Cheshire1980
Orange 🍊 Fan
I wont lie, I am a little obsessed with the Orange Aluminium O, not particularly the most functional bike, heavy, very rigid boxed back end (not to everyone's taste) and disappeared in 3 years (91-93). However, when it arrived in the 1991 season it was seen as a premier bike, with a Suntour XC Expert starting at £710.00, and Shimano XTR a staggering £1469.95! The Frame and forks could be bought for a mere £465.00, but back in the day, Orange were happy to tailor the build to your liking 
.
This ICEMANS O, which I got off Shinobi on here Thanks has no frame number, clearly seen in the pictures, no evidence of any numbers embossed on the seat tube, seat stays, which is quite unusual. The one area of interest to me, is the cable guides/routing, its very different to my other 5 Aluminium O's.
Also if you analyse the Mountain Biker (May 91) article/review of the Prototype O, it has the same cable routing.. Which I haven't seen before, but hopefully someone can shed some light on this :?:
The Icemans O came with a set of Integrated bar and stem combo, which BITD cost a pricey £85.00, as seen in the MBUK (JULY 91). It weighed 500g, made from aircraft grade chromoly, came in 120mm & 150mm, the one pictured is the larger size :shock:.. A black integrated set can be seen and is specified in the prototype article also..
Here comes my next dilemma, do I restore this Icemans O or just merely keep it as it is, battle scared and faded, but may have an untold history.. I am more inclined to build up the black 19 inch frame pictured, which was originally the orange and white fade, specs of the paint is seen in the head tube. This seems a better option, and it would be bringing it back to its proper colour. I would like to build it up like the picture of Dan Cook, may even don some drops :facepalm:
. This ICEMANS O, which I got off Shinobi on here Thanks
has no frame number, clearly seen in the pictures, no evidence of any numbers embossed on the seat tube, seat stays, which is quite unusual. The one area of interest to me, is the cable guides/routing, its very different to my other 5 Aluminium O's. Also if you analyse the Mountain Biker (May 91) article/review of the Prototype O, it has the same cable routing.. Which I haven't seen before, but hopefully someone can shed some light on this :?:
The Icemans O came with a set of Integrated bar and stem combo, which BITD cost a pricey £85.00, as seen in the MBUK (JULY 91). It weighed 500g, made from aircraft grade chromoly, came in 120mm & 150mm, the one pictured is the larger size :shock:.. A black integrated set can be seen and is specified in the prototype article also..
Here comes my next dilemma, do I restore this Icemans O or just merely keep it as it is, battle scared and faded, but may have an untold history.. I am more inclined to build up the black 19 inch frame pictured, which was originally the orange and white fade, specs of the paint is seen in the head tube. This seems a better option, and it would be bringing it back to its proper colour. I would like to build it up like the picture of Dan Cook, may even don some drops :facepalm:
