Orange X1 & MM2013 **Up-date**

Jussa

Retrobike Rider
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Ok, so how far would you go to collect you’re most sought after or dream bike? Well for me it was a 500 mile round trip. Wednesday 13th February, the sun was out, clear blue sky over Norfolkshire and car full of fuel ready for the trip to the Wigan to pick up my new addition.

Departure time 09:00 - The first 100 miles were fine, I even had the window down at one point as warmth from the sun radiated through the car making it very toasty. A brief stop in Higham Ferrers to pop in and see my brother’s wife to drop some stuff off resulted in a couple of freebie hot sausage rolls from the bakery she works in, one Cafe Latte to go and I was sorted for the next leg of the journey. It had just gone overcast and as I left the A14 near Rugby the skies opened, from glorious sunshine to black clouds of doom in the space of two junctions on the M6. The rain turned to sleet and just as I passed the Stoke exit on the M6 it turned to snow. For a brief moment I thought that my journey would come to an end as the traffic bulletins gave out road closures and accidents dotted all around the county. I plodded on with the last remaining 20 miles showing on the Sat-Nav I thought nothing can stop me now.

Finally at 14:30 I arrived at my destination. Phil must have heard me pull up as his garage door was opening just as I got out of the car. I trudged through the snow up the drive way and was greeted by the bike I had travelled 250 miles to collect.

Behold one 1997 Orange X1 (Actual birth date of the frame August 1996) Now at this point I do realise that it is often referred to as the ‘Marmite’ of full susser bikes, you either love it or hate it, partly down to the Unified Rear Triangle (URT) Set-up. Now I’m used to quirky Full Suspension bikes and after having a fleet of Proflex’s I’m used to the Rock Hard Elastomers, unusual frame designs and the wonders of Girvin Crosslinks and Vectors, but I've always made my own mind up about the bikes I've owned and never passed judgement unless I could speak from experience on a bike. And after trawling through the many threads on RB I have found that owners of X1’s have enjoyed them, testament to that is some great build threads which have kept me going until the right bike came along. As small test ride has been completed and i can confirm that i love it, feels very responsive and not a glimmer of the 'Pogoing' often attributed to early full-sussers especially as i am used to the Proflex bounce ;).

And here it is, I'm the second owner from new and this has not been tweaked too much and is pretty much standard as the day it was purchased.

Frame - Size Medium
Forks – Rock Shox Judy XC
Headset - Ritchey 1” Threadless
Stem – Orange ‘OX’ SK9 Ahead Stem
Bars – X-Lite G-Force
Shifters – 8 Speed Grip Shifters
Front & Rear Mech – Shimano XT739
V-Brakes & Levers – Shimano XT739
Chainset – Shimano LX
Wheels – Shimano LX Parallax Hubs, FIR Rims with DT Double Butted Spokes
Tyres – Maxis 26 x 2.10
Seatpost – Orange 26.4 Shimmed to 29.8
Saddle – D2 Velo Plush Comfort
Rear Shock – Strata Air Shock

And so the deal was completed and bike loaded ready for the return leg back to Norfolkshire, not even the weather could dampen the smiles coming from me as I kept catching glimpses of the shiny chrome frame in glinting in my rear view mirror. This one is definitely a keeper........

There will be a few minor changes, including saddle, bars, tyres, but it will be kept pretty much stock. Some new decals from Gil_m just to freshen it up and it may just be my partner for Mayhem this year :D
 

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Re: Orange X1

As you say, the X1 is a real Marmite bike. Personally, I love it, and this looks like a really nice example. :D

I'm not a weight weeny by any stretch of the imagination, but would be very interested to know what it weighs. Weighed a Proflex 754 recently and that was 30.6 Lbs. If felt lighter than that though.

Good luck with it!
 
Re: Orange X1 'Citrus Fresh'

500 mile round trip !!!!! That's commitment ... Was the travel cause seller wouldn't post or you were wary of damage in transit ?

Lovely bike and looks very clean though clearly worth the trip ;)
 
Re: Orange X1 'Citrus Fresh'

Plus one":nvnq2r8t said:
500 mile round trip !!!!! That's commitment ... Was the travel cause seller wouldn't post or you were wary of damage in transit ?

Lovely bike and looks very clean though clearly worth the trip ;)

I'm sure it could have been posted if it came down to it, but for me the journey was part of the process to owning a bike that I've been hankering after for a while, it was also nice to meet the previous owner and chat bikes too :D the end result Is a bike which I am over the moon with, it's deffo a keeper and will be left pretty much stock as nowt needs changing apart from a few personal touches, thinking some black Supercross Riser Bars as well :)
 
Re: Orange X1 'Citrus Fresh'

welcome aboard the X1 owners club, thats one tidy example
you got yourself there.... Glad to hear its a keeper !

I love mine, its so butt f'ing Ugly / awkward looking it always creates a stir
just get ready for "is that a P7 cut and Shut" when they spot that left over single bottle boss
bolt hole that seems to serve no purpose what so ever ..... X1 owners will know exactly
what I'm on about.

I'm guessing yours must be a 97model a year newer than mine since its running V Brakes and also has disc mounts on the URT


See yah at Mayhem
 

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