Jeffus / Flow......its still 2 for one with free prescription sunglasses 😉
eher shore, at last someone talking sense. Im sure flow will find something to correct you on.
Anti-Squat-Kinematics
Oh i just love marketing speak
flow is a troll and seems to have nothing to back anything he says up!
I think you'll find there's more than one troll in this thread...
Are you lot still on about this?
I have a five - love its geometry and versatility. Built with Coils front and back as a do it all bike. I can do Iners DH lines one day then a cross country mega loop the next.
Its basic and simple and gets the job done.
many of the quality frames manufactured in Taiwan are made by small, specialist manufacturing plants which are often family-owned and run by business people who have invested huge amounts of money into the latest manufacturing technology and training for their workforce
Ahhh if I must correct you.
Giant is the world's largest bicycle manufacturer with factories in Taiwan, China, and Europe. Giant, a Taiwanese company started in 1972, manufacturers their own bikes - including the carbon bikes, which is unique in the industry (i.e., most other brands utilize other manufacturers such as Advanced or Martec).
In addition to making their own bikes, Giant also makes, or has made, bikes for many other prominent brands, including Trek, Specialized, Schwinn, and Bianchi. Giant's claim to fame is that they have the most sophisticated and efficient manufacturing facilities in the bicycle industry.
I believe they also manufacture bikes for Santa Cruz.
These bikes are mass-produced, they are definitely not handmade.
I got that from here, I wasn't born with the knowledge, have a read yourself
http://allanti.com/articles/where-was-my-bike-made-pg328.htm
[Jeffus / Flow......its still 2 for one with free prescription sunglasses ]
Ragti you made me laugh, I'm crazy about really bright colours always have been, Neon Green is awsome, even glows in the dark, although my last bike was an anodised grey Nomad, very dull but rides superb.
My reason for the Neon Green was so my mates can easily find me in the gorse on night rides 😀 😀
Only really cheap bikes are made by robots. Everything any of us ride is welded by real people who happen to live abroad.
Ahhh if I must correct you.Giant is the world's largest bicycle manufacturer with factories in Taiwan, China, and Europe. Giant, a Taiwanese company started in 1972, manufacturers their own bikes - including the carbon bikes, which is unique in the industry (i.e., most other brands utilize other manufacturers such as Advanced or Martec).
In addition to making their own bikes, Giant also makes, or has made, bikes for many other prominent brands, including Trek, Specialized, Schwinn, and Bianchi. Giant's claim to fame is that they have the most sophisticated and efficient manufacturing facilities in the bicycle industry.
I believe they also make bike for Santa Cruz.
These bikes are mass-produced
don't worry about it..I've spent time off-shore in the factories making these bikes
even Giant's frames are "hand made", not using robots on some mass production line 😉
Giant have gotten very good at streamlining their production but still employ actual human beings (very skilled ones) to make their frames
robots are not very good at placing tubesets into a jig for tack welding, doing alignment checks and then actually welding the frame
but generally, human hands are involved in manufacturing bicycle frames whether its Giant or smaller outfits like Pacific
If you actually read that link you will learn something
Edit: not directed at anyone in particular
Flow, I'm going to join in the bashing as it seems safe to be part of the crowd..The standard mistake on stw and other forums is to make a crtical reply of someone esles post without first reading it, these seems to be your problem here.
The post above says, crucially "[b]many[/b] of the quality etc etc"
from your reply it appears you read that as [b]most[/b] as otherwise your reply makes little sense..
Of course I could be comitting the 2nd biggest mistake made on stw and other forums, which is assuming that anyone posting is capapble of making sense..
If you actually read that link you will learn something.
read that information 3 years ago, its somewhat out of date and generalises certain manufacturing information
Cannondale are ALL made in Taiwan, not the USA, as are Rocky Mountain and Santa Cruz (not made by Giant, btw)
Jeffus, you are clearly a fan of the 90s with your naff neon Fads !, I bet you are dissapointed peppermint green was not on the list ? 😆
I see a bloke every thursday night on a neon green 5 with matched rims, he even drives a bright red BMW estate (debadged of course) which in other words makes it a 316i !!!, he also probably works in I.T. ?
Built with Coils front and back as a do it all bike. I can do Iners DH lines one day then a cross country mega loop the next
Owning as I do a Patriot, I don't like my 5 on DH courses. Head angle too steep and bars too far away. Of course they need to be like that for riding up stuff which is part of the bike's brief.
2007 model tho.
molgrips - im not saying its the best at those tasks just highlighting for me its a do it all machine that gets me out riding everything.
Possibly jack of all trades master of none (except maybe singletrack trail descents) but to be honest thats all im after.
