Throwback Thursday: Ben Cathro's 2009 Orange 225 Prototype Bike Check

Jan 11, 2024
by Ed Spratt  
Ben Cathro Bike Check

by spoiledgoods
Views: 14,261    Faves: 31    Comments: 8


Following the recent sad news of Orange Bikes intending to enter administration we have taken a look back through the archives and uncovered a classic bike check of Ben Cathro's 2009 225 prototype from the Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup.

Ben's prototype race bike from 2009 featured a unique collection of parts from a Shimano Ultegra rear mech to custom Straitline parts and green Hope brakes to clash with the pink frame run by the MTB Cut team. The 225 prototype was a slight change from the 224 dh bike as it introduced a linkage allowing for a bigger shock and leverage ratios. The link allowed the team to fit a bigger shock and made the bike feel more planted compared to the 224. Ben's bike added an extra 20mm to the front to give a roomier cockpit.

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The added linkage made room for a huge rear shock.

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Custom Straitline parts.

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For drivetrain duties Ben was running a Shimano XTR shifter paired to a road Ultegra rear mech.

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Green Hope parts clashing with the custom MTB Cut team pink race frames.


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Reviews and Tech Throwback Thursday Orange Bikes Ben Cathro


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138 Comments
  • 263 2
 A pink bike from Orange Bikes, on Pinkbike.
  • 31 12
 A Pink Orange with a linkage on Pinkbike where Pinkers claim Orange bikes use old-fashioned single pivot designs.
  • 31 0
 No room for a water bottle. Pfft
  • 21 1
 @fabwizard: Grabbing a water bottle on a downhill run? You might as well try to peal an orange.
  • 3 0
 @chrsei: banana
  • 2 1
 Check the definition of "anecdotic" in the dictionnary...
  • 1 0
 @chrsei: mandarin or navel. Big difference in time required lol.
  • 11 0
 @vinay: Still a single pivot, even if the shock is linkage driven.
  • 3 0
 @vinay: still a single pivot. A linkeage driven single pivot but a single pivot nonetheless.
  • 6 0
 @Trudeez: So is Trek ABP. Single pivot with a linkage driven shock is quite common and much appreciated.
  • 2 0
 @vinay: totally. See Trek, Evil’s Delta link, or any of the dozens of flex stay designs
  • 4 0
 @danstonQ: I checked, I believe you mean "anecdotal"
  • 18 0
 A pink Orange is actually a Grapefruit.
  • 1 0
 Well done sir.
  • 1 0
 @likeittacky: knows their citrus
  • 69 10
 Still a good looking bike.
  • 26 59
flag trillot (Jan 11, 2024 at 9:15) (Below Threshold)
 No, not now, not ever.
  • 23 3
 @trillot: It's ok to like pink, nobody will judge you.
  • 6 2
 I've never liked the lines of most orange bikes but for some reason their DH bikes over the years often looked really good to me.
  • 38 1
 Pink bike on Pinkbike. Neat.
  • 7 0
 I'd love to see if anyone still has an old 24 Bicycles Le Toy or Porn King in their iconic pink paint laying around. That's a bike check I'd love to see. Whenever I think of Pinkbike, I think of those 24s.
  • 1 0
 @big-red: right? Wasn't there an old street riding edit from 24 Bicycles on PB yeeeeaaaaarrrrrrrrssssssss ago?
  • 2 0
 @big-red: those bikes were epic. A friend of mine "distributed" their products in Spain from his bedroom back in the day. I had a set of shim-destroyer pedals from him.
f*ck, I'm old!!
  • 4 0
 @big-red: I do www.pinkbike.com/photo/10782341
Pornking all the way: hairy leopard saddle, fatty cock ring, golden Primo pedals, Hookworm tires (early 2000 fashion), and I will ride it this very Sunday at the pumptrack!
  • 3 0
 @big-red: I also rode my Orange Five 2005 last week-end, and it sounds... like in 2005!

www.pinkbike.com/video/582386
  • 1 0
 @DrJean: oh man, where is that? Reminds me of our trips to the Lubéron.
  • 2 0
 @DrJean: oh my dear god that bike is perfection. I'm having mid-2000s flashbacks so hard right now.

