Orange Clockwork Prototype

[adyifauk]

Hello, I grew up in Elland (just outside Halifax) and, in the 90's helped a chap who worked for Orange. As a thank you, he gave me a yellow bike and told me it was a prototype. I used the bike about 15 times and, after receiving a job offer - moved to Suffolk in 1999 and left the bike at my mums in Elland. Unfortunately she passed away recently and her house (and garage) needed to be cleared, so I have brought the bike home.

Seeing the bike has made me want to ride again. I have spoken to a local bike shop about servicing the bike, as it is in very good condition, but he's told me I would be far better off selling it and buying a new 'modern' bike.

Does anyone know what this bike is worth? It is in very good condition with all the original parts. I fitted bar ends, a carbon water bottle holder, lights and some mudguards, but all the components are the standard ones that came with the bike when he gave it to me. The tyres (which are knackered!) still have bobbles on them.

I googled to try find the location of a serial number, but it doesnt have any.

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers

 

[jonnyboy666]

jesus i hate it when people in shops say buy a new bike because yours is just old. the bike looks pretty mint, if you brought that to my shop i'd quote for the service and replacement tyres, i might mention a new bike but only if you made comments about "is it worth it?", and my response is always the same, do you like the bike? is it still comfortable? and this is gonna cost XYZ, if you bought a replacement bike what would you spend? if the repair is say £100 and a new bike is from £400 for something basic but reasonable then i'd advise servicing the old one. if you said well i want suspension upfront and disc brakes then yes buy a new bike but again that means more than £400!

i'd say it looks like a later 90's model, and i'd say pre-production sample from the far east as opposed to prototype, they had loads of frames made by then so it may have been just a new version they wanted a sample of before full production run which is quite normal.

as to value, subjective to be honest, it's still a clockwork and has the base spec of gears, as opposed to a P7 (the next model up), and i just paid £300 for a mint nickel P7, but it's pretty mint and very original so i'd say £200 to £250 and haggle

 

[FluffyChicken]

That rear mech is newer than the bike.

Looks nice, I have no idea of value of these. Can't really see what the components are, but cranks Alovio so assume the rest is Alovio level, so lower end.

But jonnyboy tends to know these well, other might know too.
Maybe the Orange branded part as they are probably in great condition fetch a bit on their own for people building bikes.


Honestly, just go ride it.

 

[adyifauk]

jesus i hate it when people in shops say buy a new bike because yours is just old. the bike looks pretty mint, if you brought that to my shop i'd quote for the service and replacement tyres, i might mention a new bike but only if you made comments about "is it worth it?", and my response is always the same, do you like the bike? is it still comfortable? and this is gonna cost XYZ, if you bought a replacement bike what would you spend? if the repair is say £100 and a new bike is from £400 for something basic but reasonable then i'd advise servicing the old one. if you said well i want suspension upfront and disc brakes then yes buy a new bike but again that means more than £400!

i'd say it looks like a later 90's model, and i'd say pre-production sample from the far east as opposed to prototype, they had loads of frames made by then so it may have been just a new version they wanted a sample of before full production run which is quite normal.

as to value, subjective to be honest, it's still a clockwork and has the base spec of gears, as opposed to a P7 (the next model up), and i just paid £300 for a mint nickel P7, but it's pretty mint and very original so i'd say £200 to £250 and haggle

Hi Jonnyboy666, thanks for your reply and the info. I have a fondness for the bike, partly because of the fact that it was a gift from the chap who designed it and partly because the company originates from Halifax. I believe they are now based in Elland, the little town I grew up in.

Where is your shop?

 

[adyifauk]

That rear mech is newer than the bike.

Looks nice, I have no idea of value of these. Can't really see what the components are, but cranks Alovio so assume the rest is Alovio level, so lower end.

But jonnyboy tends to know these well, other might know too.
Maybe the Orange branded part as they are probably in great condition fetch a bit on their own for people building bikes.


Honestly, just go ride it.

Hi FluffyChicken.

That rear mech is definitely the same age as the bike, none of the components have been replaced as I only rode it around 15 times before moving down south. It just says 'Shimano Deore' on it. The cranks say 'Shimano' cutting through a big 'A'. The stem has says 'OX SK9', attaching to something with 'Tange Japan' around it and the handle bars say 'Hot Rod'.

