A Budget Modern Upgrade For A Retro Mountain Bike - Orange P7

I have a well used Orange P7 of the 2005(ish) kind. Today I thought I'd give it a bit of an upgrade with some budget friendly mods. Installing a Shimano Deore 1x10 drivetrain, upgrading the brakes and fitting a few other cool parts.
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Bike Spec & Product Links
Frame : 2005 Orange P7
Handlebars : Brand X 740mm x 25mm Rise
Grips : Deity Lock On
Shifters : Shimano Deore SL-M4100
Brake Levers : Shimano Deore
Stem : Brand X 45mm
Headset : Nukeproof Horizon Copper
Fork : Rockshox
Brakes : Shimano Deore
Brake Pads : Aztec
Wheels : Hubs - Shimano Deore XT
Rims - Mavic 317 Disc
Spokes -
Nipples -
Tyres : Maxxis
Seatpost : Genesis 27.2mm
Seat Clamp : Nukeproof Horizon 31.8mm Copper
Saddle : Charge Spoon
Rear Derailleur : Shimano Deore RD-M5120
Front Derailleur :
Crankset : Shimano Deore FC-M5100 170mm
Chainring : Shimano Narrow Wide 32T
Chainring Bolts : 17mm + 3mm Spacers
Bottom Bracket : Shimano Deore BB-MT501
Chain : Shimano Deore CN-HG54
Cassette : Shimano Deore CS-M4100 11-46T 10 Speed
Pedals : Wellgo M919
Bash Guard :
Bar Ends :
Bottle Cage :
Decals :
Paint :
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Jagwire 5mm Outer Brake Cable : amzn.to/3dXHdiP
Jagwire Inner Gear Cable : amzn.to/3dZcMJ9
Jagwire Brake Cable : amzn.to/3dYk2am
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[@Phil-qz6oc]

I infinitely prefer these videos to all of the 'dream build' variants. Your videos make bike building and restoration look much more accessible, and i've used these to guide me through a retro Concorde SLX rebuild, and a TREK 930 restomod.

[@MonkeyShred]

Thanks! Really appreciate that :)

[@fepatton]

Ditto! I'm working on a Trek 930 right now. 🙂

[@WingmanLive]

Dude's vids helped me do a refurb on a stx mc38 rear hub aswell and build a wheel up from a Deore LX m560 hub. Im chuffed with how smooth and nice sounding both my bikes are! Monkey is the Dude!

[@JordiMoll]

Most of this bikes are forever. It works. Modern bikes are faster but they have a lot of problems. Simple, nice looking and fun.

[@stuvademakaroner9607]

What's so much simpler about this bike? It has disc brakes, yet it doesn't have thru axles.

[@oreocarlton3343]

this p7 is peak mtb, aside from thru axles but those arent always essential. Maybe a shorter stem and wider bars aside from that is entirely comparable to current hardcore hardtails

[@MonkeyShred]

It's definitely a solid - reliable rig!

[@Tomw-e3g]

Bar horn, Torvey and an Orange…superb!! The geometry on these older bikes makes the easier trails so much more fun, nice build 👍👍

[@MonkeyShred]

Definitely! They're so fun.

[@kentjoosten8149]

"That headset is driving me crazy”. I’ve heard myself say THAT a few times.

[@MonkeyShred]

I'm jsut glad I had those thing washers spare!

[@stephengomme777]

Very relaxing & enjoyable bike build to watch 😊 very nice classic bike .

[@MonkeyShred]

Thanks Stephen!

[@fepatton]

While I have a hard time thinking of any bike with disc brakes as "retro", this is a very tasteful upgrade!

[@MonkeyShred]

Thanks! Yeah it’s pretty crazy to think this bike is around 20 years old now 😅

[@barrettschluckebier5000]

In the future, don't be afraid to take out and move a BB spacer to the other side in order to get your chain line right. No need to space the chainring.

[@MonkeyShred]

Ahhhh - but then you've moved the entire arm over and you'll have uneven arms. It's better to space out the ring.

