Since having a demo on an Orange Gyro I’ve been keeping an eye on the two 29ers from Orange. Maybe I’m getting the wrong impression, but it seems that they’ve not been that popular. Finding online reviews from owners of the Five29, for example, is pretty much impossible. Has anybody bought one? Even magazine reviews are pretty limited. I think only Dirt have reviewed the Five29. Compare that with the new 26″ Alpine, which was reviewed in Singletrack almost as soon as it was released.

A few Gyros have also started cropping up for sale and seem to be going for quite low prices.

I guess it doesn’t help that Orange have released the Five29, new 26″ Alpine and 650B Five in quick succession, but it does seem as though the 29er is the one making the least impression of the three.

TBH I found locating owner reviews for other bikes (than your talking about) to be nigh on impossible to locate over the mag/web reviews that google throws up. Even when the bike has been around for 6 months, let alone brand new models.
Though I think this is as much to do with google than there not being the info out there.

That and most new owners will gabble about how great there new bike is, what do you honestly expect to find out. Your own review of the demo you had were some of the most honest I’d seen for a while (still flawed by your own admission). I’ve tried myself but it’s not easy to write a review while being dispassionate about it & not just turn to magazine catch phrases, especially if you already own the bike.

If anything simply the best option is to demo them yourself…

Talk about presumptions?

Who writes reviews anyway? 🙂

It’s a fair point and I wouldn’t expect to gain too much from a new bike review. I know how hard it is to be dispassionate when you’ve just got a new toy. I’m just surprised that there are so few. Also, most of the sites that listed the Five29 for sale when it came out are still showing it in stock.

I’d have one, were it not for buying a 26″ Five only last year, in 22″ as well! There goes any resale for me.

My mate has a Five29, he comes on here now and again.

I’ve just bought a second hand Gyro, and am really impressed with it.

Not owned a filing cabinet before, and tbh, had always over looked them. It just rode so much better than any of the other short travel 29ers I tried I couldn’t overlook it. The thing that surprised me most was how light it rides relative to it’s weight. I’ve not had mine on scales, but everyone seems to have them in around 30-31lbs.

I had some long chats with GaryLake (http://www.cyclistno1.co.uk/blog/orange-gyro-mid-term-review.htm) who helped out loads.

Thanks. There is a fair bit on the web about the Gyro to be fair (with Gary’s stuff being particularly excellent), it is more the lack of ride reports on the Five29 that surprises me. OK, it’s hardly fair to compare Orange with Specialized, but the web is awash with peoples’ views on the Enduro 29er, for example.

Everybody with a Gyro does seem to like them, but they don’t seem to be fetching too much second hand. Maybe that’s more a reflection of the state of the mountain bike market in general though.

I could be wrong but I suspect Orange’s lead time to sale is pretty short- so reviews lag behind a little. It was ages before Dirt got their 322 review out frinstance.

The Five 29er is a good bike though, though the standard builds are poor.

Don’t you think you’re being a little impatient? The Five29 is out in limited edition black/gold or frame only atm and isn’t even officially part of the Orange line up. I’m sure more info will come out once the range expands.

Also, most of the sites that listed the Five29 for sale when it came out are still showing it in stock.

I thought orange’s were pretty closely built to order (you can chose, colour, spec etc), so “in stock” might mean one on the shop floor that’s for sale, but most people order one with a didfferent colour, or components so the original one stays in stock for a while (if it ever existed). Compare to spesh who do one model, one colour, if you want a different spec/colour then tough.

They’re also a relatively small company (compared to Spesh, trek or Giant who’ll fly the worlds bike journos and hundreds of bikes out to somewhere sunny for a week) Ornage probably have one demo bike that has to be passed through Dirt, MBR, WhatMTB, MBUK, Singletrack, demo days, etc. The lack of any magazine testing might mean their productions full and there’s not time to make one for MBR. Demo bikes for mags are a double edged sword anyway, if it’s selling well then why risk it coming 2nd to the new Spesh (this is MBR after all) and potentialy loseing sales. Whereas if it’s not selling well you’d expect reviews, interviews and factory tours to be cropping up in every magazine as the marketing group/person gets it as much exposure as they can. Note that there’s often a spesh a giant or Trek and two brands you’ve maybe not heard much of (Corratech, Nicolai, Oreba, Merrida, Cube) in a lot of MBR group tests, its not because MBR have selected the 4 best bikes, it’s because Spesh and Giant can afford to loan bikes out and the others are deperate for exposure, the Nicolai will be slated for costing a lot, the Oreba for being too euro, but it’s much needed exposure for the brands.

Orange Review*

I got one it’s awesome, don’t call my single pivot outdated and it’s not an effin filin cabinet. Best bike I ever owned cause it’s made in allifax and none of that foreign muck works proper in our english muck cause it has 2 bearings not like stuff for california and the sauf n that.

*not actually got one just read enough 🙂

I think that about covers it Mike 😀

just need to add that wit the 29er wheels I am actually faster than Gee Atherton and would have beaten him but the race wasn’t in yorkshire so I couldn’t go (there aint no proper tea up there)

I’d have thought that the 29er market would tend lean towards the lighweight, racy bikes or the traditional steel hardtail and less to the kind of workhorse trailbike that the five has traditionally represented. Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think Orange will sell as large a proportion of their bikes in 29″ as other manufacturers.

honourablegeorge – Member

I’d have thought that the 29er market would tend lean towards the lighweight, racy bikes or the traditional steel hardtail and less to the kind of workhorse trailbike that the five has traditionally represented.

Hmm. I think the Five 29er is pretty much the same sort of workhorse trailbike as the 26er Five. Does the same job just a little differently. More about perception than the reality maybe? My expectations were all wrong… I daresay lots of people who’ve never ridden a 29er will have a strong idea of how the Five 29er rides and will choose accordingly though.

Yeah – the 29er five is the same sort of bike as the FIve, just not sure people looking for a 29er are necessarily looking for that sort of bike.

Yeah – the 29er five is the same sort of bike as the FIve, just not sure people looking for a 29er are necessarily looking for that sort of bike.

Maybe but, but they’re thinking wrong.

You don’t go out to buy a 29er. You go out to buy a bike, the best one may well have 29″ wheels.

Would you go into a car showroom and ask for a car with 18″ alloy wheels, when what you want is an estate, and the best one might happen to have them?

thisisnotaspoon – Member

You don’t go out to buy a 29er. You go out to buy a bike, the best one may well have 29″ wheels.

That’s how I buy a bike. But it seems to be an accepted industry fact now that people do buy on wheel size. Frexample Santa Cruz saying that they only made the Solo because people who’d never ridden 650B bikes demanded it.

That’s how I buy a bike. But it seems to be an accepted industry fact now that people do buy on wheel size. Frexample Santa Cruz saying that they only made the Solo because people who’d never ridden 650B bikes demanded it.

True, but there are still comparable 26″ and 29″ options to the solo (blur LT and tallboy LT), so you can still pick the one you percieve as best, hopefully after a test ride (even if that distinction is on wheel size).

Hasn’t the 29r five just become obsolete anyway?

thisisnotaspoon – Member

You don’t go out to buy a 29er. You go out to buy a bike, the best one may well have 29″ wheels.

Not so rure – I think a lot of people have a wheel size decision made before they start. And I think 5″ and above bike buyers will lean to 650 or 26 because of the perception (rightly or wrongly) that 29ers are more “wheels on the ground” bikes.

What DaveR said. 2nd hand Gyro frame, so far coped well with bikepacking, epic rides and trail centre dad- rad. Very fun fast feeling bike.