Orange Surge RS E-MTB on test: British personality with terrific trail performance

Test: The Orange Surge RS comes with well thought-out and high-quality equipment. The Rockshox Ultimate chassis with 170mm at the front and 165mm at the rear are just as convincing as the Eagle gears and the Shimano XT 4-piston brakes. Attachments such as the Hope stem or the wheelset with Hope Pro 4 hubs and E13 rims make hearts beat faster. The E8000 motor comes with an integrated 504Wh battery, which unfortunately has to be removed for charging. The price of 8.300 euros is quite reasonable considering that the aluminum frame is produced in England.

Orange Surge RS: The facts

Suspension travel: 170 / 165mm
wheel size: 27,5 inch
Drive: Shimano E8000
Display / control unit: Shimano E8000
Battery capacity (test bike): 504Wh
Frame material: Alu

Weight complete bike (size L without pedals): 23,0kg
Maximum weight allowed: 145kg
Price: € 8.300

If you don't know Orange Bikes from England - here's a short tutoring lesson in the subject of bicycle cult forging: The British have been building their bicycles for over 30 years and have changed little from the principles of the past. Even today almost all frames are still welded in Northern England. True to the motto "You're Brit", you don't even have the pipes made by a supplier from the Far East, for example, but make them yourself from folded aluminum sheet. This is how the bikes get their absolutely unmistakable look, which is certainly not for everyone, but has a loyal fan base around the world. Orange's mountain bike DNA also includes the single-joint rear triangle, which, despite the simplest way of functioning, can still keep up with the high-tech multi-joints from other manufacturers.

Charging only possible after removing the battery

The English have been involved in the E-MTB market for a while and have launched a new bike this season with the Surge: Of course in the unmistakable orange look and with a more functional than elegant integrated Shimano E8000 motor. The battery in the down tube has a capacity of 504Wh and can be removed very easily with an Allen key. Unfortunately, this is also necessary, because the frame does not have a charging socket. As likeable as we find the pragmatic approach of the Brits - that is actually unacceptable for an E-MTB in this price range.

Similar e-mountain bikes on test

Irresistible urge to go downhill

However, the Orange Surge RS not only shows character visually - its driving characteristics are also unmistakable. The geometry of the 170mm and 165mm bikes is very modern: long main frame, flat steering angle, deep front. According to these numbers, the bike is extremely spirited on the trail and requires a very active riding style. But then it literally blossoms and was one of the best downhillers in the entire test field. This is also due to the excellent chassis with the Rockshox Lyrik Ultimate at the front and the SuperDeluxe Ultimate damper at the rear, which harmonises wonderfully with the single-pivot rear triangle. The rather tight feeling harmonizes perfectly with the sporty seating position and invites experienced drivers to shoot. However, beginners might struggle a bit with the bike – if you are afraid to push the front wheel into the corners with all your physical effort, the Surge will only elicit a fraction of its actual class.

The bike also cuts a fine figure uphill. The rear triangle is pretty high in terms of suspension travel, but sensitively absorbs bumps. The seating position is comfortable and the not too short chainstays prevent you from tipping over backwards, even on steep ramps. Only on uphill bends does the front end get a little wobbly due to the slack steering angle. The fact that the Shimano E8000 is not one of the most powerful motors is noticeable, but it hardly slows the Surge down.
We also really liked the carefully selected components: the hubs and stem come from Hope, who manufacture their products just a stone's throw from the Orange headquarters. Like the XT brakes, the Sram Eagle shifter was inconspicuous in a positive sense.

The big Velomotion E-MTB test 2020: test fields, individual tests and background information

We set ourselves the daunting task of conscientiously and objectively testing 57 eMTBs. With our two large test fields "Highend" and "Bestseller" we had a huge range of different bikes.

Our test conclusion
[blog specific=”133623″ posts_per_page=”1″ ]

Our test candidates in the High-End category: BH AtomX Carbon Lynx 6 Pro-S | Bull's Sonic EVO EN 2 | Cannondale Moterra Neo 1 | Focus Jam² 9.9 Drifter | Giant Reign E+ 0 Pro | Greyp G6.2 | Haibike XDURO Nduro 10.0 | Husqvarna Mountain Cross 8 | KTM Macina Prowler Prestige | M1 Spitzing Evo Bobby Root | Norco Range VLT C2 | Nox Hybrid Enduro 7.1 | Orange Surge RS | Orbea Wild FS M10 | Santa Cruz Heckler CC X01 RSV | Scott Genius eRide 700 Tuned | Simplon Rapcon Pmax | Specialized Turbo Levo Expert Carbon | Storck e:drenalin GTS 500 | TrekRail 9.9 | YT Decoy Pro Race | YT Decoy Pro 29

You can also find this at the kiosk Velomotion E-MTB test yearbook 2020. There you will find all 57 individual tests of the bikes, exciting stories and advice on everything to do with e-mountain bikes on over 160 pages.
Here you can also order the E-MTB yearbook 2020 directly from us.