Hi, would appreciate any advice on these three bikes from owners.I have ridden the Five and Zesty and they are both excellent. I'm 5ft7 and weigh about 64kg. My riding is pretty basic but improving, I don't do huge jumps or drops and enjoy a good climb!
Looking to buy a do-it-all bike as I'm off to Morzine for a week but mainly ride in Surrey, Swinley and other local trails.
Thanks!
canyon bikes.
sounds like the lapierre will suit you best.
None of them are built for huge jumps/drops although the five is a pretty good descender.
Hi, re Canyon Bikes, I bought a nerve XC 5.0 in May but I don't like it therefore looking to change.
Never ridden the Pitch so any views are very welcome.
Zesty they rock 8)
No experience of the pitch but have ridden the lapierre and the orange.
I'm 5'7", 72 kg's, mainly ride trail centres and pick up my new 17" Five tomorrow!
I enjoy the climbs so expected to prefer the zesty based on reviews but in my opinion the five was much better uphill.
If you're in that price bracket and like the up's, have a look at the Santa cruz nickel, the marketing is right 'it descends like bigger bike than it is' deliberated over this and the five for about a week and it was a very close call.
sure canyon bike geometry would suit a good climb.
cant go wrong with either a 5 or zesty though..orange seem to have the market.i would'nt have one not keen on em.
i really like the new Trek's miself,not the fashion at the minute though..
buy the five, just ace and buying one keeps a Yorkshire man in beer money 😀
Zesty they rock
+1 
i really like the new Trek's miself,not the fashion at the minute though..
Why is that? 18 months ago the Fuel EX was the bike to have ... two mates of mine have 'em & love 'em ... they're obviously good bikes, but they don't get a mention anymore.
buy the five, just ace and buying one keeps a Yorkshire man in beer money
And buying a Zesty will keep a Frenchman in Vin.
Blower - yes it's a good climber. However it is SO harsh!! Seems to want to throw you off at any given opportunity. Nasty 👿
Thanks for the replies.
I had a Zesty. It was alright. Didn't like going down too much, and the super long chainstays made for interesting handling (from someone who races DH's perspective anyway).
Tried a friends 5, and ended up buying one. The Maxle back end makes it a lot stiffer, and the shorter stays make it a lot more playful. Seems to fit me better too.
5 all the way, of course folk hate them and are made from re cycled filling cabinets, but they are a hoot to ride and bomb proof.
If not a 5 then always a heckler which is also a minter
I love my Pitch pro, fantastic do it all bike!
I asked Guy Kesteven what he thought of them on facebook heres his reply 'Congrats on getting a Pitch Pro. The only reason that wasn't one of the shortlisted bikes in the WMB bike of the year was because Spesh told us they weren't going to get anymore. Eejits!
Anyway you are lucky enough to have one!'
That was a good enough recommendation to me, he's ridden 1,000's of bikes!
I can't imagine any of those 3 bikes being rubbish though 😀
Which did you prefer? get that one
They are not what i would call all'rounders.
I've got a five and is amazing at trail centers with a winch to the tip and plummet to the bottom.
But for a xc ride round where I live it sucks the life out the ride.
It just make everything sooooo easy and my Soul is so much more fun at general riding.
My pal has a Trek Fuel and he rides it everywhere, but for me I'd stick to a 100mm ish full suss like an Orange ST4 or something similar.
Those are all great bikes but the Zesty's the most balanced one out of the 3 IMO, if I had to ride down a mountain I'd go Five or Pitch as they just edge it but if I had to ride up the mountain first then I'd go Zesty...
I tested the Zesty and the Five, ended up with a Five. The Zesty was alright but the Five felt like a pair of old boots. It climbs very well, descends even better, its simple, and excellent customer service.
The only downside is no one will like you.
Actually... I've reconsidered, I'd get the Pitch Pro and spend the change on a holiday somewhere with proper mountains and lots of chairlifts.
the Five felt like a pair of old boots
Spot on! I was trying to think of a concise way of describing how they feel and that's pretty good.
