New Orange 5 Pro advice please! « Singletrack Forum

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New Orange 5 Pro advice please!

28 posts & 15 voices | Started 11 months ago by timmyr | Latest reply from montylikesbeer

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timmyr - Member

Hi all,

new to the forum and mountain biking, having recently trialled a 5 Pro I decided to bite the bullet and buy one (hard to source a 20" frame second hand)!

A month to wait until the bike arrives due to lead in time on the build, to say I am excited is an understatement!

Options wise I went for the following extras above the standard 5 Pro spec:

Maxle swingarm
Hope ceramic BB
Hope tech m4 brake
Fox 36 float R forks
Performance pack 2 incl reverb seatpost/thomson stem/gobi saddle/easton haven carbon bar
custom apple green paint

Alot of bike for a first time buyer I know, I will be using the bike with my mate who is an experienced rider and we will be hitting a variety of trails across the country (my local is Peaslake & Swanley).

I am not sure about the fork upgrade and still have time to change it. My mate advised 160mm but when does it really benefit and is it overkill for a novice rider like me? He's also recommended a dual chain/bashguard set up but this appears to be more towards the Five AM spec, again perhaps overkill in my case but any experience/advice greatly appreciated on this again.

Also can anyone recommend a cheap bike stand for the garage, something to keep it upright?

Thanks,
Tim

Posted 11 months ago #
oxnop - Member

Personally I would not bother with 160's on a Five - Waaaaay too slack for general riding.

140's are plenty.

(ex Five AM owner and now ride a Alpine 160)

Posted 11 months ago #
Rickos - Member

Swapping the big ring for a bash is cheap enough to do later, so see if you use the big ring much before taking it away. And I'd stick with the standard 140mm forks too. I know the Surrey hills are gnarly, but I think you'll manage!

Posted 11 months ago #
Junkyard - Member

double and bash is fine as you will rarely use the triple - I dont know the area where you ride tbh- unless it is flatish and you go fast
I recomend a wind down fork personally for very steep stuff as even with Uturn down to 110 the front noticeably lifts on seriously steep climbs [ lakes mountains not hills]
140 mm forks works fine for me ... I ride natural [very]rocky stuff in the lakes on it without issue
no idea on maxle upgrade never noticed a flexy rear but I am not that heavy
Personally it is a lot of bike for a novice what have you paid 4k ish

Posted 11 months ago #
stevey - Member

wow....my first bike that I rode in the dirt was a grifter that I think was given to me by a mates big brothers? ha

Fair play to you though!

Posted 11 months ago #
ton - Member

i would have gone for a heckler with the same build.
and a weeks riding holiday in the alps with the cash saved

Posted 11 months ago #
Rorschach - Member

If you are going to do all that you are better off getting the AM.
Ditch the ceramic BB for a hope headset,you won't notice the bb but the stock headset is pish and you'll end up having to replace it sooner rather than later anyway.
Too slack with 36's but you could run them at 140mm.

Posted 11 months ago #
Junkyard - Member

there speaks the man who knows about buying bikes.

Posted 11 months ago #
partyboy - Member

Orange 5 - the thinking man's trailbike.

Posted 11 months ago #
ton - Member

johnnie...........thank you...........

Posted 11 months ago #
creamegg - Member

I have a five pro with 140's and there plenty. personally id spend the money on CCDB rather than upgrading forks and performance pack.

Posted 11 months ago #
creamegg - Member

but if your a novice i prob wouldt bother with the CCDB either for now

Posted 11 months ago #
timmyr - Member

wow guys thanks for all of your comments much appreciated!

Yes alot of bike for a novice but I have a good set of lungs from years of swimming and am a skier for many years...hoping the combination of these will go some way to making me into a good rider

Ok so it seems the Fox 36's are a step too far...will downgrade that and use the saving to buy a much needed bike rack for the car.

Does anyone know what the benefit of the RLC Fit damper is on the Fox 32 float? It's recommended in this months mbr magazine when reviewing the 5 Pro.

Posted 11 months ago #
Northwind - Member

I'd go for a more sensible fork too unless you just want it to be a winch-and-drop bike... Five is very capable with a 140mm fork and more balanced, more isn't always better.

And personally I'd forget the brake upgrade, and just sell the standard ones as soon as you get it and go and buy something cheaper and better, but ymmv. But if you're going to stick with Hope it's worth the £40 extra, the standard ones just aren't up to scratch for a bike of this quality/ability.

