Submitted by
The Black Cape
a Weekend Warrior
from England
Date Reviewed: December 16, 2008
Strengths: It Works, see below (The bottom line).
Weaknesses: Seat post can sometimes stick if not lubricated every now and then. Apart from this nothing.
Bottom Line:
I’m a pretty lazy bike keeper and a big kid at heart and although I love the bike I don’t look after it. I ride my bike in all conditions and mostly look for trail riding by using Google earth then taking the car to get to these challenging riding spots. After going out in poor conditions in the time it’s taken to get home in the car the mud is generally dried on…I then just leave the bike until the next ride. Might wash it every six months (give or take). Anyway despite this I have (so far) never experienced any problems with the rear dropouts or any other failing parts on the bike, I never check any bolts or make tweak adjustments. Please don’t misunderstand me this is not a boast or brag, like I said at the start of this section I am by my own admittance lazy. Why would I buy this bike again? Because of the things you don’t see…meaning if something works well, very well you take it for granted, this bike just seems to work day in day out, sunshine, rain, wind, mud and crap, right tool for the job. Disbelievers can come and see the bike covered in mud but ready to ride.
Strengths: Ride quality. Nice geometry. Quite light. Nice looking frame in white. Single speed option in theory.
Weaknesses: The sliding drop out system. Especially in single speed use, I have noticed that the system is not reliable. I have stripped the threads in the dropouts when trying to tighten the bolts so that the drop-outs won´t slide when mashing pedals in single speed. Eventually the chain will come loose. Even when I put a nut on the other side and tightened the dropout with all the force I could without snapping the bolts, the drop-outs won´t stay put. I have now waited 3 months for replacement drop-outs from my dealer, but orange hasn´t provided them. Even though, if the trough bolting-nut system fix (and much higher torque level that aluminium thread can handle) that I tried isn´t enough to fix it, the replacement drop-outs won´t do that either. I guess I have to just change the frame, if I wan´t to ride mountainbike. Everything else in the frame is good.
Bottom Line:
Otherwise i like to frame and how it rides. I would keep it if it just was reliable. It´s really annoying to think about and monitor your drop-outs all the time when you ride.
Bike Setup: 130 mm Z1 FR
Crossmax wheels with tubeless tires
Truvative cranks
Hayes brakes, 8" front, 6" rear
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Michel
a Weekend Warrior
from Rothenburg, Germany
Date Reviewed: June 30, 2008
Strengths: sweet smooth ride! I really liked it, fast around corners and not wiggly at all while going straight
Weaknesses: bend after 3 month,
customer support sucks
Bottom Line:
the ride is nice; steel feel, without being soft or losing pedalpower, BUT (and it is a big BIG BUT)
forget it if your not living right next door to the factory!!!
it took ages till I got the frame and it bend after 12 weeks of riding (nothing hard or gnarly, no drops, no freeride)
Its been send back for 3 weeks now, and i havent even gotten an email.
so I am going to get something else
and hence the bad rating
Strengths: To the moron below this post: Why do you think mech hangers are made of alloy and not steel?? perhaps so when they bend, the alloy bends, rather than steel, which wouldn't bend and would damage your frame instead. The whole purpose of a mech hanger is that it saves your frame by snapping first.
Bottom Line:
the Pro model is nice, I've ridden a friend's on several occasions and the steel frame feels good, once you get past the skinny looks.
Follow up on my bike so far; orange replaced the rear brake caliper mount under warrenty as the threads had pulled through (weak alloy I reckon,). Since first service, all good untill recently bent the rear mech hanger (no idea how!) so that the rear mech grinded against spokes in low gears!! I have a fealing its the fault of the mechanic who indexed my gears in the service (but I might just be pointing the finger!!).
So its back at stif for its second service in two months :(
Conclusion: Alloy is weak, I don't know why orange don't make em in steel like the frame, madness!?!
Submitted by
David
a Cross Country Rider
from Leeds
Date Reviewed: January 7, 2008
Strengths: No nonsense, Strong, Light, British steel! Durable component package. Fox 32 Float RLC's are plush, light, strong, plenty of adjustment and importantly have lockout
Weaknesses: Rear calliper/frame mounting bolts come loose after every demanding ride, threadlock hasn't helped; will not stay rigid = v.annoying Seatpost shim on 21" frame is a little bit annoying too.
Bottom Line:
Frame and Components are ideally suited to wet/muddy british climate, plenty of clearance even with 2.3" tyres. Drive chain and groupset work precisely in thick winter mud. Fox forks are plush with plenty of travel and adjustment for on-the-fly changes. Really pleased i spent a bit more for lockout.
Looks brilliant, having people say 'nice bike mate' while going along made me smile :) It definitely had to be an orange orange.
Yet to have its first free service at Stif, i'm going to use this opportunity to try and sort out the bikes only let down, the frustrating rear disc brake mount issue! Apart from that i've been very impressed!