You might not want to do drops and jumps now, a year ago I didn't either but things change and if/when you do, you could do a lot worse than a 5 to help you develop your skills. I'm not saying you won't find that with any other bike ever! But from my experience the 5 has made it feel really natural.
One more thing....
But for a xc ride round where I live it sucks the life out the ride.
I disagree,unless you live somewhere totally flat, it might be forgiving but that just makes me want to push it harder and that where the real fun begins and where the bike excels.
The only downside is no one will like you.
Yep, but you won't care.
Much as I hate to disappoint you JP, Orange don't make a 17" 5.
They go from 16 to 18 to 20" frames.
If you've been sold a 17" frame the shop needs some staff that know their stuff.
The Nickel climbs well, but has a poor stock fork fitted in the shape of the Sektor R. IT has no damping that I could find, and it dived under braking and bump response which left the bike feeling like the front end was too low, pitching the rider over the front of the bike.
Not good.
With a better fork, the bike would be excellent.
If you're thiniking about the Zesty, the Spicy climbs just as well and gives you 20mm more travel to boot.
I rode on the MBR test in 2008 which put the Zesty against the 5 and a few other bikes.
The Zesty felt more like my Coiler than a trail bike on th climbs and descents, although it was a bit quicker overall.
I changed mt Coler for a 5 after that test, and haven't regretted it at all.
Much as I hate to disappoint you JP, Orange don't make a 17" 5.
Check the Orange website fella. They do now sell a 17 inch.
That's a bit of a shock to me, to be honest. Michael Bonney always said they'd never need to conform to the euro size standard.
The times they are a changing.
There was a call for it from customers for years, so it's good to see it.
If you've been sold a 17" frame the shop needs some staff that know their stuff.
Lol pwned 😉
I haven't ridden the zesty or the five, but love my pitch. After selling my DH bike it now has to cover as a mini DH bike and it is fantastic, although admittedly the only original part is the frame. Even with my climb compromising spec it was still great fun at Dalbeattie recently, particularly when pointed downhill. Oh and don't forget that Specialized warranty is one of the best out there, not sure I would say the same of a certain British company.
If you've been sold a 17" frame the shop needs some staff that know their stuff.
17" new for 2012 - customer demand meant many wanted the the 18" reach but with a bit more standover. Given I'm 5'8" and had to buy an 18", I wished they'd done that size in 2008...
i really like the new Trek's miself,not the fashion at the minute though..Why is that? 18 months ago the Fuel EX was the bike to have ... two mates of mine have 'em & love 'em ... they're obviously good bikes, but they don't get a mention anymore.
fashion changes.what will take over from the 5?
im probably wrong though,just my 2 cents worth :-),its all 5's 5's 5's init!.. their marketing strategy is a good un.
Northwind has a point to be fair - on the VFM stakes the Pitch is awesome.
A 17 inch Orange 5 has been a special order "Strange" option for some time. A sort of custom half way house between the 16 and the 18. I was offered a 17 option earlier this year. For the 2012 madel year the 17 is a standard size. From the Orange web site:
Frame Size 14" 16" 17" 18" 20" 22"
C. Top Tube 542 557 570 576 596 616
D. Effective TT 564 582 602 602 620 640
G. Head Tube 120 130 130 130 150 170
H. Wheelbase 1096 1116 1140 1140 1160 1175
Standover 680 716 735 755 791 820
You can see the differnces between the 16, 17 and 18 are small but could make all the difference. I'm 5'7" and ended up going for the 16 and with the addition of a dropper post it fits me spot on for the various types of riding I do. That was Holmbury Hill yesterday, local trails on Sunday and the Brighton Big Dog next Saturday.
There are no differences except more stand over.
Remedy 7 is also pretty good for the price.
I had the same dilemma a few months ago and actually ignored the pitch at first because I really disliked specialized.