I am going to ride it and see if I get the bug. I'm 54 y.o now so it will be more of a case of riding around cycle paths in the nearby national trust property than trying to hammer a proper course

 

[adyifauk]

Hi Jonnyboy666, thanks for your reply and the info. I have a fondness for the bike, partly because of the fact that it was a gift from the chap who designed it and partly because the company originates from Halifax. I believe they are now based in Elland, the little town I grew up in.

Where is your shop?

Hi, I'm new to this sort of stuff but have just realised by clicking on your name it says you are 'New Forest'. I was kinda hoping I could have brought the bike to you for servicing etc

 

[jonnyboy666]

@adyifauk yeah, i'm on the edge of the New Forest near Southampton, i'd happily sort that out, my advice (if you aren't able to do it yourself) is have a look around your area for a smaller independent shop ideally one that's been there 20 plus years with an older guy in there somewhere! not halfords etc! ask them to fit some new tyres and tubes, may be rim tapes, i'd suggest the schwalbe "smart sam plus" tyres (26x 2.1 or 2.25) as they are puncture resistant and have a good intermediate tread, and run a spanner over it to make sure the brakes and gears work, if they say the shifters don't work, it's likely the rachet lube has dried out, which usually means it just needs rehydrating with spray lube and then i usually just operate them back and forth until they start working again! other than that i bet they'll not be much worng with it.

 

[Takingabreak]

Hello, I grew up in Elland (just outside Halifax) and, in the 90's helped a chap who worked for Orange. As a thank you, he gave me a yellow bike and told me it was a prototype. I used the bike about 15 times and, after receiving a job offer - moved to Suffolk in 1999 and left the bike at my mums in Elland. Unfortunately she passed away recently and her house (and garage) needed to be cleared, so I have brought the bike home.

Seeing the bike has made me want to ride again. I have spoken to a local bike shop about servicing the bike, as it is in very good condition, but he's told me I would be far better off selling it and buying a new 'modern' bike.

Does anyone know what this bike is worth? It is in very good condition with all the original parts. I fitted bar ends, a carbon water bottle holder, lights and some mudguards, but all the components are the standard ones that came with the bike when he gave it to me. The tyres (which are knackered!) still have bobbles on them.

I googled to try find the location of a serial number, but it doesnt have any.

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers

That's in remarkable condition. As mentioned by others, a quick check over and any perished parts replaced and you will be good to ride

 

[adyifauk]

@adyifauk yeah, i'm on the edge of the New Forest near Southampton, i'd happily sort that out, my advice (if you aren't able to do it yourself) is have a look around your area for a smaller independent shop ideally one that's been there 20 plus years with an older guy in there somewhere! not halfords etc! ask them to fit some new tyres and tubes, may be rim tapes, i'd suggest the schwalbe "smart sam plus" tyres (26x 2.1 or 2.25) as they are puncture resistant and have a good intermediate tread, and run a spanner over it to make sure the brakes and gears work, if they say the shifters don't work, it's likely the rachet lube has dried out, which usually means it just needs rehydrating with spray lube and then i usually just operate them back and forth until they start working again! other than that i bet they'll not be much worng with it.

There is a local independent chap who offers a service where the bike is 'stripped to a bare frame and meticulously examined, cleaned and polished. Components examined for wear, cleaned or replaced then re fitted. Wheels trued and re tensioned if needed. You bike will look like new!'

Not sure he will be familiar with my bike, so I'd rather use you if you can sort something out? Everything you mention in your message makes sense to me and I quite like the idea of having it stripped down, cleaned etc. I didnt clean the bike for the photos, it still has dirt from the last time I road it but I cant see any scratches or chips on it, so I think it should end up looking quite nice. I really appreciate your time on this!!

 

[jonnyboy666]

you could do that but judging by the pics it is unlikely that it would need that much, you are more than welcome to bring it to me though, but it's a 4 hour drive from suffolk!

my shop thread, started 9 years ago:-

Thread 'so i started a bike shop. update 28/11/24'

Apr 25, 2016

that's right, i started a bike shop. :shock:

some of you may already know if you're on my Facebook, but i thought i'd tell you guys here. those that know me will know that i got made redundant in july 2014, luckily i got a reasonable pay out for the 6 years i'd been with that company but i didn't really know what to do, i knew i was gonna head back to the bike trade but i wasn't sure what i wanted to do in the trade, sales? mechanic? sales rep? i didn't know so initially i went back to working for several shops part time to make up a full time wage as no one had any full time shop job in...

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