Anybody ridden both a patriot and an alpine 160? I want to know if the alpine 160 climbs better than a patriot because i'm thinking of a new ride this year and cant decide between alpine 160 or a five to replace my patriot. Given that i'm not as stupid as i used to be a five would be a sensible choice but what kind of drops can a five handle before you risk damaging it?? And i have a certain brand loyalty to Orange so wont be looking at other makes!!

I got a 5 se and love it. It will cope with pretty much anything apart from full on dh as long as you are a smooth rider and don't build it with superlight bits.

Regarding the 5 orange did say to me depending if your a heavy
rider or a lighter one would depend on the the size of the drop.

Orange told me that say Rowan sowell he can do a 10 foot drop on it
may be with 160 forks up front as opposed to Ben Cathro which they
say is an heavier rider and can do a 6 ft drop on it.

Il think the Alpine 160 would be your best bet also being it
is said to be a better ride than the last Patriot and it is
lighter too.
You can get a medium down to 32 lbs.

If its DownHill ground coverage and 7-6 ft drop
then I would say the Orange 5AM which I have the 2008 model.
weighs at 29.5 lbs with a Fox Talas 160 upfront.

You could save some money and get for your Patriot a 160mm float fork, 190mm c/c float shock and the reduced travel shock carrier from Orange. It will be no 5 and still rakey but might be what you're looking for. I have it for mine and it's quite nice but must admit I prefer it with coil and full travel both ends.

Thats another option, i've already got the 190mm set up on the back end with a dhx air, which the jury is still out on!! I've seen some cheap lyriks on ebay too. Its just that most of the other componentry is on its last legs too but i'm sure i could get it back on its feet.

Ive got a five and a patriot LT and have ridden the alpine. I rode the alpine with an RP23 and i think it climbed better due to the pro pedal where as my patriot has a coil DHX shock.
It felt like a heavier five but it seemed to have more grip from the rear wheel when climbing on loose and rooty surfaces.

I love my Alpine 160,it climbs better than the TNT Turner 5 spot i had before and descends like a mini 224.I have mine built up with a dhx5 coil and 36Van's.

The Alpine 160 does have the same rear end as the 224 but with
thin metal pieces attached to the front and back end of the swing arm
instead of the full swing arm
this saves on weight but also makes it around 2lbs heavier than the 5 frame.

I like the idea that the alpine climbs better than a patriot and decsends well but what would it be like on a 40 mile bimble???

I was in the same boat about 6mts ago and was dead set on a blinged up alpine 160.

Had a go on a 2008 5am and loved It, it could handle what I could throw at it but was happy on all day rides.

I ended up getting a 2009 5am which has slacker angles than the 2008 and I love it. But I'm fairly light 12st and the guys over at orange said that they only know of a few frames failing and one of those was rowen sorrells and as you know he hammers his fives.

Anybody ridden both a patriot and an alpine 160?

Yes. Although it does of course depend on set up, the Alpine does climb better then my Patriot.

Having said that, I prefer riding the Patriot as I find the BB height on the Alpine just a bit too low.

I used to have an old Sub 5 and I loved that until I, ahem, bent it riding down a DH course in the Alps. Having said that I see loads of them (5's) out in the Alps now and they do seem like baby Patriots.

There – that was no help at all, was it?

I really should decide whether to refurbish my existing patriot, or go brand new. Thats the ultimate question i guess! I do like the bb height of the patriot and the fact its got a great standover feel to it too. I'm sold on keeping it now i think. All of which now begs the question what fork/rear end combo do you all prefer, i've got 888's on at minute cos they're the only working set i've got at moment!

I have done some 30 odd mile rides on mine no problem,it is always going to be harder work than a xc bike but im happy to live with that for the fun on the downs.The reason i chose the alpine is that at 15st kitted up i felt i was a little too heavy for a 5,i have also started riding some downhill on it which it handles very well.

Regarding Broken 5 Frames When I was at Orange They say about Three a year return But not Identical damage to the frames.
If you go for the 5 AM it maybe wise to get the rear Maxle
not that I found any problems with the rear end of the 2008 frame.

Sorry for bumping an old post, but I've been away. I sold my Patriot and Stumpy FSR for a 2010 Alpine. Seemed like the only proper 'all mountain' bike, that wasn't just a long travel trail bike, and could cope with my lack of finesse. I went for the Talas upgrade, but in all honesty I haven't bothered dropping the travel (yet), but they do look better in white. Its a bit slower uphill, but downhill I've managed to stick with my mate (just about) on his Foes Mono DH, have done 15ft jumps and landed flat, fell of a few times, and find I'm riding stuff I would normally back off on, even in the wet, a lot faster. I thought about the Five AM too, but thought the Alpine would be better for chucking around. Gotta say I absolutely love it, and it doesn't sound like a filing cabinet falling down the side of a hill.

For the back end, how about a cane creek double barrel? Rather pricy but if you were thinking of buying a new frame anyway…..?!