Orange Crush S New Hardcore 650b Trail 150

Up, down or even sideways the Crush will smash it all

The steadfast Orange Crush gets a major update for 2016. We’ve taken the frame we love and pushed the features forward to up the fun factor without upsetting the function.

Most obviously, the rear triangle now features a bolt-through axle, adding even more stability to what was already a rigid design. A confident handling 66° headangle along with the Crush’s new longer toptube design that adds an extra few millimetres means, size for size, a 50mm stem puts the rider right where they need to be (with tuning to taste as required, of course) for direct input and weight distribution. While shorter chainstays make climbing a tad sweeter, tyre clearance has been increased so that a chunky 2.4 tyre fits nicely.

While those are the headline new features, deeper into the detail we added some really nice touches too. The seat clamp slot has been moved so that it faces away from the direct path of wheel spray. The headtube is a more compact 44mm version, and cable routing is kept neat and tidy with minimised cable bosses tucked sweetly under the toptube. While at first glance this is still the Crush we know and love, so many small features have been carefully considered, we might have called it Crush MkII.

But some things don’t change and that’s the Crush’s indefatigable attitude. Built tough to be ridden hard, the Crush will hold it’s own just about anywhere, but really excels on the rough stuff. With geometry to suit a 140mm travel fork, this hardtail gives no quarter to seemingly tougher full-suspension bikes, in the right hands the Crush will slay everything that lies before it.