@kevy-metal if it's the one I'm thinking of, it was when the French 24 riders visited Toronto for a week. Unfortunately one of the guys had a bad crash with no helmet and...yeah...it was about as bad as you can imagine.
  • 1 0
 @BenPea: The video was shot in Fontvielle (13990).

And since you are from Grenoble, you might recognize this bridge that I rode in 2002, a time when it was not featured in every Instagram clip: www.pinkbike.com/video/505836
  • 3 0
 @big-red: Julien Meunier's crash from 2002: www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4x11RcSWW0
  • 1 0
 @DrJean: ok, thanks. That was the year I arrived in Gre. I walked across that "a bit" drunk once. I think I've seen your video before. Actually it might have been Aurélien Fontenoy or someone else at the same spot.
Those drops remind me that we used to do silly things with not enough travel or talent X-D
  • 1 0
 @DrJean: ouch
  • 35 0
 All cables externally routed. Ahead of the time!
  • 3 0
 And even missing cable ties to allow an even quicker change of parts!
  • 22 0
 Pinkbike should do a series with ex-racers who aren't sponsored anymore and can talk trash about their old bikes. I want to hear the truth about the stuff that really sucked!
  • 3 0
 Not sure Honda would like that.
  • 2 0
 Lewis Buchanan did a great job of that in uplift queues about current and past bikes. Now he does it about any bike. There isn't a need to read between the lines with Lewis.
  • 12 0
 @betsie: Does he get really filthy about them if you're a paid subscriber?
  • 1 1
 @chakaping: paid subscriber to standing in an uplift queue!!!
Think your on the wrong LB thread Smile
  • 14 0
 Straitline … one second they were the “it” pedal, then they were gone. I had a Straitline stem. Nice design, nicely anodized … stayed straight on the steerer, held the bars in place. Pretty much everything you could ask of a stem. I wonder why they fizzled out.
  • 6 0
 www.straitlinecomponents.com/
  • 12 0
 And Sunline, they made great bits and bobs too. I sense a conspiracy.
  • 6 0
 @klunkykona: Yeah I was in their site a few months ago for some reason and just went to look. They’re obviously just selling out old inventory at this point. If you’re looking for good, inexpensive parts in odd sizes, though, they’re almost giving them away.
  • 3 0
 @chakaping: Good handlebars. Woeful headsets.
  • 4 0
 They are still in business as a production machineshop. They just don't focus on mountain bike stuff anymore.
  • 1 0
 Greatest pedals i've ever owned
  • 1 0
 @watchmen: Brilliant handlebars, remember the brushed silvery ones? Never tried the headsets.
  • 1 0
 @TheR: I was going to say the same. Those stems look pretty cool and are selling for 30 CAD.
  • 1 0
 @jaytdubs: Unfortunately, they’re only selling 70 and 90mm sizes. A little too long for my mountain biking needs. Maybe for a gravel bike?
  • 1 0
 They really were an awesome manufacturer. The Pinch SSC stem was/is awesome. I have several and still use them. I've had them on my bikes for over a decade. I bought two of the racing green 35mm stems from their website a year ago when they were blowing them out. Their quickie stiffie April Fool's video from years ago is classic too haha.
  • 1 0
 Their 28mm DM boxxer stem is what completely sold me on short downhill stems. Had they been around the last couple of years i would definitely have boughg more parts from them
  • 2 0
 @chakaping: the brushed silver was the sickest!!! Had the matching DM stem and handelbars. Loved em
Also their peddles
  • 11 0
 That Ultegra rear mech will have middle-aged roadies rubbing their knees with pleasure.
  • 3 0
 The chain keeper/ chainring bashguard combo with the un-clutched roadie rear mech are what date this bike the most.
Change up the drivetrain and it wouldn't look out of place next to a Nicolai Geometron from 6-7 years later
  • 1 0
 I though roadies put Ultegra on their winter bikes
  • 1 0
 @overconfident: it's shiny silver though
  • 2 0
 I have that shifter / derailleur combo on my commuter, crispest shifts in town.
  • 7 0
 Straitline components pedals were great. I can’t tell if they’re supposed to be so loose on the spindles when there’s no weight on them but the deldrin bushings spin fine when my feet are on them.