Yes you are correct, Cannondale moved all its production to Taiwan in 2010 I think. I thought Santa Cruz were made by Giant 😕
A well designed bike, made by hand or machines with good quality control is what is important. Who cares where it's made.The it's made in Halfax by hand so it must be good and one made by robots in Tiawan is crap is clearly bolloc£s statement about the real quality of a particular bike.
RagTi, my wife rolls her eyes every time I build a new bike 😀
It all started with a Vista Orange Mk2 Escort Sport with RS Alloys in 1981,
never had any colour sense since... 😀
1st mountain bike Kona Hoss Beer brown 😕
Scott G zero grey 😕
SC Chameleon Bright Orange 😀
SC Heckler Bright Orange, 😀
two years later repainted Bright Yellow, 😀
SC Superlight Bright Orange 😀
SC Nomad Grey 😕
Yeti Arc Bright Yello and Black 😀
Orange P7 completely White 😀
Giant Reign Grey 😕
Orange 5 Neon Green 😀
I think my final colour has gone off the scale of bad taste but I like it 😀 😀
I think my final colour has gone off the scale of bad taste but I like it 😀
.............confirmed, then again it was probably required to cover the depression caused by riding your previous Giant reign, in grey !
Mk1 1 Escort.....drule ! 8)
Mountainman weren't you crying like a big girl the other day because Ibis had released a new bike that had a better colour than yours or some other ridiculously vacuous reason? No wonder you don't "get" the Orange 5. PS do you wish you were on the MBUK WReCKINGZ CREWZ?
If it wasn't you I apologize profusely for my ire.
As everyone knows, the best bike is the one you currently own.*
I own a Five, and it's not only better than all the other bikes in the universe. It's also better than all the other Fives in the universe. Why? Because it's mine. So there.
* genuine fact.
- is that along the right kind of level this argument as got to now?
A well designed bike, made by hand or machines with good quality control is what is important. Who cares where it's made.
Agreed by most people nowadays it would seem, thankfully...
Giant is the world's largest bicycle manufacturer with factories in Taiwan, China, and Europe. Giant, a Taiwanese company started in 1972, manufacturers their own bikes - including the carbon bikes, which is unique in the industry (i.e., most other brands utilize other manufacturers such as Advanced or Martec).In addition to making their own bikes, Giant also makes, or has made, bikes for many other prominent brands, including Trek, Specialized, Schwinn, and Bianchi. Giant's claim to fame is that they have the most sophisticated and efficient manufacturing facilities in the bicycle industry.
To look at the quality and detail on a cheap, "mass produced" Giant in comparison to a high end, small batch produced bike like an Orange 5... Well anyone not into MTBing would struggle to tell why the Orange cost so much more money. Giant are the world's biggest, and possibly the best, for a reason! I've got 2 Giants (A Defy Road Bike, and a Reign X) in my collection, the quality of finish and the attention to even the most miniscule of detail on them is staggering compared to most other brands.
The 5 is a good bike, Orange have their place in the market for sure, and I wish them good luck. In fact I lust after an Orange Blood frame, it really "does it" for me, whereas the 5 just leaves me cold. That said I would be even happier if Giant made their own version of the Blood, at half the price, reduced weight, and better finished...
Blimey Page 6! FFS
I'm thinking of selling mine at the end of the year and buying a Yeti ASR
5 Carbon and for RagTi I may just get a black one 😀 it may have white
wheels though 😀 must try harder to have colour sense. 😛
I feel the need for less weight and travel.
A well designed bike, made by hand or machines with good quality control is what is important. Who cares where it's made.
Me
So do I but apparently we shouldn't
It's a bike. Opinions differ (it would be a very dull world if they didn't). This thread is silly.....
I have a 2005 Five Pro with upgrade pack which I've owned from new and I have to say it's a great bike. It's superbly versatile, very reliable and fun to ride. That's all you need isn't it? I've raced XC, raced enduro, pushed it up and ridden it down Ben Nevis and hammered plenty of other trails. I've only ever replaced the shock bushes, drivetrain and tyres, and still run the original Manitou SPV and Fox Float R suspension.
Was thining of replacing it with something with a slightly stiffer rear but there's not really any need. Going to the Alps this year and will see how it holds up; I don't have any concerns. Thinking of a suspension refresh soon and it should last me another 6 years.
neninja - Member
Almost every other bike at Hamsterley this morning seemed to be an Orange Five so they must be doing something right.(The other 50% seemed to be Giant Trance's)
It's funny you should say that because I've noticed lots more Trance X's on the trails this year. I was starting to think that I was the only one in the UK who rode one but now they really seem to be catching on.
I've never ridden an Orange 5 but I would say that they must be a good bike to be as popular as they are. Everyone say's they're great fun down hill which is probably what most of us crave.
and the attention to even the most miniscule of detail on them is staggering compared to most other brands.
