I have a 140mm hard tail, however I am thinking I need/want a full suspension bike. I was always set on the 5, but recently I have been looking at the Alpine 6.

Is the Alpine 6 overkill for UK use? For the Lakes and trail centres? I enjoy riding up, but ride up to go down! Will the Alpine 6 be noticeably slower on the ups? I don’t want it for full on downhill, but I do want it for black run graded stuff!

As much I would like to go to the alps I can’t see it happening in the next few years. Prices are pretty similar and I weight 70kg if that makes a difference?!

Just wondered if the 5 would be too “similar” to a 140mm hardtail?

Any comments appreciated.

Sounds like a great idea, it seems from your post fun is more important to you that strava uphill KOMs, so go for it. What can possibly go wrong

Why don’t you ride both of them? Orange are one of the easiest companies to arrange a demo bike with. Find your nearest dealer and if they don’t have a demo bike Orange will deliver whatever you want to ride.

I rode a Five last weekend at Chopwell and Hamsterley. I found it feels lighter and faster everywhere than my current hardtail (Cotic Bfe). Despite being delivered with a pair of dual ply High Rollers it was much easier work on the climbs. On the descents, it was just a blast to ride with full suspension again after a 3 year break. If it was my bike I could easily shave a chunk of weight off it.

I know Hamsterley black run isn’t the biggest test of a bike but I wouldn’t hesitate to ride it in the Alps. I’ve ridden everything in the Les Gets/Morzine area on my Bfe anyway. Plus in the UK you spend 90% of your time going up or along.

I’ve never considered the Alpine but I want the lighter, easier ride. I’ve got the DH bike for anything bigger.

I reckon a 5 would be the way to go for the UK. An Alpine in the UK is more of a DH lite than a XCgnarrrrr trail bike. Depends on your “typical” kinda ride i guess.

Just got a 2017 five with a 150mm Yari, 2.3 minion exo’s etc and it’s proving more than capable in the lakes (rode some pretty full on off-piste DH yesterday & it handled it way better than my stumpjumper evo ever did).
Glad I got the five & think the alpine would be too much bike! (Alpine would be good as more rideable alternative to a DH bike though! :))

You will never be out of water in the UK on a Five, have a look here https://www.facebook.com/groups/484050075054363/

Ive taken my five all around the Lakes and never thought i could do with more , if anything my now alpine five is better ,lighter longer and soo much faster

Get on the demo – https://www.orangebikes.co.uk/demo-day

Five perfect for UK riding IMO. If you only rode in the Lakes, the Alpine’s probably worth it but for a few days a year I’d get the Five so as not to spoil razzing around the less lumpy bits of the country.

Not ridden the new Alpine 6 yet, but I have a 2017 new model Five and it’s an absolutely awesome bike. By far and away the best Five they have produced. When I first built it up I managed a built weight of 27 and half lbs. the bike felt so alive. I have added a tough of weight to it since and it feels just as nimble. There is very little that I have come across where the bike is the limiting factor. I just think the 6 would be overkill. For the majority of uk riding the Five is to be honest. Demo them both if I were you then decide.

Unless you’re an out-and-out downhiller, the best bike for the UK is the one that makes climbing the easiest whilst still being more bike than you need on the descents. Unless you have uplift everywhere you ride, most of your riding will have some climbing to do for your thrills, so why not make that bit as much fun and as easy as possible too. The ideal bike for you will therefore depend on your descending prowess and I’m not sure a load of strangers on the internet can advise on that 🙂

As many have said, get a demo bike and ride it on the kind of trails you usually ride. If the Five feels like something you’d soon reach the limits of, maybe the Alpine 6 is for you. If – like me – a 140mm bike never feels out of depth for the riding you do, why go bigger and heavier and make the climbs a (literal) pain?

3rd option is the four.

it looks lovely

I too currently ride a 140mm hardtail (new P7) and I’m also looking at a Five or Alpine6. Demoed both in Calderdale (medium, did three rides on each) and I’ve pretty much decided a Five is right for me. The Alpine6 is mint – surprisingly agile, climbs well and a beast downhill – but I ride mostly in Calderdale and do 25-35+ milers, and the Five is fantastic for this, and still slack/long/stiff/low enough for the steep stuff, rocky stuff etc. For me, 140mm is a bit more fun and gives you that ‘getting away with it’ feeling on really rough stuff, whereas the Alpine6 just cruises through everything. The Five is very responsive. My mate took his 2016 Five to Verbier last year with me, and he was flying on that, down everything, and we rode some very steep, techy stuff. The 2017 Five is even better, I reckon. If I lived in the Alps or Lakes I’d go Alpine6. But I live in the Pennines, and a Five will be absolutely fine anywhere in the Lakes and Alps when I visit (probably not down man-made DH courses with big jumps though). Good luck choosing, but you can’t really go wrong.

A mate has gone from an Alpine to a Rallon, then a Nomad and now to a 5, hes a very fast rider, all kinds of big enduro and dh tracks , including alps. as well as local QECP stuff,
He reckons the 5 with a burly fork is ‘the one’

He reckons the 5 with a burly fork is ‘the one’

I would agree with him, just fitted some 36’s to mine and it’s absolutely epic

PS – at trail centres your hardtail or a Four would be my choice, a Five for the rest. Reading between the lines, I reckon an Alpine6 will be overkill.

For the riding described I’d also go for the Five.

Can I just drop this here?

I’ve never been an Orange fan but they’ve improved massively over the last few years.

I demo’d both for the same reason in 2015, the Five was the mk2 (2016 model). They’re demoing at Biketreks on 5th March. Was in there the other day looking at that Alpine6.

For me, the Alpine-160 was the better climber. The back end being 9mm longer, plus the overall wheelbase increase made it just go up in a straight line over whatever and the rear didn’t bob even with the shock open. This was the main thing i wanted to test on it for the same reason as yourself – you gotta get up to get down! The Five was a bit skitty and wandered over the climbs. No issue, just noticeably more input required.

However, surprisingly the Five felt better to me on the descents. It was just more alive. Easier to throw around and pop. The Alpine felt more like a tool whereas the Five was like a toy – fun. It’s got everything you need, the Alpine will only make sense at higher speeds on steeper sections where the Five will start to need reigning in a bit. The Alpine felt a bit dead on normal stuff so i guess it wakes up when things get a bit more severe.

After taking the Five out on two demo days, amongst Santa Cruz’s and the Alpine, it was still the Five i wanted. I still like the Alpine though. Might go for the demo myself to see what 170mm up front is like.

By the way, IMO 140mm rear is ample. A sturdy fork makes more difference with a well setup rear. The Five geometry is on the money. The real difference with the Alpine isn’t the 160 back end so much (IMO) but the extra length and head angle. 66 degrees with a 150 Pike feels great though. I’m about to try some offset bushes to see what 65 feels like as i feel like this is a sensible mod – trail bike beefed up as opposed to outright enduro tool. Best of both worlds (that’s the theory).

+1 doorag, basically. How tall and what size you riding? I’m torn between M and L at 5′ 10″. Either will probably be fine.

Sharkattack is on the money 150mm 36s is where I would be that’s stunning but really need to re run the neo colours

I debated this very question & ended up buying the Five drawer. It’s a brilliant bit of kit. More than holds its own amongst the plastic fantastic crew. But, & it’s a big but, when I’m chucking it down the runs at BPW, I wish I’d gone for the six drawer version.
I bought it mainly for uplift days & trail days if I can get fitter. I ride the fatty most, & often debate selling the FS but never will. But I wish I’d gone for the Alpine if I’m honest.
But, the Five is one hell of a good bike.