[@jasper5945]

I do think this is a better solution, it feels more sturdy

[@Burger1097]

Just put that same crank on a gravel build with 11-34 cassette. Amazing range.

[@MonkeyShred]

Yeah that Deore crank is really clean and simple. Love it.

[@par-delà_le_voile]

Looks so good. One day i will find myself an Orange frame

[@MonkeyShred]

Plenty around! :)

[@marnig9185]

The BR-410 is most underrated brake of all times; ❤that bike;)

[@MonkeyShred]

Solid - reliable!

[@Emz_Jhaye]

Nice beautiful build! 😍👍🚴 Wow! That bar sounds good! Hahaha... And the cat... Reminds of someone. 😅✌️

[@MonkeyShred]

I was trying to summon "the cute thief" with some new parts ;)

[@Emz_Jhaye]

@@MonkeyShred hahaha.😅

[@CraigFyfe]

I felt like that about hydraulic brakes, until i was like ill just try and changed a brake line without any of those tools and bled them with a basic bleed kit and it's surprisingly easy!

[@samteks125]

Shimano has these yellow holding blocks to safely clamp the brake line with a vice when hammering in the insert pin (even big pliers would do if need be) which are only 1.50 quid or so. Apart from that, a sharp cutter knife works just as well as the brake line cutter. If you're doing thos sort of thing all the time, the proper tools are a good investment. Otherwise, no need to spend the money, in my opinion.

[@MonkeyShred]

Ah those tools weren't that expensive at all! That hose cutter was a fiver from SJS and the M-Wave barb tool was.... oh that was actually 30 quid haha but erm - it's an investment and was easy to use!

[@creepingjesus5106]

I think the question we all need answered is; who does the Bar Horn summon? Inspector Cat, or the Gods Of Biking to collectively stroke their beards and scowl at the misbehaving head set? Or both? Such a nice bike though! 😍 Cable doughnuts are all it needs.

[@MonkeyShred]

Haha the bar horn is a nod to Ali Clarkson. He uses it to summon his own cat, aka the cute thief.

[@karimtv2]

I really enjoyed this build im building one my self at the moment

[@MonkeyShred]

Good luck! Hope it works out for you!

[@blairrighton6270]

can't beat a hardtail, gotta love those orange's... hi torvey!

[@MonkeyShred]

Yeah it's a fantastic bike. Orange made a great frame!

[@oreocarlton3343]

Longer travel fork! That way you can open the HA if you want to go that way, aside from that this p7 is proof that bikes reached a certain platoe in mid 2000s, outstanding bike and a great company to make this legendary frame.

[@MonkeyShred]

If it was in budget - definitely. not too long though. It rides pretty nicely as it is!

[@samteks125]

​​@@MonkeyShred Should be possible to adjust the travel on Rebas of that era pretty easily. If I'm not mistaken, all it takes is throwing out all the spacers if there are any, which should give you 120mm of travel. Free extra travel without any extra work when you're servicing the fork anyway - what's not to like!

[@samteks125]

Funny enough, I'm planning to do a very similar mod to my Kona Kikapu. Got the Deore 11-46 10-speed for 20 euros, might pick up an m8000 xt derailleur for a tenner, but will stick to the LX crankset (same as was on your bike, too!) and put a cheap AliX narrow-wide chainwheel on it. Nice side effect, with the largest chainwheel gone on 3x cranksets, there's room for a bash ring. With a Deore 10s shifter still in the parts bin, the total budget for my new drivetrain should only be around 50 euros - sweet!

[@MonkeyShred]

Where are you getting that so cheap? Who sells XT mechs for a tenner??

[@samteks125]

Classifieds 🙂 I tend to get the best bargains with stuff for self-collection only, as sellers want to avoid any trouble with shipping and payment. Takes more time looking for those deals and actually picking the stuff up, though

[@andypicken7848]

Nice looking bike that and no paint needed

[@MonkeyShred]

She has a few war wounds from the years but it's still a solid bike!

