Which retailer to use? Cycle to Work, Orange Crush wanted.

thedirge

Hi, I'm after an Orange Crush and would like advice on which retailer to use.

I'm north east based, and would have used M Steels Cycles in Gosforth, however they don't have any stock and cannot get any.

This really only leaves me with online retailers.

On important factor is I'm using the Cycle to Work Scheme, so they should be happy with that.

There are so many to pick from and I just wanted to know if anyone had experiance dealing with these retailers and if they'd recommend them?

Also I'm wondering the right size for me, I'm 6 foot so going by size guidelines that puts me on a 19" frame, my current bike has a 79cm standover and is also 19". But I find it a little on the large size. I figure trying a 17" may fit me better given its 75cm standover.

I know I should try the bike to know for sure, but I doubt anyone local would have them in stock.

Pudseyp

You really need to try one for size...the 17" may be better for some hare abuse as you can chuck it round a bit more

As for stock you may struggle locally, the crush litterally sold out by march and they had a new drop of frames at the end of april with most going to the bigger stores..have you contacted Orange directly as they might be able to source one with some sweet talking and get it to your LBS

sarkmeister

I think most places are sold out of the 2010 Crush. I struggled to find a 21" one when I bought mine a few weeks ago. I ended up buying from Sunset MTB in Cardiff, who seemed to have a decent amount of stock left.

Is it the Halfords Cycle 2 Work scheme? Leisure Lakes accept those vouchers, give them a try.

Pudseyp

I have used Sunset in the past and they have been good...cycle surgery also had a few..so may be worth a try as well

thedirge

Cheers, it's not the halfords one its the other one.

Found a 19" in stock close to me, they don't have a 17" however. So I'm going to try a P7 in 17", with a little luck Orange may size their frames close enough to give me a good idea.

Looking at the specs the top tube effective length is only 1cm in difference, however the standover height difference is 4cm, can the ride be changed that significantly over these small margins?

mr joey

in my lbs the other day and they have 2 17" crush"s left and there on the c2w scheme

thedirge

Nice one, lancashires a little far for me, didn't want a long round trip really.

But any advice you have on the crush, frame size you went for and your height, experiances you had while demo'ing the difference sizes would be apreciated.

newbiketime

http://www.bikescene.co.uk/ this is who i went with and am over the moon with them

mr joey

no worries,as for the bike i love it,i used to have a patriot 66,with big daft maz 66"s on front,and just got sick of hucking it round on 20+mile rides,so i sold her on e bay and went for the crush,did"nt demo it just both feet straight in,but its an exellent bike feels solid good spec great fork my only moan was for the wheels couple of rides in and slight buckleing in both wheels so that was my first upgrade,but it is a great bike just had my forks resprayed white, check out my pics on the link below i hope you find wot you want!!!

mr joey

sorry forgot to say im just shy of 6 foot and got the 19" and its fine

thedirge

Ah well thats good, my local has the 19" and I'll be demoing it.

I'm in a similar situation actually, I've a 04 patriot with Marz AM1's and 888's for downhill, however landed badly on my hip last year and have been ordered to take it easy by the other half.

Want something lighter so I can actually pedal rather than push, but not have all my weight on the front wheel while going downhill.

Basically something I can take around glentress and enjoy their freeride park.

I also wish the forks were white lol, i mean the brakes are, who's idea was that at orange!

mr joey

tell me about it those white elixirs have cost me a shed load went to scotland last bank holiday and did Ae glentress,and inners and i kept up mostly with the lads on the 7+ and santacruz bullits and wot not, then pissed on them uphill handled really well

thedirge

If you did the big drop off at Ae your a madman lol

As I said to my friends at the time, I owe my daughter not to fucking do that.

Mr Wu

Mind if i ask where you can find a crush for under a grand?

I thought the C2W thing only allowed upto a grand?

thedirge

It depends on your company's policy, the limit is a grand for me. But I have the option to add money myself.

http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/produc ... ?&id=12697

Leisure lakes do a version with a modified fork. But for me the fox fork is the main thing attracting me to the bike.

I don't think it has remote lockout, and I'm unsure whether the recon on the £1000 version does.

I don't think there is anyone out there discounting any Orange bikes due to the small production runs and high demand. I could be corrected on this mind.

mr joey

not a bloody sniff!!! but saying that im glad i dont have that option anymore,like wot happend to you,my mate got the coffin jump at inners all wrong and ended up with his bar end in his stomach off to galashields hospital for 4 days nearly had to have a bag fitted,so made me stop and think a little with family and that and i aint getting any younger!!!but apart from the big silly stuff in scotland i found i was"nt rideing any slower than i was on the patriot in places like spooky wood or caddon bank so i was still grinning like a cheshire cat but not putting myself at serious risk and to me thats wots its all about

thedirge

Sorry to hear about your mates accident, sounds horrible.

I'm a firm believer that accidents can happen at any speed and that over protection is always better than under. Even if people laugh at you for body armor on the bunny slopes.

A friend of a friend was paralized the neck down after he just went over the bars and landed badly. Was told he was a building contractor with a family to support, really is a worry that accidents like this happen.

As always have fun! but take care.

mr joey

i agree does"nt matter wot speed you crash you can really hurt yourself,i cant really talk cos since i bought the crush the pads have been in the shed i know tempting fate!! probaly think cos ive gone from a fr bike to a hc xc bike i dont need them till i have a big off so i think ile have to start using them again when is you"re demo day and where??

thedirge

Breeze Bikes, Amble Nothumberland.

Going up this Friday, they've got the 19" in there and if its right its right. But I would like to see the 17" to know for sure.

It's a lot of money and need to make sure it's perfect lol.

Bet I end up letting them talk me into a P7 lol

mr joey

nice one i hope it stays fine for you,let us know how you get on,dont go p7, crush all the way!!

thedirge

Oh dear, the Orange Steelie fanboys are on their way, quick run!

Built a P7 for my lass (yet to really use it yet) but sure she'll love it.

thedirge

well took a look at the bike and really like it, got the chance to ride an r8 in a 17" too which was a little on the small side i guess.

will see how it goes and how it performs when the voucher is processed etc.

mr joey

let us know mate how you get on

thedirge

so worried that i've made the wrong choice getting the 19" and not the 17" lol

mr joey

na!!! im sure it will be right wot hight r u??

thedirge

Bang on 6 foot mate, but when i stood over the top tube there was no clearance, was always told to have inch and a half or so.

If i'd stuck with my instincts that a 17" was right I could always correct the ride with a different stem and shift the seat on the rails.

mr joey

prehaps you mabey right,im just shy of 6 foot and the bike feels fine to me,the only thing niggling me is when i bought the stem i think i should have got a 70 or even a 60 degree instead of the 90 wich it comes with anyway,just when im going over steep drops etc,just pitches you a little to far over so i might go with a shorter stem in near futre apart from that im v happy with it

thedirge

Just find that my weights always over the front wheel and a smaller frame would assist with that, fair enough the climbs may not be as comforatble mind.

thedirge

Just phoned up a retailer and they've said Orange's warehouse has been broken into over the weekend and ransacked!

They've cut the phonelines too, so that explains why it was ringing out.

Horrible news really, so watch out for any stolen goods that may turn up. I'd get serial numbers checked.

mr joey

that"s proper crap!! wot does it mean for you then? does it affect you"re bike?

thedirge

No the bike 19" is reserved and waiting for me at the shop so nothing to worry about there. It was Oranges Halifax base that I was told was raided.

Not sure of the implications I guess Orange would need to inform stores of any delays and I guess customers could be impacted.