What Constitutes Limited Edition Frame??

I've just had an interesting conversation with the nice folks at Orange.

I've ordered a new frame sticker set for the E4, which should make it look all spangley again and while I was on the phone I asked how many of the E4 frames they made.

The answer?........200 over two years. :shock:

Now that is no way enough to consider as mass produced, so I just wondered if it could be called a limited edition model??

What numbers do other relatively main stream manufacturers, which I'd consider Orange to be, call limited runs??

In my mind, to a mainstream manufacturer, anything 500 or below could be classed as Limited Edition.
However, I dont know the numbers others produce. But, when you consider the likes of Raleigh, GT, Spesh etc, their model must be over 1000 per model in the more mainstream ranges.

For me, a true "Limited Edition" is when a manufacturer does a limited one-off run of a special item and they're individually numbered (ie. 1-10, or 1-499 or whatever), so not so much about exactly how many were made.

Its a term that has been abused by the big manufacturers over the years though (in all markets - not just bikes).

I don't know much about Orange bikes so I'm not sure whether the E4 was intended as a "Limited Edition", or whether they just happened to not produce many of them for some reason.

Irrespective, I reckon its cool to have a bike that's known to be few in numbers.

I don't think the E4 was marketed as a limited edition frame, but the production run of 200 certainly seems to have been a conscious decision.

There were also only ever 200 E6 frames made and more recently 200 Clockworks (Apparently). Oh and of course the Vit T which I thought they only made 21 of, but I'm sure the guy at Orange said 40 today on the phone but I could of miss heard that. :?

It was more an interest in production numbers than the 'limited' tag that got me started.

For a real idea of true limited editions you should look no further than Franklin Mint. They alway limit to a max of a 5 figure serial number (ie no more than 99,999 items worldwide), with an option of running another limited run using an alphabetic suffix (ie potential to run 99,999 x 26 = 999,974 items!). Their items are truely wonderful, like the item below:

Princess Diana, queen of our hearts and minds and patron of the 'klunk, klick, every trip' foundation here captured in true (faux) porcelain and satinesse (effect), having a dump on a potty

http://www.franklinmint.com/product1.aspx?SID=2&Product_ID=2284

lol what a pile of cr@p! someone must buy them (scary..) :roll:

With todays awe inspiring and overbearing press...any manufacturer making something limited will let the press know. A one-off or maybe two or three will never make the press. One bike that comes to mind is a 26" GT Quatrefoil Tandem (Yeah the yellow one) that was listed on eBay this past year. There was also a GT LTS Tandem listed. Neither of these were product that was mass produced or pictured in a catalog.

I'll post this pic of a one-off build. Supposedly built for US 2000 Sydney games triathlete Jennifer Guiterrez. It's a 650C wheeled GT Edge Ti painted in Nat'l Team colors. Was never in the catalog but must be considered a one-off or limited production. I actually know for sure that at least two of these frames were made. She rode one and sold one an somehow I wound up with it for my Mrs.