[@simonmandrakejones]

That is a really nice looking bike.

[@MonkeyShred]

Thanks Simon.

[@aaronarmstrongaa]

Yep, thats sick!!

[@MonkeyShred]

Thanks!

[@duringthemeanwhilst]

another great build 🙂 have you ever considered a complete resto-mod with electronic gears and hydraulics?

[@MonkeyShred]

Eeeesh, no! Electronic gears are way too expensive to put on!

[@Jay-Ninja]

Nice build.

[@MonkeyShred]

Thanks!

[@jackcarter233]

That is a cool bike.

[@MonkeyShred]

Thanks!

[@ahmadfauzikarman6290]

I would reccomend that you face your headtube, with a reamer/facing tool. Hope that works

[@MonkeyShred]

It could do but there isn't a problem with the headset in that sense. It was the internal stack.

[@tecdesigns8183]

Another great build, I was thinking azonic ds1 frame but realised seeing a flash of logo it's a planet x jack flash?

[@MonkeyShred]

Yup! First generation Jack Flash :) Circa 1997 according to the founder of Planet X!

[@Hypersonicbiker]

Respect to Your works, press like but why don't use beautiful LX crankset? Old groupsets are beautiful.

[@MonkeyShred]

I much prefer the look of the new Deore crankset. Simple, sleek and stylish!

[@23-infinitymusic46]

Awesome video! Modern bike 'standards' annoy me. Sure, I can appreciate the advancements in tech and everything else, and folk may argue the point and highlight how bikes are 'better' nowadays, but says who, really? Trails haven't changed, so is a top-of-the-range bike from 2012 suddenly incapable of riding trails just because standards have changed? Nope. It's just as good now as it was then, IMO. I have a 2012 Orange P7 frame that I performed a similar job with i.e. I carried out numerous upgrades: I had the wheels rebuilt on Hope Pro 4 QR hubs, RockShox Revelation forks, Deore 1x10 drivetrain with hollowtech II BB, Deore brake set etc etc and it's as solid as a rock. Nothing loose, no creaks, just a reliable steel hardtail that I can ride anywhere. I used to work in bike shops and the staff were almost appalled that I dare ride something so "out of date". The bike was great back then, it is great now. I'm not opposed to a modern build, I enjoy gravel riding for example, but older bikes can shred just fine with modern bikes.

[@MonkeyShred]

Can’t argue with that for Cannock. It’s pretty much the same trail as it was when it first opened around the time this P7 was made.

[@andrewsiasparks]

I would swap that aluminum seatpost for a cheap carbon one. Especially living on that side of the pond. It's alot less likely to get stuck from corrosion. Ive been running one from amazon on my dirt jumper for a couple years now

[@samteks125]

Fair point. Having an aluminium seatpost seized in a steel frame is no joke. I had to vertically sawzall one out of a steel frame a while ago, took me two afternoons to finally get there. Absolutely horrible

[@MonkeyShred]

I'd personally pop in a dropper. 27.2mm is the smallest size they do and it would make the bike even better on the trails!

[@isaiahwelch8066]

Interesting build. However, on cleaning and polishing the frame, a guy named Andy, who has the channel Bike Farmer, uses Dawn Power Wash and cheap furniture polish in cleaning up a frame to look better. Other than that, nice rescue and restore. Edit: About brake bleeding hydraulic brakes: With a bike, unlike a car, you can actually use the caliper to force any air in the system up and out through the reservoir, by using a syringe to force brake fluid in from the bottom of the system (since the reservoir sits higher than the caliper). Essentially, you want no air in the system for proper operation.

[@samteks125]

Not with all Shimano hydraulic brakes, though. Some won't accept forcing the brake fluid in from the caliper side.

[@MonkeyShred]

I'm not actually sure if this was meant to be a Satin finish frame but I like my T-Cut / Autoglym Deep Shine / Ceramic Coat method. Thanks - I've bled me share of car brakes before :) Shimano instructions for this caliper do seem to say pull the fluid through though, like a car would essentially be working, so I followed that.