Neither are the wheels mind but there's no sensible upgrade option Sooner they do a Pro2-on-Flows option the better, perfect match but 317s are a wee bit of a cheek on a £2500 bike. When even MBR find something to criticise in a Five you know it's not right

Paying the extra for the BB is a wee bit of a scam tbh, you're paying more than the shop price for it, it doesn't cost them anything to fit and you don't get anything back for the £20 Shimano one which you don't get. It's terrible value and there's nowt wrong with the standard BB. If you want a Hope one, wait til the Shimano one dies then upgrade later for less.

Don't worry about the bashring thing, that's easy to sort later if you want it and not expensive. It's not "overkill", it's just a more sensible allround option for a mountain bike of this nature but don't stress about it.

The apple green's lovely btw, nice choice!

Posted 11 months ago #
timmyr - Member

Cheers for your comments Northwind , glad u agree with the colour I've not seen it in person but was advised by the dealer that it was the b****x in the flesh

Posted 11 months ago #
Northwind - Member

Personally I'd probably go for that really virulent yellow that burns people's retinas but I don't think that's the people's choice

Posted 11 months ago #
creamegg - Member

if thats the neon yellow i love that, specially with white rims. apple green is awesome too... see guy martin on Orange facebook page.

Posted 11 months ago #
Hob Nob - Member

I would definatly go for the double and bash setup, its more than enough for general riding about.

Regarding the forks, I've got a friend with 32's on the front of his and the other with RS Revs, both set at 150. I find the 32mm stanchions a bit wobbly for my liking, so went with some coil 36's set at 150. They are a bit taller and thus making it a bit slacker, but I come from a DH background so prefer that. Anglefinder suggests 66.5 now so I've lost half a degree with the longer A2C.

As for climbing with it, no issues at all, Never felt the need or desire to wind the front end down.

Posted 11 months ago #
igm - Member

Junkyard - Member
there speaks the man who knows about buying bikes.

Yes but if you know Ton you'll know his inside leg measurement is 3mm to long for the 20" Five, and possibly his collar size is to small for it.

More seriously, if you're looking at the 160mm fork I'd have a play on the Alpine. I've just moved from a 2005 Five with 140mm Pikes to an Alpine with 160mm Fox 36s on it. I also recently rode a mates 2011 Five with 140mm Sectors. Up there's not much to chose between the three, down? The Alpine has it.

But that said, it's waht you like, not what I like, that matters.

Posted 11 months ago #
grantway - Member

I ride both places quiet a lot and have the 2008 AM 5
and to be honest the best fork for this bike is a 150mm fork.

I found now spacing my FOX 36rs fork at 140 travel which if you measure the
fork height will match a 150mm travel fork.

The 160mm fork is fine for just going down on descents and wont be
good doing single track etc stuff.
Geometry just a little screwed on the front end.

Think about wheel upgrades I dont recon the new wheels Orange supply
saying that I have just put on the Stan crest rims with hope evo straight
pull hubs. Bike rolls a lot faster.

Posted 11 months ago #
grantway - Member

So What you gone for?

Posted 11 months ago #
timmyr - Member

Well spoke to Orange HQ today and downgraded the fork to a 140mm, save £230 which is a bonus and can be spent on a decent bike rack for my car. I have decided not to go with the double & bash, I'm a novice and this seems quite extreme until I at least find my feet on the bike! They advised as many on here that it is a relatively cheap swap if I decided for the future anyway.

Oh and I specced my Orange decals in silver with black outline to compliment the frame colour a bit better

Will of course update the post with a pic when the bike arrives, thanks to all for some sound advice - anybody care to offer some tips on how to ride the thing ?!!

Posted 11 months ago #
creamegg - Member

where will we you be riding?

Posted 11 months ago #
grantway - Member

Ride like a loon and go late on the brakes then chuck it into the corners
Have fun!

Posted 11 months ago #
timmyr - Member

grantway - awesome advice love it !

creamegg - I'll be riding Peaslake and Swanley to kick off with and then up North (Bolton) and possibly Scotland later in the year.

Posted 11 months ago #
creamegg - Member

sweet, youll love it!

Posted 11 months ago #
flowmtbguy - Member

downgrade the brakes to Avid elixirs
upgrade the shifters to XTR (with money saved on brakes)
upgrade the forks to Float 140 RLC
ust upgrade kit - but ditch the conti tyres it comes with, fit some High Rollers / Crossmarks
thompson kit and big bars..

oh wait - that's what I did

.....which means it must be the right way to do it!

Posted 11 months ago #
montylikesbeer - Member

I have to say Ton after seeing justme's (grahams) new heckler you are right indeed.

But still love my 5 pro

Posted 11 months ago #