Radical head angle hardtails from Orange

Benjamin Haworth

66 on the Clockwork. 65 on the new Crush and P7.

‘ardcore ‘ardtails from ‘alifax – the land where the letter H doesn’t really exist.

Orange’s full sus bikes may get all the headlines – read about the new Five and the new Alpine6 – but it’s their unique range of off-the-peg Brit-specific hardtails that say just as much about the brand as anything. Arguably more so.

They’re not entry level cheapo affairs. They’re not racey XC numbers. They’re hardtails for trail bombing.

Here’s three future classics.

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2017 Orange Clockwork Evo

Orange have had a Clockwork in their range from the very first days they were known as Orange Bikes. Traditionally the Clockwork name has denoted a bike that’s a pretty standard down-the-line sort of cross-country bike.

The Evo is a whole different kind of Clockwork. It’s got a whopping wheelbase, a super steep seat angle and a raked out 66° head angle. It’s a prime example of where cutting edge progressive geometry is at, regardless of hardtail or full suspension.

It’s nice to see Orange ignoring the rest of the bike industry’s opinion that anything more than 120mm on a hardtail is ‘wrong’.

  • 66° head angle
  • 74° seat angle
  • 130mm fork
  • 142 bolt thru back end
  • ISCG 05 tabs

>>> Hardtail of the Year 2016

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2017 Orange P7

The P7 is a similarly venerable model name in the Orange catalogue. Over the years it’s a bike that has changed wildly, reflecting whatever trends or tastes are happening at the time.

The original P7 was regarded as a bit more of a playable and aggro bike than the Clockwork. The new P7 (actually pretty much unchanged since 2016 really) continues this theme. It’s still made of steel – a P7 MUST be made from steel. It’s the law.

Really slack. Really long. Really green.

  • 65° head angle
  • 140mm fork
  • Reynolds 525 steel
  • Internal dropper routing
  • Long wheelbase

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2017 Orange Crush

The Crush has been one of our favourite hardtails over the past few years. In our review of the 2016 Crush we said “It’s still very much a bike designed to crush every trail… It is the perfect trail hardtail.”

Video: Hardtail of the Year 2016: £500-£1,000 (VIDEO)

2017 sees some tweaks. It’s no longer just a sort of alu version of the P7. Principally it’s gone more aggro up front with a 150mm fork (up front 140mm) and a head angle that’s a degree slacker than the previous model – it’s now 65°.

  • 65° head angle
  • 150mm fork
  • 73.5° seat angle
  • Revised geometry
  • Sub 30lb