Loved em so much I bought 4 rebuild kits. After I’ve rebuilt them 3x. I think I’ve got 15 years on my DH set and 10on my trail set.


I’ve got that DH stem too, but in the blue/black colorway. It’s beautiful.
  • 1 0
 There are still some new (old stock?) available from Straightline,.as.long as you aren't picky on color.
  • 1 0
 Agreed, love the DeFacto's. I still have a set!
  • 9 0
 Need to see a geo list and see how it compares with current bikes.

Fun fact- I bought Ben’s previous 224evo frame from him back in 2009 (iirc)
  • 1 0
 Username checks out!
  • 8 1
 Since Ben works for pinkbike, and given how everyone on pinkbike is interested in details.
Doesn't it make sense, to get a view words about the bike from him, before posting this.
I mean since u r doing is professionally kinda, why not do that?
  • 1 0
 If I remember correctly he run it chainless in fort William?
What is the wheelbase? More Infos on bike checks please
  • 9 0
 2008 doesn’t feel like that long ago…however, That bike looks vintage af. Damn time flies…
  • 9 0
 That’s a good looking bike.
I should know. I ride a Heckler.
The true Heckler. Not a moped
  • 7 0
 Ahh, 2009, a time when people and riders didn’t use epic or super in front of everything they described.
  • 7 0
 Pinkbike pink bike field test please!
  • 9 1
 That saddle height!
  • 3 0
 Ben has always done well at regional races, always been the one to watch. He could main line with confidence better than anyone else doing risky lines.
.
Interestingly Ben got a 4.50 down fort William to win the nationals in 2009 on the orange, with flat pedals and baggy kit and a 4.48 and 4.49 in 2022 at the Nationals and world cup.
The track is quicker now than it was in 2009 for sure with some parts far more simple. I wonder what he would have done in 2009 on his 2022 DH bike... Probably a 4.49/4.50.
  • 1 0
 @chakaping: class bit of info! Anyone remember when Laurie Greenland did that Mondraker test day when the 29er dh bikes were coming through and went fastest on the 26 inch one they brought for a laugh?
  • 2 0
 I wasn't into bikes then - were those split upper and lower head tubes common for the time? I'm imagining headset bearing maintenance was more frequent and that type of design made it easier to remove the bearings for service.
  • 3 0
 It’s an eccentric sleeve for head angle adjustment - the bearings fit into the headset as normal, nothing different there.
  • 3 0
 Always loved the Neon Pink colour that Orange had, ever since I saw the video of Joe Barnes riding down Ben A’an.
So much so, that when I got my first Orange Five in late 2011, I went for the pink as a custom colour.
  • 6 1
 I miss these days of downhill
  • 4 0
 Looks quite normal until you see Cathro standing next to it. Then it looks like a Hot Wheels bike
  • 1 0
 Man this is cool. These were the bikes and components I aspired to own back in high school when I first got into riding. Straightline, Mavic Wheels, etc. Yellow DeeMax was the coolest wheels out there. I guess they got out of sponsoring DH teams.
  • 4 0
 I have the only one of those frames in Australia, hanging on my shed wall. I bought it off Fraser Britton back in the day.
  • 5 0
 I miss Straitline
  • 2 0
 What happened to them? Just not making bike parts anymore?
  • 1 0
 @truenorthsimon: Correct. Machining for aerospace and other stuff these days.
  • 4 0
 A linkage?!? On an orange?!? Allow me to get outraged!
  • 1 1
 That's like a horst link on a Cannondale! Oh wait...
  • 3 0
 Turns out that to all intents and purposes, Ben has a BMX background.
  • 4 1
 Is that a 2024 model Orange?
  • 5 0
 It would need to be cut apart and the rings counted.
  • 2 0
 Team MTBCut, the Pink Orange and Fort Bill are all things I still associate with Cathro!
  • 2 1
 Damn, Orange should bring back the round tubing with boxy swingarm, even if it sounds like a filing cabinet it looks less like one.
  • 1 0
 I have those xtr shifters on a Kona in the shed. They were my favourite shifters ever. But now I'm just looking for a bike project worthy of them.
  • 3 0
 Geo?
  • 18 0
 Dad?
  • 2 0
 Finally a Pink Pinkbike's staff Bike...
  • 2 0
 Rumour has it Levy's favourite colour is pink and he personally owns several pink bikes. Shame he's not staff any more.
  • 2 0
 I have one of those frames, in pink too!
  • 1 0
 I really must nip up to Yelverton airfield and hop on a plane to come and see your immense collection of retroshi…. Unique historical frames!
  • 1 0
 @Andy-Ridefast: don't think you'll get a big enough plane from there. You are always welcome to come over though.
  • 1 0
 These green Hopes with Union Jack lids on them make go upstairs for some fresh underwear...
  • 2 0
 I bought all of the green Hope parts on this bike from Benn - they were on my Tracer 2 in my pics.
  • 2 0
 Looks like a modern Orange
  • 2 0
 Any chance of a geometry chart? I'm curious as to how far we've come
  • 5 2
 Looks like a Pole
  • 1 1
 Neat. So....results? How'd he do on it? Did he campaign it at other events? That is, did any of these tweaks make for any meaningful outcomes?
  • 2 0
 www.rootsandrain.com/rider761/ben-cathro/results/filters/years2009

