Orange has updated its Phase e-MTB with the most talked about motor on the market – but is this Avinox M2S-powered, UK-made full-suspension bike the one Orange fans have been waiting for?
Orange has been producing mountain bikes in the UK for as long as I can remember, and even a little longer than I have been riding off-road myself. Over the decades, it has developed its own construction methods and, with them, a cult following of devoted Orange bike fans. For every rider who loves Orange bikes, though, there seems to be another who can’t stand them.
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To say that Orange makes Marmite bikes is an understatement, but I sit firmly in the ‘love them’ category. I’m not saying they’re the best-looking bikes on the market, but I don’t dislike their aesthetics, and when a bike rides as well as an Orange, I don’t mind looking past its looks and focusing on the performance and fun factor.
The Phase isn’t a new bike for Orange; it has been part of the EPO (Electric Powered Orange) range for a few years now, with the previous version sporting a slender frame and a Bosch motor. But now it has an Avinox M2S bolted to its underside, and interest in the Phase has been rekindled.
Orange uses aluminium for its full-suspension bikes, and each full-susser is handmade at its factory in Halifax, UK. Each tube starts as a large flat sheet of aluminium, which is first cut out using a CNC laser, then folded into shape before being hand-welded together. Once the tubes are attached, the finished result is a silhouette that cannot be mistaken for anything else in the MTB world.
While Orange has dabbled with linkage-driven suspension designs over the years, its e-MTBs currently use the simplest single-pivot suspension layout. It’s so simple, there are very few pivot bearings to worry about, and there is very little Orange can do to tune the kinematics. Luckily, the brand has been building bikes like this for years and understands where the main pivot should be located and what shock tunes to use to get the best from the chassis once on the trail.
Orange Phase Avinox: Componentry
At the time of writing, two versions of the Phase are available, but in follow-up calls with the brand, it has confirmed that more affordable models will be made available in the coming months. The current Phase range begins at £8,250 for the Phase Avinox RS with RockShox suspension, rising to £8,750 for the flagship Phase Avinox Factory with Fox Factory suspension, SRAM Eagle 90 Transmission, and alloy wheels running on Hope Pro 5 hubs. Both models get a Burgtec finishing kit, Continental tyres, and the Avinox M2S motor.
Orange, like many other brands, started the development of the Avinox-powered Phase last year when only the Avinox 800Wh and 600Wh batteries were available. This means that size M, L, and XL frames get the larger 800Wh battery, and the size Small (which isn’t listed on the Orange site but is available) receives the smaller 600Wh battery. This battery still offers fast charging, but is only able to give the M2S a maximum of 1300W power and 150Nm peak torque. In comparison, the latest generation Avinox batteries boost power to 1500W, but likely drain the battery quicker. In my opinion, 1300W is more than enough.
It’s also worth mentioning that the Orange doesn’t feature a battery door for easy battery removal, and the battery hasn’t really been designed for trailside changes. Although if you really wanted to drop the battery, it’s not a difficult procedure, but it does require the motor and display to be removed to access the bolts.
The bike which I rode was a pre-production sample, and while it was mostly to spec, there were a few items which were a model year out of date, but this shouldn’t affect the overall ride quality of the bike and, in fact, should, in theory, make customer bikes even better.
All Orange Phase Avinox bikes have 160mm travel front and rear, and all come as a mullet and are not designed to use a rear 29in wheel.
Orange Phase Avinox: Ride impressions
Orange only had a size large bike for me to test, and at 480mm of reach, it’s not huge, but with a slightly slacker 76-degree seat tube angle, it does make the effective top tube length a little on the long side for my 178cm frame. That said, I did change the stem to a 35mm, fitted a 780mm bar, and pushed the seat forward, and it felt really good. It was only on very twisty trails that I needed to relearn how to corner a larger bike, but I soon got into the swing of things.
Orange has certainly mastered its single-pivot platform, and every Orange bike I have ridden over the years, either e-MTB or regular bike, has had that classic Orange feel. The Phase is no different, offering a very playful ride dynamic that’s eager to catch air as soon as it hits a jump, but what’s most surprising is how well it handles really fast chunky rocky stuff. In places where you might think a more complex multi-pivot bike might outpace the Orange, the Phase really manages to surprise and easily holds its own.
As the bike was slightly longer than I was used to, the first few trails I rode really tested how well I could get around tight corners, but I soon got the hang of it and found the Orange extremely agile when necessary, while remaining exceptionally calm when really pushing it. There was one trail I remember well where a Scandi flick is necessary to corner at speed, and the Orange gave me the confidence to try initiating a drift across various off-camber lines without doing anything unexpected. Chuck this single-pivot all-mountain bike down a trail and just enjoy how it clears everything in its path.
I also particularly enjoy how the Orange remains engaging on the trail. Rather than simply gobbling up the terrain, the Orange platform gives enough feedback so you can read and react to the terrain without numbing the ride.
With that Avinox M2S system kicking out all that power and torque, it’s hardly surprising the Phase climbs well. As already mentioned, I did have to move to a short stem, and the seat angle is a little slacker than my daily ride. There were times when the front end felt a little light, but Orange intends this bike to be ridden with a longer stem, which would help to alleviate this.
I also enjoyed the mullet wheelset. It has taken me a few years to adopt a mixed-wheel setup, and on a regular bike, I still prefer full 29in, but on an e-MTB, the smaller rear wheel makes a lot of sense, aiding the rider in tilting the bike over more easily, despite the additional weight, to get around corners and reduce fatigue on longer trails with multiple fast corners.
Orange Phase Avinox: The early verdict
So, do I rate the Orange Phase Avinox? Yes, very much so, and I believe anyone who has ridden and enjoyed an Orange in the past will jump on the latest Phase and thoroughly enjoy it too. It handles confidently and is very predictable in a manner that allows you to build trust in it, try new lines, and hit trails at faster speeds. You might have a different perspective if you’re riding bike park laps or have bigger mountains to navigate, but for the Peak District and around Sheffield, where I ride, it feels almost perfect.
Is it perfect? No, but no bike is. As an alloy e-MTB with an 800Wh battery, it weighs in at around 53lbs without pedals. You do feel that when you pick it up, but on the trail, while riding, the extra few pounds are barely noticeable.
It also has a very unique design, one that you’ll either love or loathe, but anyone who refuses to ride an Orange because they don’t like the way it looks is seriously missing out.
All things said, the cost of entry is currently very high, so I’m keen to see what the new lower-priced bikes will retail at. If anyone is wondering, no, there won’t be a frame-only option, as it appears that there is some legislation that actually makes e-MTB frameset sales more difficult (but it hasn’t stopped some brands).
My early verdict is that the new Phase is another classic Orange, and another win for Orange Bike fans… but we’ll confirm or deny that officially in a full review later in the year.
