weapon of choice....kona or orange..what was better...?

drcarlos":16ezdf5d said:

... plus respect Kona for going for XC Pro on the top bike rather than the obvious XT....

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Hum, XC Pro was an option for any Orange. The choice was yours not the manufacturers. Shimano Deore series, Suntour XC series, Mavic or Campag. you decided. Much greater respect to Orange for letting you decide what went on the frame.

FluffyChicken":23pbig3u said:

drcarlos":23pbig3u said:

... plus respect Kona for going for XC Pro on the top bike rather than the obvious XT....

Click to expand...

Hum, XC Pro was an option for any Orange. The choice was yours not the manufacturers. Shimano Deore series, Suntour XC series, Mavic or Campag. you decided. Much greater respect to Orange for letting you decide what went on the frame.

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Bikes in the catalogue were all Shimano though.

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2670&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=60

You can have anything you want with anything (I have my Zocchis and XT rear mech on my CB swapped for Manitou2's and XTR in the shop) if you have the money.

But what is in the Catalogue is what advertised to the general public and what will sell a bike to the majority of people (and Orange really shout about using only LX, DX and XT groupsets on their frames), it will also give a bike a 'list' price for comparison to others.

Carl.

drcarlos":1vo5yh9a said:

FluffyChicken":1vo5yh9a said:

drcarlos":1vo5yh9a said:

... plus respect Kona for going for XC Pro on the top bike rather than the obvious XT....

Click to expand...

Hum, XC Pro was an option for any Orange. The choice was yours not the manufacturers. Shimano Deore series, Suntour XC series, Mavic or Campag. you decided. Much greater respect to Orange for letting you decide what went on the frame.

Click to expand...

Bikes in the catalogue were all Shimano though.

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2670&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=60

You can have anything you want with anything (I have my Zocchis and XT rear mech on my CB swapped for Manitou2's and XTR in the shop) if you have the money.

But what is in the Catalogue is what advertised to the general public and what will sell a bike to the majority of people (and Orange really shout about using only LX, DX and XT groupsets on their frames), it will also give a bike a 'list' price for comparison to others.

Carl.

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but also advertised that Suntour, Mavic and Campag where on tap ?
Also you didn't pay to have stuff removed then extra for something else. You just paid for the Prestige with XC Pro for instance.
You buy a Kona and you had to pay to have things changed different to the spec.

So much more flexibility with an Orange build at the time.

That's why you see quite a few Oranges roll up with Suntour gear on them out of the woodwork.

Not knocking Kona for putting XC Comp on (not XC Pro btw), but you didn't have the choice to buy it with Deore LX and benefit from the better frame etc..

P.S. Isn't that the 1991 Orange catalogue, if so then if you compare to Kona, they had moved to blanket Shimano (DX for Explosif and a higher end in 'XT' with err XT on it)

Come a few years later (as I have no other adverts)
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/mai ... emId=81928
Perfectly comparable Suntour/Shimano ?

It'll come as no suprise that I would, and did, go for Orange. Probably go for a Clockwork with as many upgraded parts as I could up to the £1000 limit. I've always liked the riding position and twitchy steering.

Kona's never really popped up on my radar bitd and don't really interest me know.

Well, I was a "budding privateer racer" (albeit a 37 year old one) in 1989 and I bought a six month old Kona Explosif - I still have it, of course.
The first ever Kona on the Isle of Man, BTW . It's what I raced on for the next three years.

A couple of years later a friend of mine bought an Orange Prestige, which he has recently sold. Over the intervening years he frequently commented on how much better a handling bike he thought my Kona was than his Orange, and how the Explosif seemed somehow able to adapt to the sort of riding that we were now doing (steeper, more technical stuff with far less fireroad type riding) whereas his Orange never seemed as happy in that sort of environment and was hell-bent on having him off at every opportunity, which meant he didn't use it and is why he sold it.

I still ride the Kona from time to time (if I feel like gears) and it can still hold its own in any company - its overall feel belies its age.

sinnerman":2qu1vgi2 said:

Dr S":2qu1vgi2 said:

Cor blimey. We only get to choose between an Orange or a Kona?? Harsh.
Would have to be a Kona. I have never liked the way Oranges ride- tried them BITD and more recently. Konas have a decent ride and look nicer too.
Kona.

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yeh only due to tha fact that i chose the kona all those years ago, but always had a need to know how the orange rode in comparison, and i was intregued at others opinions, neither were handbuilt like the fats etc, all mass produced in the far east, but both were landmark brands for me and im sure a lot of others too....!!!!
for me back then i too chose the kona, liked the look too , and certainly the geometry got me hooked, it got me into steel first, and then onto my rocky mountain decade.....via bontrager, and indy fab etc, as years progressed....!!!!! never tried a fat though you seem pretty hooked.....any good...?

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Back then i was riding an old Cannondale, then moved onto a Saracen in around '90. I couldnt afford anything like a Fat back then. Friends had Konas and Oranges and i always prefered tye ride of the Kona- it had more zing and the sloping top tube and straight fork made for a handsome looker.
If i had a time machine and a sack of money i would probably go for a Mountain Goat. Back then i always wanted a Pace RC100 but tye reality is they dont ride too hot- good race bike but too highly strung and stiff as an all rounder. I also liked the Goat after riding one at Boltby in 1990. I had one last year but unfortunately it was just a bit too small.
I love Fats but have to say that little Goat out rode all of them without breaking a sweat. Fantastic bikes and probably one of the nicest handling bikes of all time IMO.

Si

Back then i always wanted a Pace RC100 but tye reality is they dont ride too hot- good race bike but too highly strung and stiff as an all rounder.

Correct! It was and still is

.

I think my username image tells what id go for

Bitd I had an 88 Cinder Cone and rode that bike pretty much every day through my early teens and absolutely loved it. I don't know much about Orange but still have my brothers mid 90's P7 and it rides really nicely.

I would have picked Kona as they were far rarer back then and I loved the way it rode.

As DrS said a few posts back.... Then I got my Mountain Goat in 92 and I don't think I've ever ridden a better steel ht since and why it's still frequently ridden to this day.

MMMM...

Well this is a difficult one. I love the Kona with the paintwork as it is and with the sloping top tube.....however, I know you are not using yours as an example but i can't help but love your Orange Mr Sinnerman.

The Kona is cool, but the orange just does it for me that little bit more! lol