2022 Orange

Stage EVO SE

The Orange Stage 7 LE is the latest bike from the Halifax metal masters to feature the brand's new Strange Power Link system.

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Tired of feeling disconnected from the trail thanks to miles of suspension travel? Well, the Orange Stage 6 Evo aims to deliver that frenetic, plugged-in feeling you get from the very best full-suspension trail bikes. Does it deliver? Let’s find out. Need to know Alloy trail bike with 140mm travel, 150mm fork and 29in wheels Orange’s Evo treatment sees the bike get less travel, but tighter suspension New asymmetric swingarm design makes the back end vertically stiffer Ohlins TTX1 Air shock and RXF 36 M.2 fork tip the bike north of £6k Two bikes in the range, including a Team version with Formula coil shock Orange bikes are born for slop. That single pivot swingarm has always generated stupid amounts of grip on anything off-camber and slidey, so I knew just where I had to take the new Stage 6 Evo SE, the latest 29er trail bike from the Halifax brand. Somewhere that stinks. But in a good way. Grimy trails duly found – not hard this winter – I proceeded to get the usual reward of tenacious grip and emerged spattered and smiling from the first descent. But there was something else going on too, something relatively new to me. The bike felt tighter and stiffer, with more zip when cranking it up. Orange has entered the modern age of the trail bike. In truth Orange entered this age in 2020 with the Stage Evo 29, a 120mm travel bike that’s led directly into this new Stage 6 Evo here. That bike showed us the direction Orange wanted to go in with its Evo trail bikes, stripping away as much weight as possible, a little travel, and tightening up the suspension to really differentiate them from its big hit and plusher enduro bikes like the Alpine. Making a 120mm travel bike zippy and tight makes sense, and Transition, Evil, YT and loads more brands have been hammering this point home with brilliant down-country bikes for a few years. But with 140mm travel isn’t the Orange Evo approach just going to rob the bike of its plushness without giving enough of a reward in terms of low weight and speed? First to the details though. The Stage moniker tells you the bike runs on 29in wheels, and the Evo treatment means travel is nipped back by 10mm from the old bike, to 140mm with a 150mm fork. The SE version comes with Ohlins suspension, or there’s a Team version with Formula coil shock and air fork for £1,200 less. Naturally there’s also a frame-only option for £2,600 with a RockShox or Fox shock. Orange might not have moved on much in the materials it uses or its suspension layout, but it’s become an expert in tweaking the tried and tested design, now using FEA. The Stage 6 Evo gets a new asymmetric swingarm design where the non-driveside chainstay drops lower, while the wall thickness of each part of the frame now varies from 1.3 to 1.6mm. The upshot is a …Continue reading »

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The Stage 6 EVO is a high-quality bike with great spec, suiting those who favor fast, straight and wide lines...

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