Orange P7 S vs Rocklobster Tig Team 853

forestbandit

Advice needed! Im looking for a steel hardtail and I've got it down to these two; the Orange P7 S (with Fox Vanilla 32 R) and the Rocklobster Tig Team 853 (with Rockshox Rebra Race). I've already read the reviews and gone through the forums, but Im still confused!

Im looking to use the bike for some long distance touring which will involve both on/off road sections as well as hacking around some local trails.

Here are the links to the specs:
http://www.sunsetmtb.co.uk/shop/index.php?product_id=1172&category_id=81
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/?fn=product&productId=41&categoryId=38

The particular issues im having are:

1. Will the 140mm forks on the P7 make long road sections difficult? And can they be 'locked out' easily?

2. Is the extra bulkiness of the P7 worth its extra weight over the Rocklobster?

I know there are lots of owners of both bikes on the forum and any advice you have would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

Airienteer

The 140mm forks themseves won't make the road sections difficult. The only effect they might have is on the geometry, but to be honest it shouldn't be a problem. And they are very easy to lock off.

The P7's extra weight is due to it being a slightly different bike to the Rocklobster. It can soak up bigger hits and take more of a beating, but to be honest that doesn't sound what you are after. For trail riding at weekends and some on/off road touring I'd go with the Rocklobster.

forestbandit

Cheers Airienteer! Thats just the type of advice I was looking for.

Just a quick question re the fork choice for the Rocklobster, do you think its worth upgrading to the Rebra Race over the Recon SL's?

Airienteer

It depends what you want to do. The Recon is a perfectly capable fork which you find on many £1000 hardtails. The reba would drop the weight a bit and has better damping and is plusher, so better for trails. For an extra £100 I'd be tempted!

grantway

The 140 fork is no problem at all on the P7 has its designed to take one
So no problem for the geometry of the bike.
You can always use the upgrade option and get a lock out version of the
fork.
To take weight off I wouldnt change the fork but change the contact points.
IE Handle bars, stem, seat post.

Orange are brining another steel frame/bike out in spring around now, which has
Reynolds 853 tubing to make it a bit lighter but its a mix they use in the metal.
The Reynolds steel will take a lot of the vibration out of the ride.

This bike is called an R8 and is in the 09 Orange brouchure and comes with an
130mm travel upfront.
No idea of cost but you can give Orange a call 01422 311113

Hope the above helps.

Airienteer

The 140 fork is no problem at all on the P7 has its designed to take one
So no problem for the geometry of the bike.

I didn't mean that the frame wasn't designed for a 140 fork, only that frames like that tend to have slacker headangles and a position more suited to trail riding than touring.

grantway

Relax :shock: wasnt implying that, just answering to the mans questions

forestbandit

Cheers for the info guys, much appreciated! This new Orange R8 sounds interesting, I think i'll give them a call about the details. I'll post them up here when I get through to them. As for upgrades my max budget is £1200 and thats already pushing it, so I think for the moment at least any upgrades will have to wait.

rolf_f

My P7S has Fox Vanilla and I did have some doubts about the lack of lockout. However, in practice it hasn't bothered me (so far mainly used for towpath commuting plus cross country Dales riding) and I've seen a few threads where people, in practice, don't seem to bother with the lockout even if they have it!

As to upgrading the P7S fork still further - you'd be adding about £300 to the standard P7S price to achieve that. I think that gets you almost to P7 Pro price. Of course the Pro still has the Fox Vanilla fork but the Vanilla is so nice that I'd have thought a standard P7 Pro would be better spec than an S with the RLC fork.

forestbandit

Interesting that it seems not to affect the ride that much when not locked out, cheers for the post Rolf F.

rolf_f

I'm no expert by any means but I was intrigued that the recommendation was to upgrade my S from a Tora with lockout to the Vanilla without lockout. The question has been asked before and, as I said, quite a few people say they can't be bothered to use the lockout or forget that they have it!

It must make it easier on uphills with the lockout but I presume people just adapt. A bit like choosing a bike that is hardly the lightest in the first place! All I can say is that when climbing I have never been thinking 'damn I wish I had lockout' though I have often thought 'damn, why did I take this stupid hobby up I'm going to die and I'm not half way up yet' etc etc.

My only objection to the Vanilla has been having to get a lighter weighted spring to match my light weight body! £25 non fat tax! Otherwise it is a fork that seems very highly rated and less of a faff than air shock forks.

tlw1

agree with the comments re: lock out.

Go for the Orange - its a mans bike

grantway

If you ride uphill out of the sadle then best to use a lockout
and if not and you stay seated then dont bother.