me, i was cool with this as i was told that orange were normally quite quick, i guessed a bout 10 days (3 days welding(1 hours work), 3 days heat tretment(26 hour process), 2 days painting and 2 days gettting it to me) So that brings the total up to 4 weeks. By this time i was becoming quite upset (pictures of orange riders being used as a dart board on bedroom door type upset) My local bike shop were becoming fed up with my 2 calls a day to see if it had arrived! The shop said my best bet was to phone orange myself, so i did, the first time they siad that they would phone me back, they never did. Same story the next day, this time i made them promise that they would call me back, did they hell. The next day I phoned to inform them that i wanted to arrange a refund as i was trully pissed off, they said that i would have to arrange it with the shop. Anyway the shop phone me back saying that orange were not going to refund me but they would fix it instead. They hadn't even started, my bike had been sitting about for 4 weeks. looking back i wish i had ridden the bike untill it had snapped then they would have had to have given me a new one! Therefore i would just like to say orange has to be one of the worst companies ever! This whole experience has left me feeling bitter and i intend on making everyone aware of this incredably poor 'service' they 'provide'.
Strengths: made in the uk, thick tubing, disc mount, 5 year warranty-
Weaknesses: made in the uk, disc mount weld very weak, 2 other cracks. orange have had it now for three weeks, 6 phone calls, still no delivery date!
Bottom Line:
it is a nice frame that rides well and is worth buying if you can put up with dodgy welds and can also do a bit of home welding when it brakes as orange certainly don't want to.
Similar Products Used: JACKFLASH NOT HALF AS GOOD BUT IT HAD THE UPPERHAND ON THE COLOUR
Bike Setup: ZZYZX BULLET BROS I THINK THATS RIGHT 6" TRAVEL FORKS HYDROLIC BRAKES FRONT AND REAR,AZONIC HANDLE BARS AND AZONIC STEM WITH BONTRAGER RACE DISK WHEELSET,DMR RING THING,MIDDLEBURN RS7 TRIALS CRANK,ELITE SKEWERS FRONT AND REAR,S-5 HEADSET AND PANARACER FIRE XCPRO TYRES
Weaknesses: weight i suppose but its a jump frame so who cares
Bottom Line:
I reccon this is one of the strongest frames around, hand built in the UK (always good) from top grade aluminium (DT, ie same as good spokes) 3mm wall thickness, 8mm thick dropouts. Not totally indestructable, I know some one who has broken 2 ( and 2 missiles) but that was with triple clamps off a 12 foot drop to concrete, with a 15 foot flight. however, it was only the headtube that stretched out, the bike was still rideable. This does not make me give it a lower rating as any hard tail would self destruct with this type of riding. The best you can get!!!!
Strengths: Nice and small, incredibly strong, looks great, nice and stiff yet doesn't give a harsh ride.
Weaknesses: None that I can find
Bottom Line:
The ultimate duel slalom/dirt jumping frame - strong yet fairly light, easy to chuck about, stable in the air and encourages you to go faster and harder. If you're after long trail rides then it may be too small (although they do a medium sized version as well now) but if you're into street riding, dirt jumping or duel slalom then this could be the perfect bike for you. The short frame handles tight, twisty singletrack with ease and the low top-tube allows you to bring the bike up underneath you when jumping, and also allows you to bail more easily when things get a bit out of shape!
Strengths: strong, well built, british made, same rear end as msisle, cheaper then msisle, laodsa standover, alright price, £400 not £350, although i got it for £360 in the lesure lakes sale. encourages you to push your limits
Weaknesses: uuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmmm............................ encourages you to push your limits too far
Bottom Line:
awesome frame awesome bike, as for the lack of bottle mounts, this is a jump bike not a xc bike, so if you want bottle mounts buy a xc bike instead.
