“It looks mint, it smells mint, it is f****** MINT” (the words of our video man Paul after a week on the Patriot).
Look what landed at WOHQ just in time for our trip out to the Alps last week.
Yep – it’s a brand spanking new Orange Patriot! 180mm travel, 2 chain rings, sturdy build with a bit of Renthal and Fox, single crown forks, aggro angles. The style is very similar to the Patriot of yesteryear … though perhaps a bit more leaning towards ‘downhill’ these days. I wouldn’t necessarily want to XC ride it round a UK trail centre but could cope at a push and would be more than happy to have it in the stable as my all round ‘hard riding’ bike.
Our video man Paul spent the week riding this baby around the Portes Du Soleil and we’re convinced it’s pretty much a spot-on all-rounder for anyone that wants a hard hitting bike that can still offer a lot of fun between the chair lifts. I rode a full on DH bike, Paul rode the Patriot and whilst my Norco was a bit more suited to the big rough trails and was a lot more ‘planted’ on the rough terrain there really wasn’t a huge amount between the two – particularly on the steeper, twister trails where the Orange’s chuckability really counted in its favor. ย One really positive comment we got back from one test-pilot was how easy it is to pick up the Patriot and throw it onto the line you want.
The Patriot will hit the shops later this summer and we’ll be running a full review as soon as we can stop riding the bloody thing and get set down in front of a computer!
Thanks to Orange for hooking us up!
Here’s Joe Barnes thrapping his down a Scottish hill:
Joe Barnes Patriot testing day on pinkbike.com
