I’ve got my eye on a 2009 Orange 5 frame. It’s got the gusset underneath the head tube / down tube weld and the hollowed out ‘v’ at the front of the swing arm. In addition it also has the slimmer down tube profile, these 3 features differentiate it from the 2008 bike. However, looking at the blurb on orange site for the 2009 Five (http://files.orangebikes.co.uk/2009bikes/bike.php?model_id=290) I can see there are some differences that are not apparent on the frame I’m looking at

– Angled cable stops on the down tube above the shock
– Cable routing on down tube below the shock
– Different hydroforming profile of top tube (move to reynolds tubing)

I’ve been told that there may have been two versions of the 09 five frame, with the additional changes being introduced later in 09 – can anyone confirm if this is the case ? I know the geometry changed in 09 so the big concern I have is that I may end up buying an 09 frame with he older steeper 08 geometry – anybody able to advise ?

My 2009 5 frame (it’s for sale) does have angled cable guides on downtube, cable guides below the shock, and Reynolds tubing.

That confirms one bit of the question, but not sure about an earlier version tho.

I’ve got one of the earliest ’09 frames (bought in 2008), which has the gusset, hollow V on the swingarm and slimmer down tube.

It *doesn’t* have the cable guide changes you list (and are pictured), and I’m not sure about the top tube profile.

It *does* have the new geometry though, so the one you are looking at should be fine.

Actually 3 versions as far as i’m aware, straight cable guides, angled cable guides, and hourglass rather than stepped headtube(may be even more, but they’re the obvious versions).

the cable guides changed halfway through the year. i saw a bike at eurobike 2009 with them on and asked the guys about them as they are a big improvement if you ride in gritty conditions.

I think the rest of the changes happened at the start of the model year.

coatsey, those are 3 versions of the 09 bikes?

Thanks everybody very helpful. Looks like I needn’t worry as al2000 has confirmed that the geometry is the same across the 2 (or 3) models. The head tube is different on the one I’m looking at too.

I have an early 09′ and I have all the bits except the head tube narrowing and the angled cable guides 🙂