Pretty well.
  • 2 0
 They don't make then like they used to eh...
  • 2 0
 I miss Levy having pros torture themselves on old bikes
  • 1 0
 at first I thought it was from 2019 and not 2009 but then I remember its an Orange. I´ll find my way out, thanks.
  • 1 0
 That saddle height though? I know he's a big lad but did he race with it that high?
  • 2 0
 Many riders rode high saddles, it was a Peaty thing I think It's only recently that folk think you need a 200mm dropper on an xs frame because someone told them you do. Anyone who knows... Uses their saddle for additional control going downhill when riding.
  • 3 0
 @betsie: As a fellow tall guy, it's also nice to sit down on the saddle when it's not a mile away
  • 1 0
 My friend bought a pink Klein, because 1989. It was the same shade pink as a guitar used by Ric Ocasek of The Cars.
  • 1 0
 That's a rad looking bike, geo looks better than the BMW Racelink I was punting at the time.
  • 1 0
 AND Oh the good ol days when we could mix an match drive components across the range AND even brands!!!!!
  • 1 0
 Will there be an article on the race kit that Ben wore when racing this bike
  • 2 0
 need a pic with Cathro for scale
  • 1 0
 I would love to see how much shorter that bike is than Ben's current bike, and also how much lower the bars are.
  • 1 0
 I like those green accents. I did a build with a similar colour combination, pink+green+orange. And some grey/chrome.
  • 2 0
 Reminds me of my old pink Cove frame!
  • 2 1
 Something something -Xhibit
  • 1 0
 You know you're not snapping that frame!!
  • 1 0
 What's the eye-to-eye on that shock?!
  • 3 0
 More than likely a 267x89 (10.5x3.5). Biggest standard size, a lot less common than a 240x76.
  • 1 0
 Fail. No room for a water bottle.
  • 2 1
 This could easily have been one of their bikes from 2023, looks the same
  • 2 0
 I love it, it's loud AF
  • 1 0
 Quite wanting to pick one of these frames up now Orange might be going...
  • 1 0
 Why does it carry the rainbow stripes?
  • 2 1
 2009 - 2013 Was the golden age of DH RACING
  • 1 0
 IWANT ALL YOUR STRAITLINE STEMS AND PEDALS
  • 1 0
 Love the aesthetics from that era of DH/4X
  • 1 0
 Looks like a reached out 1997 foes
  • 2 1
 What about geo bros ?!
  • 2 1
 Everybody hates Geo Bros.
  • 2 3
 Linkage driven, die hard Orange fanboys must have had strokes seeing this Smile
  • 2 0
 They had a trail bike called the ST4 which had a linkage.
  • 1 0
 Why do I like this.
  • 1 0
 That stem!!
  • 1 1
 World is a safer place without Orange Bikes
  • 1 0
 Elephant on a Flea?







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