Orange P7 thread

evo3ben

I took the tyres off my old trek before i sold it. Tioga DH 2.3. Are wider than normal 2.3 tyres and have served me very well in the past. They have loads of life in them yet. They are alot heavier than the speed kings but worth it 8)

owen908

Evo3ben ; are you a member of the MLR (mitsubishi lancer register)? I visit there regulary and came across a thread about trial bikes and saw the username evo3ben who has an orange p7 pro. Got to be you right? [/u]

evo3ben

Dam ive been captured lol Yes that is me. Been a member of the mlr for years now and when ever i sign up to a new forum weather it be for cars or not i still use the same user name lol I take it you are an mlr member? you at JAE this year?

owen908

I've registered but i'm not a member. I would love to go down to JAE this year but i havent got a car atm!

Anyway i've picked up the P7 from a service today and must say its still an absolute blast! The P7 and stumpy and so different. The stumpy accelerates and climbs better and is also better on uneven and rough services. It seems to tackle any obstacle with ease and minimal fuss. Now the P7 climbs poorly compaired but down hill or single track it makes you want to go faster and insipres lots of confidence. I can say the P7 definalty gets the adrenaline flowing more than the stumpy! Both bikes are very different beasts but i do love them both.



Also fitted a set of some crank brothers pedals. Has anyone used thm before. I must say i prefer them to the shimano ones.

nam

hi all
i been reading this thread with interest as im thinking of buying the orange g3 or the p7 so i have to admit that i find the rear mech hanger fault a bit of an issue.i do find it strange that they say it is down to the wrong bolts but it has happened to other p7's?how?they cant keep using the wrong bolts?
saying that though it hasnt put me off orange as a whole, because i believe they build good bikes from what i have seen.if i dont get the p7 i will probably get the g3 and if thats the case then its because i would want to save myself any aggro if it turned out to be a design fault with the hanger.we will see if they change the design on the 09 model eh?
as for the frames being built abroad i belive most of them are now,so all u with new gt's they were probably built in taiwan too! and giant buld the majority of the rest!!i also believe cannondale have acquired the name "crackendale", nuff said!

i have been looking at all brands of bike. i started looking at the marin b17 but changed my mind when i saw the other bikes on the market.then looked at "cube" but someone suggested the frames are not top quality and the finish is not that great.scott scale 50 was next choice but the new model is £200 more than the 08,out of my price range.trek 6500 was another option but my mate has a 6700 so dont want to tread on his toes!also looked at the specialized but the frames put me off,they look cheap!just something about them doesnt look right.
then i stumbled on orange,reasonable spec for my price range, at least designed and constructed in uk and seem to have a good pedigree.and to fair all u need is a good frame,the rest is upgradeable!

so i will probably go for an orange and what will be,will be......

owen908

just replied to your G3 thread but as mentiond iv'e had no problems with the dropouts whatsoever.

I recently sold my P7 ; and ive got an 09 model on order at the lbs. Wished i hadent sold it .Big mistake ! Really looking forward to taking it for a blast.

All i can say is try one and im sure you will love it!The 09 version has a better chain set with shimano slx over the lx.i believe they are putting maverick rims on to compaired to the wtb ones seen on the 08 model.

passout

OK the P7 is good but the One-One 456 is slightly better and cheaper!

ebenzo

owen908, when will you get your 09 version?
when you do be sure to report back !

I'm still undecided between 08 and 09.
09 is £100 pricier with better rear mech (Shimano SLX Shadow), newer hubs Shimano Deore 525, but worse rims (Mavic XM117).

dannyboyblue

Well I've been waiting nearly 12 weeks for my P7S to arrive. I'm getting it through a cycle to work scheme so I'm getting a good deal and shouldn't complain about the wait to much. I ordered the '08 model but Orange don't have any of these left now so it's 09 all the way. It's my first bike so I have no idea about the new spec being better or worse.

After reading all you guys have said though I just can't wait to get my hands on the damn thing ) !!!!!

