While this 29er downhill bike prototype looks a lot like Orange’s 650b-wheeled 324, the geometry has been refreshed to ensure it works with the bigger wheels. At the rear, a metric shock controls 180mm of travel. There’s 20mm extra up front, courtesy of Fox’s 29er DH fork (currently known as the ‘49’). Orange have gone for a low 335mm bottom bracket height, which features 35mm of drop to keep it corner-slammingly fast, while the 64.5-degree head angle should give a good balance of agility and stability. According to the geometry chart that Orange were displaying, there’ll only be medium, large and extra-large sizes. Quite when we’ll see this in the shops is unknown at this point, but we’re hoping to find out more soon.
While this 29er downhill bike prototype looks a lot like Orange’s 650b-wheeled 324, the geometry has been refreshed to ensure it works with the bigger wheels. At the rear, a metric shock controls 180mm of travel. There’s 20mm extra up front, courtesy of Fox’s 29er DH fork (currently known as the ‘49’). Orange have gone for a low 335mm bottom bracket height, which features 35mm of drop to keep it corner-slammingly fast, while the 64.5-degree head angle should give a good balance of agility and stability. According to the geometry chart that Orange were displaying, there’ll only be medium, large and extra-large sizes. Quite when we’ll see this in the shops is unknown at this point, but we’re hoping to find out more soon.