Orange Gringo build

[SantaHul]

Yo just picked up this Gringo from a lovely chap near Northampton. Didn't catch his name but I assume it was Rob as there's a big "Rob" sticker on the bike. It's missing a few bits, could do with a tidy up too, but the frame is very straight with little in the way of chips, rubs or missing paint.

As far as I can tell, it needs a rear mech, brakes, cables (brake and gear), a saddle and a chain. I'll probably have to steal some bits off my commuter, but it will be worth it to see this going again.

My plan before pcking it up was to immediately replace the forks as a) I figured they'd be tired out and b) I don't have a shock pump. The seem to be in pretty good shape though and my mates told me he has a pump I can borrow. If anybody's interested though, feel free to offer a swap, I'd prefer coil

Could also do with a longer stem as the one on at the moment is more of a downhill stem, very stubby.

If anybody could age the frame or the forks for me I would really appreciate it. I'm guessing about 2001.

P.S. Yes I know the back wheel is on the wrong way round.

 

[jax13]

if memory serves me correctly, only the 99 gringo was disc mount free, won't help if it has a rear disc but its a first point of elimination.

to age it accurately, just drop orange an email with the serial # & they will get back to you.

 

[Charlieboy28]

She is a 99 Gringo, just like mine

I have been really impressed by her so far and she is perfect as my winter daily rider/commuter.

Paint seems bombproof i dont think mine has a single mark to speak of and she is my least pampered bike

 

[warpedboy2]

Shock pump will set you back around £15.

You will probably need one of these adaptors:-

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SKS-SID-Adapter ... =8-2-spell

 

[SantaHul]

charlieboy28: How much travel do your forks have? I understand these frames were designed with 100mm in mind but I was wondering about giving it some more.

 

[Andy B]

I have a lotta love for the Gringo's, yours looks pretty good for it's age

It's the bike that got me back into MTBing, I loved the way it handled & they are very capable bikes that just seem to take everything in their stride

I had a 2003 Gringo in metallic black, with loads of gold Hope bling!

Mine did come stock with 80mm forks (Manitou Axel Elite), but I upgraded them to 100 RS Reba's. It handled better with the 100mm forks (maybe that was just the Reba's being a much better fork, or the extra 20mm travel or a combo of both?)

I was gutted when I had to sell it due to financial issues

I'm not 100% sure if they changed the geometry from yours to mine, drop Orange a phone call, they are very helpful if no one here has a definitive answer on the max fork length you can use

A couple of pics of mine

With 80mm Manitou's

With 100mm Reba's

 

[Charlieboy28]

the pilots are 100mm travel, and there are times when my weight is off the front of the bike the steering feels a bit sloppy and slow, its fine when im riding and they sag a little, but i wouldnt want to put anymore travel on them. I am using 110 stem though and a layback ,coz as you know they are quite a dinky small frame even for a 17.5. Im sure i read or heard or maybe imagined that they were a little behind the times in terms of geometry on the 99 Gringo and they were designed ideally for 80mm, whileother bikes of that year were being made for 100mm. I might have made this up so dont quote me.

if you have very short arms and can use a very short stem, its worth a go with longer forks, but i personally wouldnt.

I have a thing for keeping my bikes clean, but this is the one bike i think actually looks better covered in mud.
she is a tad heavy too but i forgive her that for what she is like up and down Hill

 

[FernandoMTB_PH]

I have a lotta love for the Gringo's, yours looks pretty good for it's age

It's the bike that got me back into MTBing, I loved the way it handled & they are very capable bikes that just seem to take everything in their stride

I had a 2003 Gringo in metallic black, with loads of gold Hope bling!

Mine did come stock with 80mm forks (Manitou Axel Elite), but I upgraded them to 100 RS Reba's. It handled better with the 100mm forks (maybe that was just the Reba's being a much better fork, or the extra 20mm travel or a combo of both?)

I was gutted when I had to sell it due to financial issues

I'm not 100% sure if they changed the geometry from yours to mine, drop Orange a phone call, they are very helpful if no one here has a definitive answer on the max fork length you can use

A couple of pics of mine

With 80mm Manitou's

With 100mm Reba's

I know its been pretty long since this post but
I'm currently building an Orange Gringo (not sure what year) but I've ran into some trouble regarding the Headset bearings, I bought 2 44mm Sealed headset bearings but they seem to be too small. I have another bike that has a straight steerer and uses 44mm headsets as well which is why I think the Gringo's integrated bearing caps are set to 50mm? I hope you can clarify me on this problem. Thanks in advance

 

[hamster]

It's an external headset.