2024 Orange

Switch Factory

When it comes to manufacturing bikes in the UK, no one can accuse Orange of simply flag waving. Based in Halifax, and with over 25 years of manufacturing knowhow, it is arguably the quintessential British bike brand. Models like the Five and 224 making Orange a popular mountain bike household name. The Orange Switch 7 is a 170mm mixed-wheelsize enduro bike that justifies being rated as one of the best enduro bikes out there. Need to know: An Ohlins TTX2 Air shock and RXF 38 M.2 fork control the 170mm travel MX wheels with longer 446mm chain stays give the Switch 7 a almost 29er feel Adding the linkage brings more end-stoke progression to the rear suspension Tabs under the top tube allow you to squeeze in a 500ml bottle Frame And while the ingredients that go into Orange’s full-suspension bikes haven’t changed dramatically over the years, mostly seam welded sheet aluminium to form the monocoque tubing, combined with a single pivot suspension design, Alex Desmond, senior design engineer at Orange has added a new ingredient without completely changing the flavour profile. That’s right, the Switch 7 has a linkage actuated shock to give the bike more progression. Not that you could tell by looking at the side profile of the bike as the linkage is neatly concealed by the swingarm. The linkage adds about 400g to the overall weight of the frame, when compared to the Switch 6, where the shock is driven directly by the swingarm. And most of that weight is in the bearings. Working on the bike should be relatively easy though, thanks to the service position, which gives you access to all of the bolts on the linkage without having to remove the swingarm. How much progression does the new linkage add? It’s about 20% more overall compared to the Switch 6, which also makes it more progressive than Orange’s 279 DH bike with the pierced downtube. Progression then, quite literally. But that’s not the whole story. The first half of the 170mm travel (we measured 175mm) is pretty linear, where the ramp up comes into play in the second half of the shock stroke. Doing it this way has allowed Orange to retain some of the initial support and feel its bikes are renowned for, without the bike bottoming out too easily. Adding the linkage has other benefits too. It helps eliminate sideloading on the shock.  And because the swingarm is now anchored to the front triangle at two points, rather than one, the frame can be made stiffer. Orange claims that it hasn’t gone overboard here, but the combination of the smaller 27.5in rear wheel and more open triangulation of the swingarm certainly makes the Switch 7 stout enough for smashing out bike park laps, even if it has been designed with enduro racing as the focus. A lot of work has gone into the front triangle too. Moving to a zero stack head tube has allowed Orange to drop the downtube down …Continue reading »

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