‘Handbuilt’ Isn’t a Marketing Term…It’s a Philosophy”
A belief, a collective principle and something we have real pride in. It encapsulates not just production methods but the organic nature of how we work. Orange is hands-on, from design and testing through to supply and aftersales care. We have pride not just in our product, but in our business sense and our ethos on exactly how we make riding an Orange bike the best possible experience. Clichés about Family – Orange spring to mind, but you’re not buying into a clique, you’re buying into quality which isn’t replicated in the modern world of mass production, outsourcing and buy-outs. All Orange bikes start their life in the dreary confines of Calderdale. In a nondescript industrial unit on the edge of town our bikes are brought to life. Drawings are scribbled and ideas become reality as they hit the steep valleys and grind through peaty moorland grit. The owners test, the testers feed back into design, designers get hounded and we start all over again. At every level the drawings we make become bikes ridden by real riders, some work out, others don’t.
No Compromise Worldwide
When we’re fixed on a model and we’ve completed the laborious task of design, we look at how we would build it. Almost all our bikes are made in-house, built by our hand-picked team of master welders. Craftsmen, expert metalworkers and engineers; these guys are dedicated to the precision of every bead of every weld. Our frame builders have been here for years, they know their bikes, and they know exactly how they’re ridden.
Engineering in the big smoke of Halifax is only half the process, we still need to build frames into bikes and fill gaps in our range we don’t want to neglect. Where possible we source products from the UK, but when we can’t achieve that aim, we cherry pick from the world’s best sources. Being small, we do not tie ourselves into inescapable contracts. We don’t have to be driven by bike industry model years; we can move quickly and efficiently to do exactly what we want and deliver what you need. This applies to all the parts we import, everything is addressed head-on and we never compromise quality to meet a price point. Orange is proud to be British, but where designs and products can be better produced elsewhere, we explore other possibilities in the pursuit of engineering solutions. We’re not naïve, our pride is in the product and we hunt the world to find the best people to help us in our pursuit. The few frames which are made abroad follow this ethos. We design what we want and go over there for prototypes. Only when we’re happy with the product do they turn into bikes. Every tube, every join, every sticker, every detail is checked with the same vigour and attention. We’re proud of these bikes and the same amount of labour goes into making something every bit an Orange. So when you buy your G2 or Crush, you’re buying something with the same ‘Handbuilt’ philosophy. Real jobs in a real British factory went into designing something with the same pride as our top of the line SE dream bikes. We demand the best because we can, and for us that’s what ‘Handbuilt’ and ‘Made in the UK’ really means. Marketing? No. Pride? Yes.