[@MG650B]

Nice rare frame in the background there. Not seen a horizontal dropout Jack Flash for a long while. Bet it would feel super steep and short nowadays. Going for a jump build?

[@MonkeyShred]

Good spot! I’ve spoke to the founder of Planet X briefly about it and he says it’s a first gen bike so around 1997 🤙 Unfortunately it has a tiny crack in the headtube but once that’s repaired I may do a jump/ pump or street trials build.

[@MG650B]

@@MonkeyShred Ah nice one, will look forward to seeing that build.

[@jaeteejee343]

❣

[@afrospecs]

liked just for the handlbar didgeridoo

[@MonkeyShred]

Borrowed from Ali Clarkson 😅

[@sunnychy86]

Is it a 26 er? What's the hub model for both front and rear wheel? I have a 26er bike. I want to upgrade the wheelset as a whole, and I don't have much options available other than bontrager at 650 and some alex rims. Bontrager comes with formula dc 22 and dc 20. Alex comes with non brand(they didn't mention it on website) hubs. I would like to buy dt swiss 350 or hope pro 4 or 5. I don't know if they will fit my bike. It is an old bike (merida duke 550). The rear axle is probably 135 mm.

[@MonkeyShred]

Yup. 26er. Buying new there are very limited options and it would be easier to get a custom wheelset commissioned. Used there are hundreds of wheelsets available though

[@petererbse6253]

As a mechanic I have another point of criticism: the DB8 use a different bleed kit because they don't use the quick connect on the caliper, although they use the same fluid. This inconsistency is just unnecessary in my opinion and I just can't understand why SRAM didn't think of a simple maintanance related part like this.

[@MonkeyShred]

What was your first point? 😅

[@petererbse6253]

@@MonkeyShred oh I'm so sorry. Had the auto play on and didn't realize, YT postet this on the next (wrong) video🤣

[@jonaustinvinluan5017]

Hi Torvi 🐈‍⬛

[@noelsmith1852]

Does the headset not have a split bearing preload ring?

[@MonkeyShred]

It does - for some reason this one didn't load properly. Glad I found a solution in my spares though!

[@boxhampton]

more doughnuts 🍩 lol...😂😅

[@MonkeyShred]

Yeah some would help the tinging

[@blondiejoe]

howdy, what is that bike stand you're using?

[@MonkeyShred]

Park Tool something or other. Just their cheap stand.

[@8ballpoolkrakatau502]

Sorry, uncle, how much is the price of a used Orange P7 bicycle there in 2024? Tnx im from indonesia

[@hamadysack3157]

Oh that copper.

[@MonkeyShred]

Looks great against the black doesn't it!

[@gunnarkoss9262]

Nice built! But still too mich Rust inside frame, i guess.

[@MonkeyShred]

Thanks. Nah the frame was fine inside. A lot of that "forbidden sugar" was from the bottom bracket corrosion. It's why it was so bloody stiff to get out.

[@Bolie420]

I was wondering what happened to chain reaction

[@MonkeyShred]

Collapsed - Sold off a bunch of their stock dirt cheap to pay the bills and try and stay afloat - Bought by Sports Direct owner - Back up and running now but with a slightly different style, like Evans Cycles... also Sports Direct owned.

[@koyapol]

Gary? like Gary projects?

[@zwicker5585]

Yeah I think so

[@koyapol]

@@zwicker5585 nice. love his channel

[@ArnoldQMudskipper]

Yes. Gary, Toasty & 2nd Life complete my 4 go-to channels

[@MonkeyShred]

@Gary's Projects ? Never heard of them...

[@zwicker5585]

@@MonkeyShred you should check him out! His name is Ronald and he does lifestyle vacation blogs. Beautiful stuff

[@Aesir_43]

At 6:19 is that an Astrix Union?

