Accidental build: Orange Evo2

SO, a little while back I took an ebay punt on a set of pace RC36 Stealth forks to replace the tired Rock Shox Dart2 on my old trek daily user, and sort of came away with a slime green Orange Evo2 frame. A few scrapes in the usual places and a really small ding on the top tube that I didn't even notice till I got home and gave it a wash, and a little faded in places but a really striking frame.

New build project here I come, lightweight xc this time me thinks....

I decided to change plan, no longer was I changing the forks on my Trek, now I was building an Orange to usurp said Trek. Lightweight XC spec where possible, zero budget. Go.

Well, when I say zero budget...I had nowhere near enough parts for another build. Had the odds and ends - cassette, chain, bars, stem, grips, cables, shifters, saddle - so I hit the forum classifieds and the good ol' bay with a shopping list of all the important bits trying to spend as little as I could while making it a worthwhile build.

Cranks came from forum member Antstark, the rest from ebay. Old Hope mini/C2 needed a full strip and clean out, but seals OK and no leaks. Needed new rear hose too as the one it came with was too short. Mostly 'barely used' like the Chainrings, bottom bracket. Wheels were a bit more used but Hope /Mavic so no worries. Rear mech came in pieces but trusty old XTR just needed a clean out and its working spot on. NOS tyres were a bit of an indulgence but a fair price, new headset and front mech too since that's not really worth bothering with for the price.

Spec sheet so far:
Chassis: Orange Evo2 Slime green (1999 I think), Pace RC36 Stealth with lock-out (2002?)
Wheels: Hope Evo 2 gunsmoke disc hubs, Mavic XM819 rims, butted spokes, WTB Velociraptor Competition 2.1 F&R.
Drive: Raceface Ride XC ISIS cranks, Raceface rings (44, 32, 24), Truvativ Gigapipe, XT M780 Front mech, XTR M952 rear mech. From the bin: Shimano basic rapidfire shifters 8sp, HG 8sp cassette, HG chain, stainless shift cables and braided outers.
Braking: Hope Sport levers, Mini No3 callipers, braided hoses, Avid discs
Ancillaries:FSA Orbit cartridge headset, Easton stem, Syncros bars, Raceface seatpost. From the bin: Selle Italia saddle, Outland grips,










Still sourcing some pedals (stole these off my boys bike, shhhhhh!) and some wotsits for attaching the brake hoses to the frame and forks. It may sound a bit daft but I cant decide what pedals to get. I default to DMR platforms, then get stuck on what colour. Think I might go for a change this time.

I think a chainstay protector of some sort to mask the scuffs there would be nice, and I think I will get some newer brakes in time too, at least newer levers. But the good news is I got out for the first test ride the other night and everything was spot on. I mean the brakes need a bit of bedding in and i needed to twiddle the barrel adjusters on the rear mech slightly, but lovely to ride. Only big job is a fork service that I want to get done before too long, am waiting on Mr justbackdated to get back to me about that.

Hopefully will get time for a proper run out at the weekend, really looking forward to it.

Cheers

So, a few weeks on and things are looking good. Made some changes to this with parts from my Mount Vision which I have decided to retire. That means a spare set of wheels (red Hope Pro2s with Mavic X517) for some skinny road tyres. Now running 9 speed 770 cassette with XT 750 shifters, DMR V12s, and changed the C2/O2 calipers and sport levers to Mini’s. Just need to service the forks (waiting on Tim for this) and the rear lever is a bit weak so need to take a look at that, guessing I need to strip it down and pop in new seals.

But this is starting to get some good use now, being my go-to ride. Still recovering so just pottering the local paths building up the miles slowly and just about able to start leaning on the pedals a bit now without debilitating pain, which is nice. I’m finding the riding position is more effective than my Trek, I feel like I’m getting more effort out of the drive so I figure the geometry is a bit more to my liking. I have the B17 ready for proper trails but think I prefer the hardtail approach.

Re:

Great job , love the colour

Paul

Taken the decision to get the forks sorted by a pro, so pulled them off and sent to justbackdated for a full jobbie makeover. Fingers crossed that will be a big improvement in performance once complete, and now I have the brakes fiddled and bedded in, the gears are almost spot on apart from a worn sprocket that likes to skip and jump a bit. Nearly there.....

So as time passes the bike evolves...




Bars are now some nice blue race face turbines, with some pale grey northshore grips.
Stem is a tidy race face number too.

Brakes are now Mono M4s with bigger discs.
Forks have been serviced.
Tyres shown are runarounds, I use this for actually going out and about.
You might also notice the rear axle sports the essential accessory for the discerning parent, the fixing point for the kiddie trailer :facepalm:

Works a treat, climbs well, not it too heavy either
(at least without the trailer on!)

i have one of these - had it since 2005. Now set up as canal path/town hybriddy thing. Underrated frame in my opinion- always comfortable for an alu frame and precise steering. in off road mode with front suspension and nobblies got me out of situations with its handling abilities. Built mine pretty light - xtr crank bontrager rxl wheels xtr brakes. Would never get rid of.

last year in belgium touring various breweries.

Loving this. I just dusted mine off (after many years in storage) and fitted a new fork as my RC36 EVO2 Pro Class were BEC.

I agree with the other sentiments - fanstastic chassis and will ride it till it breaks.

Aye - I built one recently. I grew to like it more as I built it. Looking forward to getting out on it.

Here's my ancient steed... Finally road/trailworthyish