[Closed] Orange 5 - Ultimate 'do it all' bike??

I ride an Orange Five and have done (the same bike) for 4 years.

I love it.

Good bike yes... Ultimate no. There's lots of stuff out there with better suspension systems nowadays.

I think geometry and balance are far more important to a bikes overall handling than having a sophisticated suspension system

I've been out riding the Singletrack test bike Five as linked above today and it was ace. It's going to be reviewed in the next issue (58). Lots of neat features on it to make a great bike for riding hard,

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i dont know why, but i like fives...........i quite fancy owning one.

I have a Five and i really like it but WTF is going on with that new logo it looks like something from an 80`s bowling alley.

ed-o Having read how you have your Mojo built which would you choose between the 5 ^^^ and the Mojo ?

It's just a shame it looks like somebody built it themselves in a shed.

I have recently owned a 5 and now have a SC Blur 4X. Once I got used to the way the suspension feels and arrived at the right shock set up I thought they are both great. The 5 felt more skippy through the rough stuff and more jumpy / flicky, hence a real laugh to ride. The Blur 4x feels plusher than 4.5 inches of travel should and rides like a mini DH bike that can be ridden XC / uphill too. I think that perhaps the 5 feels a little faster across flatter trails due to the way the suspension stiffens up under power, but having ridden timed laps of my local XC loop on each there isn't much in it at all. It took me a while to get used to the Blur coming off the Orange but now I have I like it alot.

However, just got all the bearings replaced the Blur, I hope that doesn't have to happen very often otherwise I'll be changing back I think! There is a lot to be said for simplicity.

There is no ultimate bike. Just one you like, love or hate etc. So ride them and see what you fancy.

I have a 5, I love it. And brake jack is not possible on a single pivot bike. Brake jack is when you have the caliper on the seat stay and a pivot on the seat stay between it and the wheel. So the braking force goes to compress the frame. On a bike when the caliper and wheel are attached to the same unmoving piece of metal then how can the brake force affect the suspension?

Those DH single pivot bikes with the extra linkage on the caliper were to stop the back of the bike coming UP when you brake as your weight shifts forward, IIRC.

Quite possibly on the 5 the extra damping required to iron out bob could well contribute to the rough feel on rough descents. I happen to think the original Manitou shock handled this particular situation better than the Fox RP23 that you now get with it.

Oh and the 5's frame is very stiff indeed and has one great big bearing which lasts for ages and is really easy to change.

soup - if you could build me one in your shed ill have 2 please

ha the 5 is quick with the right rider regardless of what design, look , etc etc , blah , blah. end of thread .

+1 for its the rider not the bike stupid

it annoys me how people say how noisy the 5 is aswell , I've never noticed on fast desents , rocky terrain etc . if I paid attention to it I would be either a ) going to slow or b ) hitting a tree or the floor at high speed

Even now, orange rely on a huge dollop of compression damping to isolate pedal bob

a lot of people like 'em cos they're simple and they work. pricey? yep. there's little doubt in my mind that you can work all kinds of magic with more sophisticated/complicated linkages. buy one or don't..

I love me 5 AM model and would say its one of the best do it all
frames out there.I ride mine all year round with no issues.
Ive just put a Manitou ISX-6 shock on the rear and feels even better.
The frame is near on bullit proof
Very quick and cheap do it yourself bearing change

In saying that when we do Walyes or a weekend doing Downhill
tracks the 5 is the only frame back without swing arm bearing
issues when the other do it all bikes bearings sieze up

Regarding service Orange are brilliant and could not help me enough

jedi - Member
its not about the bike you ride.

buy the bike you want not the bike you think you need

And

mojo5pro - Member
I think geometry and balance are far more important to a bikes overall handling than having a sophisticated suspension system

+1

😀

a lot of negative comments about VFM of the 5's, but they are at the same price point as taiwanese assembled American single pivots.

Jackal +1

Sparking chains - when was the last world cup win on a 224? the same rider is now on vpp and still winning which proves the point entirely that it is more about the rider not the bike.

personally the 5 is a bike that i admire, especially the one that singletrack are testing at the mo, however I am always led back to a Blur LT. Maybe that will change when i demo one.

These threads are almost pointless because you will always get people for and against, best thing to do is demo one and choose what works for you. In this day and age I believe it is the only way to purchase a bike.

Geometry and fit are far mor important. Single pivots can be tuned to perfection if you get the shock custom tuned or if you know what you're doing. My SC Superlight was ace, infact I preferred my Morzine trip on that over its replacement 5 Spot a few years later.

I did a demo day on an Orange Five a couple of years ago and loved it, tried it back to back with a Pace RC405. Both bikes were excellent. I bought the RC405 in the end purely 'cause I got a better deal on the frame, but would have happily taken the Five home too 😀

I could find no real weakness in the Five out on the trails. Not the lightest frame in it's class but certainly no slouch on the climbs either if you have a reasonable level of fitness.

Personally, I'd say you need to demo ride one or borrow a mate's if you can. If you like it and it suits your riding then go for it. You could spend all day deliberating on STW like this and find a huge range of views on this topic, but nothing will make up your mind as well as riding the bike.

I've had a couple of 5's, I did like them but the Chumba XCL I have now and to some extent the Specialized Pitch I had prior felt better all round. I certainly have no regrets in moving on and going multipivot and I am Orange bikes fan and run a 224 which is very much single pivot 🙂

The Chumba XCL is a real do it all bike in my eyes with the riding I do, the Five when I ran it with 160mm up front didn't feel good at all, it's sweetspot was 140mm.

