Ah, I did exactly this (prompted by the local theivery).
The 5 is a much better descender than the Cake. Loads of times I baulked at things on the way down because the steep angles on the Cake made things quite sketchy on steep stuff. It’s also flexy.
HOWEVER
It’s an absolutely brilliant climber. Must be the best 5″ climber by a mile, and this is what it was designed for – a 5″ bike that goes up and along really well too. It’s named after the saying ‘you can’t have your cake and eat it’ – well in this case you ALMOST can. It’s a brilliant enduro race bike and great for all dayers. The only thing it struggles with is if you want to really slam it on the descents. I’ve become a bit faster down with my 5 but that could also be due to me riding the Patriot more.
So it depends on your outlook. The Cake is brilliant at what it does, no question. I was initially shopping for a Spesh FSR but when I demoed a Cake I was blown away and bought one. However I was coming from a hardtail background, and I really felt the sluggishness of the FSR on the climbs so maybe that’s why the Cake felt so good.
If it hadn’t been nicked I’d still be riding it. And still be avoiding those steep bits a little more.