Can you actually quantify that though? And I'm not just on about compared to Orange here, just in general because it seems as unquantified and pointless as the guys claiming that handbuilt in england equals better.
A mate of mine loves his Anthem but he's had his fair share of maintenance woes regarding pivots...
I hope this 5 bashing catches on, then I can pick one up cheap!
My neighbours is excellent, builds to rufty tufty or lightish xc (not really noticeably different to my uber skinny 2001 superlight), you can bash new bearings in at home when required in 30 minutes being careful (10 when not), and all the supposed limitations of single pivot designs can be avoided by just not thinking about them or not reading magazines 😉
Can you actually quantify that though?
I suppose it is quite subjective, but when I look at the quality of the welds, the level of hydroforming, the way everything is carefully butted in all the right places, the way all the tubes meet in a very organic fashion (no abrupt stops), I never fail to be impressed. I'm largely thinking of my Giant Defy road bike here for inspiration, but if you didn't know the price of it, you'd be forgiven for thinking it was vastly more expensive than it actually was.
There are a lot of pivots on Giant's full sus designs to be fair, which I suppose given poor British weather and a lack of maintenance would mean the Anthem for instance would be more likely to wear its pivots out quicker than a 5. But then again, my full sus stays in the Garage during the worst of Winter, when it's that muddy underfoot I'm happy riding my hardtail the whole time.
all the supposed limitations of single pivot designs can be avoided by just not thinking about them
Hehe 🙂
As well as the lifetime of multi pivot bearings it's the sheer number of them. which means it's more expensive to replace and a much more time consuming job.
Anyone want to buy my Five? This thread has put me off owning one.
Five is a rapid bike. If you don't like them it means you like your brakes too much.
It's just a fun and involving bike to ride. Had a 5" Heckler, then an early five and now a Prophet MX. All of them set up with fairly similar kit.
Small diferences between them on paper and the five is the most aesthetically challenged but also the most fun and felt the quickest on any long ride.
I have an open mind to newer bikes that may perform better but I miss the Five still and would probably swap the MX to one or an Alpine 160 if the need for a change arose.
Never really liked the superior fsr type bikes as although they felt competent they seemed a bit dull and dead to me. Even bought an ETSX once but hated that as soon as things pointed downhill.
I think if you like hardtails and simple/easy to maintain bikes but want some cush or more high speed control and can lay off the brakes a bit then the Five is hard to beat.
There are a lot of pivots on Giant's full sus designs to be fair, which I suppose given poor British weather and a lack of maintenance would mean the Anthem for instance would be more likely to wear its pivots out quicker than a 5. But then again, my full sus stays in the Garage during the worst of Winter, when it's that muddy underfoot I'm happy riding my hardtail the whole time.
To be fair, the mate in question is just about the most anal bike cleaner I've ever met. But ignoring that, I think you've hit one of the nails on the head as to why Five is so great.
I suppose it is quite subjective, but when I look at the quality of the welds, the level of hydroforming, the way everything is carefully butted in all the right places
We've already established that Giant make bikes for other people, so I guess what I'm saying is that there's nothing unique in the industry about the specific quality in Giant over other brands if many of them are already Giants. Also confused how you can 'see' butting in all the right places, and surely if the butting is in the wrong place the frame would have probably failed at some point in prototyping... just saying!!! 😮
I like mine. It does what it should and I think is very good looking too. Oh, and I'm delighted that it's made in Halifax.
Glad we all came to an agreement in the end, it is the best bike ever 😉
Anyone want to buy my Five? This thread has put me off owning one.
Please PJ, I understand it'll much cheepness as it's clearly inferior 😀
Please PJ, I understand it'll much cheepness as it's clearly inferior
Ah, but it's been owned by me which makes it superior as [i]my [/i]bike. 😉
Anybody want to sell me their no rubbish 5? Always fancied owning one and now they seem to be rubbish maybe I can have one cheap. For my 2p's worth all bikes are much or a muchness. The rider makes most of the difference and if you want to buy a five you are supporting what I think is a fairly decent British company. I could not afford to buy one but please stop this terrible moaning. This whole thread is an embarrassment. Like listening to a party of sad business men who don't get enough sex.
223 Posts. 223 being one of the most significant numbers in why people ride 5's
What makes mine so special.I really enjoy riding it as fast as i can and i don't fall off it as much as i used to fall off my previous bike.
Much enjoyment+not too much pain=why i ride.
just make your choice and spend your cash! I love my 5 it's fun I've tried and owned another half dozen that I think I love until I get back on my five! a coil shock does make it better but I switch between a rp23 and a fox rc4 depending on the ride I'm going on!
bottom line its a tool for a job and I choose the one I feel suits me best! There may be better ones and if I find it I'll buy it but for now I love it!
No need to get emotional over a lump of metal!!!!
