If you are in the market for a mullet e-bike with single-pivot suspension, Orange has a new Phase MX Team derivative.

The characteristic Orange frame aesthetic remains instantly recognisable, but a bigger battery anchors the 2022 model year Phase MX.

Core suspension and wheel size configuration is 170mm of front suspension, with a 29er wheel, and 165mm of coil-sprung suspension function at the rear – rolling a 27,5” wheel.

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Bigger battery from Shimano

The Phase MX Team houses a more energy-dense battery pack in its downtube, rated at 630Wh, which feeds a Shimano EP8 mid-drive motor. That specification should yield 25% greater range, compared to Orange’s previous e-bikes, with the new battery taking 10% less space in the frame, too.

Accommodating the Shimano EP8 mid-drive motor has required Orange to slightly reshape the front triangle, with a gusset between the top and down tube, to account for greater torque output.

The rear triangle has been strengthened too and features a Boost 148x12mm hub spacing and runs a 177mm Q-factor.

Roomy reach for Phase MX

More range and better integration, but what about those geometry numbers? With the mullet wheel set-up and suspension balance of a 170mm fork and 165m coil shock, the Phase MX Team sits at a 64-degree head angle.

Reach on a size large Phase MX Team is 483m, which should leave plenty of room to move around the top tube, manipulate a rider’s dynamic centre of gravity, and leverage those handlebars.

The 2022 model year Phase MX Team build is a mirror-spec of what Orange Factory team riders, Lachlan Blair and Joe Connell, ride.

Fork and shock components are from Formula, using the Selva S at the front and MOD coil at the rear. The Italian brand also supplies the brakes, Cura 4-piston callipers, actuating on 203mm rotors at both ends of the bike.

There is a team purple theme

Rolling this new Orange e-bike along are E13 LG1 EN Plus E-spec alloy wheels, shod with Michelin DH22/24 tyres, featuring 2.4” casing widths.

The drivetrain is a blend of Shimano XT derailleur and chain, matched to an e* thirteen Helix 9-50 cassette. The 165mm crank arms, are also from e* thirteen.

Fancy the idea of a Shimano EP8 assisted Orange e-enduro bike, with a purple suspension theme? The new Phase MX Team is priced at £7300.