The Five is a great trail bike but for me it wasn't the Ultimate 'do it all bike'

"I think geometry and balance are far more important to a bikes overall handling than having a sophisticated suspension system"

True, but you can have good geometry, balance, and better suspension.

What I do find quite funny is that the Five's changed so much over the years yet every time they change it, it has perfect geometry 😉 And so did the last one.

True, but you can have good geometry, balance, and better suspension.

There is no such thing as the ultimate do it all bike. All bikes have compromises, and only you can decide which ones you are willing to make.

Try stuff out, see what feels best, or just buy the one you just want the most. Makes no real difference, they're all as fast as each other and whichever one you buy will cope with far more than 99% of the riding population would likely throw at it.

I don't actually think there are any terrible bikes out there these days, they're all pretty damn good bits of kit.

as above it depends on what your definition of ultimate do it all bike is. Having said that for ease of use, versatility, handling, reliability and general UK proof-ness then its hard to beat. You see loads of them out on the trails.......can all these people be wrong?

After watching Danny Macasgill,Aimee Dix and Rowan Sorrell ride down Nan Bield (The Hard way!)the other week It really opend my eyes as to how good the Orange five is in the extremities of the Lakes and as an all rounder.

check out the vid below,It covers all the kind of trails your ever likely to do...Awesome!

http://www.singletrackworld.com/2010/04/video-mojo-trail-diaries/

TBH that video says more about the riders than the bikes.

TBH that video says more about the riders than the bikes

Danny had only just built,and ridden his bike a few days before and was already well up to DH speeds.

Orange Bikes could have quite easily put everyone on longer travel, slacker bikes for the Nan Bield shoot, but stuck with the Five,showing just how versatile and good it really is. 8)

Gavgas, you could have put those three on any trail bike from any manufacturer and they would have ridden the trail the same,

Danny had only just built,and ridden his bike a few days before and was already well up to DH speeds.

Says way more about the rider than the bike to me.

Gavgas,

you could have put those three on any trail bike from any manufacturer and they would have ridden the trail the same,

True but have you ever ridden Down Nan Bield?

To most riders including the walkers,riding ANY bike down that side to Haweswater is a challenge,my point is that the three riders made the bike look very capable on all trails and the video highlights this.

Says way more about the rider than the bike to me.

They are exeptional riders on Orange fives,I still think its a great bike,thats all. 🙄

They could of done it on Grifters though.

Very true Northwind. But it did show that the bike/frame can be
riden in most or any situations and get you back hopefully in
one piece.
Put a Manitou ISX-6 on the rear and the bike rides even Better!!!

There is no such thing as the ultimate do it all bike.

If you had this as the title how many different results/replies would you get. Asking opinion on one frame tends to attract a disproportionate result. Anyone disagree's with Five owners and you strangely get a blacklash.

Why?

Pros on bikes. If it was their money, what would they [i]really[/i] chose to ride though? 🙄

Very true Northwind. But it did show that the bike/frame can be
riden in most or any situations and get you back hopefully in
one piece.

True, but not a feature unique to the bike though.

"Very true Northwind. But it did show that the bike/frame can be riden in most or any situations and get you back hopefully in one piece."

You don't think the same is true of other frames? We've all seen that vid of Chris Akrigg beasting his Teocali frinstance, and I've seen Danny Mac hurtling down less technical but faster trails on a Marin of some sort that he'd borrowed an hour before, 2 name just 2, but you can pretty much guarantee they could've shot those sequences on a Pitch, Zesty, Fuel Ex, Ariel, Trance... Or whatever other 5 inch trail bouncers you care to name.

Well to be honest Northwind Three friends of mine have the Giant
and another has an Enduro and Heckler has i have said before
Where we have done hard continuous Downhill sections they have
bearing problems and my friend with the Heckler likes skidding around
tight corners and the swing arm bolt keeps snapping i do the same and have never had any issues.
Also seen the thread on bike radar regarding the broken Zesty 514
and someone refers to it has the Snapierre

I wouldnt say its the Ultimate as thats down to what each individual ride
and a pointless argument to get into.

But I would say the Orange 5 is amongst the best of them.

nice one grantway 😉

Best of all its British Beef!

I have a Commencal Meta,sniff 🙄

Ah Grantway, with all due respect, you do talk a load of s**te 😆

Danny could of chosen any bike, he chose an Orange 🙂

I quite fancy one of these, but have no idea how they can justify charging nearly £2000 more than a similarly specced Rock Lobster 853 hard tail.

[url= http://www.orangebikes.co.uk/bikes/2010/five_se/ ]Five SE specs and price. [/url]

I'd love it if somone could honestly explain why Orange bikes are so pricey compared to the competition.
It's a hell of a shame, 'cos everyone I've ever spoken to out on the trails has told me how much they love theirs.

I'd love it if somone could honestly explain why Orange bikes are so pricey compared to the competition.
It's a hell of a shame, 'cos everyone I've ever spoken to out on the trails has told me how much they love theirs

You have answered your own question there have you not

Rusty, you're comparing it to a steel hardtail off Merlin....

I'd love it if somone could honestly explain why Orange bikes are so pricey compared to the competition.
It's a hell of a shame, 'cos everyone I've ever spoken to out on the trails has told me how much they love theirs

Orange bikes are well priced considering the relatively low production runs compared to bigger factory Brands.
Its the exclusive Orange Heritage/family your buying into, and not just another trail centre orientated all terrain bike,that's what makes them so special imho 😉

Danny could of chosen any bike, he chose an Orange

well said that man!

Its the exclusive Orange Heritage/family your buying into, and not just another trail centre orientated mountain bike,that's what makes them so special imho

Bag o'**** alert!