Orange have extended their ‘less is more’ philosophy to the Alpine range and blended the Evo geometry to create the Alpine Evo.
Pete caught up with Orange’s Product Manager Kelvin Lawton to find out what was involved in the process of getting the Alpine Evo from concept to reality.
What was the impetus for the Alpine EVO?
There were a couple of things really, firstly discussing with people why they rode certain bikes or what their purchasing choices were motivated by, was really interesting. It turned out for the most part people wanted aggressive geometry but a by-product of that was having a bike with potentially more travel than they needed.
Secondly when we first introduced the Evo models (Five and Stage) and the “less is more” idea it was received really well, people really related to wanting good geometry but not needing to have a long travel enduro bike to get it.
Once you’d made that decision, what happens next?
Within the product team decisions are made with regards to geometry, travel and features, as well as areas we’d like to improve on over other models. We practice a philosophy of evolution not revolution, so even though the silhouette of our bikes can look the same the amount of work that goes into them is substantial. I’d like to think that people have confidence in the fact we’ve stayed true to our principles and haven’t tried reinventing the wheel every 2 years.
Once the concept is finalized and drawn we can start immediately getting prototype frames through the factory for testing, an advantage we have is making the frames ourselves in our own frame factory in the U.K means we can quickly produce prototypes and real world test our theories and get bikes under riders as quickly as possible.
Have you updated any of the manufacturing/prototyping processes since the last model launch?
We’ve made some significant investments recently into additional staff who have been able to broaden the company’s skill set on the whole, it’s also freed up time for people to focus on specific tasks which have needed more attention. In addition to that we’ve started 3D printing more small parts before committing to tooling which has helped us speed up certain processes, improved our capabilities with 3D modelling and FEA analysis and purchased 3 more CNC machines to help with demand.
What did you want to achieve with this bike?
To produce a bike that is true to its name, “Alpine” has a lot of heritage and fans, whilst embracing the evo philosophy, what we have is a bike that blurs the boundary between a trail bike and an enduro bike, whilst remaining fun and agile but capable of riding pretty much whatever you want to point it at. It’s a bike with 27.5 wheels front and rear with 160mm travel fork and 155mm travel at the rear.
What does a low pivot give you in terms of suspension characteristics?
If you compare the Alpine Evo directly to the Alpine 6, the Alpine Evo has a more progressive suspension layout which offers more support throughout the bike’s travel. There is also less drivetrain interaction with the suspension, so you end up with a more neutral feel. The bike is really engaging and the suspension feels really balanced.
How do industry trends affect how you develop a new model of bike?
I don’t think industry trends directly affect what we’re doing with regards to major developments or creating new models, but I would say some smaller trends could impact us. Adding an accessory mount to the underside of the top tube for example was partly motivated by those products becoming available and people wanting to carry less in a bag and more on the bike.
Do you fix sizing and geometry or use new models to try out new variations?
We use our prototypes to test geometries, for the most part things remain the same through to production, there may be a few small changes but very rarely anything huge.
Our bikes geometries are always evolving, for the most part if you are a large on one of our models you’ll find you’ll be a large on another, however if you were originally on the cusp of a size it’s always worth checking the geometry chart to see how things have changed.
How many prototypes did you go through before settling on the production model?
Not as many for this model as we have previously, we had a really good idea of the numbers we wanted to achieve from the get-go, I think we’ve also benefitted from the additional capacity we have for 3D modelling and FEA analysis which has helped reduce the number of prototypes we required and through rider feedback and 3rd party testing we validated the design pretty quickly.
At what stage do athletes become an integral part of the prototype stage?
To be honest as soon as an athlete comes onboard we start working with them on feedback for the bikes they are riding. That feedback gets collected and is then used on the next generation of that model or family of models. It can be really helpful at times as multiple people may say the same thing, everyone has preferences though, and sometimes they don’t all align.
How did you know when you’d got it right?
Sometimes a bike just looks right as soon as its built up, and that was the case with the Alpine Evo, but after spending a little bit of time riding and setting up one of the original prototypes everything just clicked, the size and shape felt great, the additional support in the suspension fuelled confidence and the bike was an absolute joy to throw around and from then on in it didn’t matter what trail or where I was riding the bike was great fun.
Favourite moments?
There are a lot of people involved in developing a bike, taking it from the concept and then all the way through to a production bike for the consumer means plenty of pieces all need to come together at the right time. When that happens and you see what will be the finished article it’s pretty special.
Any disasters?
Stock availability from some of our suppliers has been a little disastrous, things have really taken a turn in the industry and getting certain parts in any good quantity is going to be really hard for quite some time to come. So we’ve come close a couple of times to having issues but we’re working our way through it.
Where next for Orange?
We’ve got some really exciting projects in the pipeline; they are a little way off as it stands at the moment but I’m looking forward to those getting to market.
