Shape and purpose

I ended up choosing the Orange Segment (the same bike Rowan used). The Segment has been Orange’s short travel 29er since 2014, but 2016 heralds a new iteration that brings it right up to date. First is the inclusion of Boost but more than that, the new frame is 400 grams lighter and reshaped. Gulleys now scar the top tube and the downtube has become more angular. For me, it’s not a great look, but if Orange Bikes have ever stood for anything it’s function over form.

Orange have designed this bike to be a fast all rounder, it apparently, “takes preconceptions about what is possible on a short travel bike and pulls them apart.” And although 110mm travel would previously have put a bike like this in the XC category, the Segment clearly has a bit more devilish intent.

On the spreadsheet it’s hardly radical – a 68° head angle makes it steeper than most of the competition and a 1187mm wheelbase in size large is generous but there are longer. Interestingly, despite the introduction of Boost, Orange hasn’t been sucked into the short chainstay trend (447mm). The length of this bike is balanced. At 5’11”, a size large felt like a good fit.

Feeling

Fast. This is a bike that pricks to attention like a rabbit’s ears then bounds down singletrack. It comes alive on fast, smooth trails with grip that you would normally need a stone circle and 12 naked virgins to channel. Throw in a sprinkling of tech and the grin won’t leave your face all afternoon. Think trail centre runs, natural singletrack or the flowier bike park tracks and that’s where this bike feels truly at home.

As you would expect, it’s a hearty climber, attacking the ascents with gusto and it’s easy to sit in and find a rhythm on long ascents, especially if you firm up the Float shock, something we also found on the YT Jeffsy. There is noticeable pedal bob if you have to get out of the saddle and really mash the pedals but that will only be on the steepest of climbs.

Limitations

As I mentioned above, if you take the Segment onto bigger and burlier things it starts to stutter. It feels like the shock can’t keep up with the fork and the bike is swallowed by big holes and hits. I was frequently bottoming out and being stalled by the lack of travel.

Of course, this is a 110mm bike, you can’t expect it to tackle downhill tracks with ease – for those wanting something to handle the bigger hits we are currently testing a longer travel 135mm Orange 29er, so you may be best waiting until that’s released early next year.

The KS Lev seatpost was also a disappointment, it would often get stuck at the bottom of its travel and I’d have to use a thigh-pinch technique to break the inertia. The lever also felt stiff if it hadn’t been used for a while.

Verdict

There’s no doubt this is a great bike. If I wanted one of those “excuse bikes” I mentioned earlier then the Orange Segment isn’t it. With the Orange boys on the tools you also know it’s a bike that will last as well.

Really this bike comes down to a value proposition. It’s tough to know how much this build would cost, as it’s not listed on the Orange Bikes website, but it’s safe to say it would be in the £4-5,000 bracket looking at the other models they offer.

It’s a common criticism levelled at Orange, but that’s a lot of money for an aluminium bike. There are better value bikes out there. Whether they are better than the Orange is up for debate, whether they have as much character is very unlikely.