I test rode 2 zestys and the orange 5 and 5am in various sizes but couldn't decide what to buy. Also test rode a lot of £3k+ bikes but finally gave the pitch a go and bought it straight away!
Of course the price of £1700 had nothing to do with my decision 🙂 they even gave me £170 of free bike bits!
Yeti 575 all the way!!
I love my Zesty but only on the gnarl. The dude above that said such bikes suck the fun out of less technical stuff was right IMO. However, if you like to ride in the alps and only have one bike then I doubt you'll be disappointed by either Zesty or 5. I think anyone with really polarised opinions on such things (and there are a few above) either hasn't ridden both or is into the princess and the pea terrain.
princess and the pea terrain.
haha as in?
You know the story: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Princess_and_the_Pea
Basically being over sensitive.
This thread is amazing - even by STW standards. So many polarised views made interesting because I've ridden 2 of the bikes being discussed. Some of the comments made I agree with, some I totally disagree - just shows you how subjective riding a bike is.
FWIW, I've got a Zesty and bought it after riding several mates Fives and demoing a Zesty (and a Spicy which felt great on the DHs but heavy on the ups). The Five is an amazing bike and a great all-rounder for such a simple design. The Zesty is just that little bit more "fun". It feels lighter & more chuckable on the DHs and the climbs just feel like you're cheating - I've got it up things I'd struggle to ride on my HT. It also soaks up small high frequency stuff better.......all IMHO obviously!
I guess the key fact is you can't beat a test ride, especially when laying out that much cash.
Zesty is getting a re-vamp for 2012 with potential improvements to geometry and suspension, so make sure you get a good deal if you buy a 2011.
I've owned a Zesty and ridden a Five - both are great bikes.
don't forget that Specialized warranty is one of the best out there, not sure I would say the same of a certain British company.
hmm. chap i know recently attempted to get a warranty replacement from spesh on a 4-5 year old frame ( 'lifetime warranty' ), as he'd bust the swing-arm. was told that the swing-arm is not part of the frame. 🙄
If you end up choosing a Zesty, now's the time to buy ... Discounts on 2011 Zesty's have started to be advertised ... 10% at Evans for 514, 714 & 914 but you can get better.
I got 18% & i950r included earlier in the year - so better deals will be available now.
2012 has been altered a little, geometry, bb height, chainstay design ...gilding the lilly? Depends on your point of reference.
Orange 5 = Landrover (British, ugly, rock solid)
Zesty = An Alfa (European, beautiful, can require a bit of time/money to keep them running sweetly)
Both great bikes, try both and see which you prefer. I went with a Zesty for what it's worth.
All good bikes, the pitch is probably slight too dh orientated for the op.
I went for a 5 (again).
Phew !! From all of the above posts I gues I need to try the Pitch and decide once and for all which is the best for me, thanks for your opinions. Lisa.
I have a Five.. its great.
am looking to keep it built up in full XC guise
and buy another 5 and keep it in AM guise.. cos am sick of swapping bits to swap between modes ...
alternately I could get an Alpine 160 instead.. hmmm..
HTH.
Rode the Alpine 160 last week, bloody good downhill, weight is 33lbs just under 15kg so can be a bit of an effort at times. Nice bike tho!!
Picked my new five up today and rode ti for the 1st time didnt climb as well as my remedy 8 but was so much more fun on the down its great for just flicking the back end around. Test rode a Zesty at the start of the year found it climbed amazing but it didnt seem as chuckable as the five but still descended well. Can't comment on the specialized. When your looking at that price range would you not be better off considering the stumpy evo
Had a pitch comp, they have a very long wheel base, I'm 6'1 and the large seemed like a barge, whereas now I have a Santa cruz heckler, also 19" large and it is perfect.
If you thinking orange then consider a heckler or as they have been compared numerous times and seems to be evenly split. Comes down to vfm, preference on looks I suppose. Could t justify an extra 500 for a Five or £400 if you count the rp23 upgrade.