I'll post some pics of the bike when it arrives and probably some pictures of me battered and bruised when I discover this trail riding is harder than it looks :shock:

Dan

spielberg

Here's my P7, it's a sort of mix between 08 & 09 spec, I suppose Orange ran out of the 08 parts. I had an original nickel plated P7 back in the 90's and it was a really good bike, the new one is even better. Yes it's a bit heavy but then again it's a tough long forked steel hardtail. I love it, it rides really well and is very forgiving, I'd reccomend it to anyone.

owen908

Very nice indeed! Still waiting for the 09 P7 to be delivered at the lbs. The 08 and 09 models are pretty much the same apart from the rear and front mech. Makes sense though: why change a good thing?!

jamesp7

Glad to see im not alone, I have the speed kings on my P7 and yeh on fast flowing single track they are so quick!!! But I get a puncture on most rides! Has any one changed tyres on a the P7 suggestions, as i don't want to affect the p7's feel

owen908

I frequently got punctures with the Conti Speed kings but thought they rolled very well.The grip on loose surfaces was poor so i changed to the Panaracer Fire Xc Pro.Quite impressed with those however they just dont inspire confidence when the terrain gets really rough and tricky.They are very predictable and controlable and are a reasonable choice for single track.

Ive recently swapped them for some Maxxis Advantage tyres and i like them more for sheer grip and control.

Tyre choices are very personal but you will know when you have found the right ones!

pinza1973

Finally managed to finish building up my P7 frame .Just in time for me to screw up my knee playing 5 -a -side .

owen908

Just wondering: has anyone tried an Orange Crush? I wonder how it compaires to the P7 .

jamesp7

I have heard the crush is a bit of a tank, but i have always wanted to ride one to find out for myself!

the article don

I hired a Crush at Glentress recently. A tank is the exact word for it. Good forks, great brakes and a very imposing looking machine in the flesh. I found it a struggle to get up some of the steeper hills on the black run( although I never got off or pushed!!) and I like to think I'm quite a strong climber. However, downhill it was immense and took everything in its stride. I didn't do any of the really big drops but it coped well with the ones I did do.

My overall conclsuion was that the differnce in speed downhill was not enough to outweigh the difference in hassle uphill, so I probably wouldn't buy one but then I prefer going uphill to going downhill. If you're looking for a hardtail to go very quickly downhill on then I think you could do far worse.

jamesp7

Well I go up hills so i can go down!!! the P7 goes up with ease, but I find it very fun on downhills. I have taken it down dh courses drops and jumps and it copes without injury

jamesp7

hucking_fell

Regarding the P7's loose bolt.

It's gone now but there was an explanation/apology on the Orange website next to the review it was mentioned in, which has also gone. An Orange employee had used the wrong bolt while building up some of the P7s. There was a pic of him, looking a bit miffed, with a whole tray of bolts.

I was going to post a link to it. Never mind.

I would hope that if people with the wrong, loose bolt were to phone Orange they would have the correct bolt sent to them. FOC.

Better than having to check it continuously and risk it damaging the bike.

It's a shame that this has put people off buying the P7 'cos it seems such a good bike.

It's on my shortlist, along with a Cove Handjob.

Xios360

Just this week I decided to add to my bike collection with a slightly more sensible bike so went for the P7. After looking around it seemed to me the only bike that offered a good solid frame and fork option, while still being able to get up hills at a reasonable pace (with a bit more effort).

I have barley ridden it at the moment due to working all week, but hoping to put in a few more miles this weekend.
Here it is looking far to clean.

Matt-B

deeptheory wrote:

well, well, well...

the rear speed king went on its first run out today leaving me with a mile to jog home. had a repair kit etc but it wasn't worth changing it there and then.

Well... After all my posts saying I hadn't had any trouble with the Conti tyres, I ended up getting a puncture on Friday. Which wouldn't have been so bad, if I hadn't been in Epping, 20 miles from home! I fixed it without any trouble, but I hope this isn't the start of a tale of woe!

rolf_f

dannyboyblue wrote:

Well I've been waiting nearly 12 weeks for my P7S to arrive. I'm getting it through a cycle to work scheme so I'm getting a good deal and shouldn't complain about the wait to much. I ordered the '08 model but Orange don't have any of these left now so it's 09 all the way. It's my first bike so I have no idea about the new spec being better or worse.
Dan

I've been in this boat - ordered on my Bike to Work scheme in mid August and I picked the bike up on Thursday!

