Ive been after a 120mm trail bike for a while and a ST4 has cropped up, never ridden one so have no idea of the ride but though you guys could help me out.

Any thoughts, yes, no will i regret it?

I didn’t like it at all… Neither one thing nor t’other, not substantially better than a Five for climbing on and not that much better for descending on than an Anthem X. Couldn’t see much point to it. But there’s plenty of people who do, I guess it’s just deciding whether it’s the right compromise for you.

i keep reading about chainsuck too, maybe i just keep looking for a stumpy or a trance.

My mate just recently bought one of these, and still has his old Five. I have also had a Five (albeit a few years back now), and for what it’s worth we both prefer the ST4. I guess a lot of it will depend on how it fits you and where and what you like to ride. It is a tad heavy, but I would quite happily own one.

…also, he hasn’t experienced any chainsuck issues thus far!

hi, i ride mostly in the peaks and around sheffield wharncliffe/grenoside etc.

Weight doesn’t bother me too much, think a 5 would be a bit much for my riding and the ST4 looked like a good inbetweener.

Do a search on here over the last year or so + there’s a lot of discussions about this.
The 2011 ST4 is quite different and betterer IMHO than the 2010 models.
FWIW I’ve ridden mine fairly hard off, over + down everything I could on my Prophet, but faster + with a wider grin.

the frame in question is a 2009 model. Thinking it’s a big gamble as there was some cracking issues with the earlier models.

oh well thanks for all the help and advice guys.

My mate has the 2011 model fwiw

SO OP, which year model you thinking?

09 one here and it is fab…

hi matt the one ive been offered is an 09 model.

The guy says the only mark on the frame is from a little chainsuck which is what worries me.

In which case…

FAB bike, great , feels like more than the 110mm travel at the back, seems to come alive the faster and more technical the riding, and needs a bit more handling than longer travel bikes, but that is half the fun.

But you may want to factor in the cost of new rear stays (@£120 if I recall right). Mine snapped, but after 3+ years of riding in Peak and Scotland. Great support from Orange.

I love mine,loads of fun, and thats what we do it for! 😛

First ride after buying it, 4 Passes in a day.. 😯

As is now.

the thing that worries me is the chainstay snapping issues and replacement. £120 on top of the frame make it a very expensive purchase.

oh and any idea what if i do decide to buy i should offer for a 2009 frame in good condition?

ahh well, another white un then…

I have a 2010 model and really like it as well. Someone was selling a 09 swing arm in the classifieds, if you want a cheap fallback http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-hope-seat-clamp-stem-orange-bar-st4-swingarm

Is there anyway to stop the chainsuck? is it a frame thing or a chainset thing?

i’d be putting on brand new components so that should be ok.

I like mine (2010). As Matt says, feels like it’s got more travel than it does and the faster you ride it the better it becomes.

Not a great climber, in all honesty, and you have to run the shock at 30%+ sag, I found, for best performance but that compromises climbing a bit.

Only had chainsuck once, with the XT chainset which came with it. Fitted my XTR and not had a problem.

I’d say though that if you’re in any doubt, look elsewhere or buy new, as you’ll constantly be thinking “what if…”

the early round chainstays break..
the later square chainstays are a lot beefier 😀

Ok guys I think your right. If I end up buying a new rear end I will have over spent.

Cheers

what year is that one? it looks like a completely different rear end to the one im looking at.

Sounds like the one you’re looking at has had the 2011 chain stays fitted – they’re small welded box section ones rather than the round ones in the picture above.

I’ve had both – my 1st a white 18″ broke but not at the chain stays – the weld on the down tube shock mounting cracked. Dealer and Orange were very good a sorting and as it was just at the time they were swapping to the redesigned 2011 frame I had a bit of a wait but got one of those on warranty. The suspension redesign is quite fundamental on later frame with shock mounting straight through onto top tube.2011 ST4

First bike was a real hoot albeit my first full sus so nothing to compare with. I did like others get the odd bit of chain suck though. New bike with box stays is less flexy and I’ve had no chain suck. Seems to lap up whatever I throw at it locally and was great round CYB recently.

think the one im looking at has the 09 chainstays i just think it looks totally different around the brake mount to the one above.