Anyone running a Fox CTD rear (Evolution or Factory series) on a 2013 Five and care to let me know how it’s been? Interested in performance (particularly downhill) and reliability. Ta.

Sorry, upgraded to the ccdb coil from the outset…. it’s grrreeat!

No one got anything to say about the CTD on a Five? I know the Five is mint, and right for me, so it’s specifically this shock I’m interested in. Opinion (what little I’ve heard) seems divided. Anyone else? Cheers.

I think that when MBR find something to criticise about an Orange, there must be something pretty badly wrong… considering that “the brakes don’t work” didn’t rate so much as a point off a 10/10 score in the past.

Northwind – enlighten me…what did MBR say?

Make sure you get the kashima ctd and you cant go wrong.

Ah, sorry, I thought that was one of the opinions you’d seen. Basically they said the shock tune was completely bollocksed, not possible to get enough compression damping on it. First time I can remember them testing a Five and not giving it first prize- it got 8/10 and 3rd from 3 in the test. (in a previous one, they actively cheated to let it win…)

Obviously that’s something that could be fixed with a retune or respec at Orange’s end.

That was with the cheaper standard shock

I’ve got a Fox Float RP23 BV Kashima on mine, I think that our shocks are pretty much the same (ish?).I use my Orange Five for downhill and trail riding.
The shock seems to work really well, really really good small bump sensitivity and excellent middle stroke. It just seems to push through the last part of the stroke too easily though, and even after non DH trails I find the O ring right at the end.
This could be solved with a custom tune though, so not much to complain about.

Also, I normally run my shock in the 0 or “fully open” mode, just because I like to push myself when riding, but I tried it in 1 (the “trail” equivalent for my shock) and the bike felt much more lively and I enjoyed extra firmness in the rear end (no jokes please :D) which was perfect for trail riding (I’d keep it in 0 for DH).

I’ve heard coil shocks work well, but I’d never shed out a bomb on a CCDB for a trail bike based on how well my RP23 works.

I haven’t had my five long, so I still need to ride it more to learn a bit more about how it performs. I did find that having previously run 30% sag, the shock works ,much, much better (not to mention being more fun!) with 25% sag, and the propedal seems to work much better too.

Hope this helps 🙂

Ok, cheers for that. All I’ve heard is word of mouth stuff. Most folk I know seem very happy with theirs, just the odd comment makes me wonder if it’s worth trying something else. To be honest I like my suspension soft and I’m pretty light, so a lack of compression damping might not be a big deal for me.

If it’s just the shock you’re worried about, I don’t think that should be much of a consideration as a custom tune will cost nothing against the cost of the bike.
I love my frame, although it is definitely happier at speed so I’d advise you to go ahead and get a five especially if your using it as a do it all bike.
I’m using mine to do all the stuff I used to do on my Patriot freeride rig, and it is much more fun! Granted I have to be more picky with my lines and I can’t plow everything like I used to (40mm totems 😀 )and there is less margin for error (not a great thing as I’m shit at jumping) but the bike is more responsive, and for the forest of dean downhill trials I am much faster on my five then my patriot!

The Five’s ordered anyway thanks 06 – already ridden one and I know it’s amazing for what I want. Just investigating shocks so I don’t need to pay for a tune if at all poss. The RP23 on my Patriot is mint, so if the CTD is anything similar, I’ll be happy. Just trying to find out. Could go the Monarch route yet.

No one else got any comments on this subject? There must be plenty of Five owners running CTDs, surely? Any feedback welcome. Ta.

the standard shock isnt a patch on the £100 upgrade option so i hope if you have ordered it, you did upgrade!

ive had both and the performance of the kashima one is way better, descending its as smooth as can be, the climb mode isnt quite as stiff as the evolution CTD one, but thats cos the kashima one has boostvalve, so something to do with the compression circuit so i was told by mojo….ohhh and my CTD evolution developed an annoying clunk in climb mode when climbing anything other than road, the kashima one is silent in every mode, and as i said above the boostvalve makes a huge huge difference in smoothness descending for me!

worth the £100 upgrade!

Oscillate – thanks for this, exactly the sort of info I was after. Haven’t specced the shock yet, so I’ll fork out for the upgrade. Is your new shock the CTD that comes on the Five SE, do you know? And how does it compare to your RP23? Ta.

yep its the same one as the SE version, its a boostvalve trail adjust one, think its the top one fox do other than a remote version…

i had a rp23 kashima which was cracking descending but was a bit to wallowy when climbing, the climb mode on the new CTD ones is 10x better on the rp23, but again even the kashima CTD wasnt as stiff as the evolution CTD one in climb mode

both the rp23 kashima and the ctd kashima piss all over the standard evolution one descending in any form, it just feel alot better all round

i always thought the kashima was a gimmick, but compared to the ctd evolution one it seeems light years ahead to me

Cheers again, Oscillate. Got a Kashima RP23 on my Patriot and it’s amazing. If the posh SE-specced CTD is anything like as good, I’ll be very happy. More interested in its descending ability than for climbs.

well in that case, it will be just as good as the rp23 on your patriot, its equally as great as a rp23 descending wise in my view

climbing its better too actually having a proper ‘climb’ mode, which is important to me as much as descending, so ive got the best of both worlds

the adjustable trail setting i thought id never use, but i used it a fair bit last night on fast rooty singletrack sections and its definintely noticeable having it on 1 or 3! impressed!

oh and of course it looks way better than the standard one too 😉