Price: £4,710.00 (as tested) / From: Orange Bikes, orangebikes.co.uk

When it comes to UK-made full suspension bikes, there was one brand that was always going to be in this grouptest. Put simply, few manufacturers can rival Orange Bikes’ rich 30-year history within the UK mountain biking scene. And unlike the recent flurry of newcomers, Orange has been welding together its full suspension frames in West Yorkshire for 20 of those years. You know, before it was cool.

Known for its pursuit of simplicity, strength and gimmick-free design, Orange isn’t a brand to make hasty changes or adopt unproven standards. Instead, the Halifaxbased manufacturer has turned evolution into an art form, perfecting its single pivot suspension designs over the years by implementing subtle structural design tweaks and refining geometry along the way.

Case in point – the new Stage 4.

As the freshest full suspension bike from Orange, the Stage 4 slots neatly into the brand’s 29er line-up alongside the bigger travel Stage 5 and Stage 6 models. Featuring 110mm of rear travel and a 120mm fork, the Stage 4 is a peppy short travel trail bike that replaces the previous Segment.

Why the name change? It’s mostly about simplifying the naming structure, though Orange also felt there were enough changes to warrant saying adios to the Segment. Along with a geometry massage, the Stage 4 also ditches the monocoque swingarm in favour of a lighter split-stay arrangement. It’s also the first Orange to feature a metric-sized rear shock – a design choice that has brought noticeable benefits on the trail.