Was nearly a right nightmare too - I'd ordered the P7S with Fox Vanilla fork upgrade for £940 - with the price increase the cost would have been £1040 which is over the limit (no compromise on our scheme). If I was going to get a standard P7S I could have probably rung around and found one in August so the wait would have been for nothing without the upgrade. In the end, Orange let me have the bike for just under £1000 so this years cost increase only added £60 to the bill.

Also a pleasant surprise was that the bike came with the WTB rims from last years spec (albeit slightly dusty ones!) - wierdly the P7 stock in All Terrain at Saltaire, where I bought the bike, has the P7S fitted, like mine, with WTB rims but the P7 Pro is fitted with the cheaper Mavic rims!

Incidentally, the 09 P7 has a taller and shallower angled top tube to the 08 model. As a complete novice to mountain biking, is there any significance to this?!

owen908

I like the graphics on the new P7 compaired to the old ones, Although doesnt look quite as stealthy. Still very nice indeed ; congrats on the new toy!

deeptheory

Matt-B wrote:

deeptheory wrote:

well, well, well...

the rear speed king went on its first run out today leaving me with a mile to jog home. had a repair kit etc but it wasn't worth changing it there and then.

Well... After all my posts saying I hadn't had any trouble with the Conti tyres, I ended up getting a puncture on Friday. Which wouldn't have been so bad, if I hadn't been in Epping, 20 miles from home! I fixed it without any trouble, but I hope this isn't the start of a tale of woe!

im near enough up to 400 miles i believe now and that was my only puncture. so thats around 395 miles without a puncture. not bad going considering the bad luck my dad has had. touch wood of course.

im must admit i'd have to disagree with several on here and that i like the speed kings. a lot quicker than i imagined and stronger that what i had read.

Matt-B

Yeah, that's the thing I guess - I quite like the speed kings - they roll pretty quick and have been pretty grippy so far, even in the mud at epping last weekend. I must be up to around 100 miles off-road and 300 miles on-road now, and this is the only puncture I have got. So not bad going, but looking at other peoples tales, it seems once you get one, then the avalanche starts!

But I can't afford new tyres anyway (just bought new wheels for my road bike) so I'll be giving them another chance - see how it goes I guess!

rolf_f

owen908 wrote:

I like the graphics on the new P7 compaired to the old ones, Although doesnt look quite as stealthy. Still very nice indeed ; congrats on the new toy!

I know what you mean - initially I was a bit disappointed about the graphics change but I like the new ones now and they are so nicely done; not transfers but printed on.

Anyway, I finally christened the bike on 7 miles of the local bridleways and on Saturday afternoon it looked like this!



It took me longer to clean it up than the time spent riding it! Had a great time but the Speedkings certainly aren't up to the mud - much time spent slowly grinding to a halt in the middle of swamps (any suggestions for appropriate alternatives, without go faster red stripes (!) would be appreciated) - and, on the subject of the tyres, in answer to the usual question............

2 punctures on the first trip! To be fair, they were caused by enormous thorns which might have gone through anything and the air didn't escape til I pulled them out.

BlackSpur

Rolf F

Panaracer Trailrakers and Bontrager Mud X are two of the most pular mud tyres. MBR have a large winter tyre test this moneth and the Mxxis Medusa and Hutchinson Toro (scores 10/10) also do well.

tlw1

Ordered mine on Friday & already sick of waiting........

Its my birthday on Sunday and I get the feeling I won't be on the new bike!

tlw1

New bike has arrived!!!!!

I am so happy, the wife is less pleased with a bike sitting in the kitchen

Shakedown planned for today, Llandegla/Cannock tommorow, Llandegla next weekend & a lads weekend in Coed Y Brennin the week after!!! All I have to do is get used to riding a hard tail after five years of full sus.