[@MonkeyShred]

It is not - It's a Planet X Jack Flash

[@MonkeyShred]

@@robertmcfadyen9156 the Planet X Jack Flash? From speaking to the owner of the company he seems to remember them coming out around 97

[@MonkeyShred]

@@robertmcfadyen9156 Sorry - I'll rephrase that. I spoke to the founder of Planet X about it, who now owns Banana Industries - or at least helps run it. A little correction too after rereading his message - he designed the Jack Flash in around 1995 and he thinks mine is a 1st generation model around 1996 because it doesn't have the reinforced headtube

[@chrisleech333]

Wider bars and disc brakes yes. But it's a no from me with modern gears. I've got modern bikes and retro, older gears are 100% than this modern stuff that's made out of chocolate

[@MonkeyShred]

I've never tried chewing it personally but if it's true - I'll have a nibble on it when I'm lagging next time I ride!

[@aristidisdimitropoulos8419]

try to service the fork

[@samteks125]

Would be a good idea - judging by the looks, this fork is at least 15 years old. Chances are that a full service kit is still available. These Rebas are really easy to work on, too. Definitely worth a try

[@MonkeyShred]

I've got some forks to service piling up so it'll get done eventually.

[@danieleverywhere132]

why is upgrade going from 27 gears to 10 i will never understand cars had 4 gears and now 6-10,so that is bad? yea...i guess better to use 4 gears only or heck use one only,just call it progress and make it more expensive

[@MonkeyShred]

So, while I see your point based on numbers - a 3x9 doesn't "technically" have 27 gears. A few combinations are off limits due to cross chaining - but I'm sure you knew that. It's not about the number of gears though - it's about the use of the bike and the technology involved. It's a bike to be used on the trail predominently. Having a wide ratio on the back and no front makes it simpler and possibly lighter but I don't have any figures for that. It also has the narrow wide chainring so the chain doesn't get thrown and a clutch in the rear derailleur to stop the chain slap. That is an advancement. Nobody said 2 or 3 by is bad.... I ride a 2x10 as my main bike and 3x7 a bunch too. My Kona Chute is still 3x9. The Chute rattles around like crazy because it has the old 9 speed mech with no clutch. It's not just a numbers game.:)

[@danieleverywhere132]

@@MonkeyShred Yes,some gears are not meant for use and some are nearly identical but that still leave plenty of combination to adjust gear to your weight and slope you are riding Weight is marginally lower on 1 by but bike as a whole is heavier because wheeles and tyres are heavier and of course you have poor gearing choice What i hate is cycling industry killed 26 inch bike because it was PERFECT-light,nimble and cheap. So what did they do?They introduced bike meant for downhill,29 inch piece of junk but that exactly gave them new development cycle-new gears .narrow wide chainring, clutch,thrugh axle and so on....but all this was not necessary on 26 inch....narrow wide was not necessary because it had front mech,it didn't have clutch but you could use rear mech with stiffer spring,that was already option on 9 speed 29ners are after 20 years of development still heavier,less stiff and have less gear ratio as humble 3 x 9 For me progress is dead,there is only advertizing and i will ride my 3 x 9 and 3 x 10 bikes till the day i die Although it is true i ride my bikes not jump i value my bones

[@samteks125]

3x9, solid stuff if it's not the bottom-shelf groups, but the rest of your comment ... let's not get into that.

[@danieleverywhere132]

@@samteks125 i have at least LX on my bikes,some SLX,mostly XT with SAINT and XTR here and there my comment is plain sarcasm because people just don't get how industry is cheating on them i guess it is mostly because nobody wants to dive into physics 29ners are heavier,less nimble and even after 20 years of development still don't have gear ratio of 26er so putting gears developed for 29er on 26er is even more stupid,just calculate gear ratio why would dismembered bike be "modern upgrade"? no,it is modern shit people want to be "trendy" and industry is more than happy to oblige

[@simonpowell2559]

Sounds bloody noisy on the trails

[@MonkeyShred]

Good observation Simon - I spoke about that at the end - cable slap from the gear cables. Some rubber doughnuts would easily solve it.