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Orange Patriot

Orange’s Patriot is one of those truly iconic bikes. The original pretty much underpins everything Orange have done since, with equally iconic bikes such as the Five and the 22X being born from that now instantly recognisable monocoque, folded, swingarmy silhouette; something that you either love or hate but is unmistakeably ‘Orange’!

To the shock of many, the Patriot disappeared from the line up for ‘09 seemingly replaced by the Alpine 160. But that bike was never intended to do that job, and with various ‘Strange’ prototypes going around, some with little linkages and rockers, and even one with the shock mounted through the downtube, it was anticipated that something in the vain of the ‘Pat’ was going to return, if somewhat enhanced. So it was a bit of a shock again when its return was announced for 2012, that it looked almost unchanged at a quick glace!

Let’s not get carried away. The Patriot (and 224, Five and Alpine 160) have been something of an inconvenience for those designing and manufacturing more sophisticated suspension platforms. And the Patriot was still a firm favorite, still receiving critical acclaim when it was retired back at the end of 2008. They’d be mad to mess with the mix too much. And besides, Orange haven’t just wheeled out the old bike with a new lick of paint.

The new bike has been on a bit of a diet and fitness regime. The Patriot has visibly slimmed down quite significantly, but has lost none of its brashness, stiffness and strength. It still feels like you could quite literally throw it off the mountain-side without any concern! Gone is the adjustable shock mounts to save weight, a 1.5” headtube and taper fork allowing for angle-adjust headsets to tweak geometry instead. The swingarm has been on a diet too and the pivot placement has creeped ever closer to the BB. Travel is a capable 180mm both ends with a nicely slack 65.5 front end.

We had two Patriots in, both receiving a few choice upgrades to show off the frame to its maximum, and also to show Orange’s ever fantastic options scheme. Both sporting Fox’s latest Van 36 RC2 fork, one was rocking the default Van RC rear shock, the other Cane Creek’s fantastic Double Barrel shock. Aside from the Freeride pack giving you the excellent Rethnal Fat Bar and Duo stem, our frames were otherwise built as per the stock bike.

The first thing you notice when you get on the Patriot is that it feels much like your trail bike to sit on. Despite the slack angles, the front end is really balanced and doesn’t flop about all over the place, even while sitting waiting for the uplift. It feels compact (both 5’8” testers riding medium frames) but not cramped and there’s nothing really to familiarise yourself with or get used to. You just feel right at home on it, a typically Orange trait.

It’s mindless, idiot-proof, outrageous fun!

Dropping in on that first run and the Patriot just goes. The single pivot design means it sits up in its travel under power a bit more and gives a great platform to pedal off as you squirt down the trail. Let it freewheel though, with gravity doing its thing, and acceleration is equally potent. The Patriot’s straightline ability is somewhat breathtaking as that giant lever of a swingarm at the back just sucks everything up with aplomb. The Van RC equipped bike was damned good, the Double Barrel equipped model was unreal! Flicking the bike over the crested turns in the trail, the rear wheel pat-pat-pattering over every little trail bump and lump. It’s mindless, idiot-proof, outrageous fun! If the Van RC worked and did the job, the Double Barrel was simply perfection and an excuse to go just that little bit harder. Offered as a £300 upgrade, we’d find it really hard not to spec it.

Banking it up into turns and dropping down through steep switchbacks, the Patriot’s more manageable wheelbase and single crown fork really came into its own, giving an advantage over the more race-orientated downhill bikes sharing the trail in those nattier section. The fact that the Patriot was able to just about stay ahead (or on the back wheel) of the larger bikes makes it quite the darkhorse on uplift days.

Even when you do get wildly out of shape, it’s just fun rather than scary...

The thing that really makes the Patriot is that it just feels so balanced and sorted. Even when you do get wildly out of shape, it’s just fun rather than scary. Orange have really got the geometry sorted on this bike, it’s so neutral and easy to ride and it makes for a really accessible bike – two or three runs and you’re already merrily exploring the limits with no regard for your safety!

It’s not totally perfect, and the key to getting the most out of the Patriot is to work around its little flaws. There’s no getting away from the fact that it is a little inactive if you need to pedal through rougher sections, and it does firm up noticeably under heavy braking. Thankfully this can all be ridden around with ease and we very quickly found ourselves adapting almost subconsciously. The Patriot is so confidence inspiring that you’ll find yourself naturally staying off the brakes until the last possible moment, laying the bike down and dropping into the turns in a scuffle of last-minute locked wheels and plenty of drama, it’s fantastic fun and you always make it out alive and grinning.

In terms of living with the Patriot, it should be a fairly faff free partnership. We’ve always found the Orange suspension bikes to the be incredibly durable and easy to maintain, quite literally as low maintenance as their personality! The internal cable routing is a total nightmare but thankfully you at least get the option of running outside the swingarm too. 

they’re hand made in the UK, now that’s either going to matter to you or it isn’t...

Other frame enhancements since the ‘08 model include a now 30.9 seat tube for better dropper post options for your AM/Enduro builds. You now also get ISCG 05 tabs, something that was quite critically missing from the last Patriot. It’s still the same old versatile little number and you can happily go All Mountain with your build and run a lighter air shock and 160mm forks, likewise it’s warrantied for triple clamp 200mm forks too. Our somewhat ‘mini-DH’, freeride type builds came in at a pretty respectable 37lb, so a 34lb AM build is more than doable. 

It’s easy to bemoan the Patriot for its price, some might critically argue that they haven’t got the same R&D costs as those running more advanced suspension platforms. But they’re hand made in the UK, now that’s either going to matter to you or it isn’t, but it’s kept them a loyal fanbase and you’ve got to be pretty stony hearted not appreciate something in that. And considering they’re such a small company that literally welds up and tests loads of prototypes on a daily basis, refining bikes over years and years (who said there's no R&D costs!); it’s really hard not to like that, and £1750 (with shock) isn’t exactly at the top of end for the DH/Freeride frame market either!

Orange’s single pivot bikes will always have their detractors and it’s easy to try and pick fault with them from an engineering perspective. But frankly, the criticisms don’t really materialise out on the trail. The Patriot continues to be an inconvenient truth when it comes to modern suspension design, it just works so damned well and offers a really compelling ride. Give it one run and you’ll be hard pressed to care whether other bikes exist.

Accessible, versatile mini-DH rig. A legend is back and it's better than ever!

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