Bike Setup: As with standard 2008 P7 pro (http://www.orangebikes.co.uk/2008bikes/p7-pro.php)
Apart from respray to Orange (£50) and upgrade forks to Fox 32 Float RLC (£150)
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
darren
a Cross Country Rider
from hertfordshire
Date Reviewed: December 19, 2007
Strengths: FRAME GEOMETRY,XT ALL ROUND,HOPE HUBS,VANILLA R FORKS .WHAT ELSE COULD YOU WANT ON A £1200 HARDTAIL AND OF COURSE BRITISH MADE.
Weaknesses: A TAD HEAVY,BUT THAT MAKES YOU WORK HARDER SO ITS MORE OF A PLUS THAN A WEAKNESS.
Bottom Line:
I REALY CANT SEE HOW SOMEONE HAS PUT SUCH A NEGATIVE FEEDBACK FOR THIS BIKE,THEN ENDED IT WITH "STUMPYS ARE THE BEST YEH" BOTTOM LINE.I HAVE RIDEN SOME REALY GREAT BIKES OVER THE LAST 2 YEARS AND I DO ATLEAST 100 MILES XC RIDING A WEEK IN HERTFORDSHIRE AND MUST SAY THIS BIKE IS WHAT BOXERS WOULD CALL AN "ACE".THE GEOMETRY IS SPOT ON AND THE RIDE IS GOOD UP HILL,EXCELLENT DOWNHILL AND SUPERB CROSS COUNTRY.THE BIKE HAS THIS FEEL LIKE THE REAR END IS GLUED TO THE GROUND AND THE FRAME SOAKS UP BUMPS AS GOOD AS YOU WILL GET WITH A HARDTAIL.I LOVE THIS BIKE AS MUCH AS I LOVED MY KLEIN ATTITUDE AND THATS SAYING SOMETHING.I WAS JUST GONNA RIDE THIS FOR THE WINTER INTO SPRING THEN GET A FULL SUSSER,BUT I THINK IM GONNA HAVE TO SAVE LIKE A PIG AND KEEP THIS AND BUY A FULL SUSSER ASWELL,BUT GUESS WHAT FULL SUSSER I WILL BE GOING FOR??? IL GIVE YOU A CLUE THEY ARE BRITISH! BOTTOM LINE THIS A REAL MANS BIKE THAT WILL PUSH YOU TO YOUR LIMITS AND REWARD YOU LIKE NO OTHER
Similar Products Used: KLEIN ATTITUDE COMP, GIANT XTC COMP WITH ALL XT SPEC AND HOPE V2 BRAKES,2006 ORANGE 5 SE,2005 KONA KIKAPU DELUX
Bike Setup: TOTALY STANDARD FROM THE BOX
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Rupert
a Cross Country Rider
from Devon, UK
Date Reviewed: December 12, 2007
Strengths: Looks nice, has good kit apart from the frame (2008 model)
Weaknesses: Poor design of rear dropouts - they are sliding to allow fixed speed. However, the rear disk mount is attached to one of these sliding dropouts in an inadequate way. After riding the bike (to work on a road) for a couple of weeks, the dropout started to move when the brake was applied - say no more...
Bottom Line:
Don't buy the bike or deal with orange, they have fobbed me off for over a month and still have my(new) bike. They have obviously been taking tips from microsoft and are using customers to test their cr4p designs. The dropout has 'cunning plan' written all over it. If I could choose again I would buy a specialised stumpy!
Submitted by
P G
a Weekend Warrior
from Lancashire
Date Reviewed: October 4, 2007
Strengths: Nop, you got me on that 1.
Weaknesses: Build
Bottom Line:
This bike was a frame build up. From the start the bike only had 4 orange parts on it; frame, forks, stem & seat post. over 2 year all the orange parts have failed, the frame and forks both snapped on me at different occasions, the forks resulted in a big crash. The frame snapped on the down tube. I have tried to contacted orange and they have just mailed me back saying this is the wrong address for complaints. The bottom line is, this is a dangerous bike. Buy a specialized, they don’t snap!!
Submitted by
john blackshaw
a Cross Country Rider
from herts
Date Reviewed: September 1, 2007
Strengths: its my third p7,two have been nicked but fortunately this 2007 p7 is the best ive had.the last one(i think i had the wrong frame size)gave me back ache and neck ache after about a half hour of a ride,however this black beauty IS my favourite thing in the world.they ve tinkered slightly with the front end and raised it a touch and i can honestly ive never ridden a bike that comes near!it encourages you to ride faster and every bit of effort you put in is returned ten fold
Weaknesses: i went for the basic p7 so i suppose you can say i could upgrade the components in the future,but with a frame like this i cant quibble!
Similar Products Used: i liked an old kona lava dome once before i saw orange
Bike Setup: basic p7 no bells or whistles
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Lee Edwards
a Weekend Warrior
from Midlands, UK
Date Reviewed: April 21, 2007
Strengths: Steel frame, Orange build ie bombproof, 140mm fork, replaceable dropouts, raceface/xt/hope components. Convertible to singlespeed, rohloff with an allen key. Beautiful orange paintjob (not a strength but I love the colour). Orange...British...Nuff said!!
