Orange’s new steel trail warrior has big tyre and wheel capability and a rock-solid, damped ride feel. Its handling balance is grounded rather than giddy though, and the tyre and brake spec don’t help first impressions. The frame Unsurprisingly, the Orange’s steel frame ($825 separately) looks a lot more traditional than those of the alloy bikes here. The 44mm head tube relies on an oversize externalbearing headset cup to handle a tapered fork. Gusset plates reinforce the junctions with the stout, round down and top tubes. The tapering, swerved chainstays and straightgauge seatstays are much skinnier. Add a long 445mm back end and there’s space for 2.6in tyres in 29er format or 27.5x3.0 rubber if you go plus-size with some fresh wheels. Neat cloverleaf dropouts house a Boost rear axle. Brake and gear lines run through bolted guides under the top tube, while the dropper seatpost cable exits at the base of the seat tube and runs up alongside the down tube bottle bosses. There a...