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Orange Alpine 6 S


Even though it sits close to the top end of our budget, the Orange is the only bike here without a dropper post. Still, on the hill there’s no getting away from the Alpine 6’s raw speed and unique feel.

If you’re a ‘point and plough’ kind of rider, the Orange probably isn’t for you. Speed comes courtesy of calculated line choice and a livelier ‘hop and pop’ riding style. The singlepivot design sends a lot of feedback through your feet and this put some of our testers off. But the majority of us really enjoyed our time aboard the Alpine. Its ability to carry and generate speed as you work it through every trail undulation is really quite astounding and it’s no slouch on the climbs either.

In the rough stuff it’ll rattle you about more than the plusher multilink bikes here, though upgrading the shock to a Fox Float X EVOL Performance unit (+$90) did help smooth things out a little. And as any Orange owner will tell you, the monocoque chassis isn’t exactly stealth-like when the going does get rough, so you’ll need to spend some time silencing it before hitting the trails. Regardless, it’s a fast bike if it suits your riding style.

Although the Yari fork is outclassed by the Lyrik found on other bikes here, it remains a solid choice. Orange have done their homework when it comes to the tyre spec too, fitting EXO casing Maxxis High Roller IIs. Aside from the lack of dropper post, our only other niggle is the sticky, vague-at-times Shimano SLX shifting.

SPEC
Frame 6061-T6 aluminium, 160mm travel
Fork RockShox Yari RC Solo Air Boost, 170mm travel
Shock Fox Float X EVOL Performance
Drivetrain Shimano SLX with Race Face Ride cranks (1x11)
Wheelset Kore Realm 2.7 rims, Maxxis High Roller II EXO tyres
Weight 14.4kg (M)

Price $4350
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