Weaknesses: Seatpost shim is only grumble.
Bottom Line:
This is a true legend of a bike in British mountain biking and the latest geometry changes have created quite a monster. The 140mm Fox fork inspires confidence and standing on the pedals letting the tail chase the fork downhill is exhilerating. Climbs well too. It has that lovely "springy" feel that well made steel frames produce and Orange make some of the best frames in MTBing. As Fraser said, not much in the way of upgrading is necessary and Orange do an upgrade package for nearly half price when you buy the bike anyway and that gives hope headset and QR's, Easton EC70 bar, Thomson post/stem, Fizik Gobi. This bike is a "do it all" hardtail without the harsh aluminium tail. Ride it hard, ride it easy, you'll enjoy it either way. A bike for amateurs to learn on and a bike for pro's to have fun on. Whatever type of rider you'll love this bike. Five Chilis all round!!!!
Similar Products Used: Nothing else apart from previous cheaper bikes I've owned. This bike was "the one" for me after a test.
Bike Setup: As 2007 spec (raceface cranks, xt shifters/derailleurs, avid juicy 5 disc brakes, Fox vanilla R forks, Kenda nevagal tyres, Wtb SpeedDisc AM rims, Hope Pro 2 Hubs), added clipless pedals and hope lights so far.
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Submitted by
Pablo Román
a Weekend Warrior
from Oviedo (Spain)
Date Reviewed: March 27, 2007
Strengths: Rideability Excellent geometry Heavy-Duty made for. Versatility and screws for travel-bags Posibility of mount 150mm travel forks
Weaknesses: Shim for the seatpost
Bottom Line:
The perfect and versatile AM Hardtail. The frame weights a bit, but is a price that I pay happily :-D (me-->92kg) I broke a pair of FS Mondrakers the last year and this one seems to resist my abuse with no problems.
The geometry is quite good with my 130mm fork. With a tallest and capable fork the geometry wiil improve the DH capabilities.
Similar Products Used: Orbea nadir w/ Mz EXR 120mm
Bike Setup: 2007 Orange P7 Frame R.S RVL Dual Air Shimano Saint (cranks), XT (dellareiur) and LX (Shifters) Woodman Hubs laced to Sun Ds2-XC Thomson and Race Face Fizik Aliante Sport 2.3 tyres
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Submitted by
Fraser
a Cross Country Rider
from Midlands, UK
Date Reviewed: February 26, 2007
Strengths: Just about everything. Great frame, great components, amazing handling, looks awesome. It's made light work of everything I've done with it so far and even does downhill OK even though that's not striclty what it's for. Love it love it love it
Weaknesses: None I'm aware of yet
Bottom Line:
If you want a bike you can use daily, go anywhere on, and ride hard without it breaking when you mistime a hop and go flying; if you want a bike that feels just right and looks damn fine; and if you want a bike that doesn't really need upgrades, this is the one for you. If it ever gets nicked or something I am so getting another one just like it.
Similar Products Used: Nothing this good; an old school Haro most recently
Bike Setup: P7 Pro 2006 - standard P7 Pro components, but I've put SPD pedals on it. Haven't needed to upgrade/change anything else
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Submitted by
rodney stone
a Cross Country Rider
from surrey, uk
Date Reviewed: November 9, 2006
Strengths: Ride quality, feel, weight (for a chromoly frame)
Weaknesses: NOTHING so far!
Bottom Line:
TOP TOP TOP TOP drawer bike. It might speak quietly, but get it moving and it carries a very big performance stick! I've ridden nothing else that rides as smoothly as this and gives such detailed feedback with almost no trailbuzz. I find it a superb fit and the build quality is amazing - small, smooth tidy welding all over, and a real bombproof feel. Pimpin' in black, and no sign of any stonechipping. First class ride. Friends have tested, and been staggered that i bought an orange, and a steel hardtail at that, but ALL have come back grinning! This is a frame that will be ridden until either it breaks in 25 years time, or i do in 60, whichever comes first.
Bike Setup: Standard P7 Pro, with Hope Mono mini factory upgrade. Awaiting Hope HID light!
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Submitted by
Jim
a Weekend Warrior
from Evesham, Midlands, UK
Date Reviewed: July 25, 2006
Strengths: One of the best cromo frames you can get, excellent components, excellent overall design, and it's bomb proof
Weaknesses: none that I've found
Bottom Line:
this is a brilliant bike. I have never felt so confident in ragging a bike down a steep bumpy hill, it soaks up abuse and leaves it in the dust. It's comfy for the whole day on every surface I've been on, so I use it for commuting as well as weekend/evening XC. I preferred it over all the other bikes I tried at a similar (and in a couple of cases, much higher) price.
Bought this new bike from stif 4 weeks ago and have been riding it almost every day! Only problem is after every demanding ride the Rear disc caliper/frame mounting bolts come loos Read More »
Well I got my new JetBeam III today but not the DX order with all the batteries so I had to swap bats for my beamshots.
Lil run down, I've owned the MTE P7 since June and loved Read More »