Wouldn't buy any of those , I have a blur Xc 2nd hand frame built up by me, if I wanted a longer travel bike like you do I'd get a blur lt , the vpp is excellent don't even use the lockout.
If you thinking orange then consider a heckler or as they have been compared numerous times and seems to be evenly split.
I have a 2011 Five and my brother has a 2011 Heckler.
There is no similarity whatsoever except they are both single pivot, they don't ride at all like each other. In fact they couldn't be farther apart in terms of how they ride.
As mentioned above, I think a Stumpy (either regular or Evo) would be a better bike from the Specialized line up if you're comparing to a 5 or a Zesty. Pitch is quite a lot cheaper and heavier.
Ok didn't really consider Stumpy, will investigate
Flow, where did I say they ride the same, I say evenly split. Not trying be funny but.why are you getting so arsey about it?
I wasn't saying you did, or getting arsey, just pointing out to the OP that they ride nothing like each other.
Spesh warranty is on the FRONT END ONLY - not the swingarm.
I went through 2 front ends, couple of chainstays and seatstays during my Pitch ownership.
I'm riding the same trails.... and just as hard... on a yr 2000 Patriot frame. I know which company will get my money come shiny new bike time!
I went from Stumpy to Zesty, IMHO because the angles were very similar but the Zesty is just such a more capable bike and it seemed to have that 'relentless zing' that seemed missing in the stumpy which I really liked as well. It was a safer bike to ride and thats not ment in a bad way. Guess my riding has moved on. Very happy zesty owner who hits the UK and European trails 😉
xiphon, I guess no company is perfect, but you are the only pitch wrecker I have heard of. From eight mates on orange half had frame issues and got zero love from the warranty department. Maybe it depends on where you get your bike, my LBS always sort me out.
Of the 3, I'd get a 5 or a Zesty for Swinely/your riding (and I own a pitch!).
My Pitch is great, but I took mine to Swinely and it made it hard work, it climbs as well as any other 30lb bike that slack, but Swinely rewards something nimble and steep, the pitch handles more like a very light DH bike, whereas the zesty is more like a very slack trail bike?
The Pitch doesn't come into it's own untill it's out of its comfort zone, you have to be really pushing it through some propper terrain before it leaves eveything else in it's wake. Even on FC black runs it feels stifled, so the hardtail still gets a lot of use.
Spesh warranty is on the FRONT END ONLY - not the swingarm.
No, its 2 years swingarm and 5 years front end. Orange is 1 year for each???
The Trek EX series are very good bikes. Well priced too, worth a look (and I don't even ride a Trek!)
Personally I wouldnt buy a bike based on riding one week a year in the Alps....especially if you ride some where like surrey the remainder of the time.
What realistically are you riding? Are you not doing jumps/gaps at the moment, but looking to, or not really bothered about doing stuff like that + looking to do lots of DH stuff?
If you really like climbing and enjoy it equally to going down hill then I'd certainly look at bikes that will be better at climbing.
Personally Ive never liked the Orange 5, never seen why so many people like it...
No, its 2 years swingarm and 5 years front end. Orange is 1 year for each???
3 years for both on the 5.
Just been on the Orange site to check their warranty details... Orange 5 frame is warrantied for 3 years only, but they warranty the pivot bearings for 5!
PMSL!
I want to like the 5, I really do, but that is just ridiculous when a company is saying basically they're less confident their frame will last a period of time than the pivot bearings... And on a £1400 frame too!
If it was my money and I was after a 140mm trailbike, I'd be spending my money elsewhere... Shame Cannondale killed off the Prophet to be honest, but I really like the look of the Saracen Ariel.
Shame Cannondale killed off the Prophet
For a post slagging off frame failiures thats an odd ending!
The reson I went for the pitch over the 'dale was the prophet seemed to be a return to their good old 'crackandfail' days.
