The future’s bright – the future’s orange

Black bikes? They’re so passé. Every major bike brand is going orange for 2016. Okay, as Dave pointed out last week, bright colours generally are very much in, but it’s orange that’s leading the way. 

Admittedly, you could pick pretty much any colour and find examples to back up your claim that it’s next year’s big thing, but take our word for it, the bike world is becoming more Orange than William III (just a little joke for all the historians out there. No? Hello?).

Check out this roundup of some of our favourites.
 

Bianchi Oltre XR1

There are those who believe that Bianchi bikes should only be available in celeste, but Bianchi isn’t among them. This one is fitted with a Shimano groupset too. That’ll wind up the Velominati. Thank goodness that’s not a compact chainset on there.

Cipollini NK1K

Super Mario was always bang on trend during his racing career. Remember the tiger suit? Okay, bad example. And the zebra suit? Okay, another bad example. And smoking in the peloton? Let's move on… Can you have too much orange? Arguably, yes.

Giant TCR Advanced SL 1

We’ve already told you all about the new version of Giant’s TCR range and even given you a First Ride report on the TCR Advanced SL. The Shimano Ultegra Di2-equipped TCR Advanced SL 1 (£3,999.99) is available in a bunch of different colours, and orange is among them.

Merida Ride Disc 300

The Ride Disc 300 (£899.99) is built around an aluminium frame and full-carbon fork. You get Shimano Tiagra levers and mechs and TRP Spyre mechanical disc brakes. More to the point, it’s very orange.

Orbea Avant M30D

Back in the day, when Orbea sponsored the Euskaltel Euskadi pro team, it was orange as far as the eye could see. These days things are toned down a bit. The Avant M30D is fitted with Shimano’s 105 groupset and the new RS505 hydraulic disc brakes.

Guerciotti Eureka SHM50

Speaking of professional teams, this Guerciotti is the bike ridden by CCC-Sprandi-Polkowice, the Pro Continental squad from Poland. The frame is made from 30 ton/45 ton/60 ton carbon fibre with a claimed weight of 990g. If you don’t want to look like a peloton wannabe, it’s available in other colours too.

Rapide RL Disc 3

We showed you the new range from Ridgeback spin-off brand Rapide a few weeks ago, including the RL Disc 3. It’s designed to be versatile enough for a bit of everything: big rides at the weekend, commuting, gravel… A Jack of all trades. It comes with a mostly Shimano 105 groupset and TRP Hy-Rd cable-operated hydraulic disc brakes., and is priced at £1,199.99.
 

Scott Solace Premium Disc

Scott’s Solace is designed for rough roads and long rides. It’s fitted with hydraulic disc brakes from Shimano. There’s a lot of orange in the Scott range for 2016, including details on Addicts, Foils and CR1s.

Specialized Crux E5

The Crux E5 is an aluminium cyclocross/gravel bike with a Shimano Sora shifters and mechs, and TRP Spyre mechanical disc brakes. Specialized hasn’t skimped on the orange paint here.
 

Trek 1.2

Trek has kept it subtle with the aluminium 1.2 – very subtle – although bonus points for the anodised details. The 1.2 is equipped with a Shimano Sora groupset and a tubeless ready wheelset from Bontrager.

Ridley X-Trail C30

Ridley has been even more subtle with its use of orange on the new X-Trail C30 (£2,500). It’s a multi-surface bike with a carbon-fibre frame and fork, quite a high front end for comfort and control, and a low bottom bracket for stability. The wheels use bolt-thru axles, and you get discreet mudguard mounts front and rear.