Just been on the Orange site to check their warranty details... Orange 5 frame is warrantied for 3 years only, but they warranty the pivot bearings for 5!
No, it means they believe that any manufacturing defects should become apparent within that timeframe, if you break any frame that's your own fault, if the frame brakes thats a manufcturing fault, spesh put this quite well somewhere saying words to the effect of "if the frame snaps it's a defect, if you do a gap jump, come up short and bend a tube that's your own silly fault". A warenty is not a crash replacement scheme.
Spesh - when I had my pitch - front end was lifetime, back end was 1yr. Parts were 1yr too.
lifetime on main frame and 5 year on seat-chainstay according to this.
but then this says xiphon is correct.
Mboy posting negative comments on a thread about Oranges bikes, what a surprise 🙄
Grow up!
Its been a long while since I've owned an Orange, and they'll never see another penny of my money, mostly due to their piss poor customer care an attitude when I went through a couple of their sub5's back in the day.
As it transpires, I prefer the ride of a decent four bar system. The question is, what do you prefer?
They'll give quite a different ride - you might like the way the orange stiffens under power so it feels firm, but hooks up more readily of square edged bumps, or you might prefer the more fluid zesty that will track rough stuff better under power, but may feel squishy and slack.
What do you want from your bike?
I guess something that will be steady going downhill but still allow me to climb as well. I'm fairly new to MTB but ride a fair bit and my confidence is growing. I'd like to progress to small drops/jumps eventually; nothing too outrageous!!
What about a Spicy - anyone had experience?
wrecker - MemberThe Trek EX series are very good bikes. Well priced too, worth a look (and I don't even ride a Trek!)
them orange 5;s dont half dent easy..
The Trek EX series are very good bikes. Well priced too, worth a look (and I don't even ride a Trek!)
I had an EX9, it was shite downhill, fast up and along though.
Remedy = nice
thread closed. 🙂
FunkyDunc - Member
Personally I wouldnt buy a bike based on riding one week a year in the Alps....especially if you ride some where like surrey the remainder of the time.
I actually have a view on that. I ride my Pitch around Surrey all the time and also ride it in the alps. Out there it has the forks out at 140mm, no pro pedal as well as dual ply tyres and DH tubes. The saddle also never comes up. In surrey I ride it mainly at 120mm, single plys and raise the saddle for climbing (although there are plenty of hidden trails in surrey that require the full travel etc - hence why you find Brendan Fairclough and Bernard Kerr ragging it around the local trails down here). It rides excellently in both places. I agree with the previous poster that says the Pitch rides best when it is pushed out of its comfort zone though.
I think its a good choice, but it can require some muscle to manoeuvre it up hills at times, but then mine is a 9 speed.
Pitch rides best when it is pushed out of its comfort zone though
That's when it breaks.
Maybe dragged kicking and screaming into a completely different comfort zone, rather than nudged ever so slightly?
"I'd like to progress to small drops/jumps eventually; nothing too outrageous!!"
So you would be fine on any 100/120mm bike.
There appears to be alot of marketing and hype at the minute that you need to get long travel 'All Mountain' bikes to even ride out of your door, when all most people do is ride around trail centres an XC stuff. Certainly if you enjoy climbing I'd look at shorter travel and steeper geometry bike that you will enjoy now, which can hand small jumps and drops easily. Then if you skills improve you might want to buy a more freeridey bike.
Of course I'll get flamed for saying this...
You should buy my 2008 Cannondale Prophet frame that I'm about to sell!
Pitch is quite a lot cheaper [s]and heavier[/s].
29.2lb without pedals, stock but with high rollers not eskars.
I'm slowly transfering lighter bits over from other bikes and might buy some new wheels. Aiming to keep it sub-30lb with flat pedals, reverb and maybe a coil shock.
That's when it breaks.
You do seem to have a pretty big downer on them! Don't you usualy acompany it with the pic of a big gap jump and the tag "1st ride out". It's still a 30lb trail bike, not a freeride/downill/hucking machine!