[Closed] Racy Orange 5?

Shorter forks would put the BB height far too low and you would get pedal strikes galore. I thought about doing the same then bought a Gyro.

Just buy a 2006 frame. Steeper angles, shorter forks as standard.

The Mojo boys used to race fives, that was probably until 2006 ish.

Just come to the Glentress Seven, half the field are on Fives.

I recently built up a 2013 26" Five. The aim was to produce a bike that was fun and gave a bit more confidence going down, both of which it delivers in spades. I expected to give up a fair bit in climbing and general XC ability, but I've been surprised at how little it really loses. OK, it's a new bike so we have to factor in the honeymoon effect, but it's been a bit frustrating really. I have a 29er HT (FF29), which should kill the Five for speed, but doesn't, which makes it hard to justify. The FF29 is faster, for example, on a long not too technical climb. But even there the difference seems to be less than 2%, which might matter if you are chasing a podium spot, but doesn't amount to much for the rest of us.

Being a single pivot the Five does rely on the shock and you do need to fiddle with the lever if you care about speed, but fortunately it's right there in front of you.

As for making the Five shorter and steeper; I doubt you'd gain much, if anything. My previous bike was a Trance, which is a fair bit steeper and shorter travel than the Five, but I haven't seen any difference in XC speed between the two. In fact, at the moment, I'm beating all my previous records on the Trance up and down, but again, that could just be a honeymoon effect with the new bike.

The Mojo boys used to race fives, that was probably until 2006 ish.

Much later than that, Sion and Ant O'Boyle were on them (in elite) until 2009 at least.

I keep looking at those reduced Five frames at BikeScene and nearly convincing myself to buy one..

It it wasnt for the need to splash out more on a decent fork to compliment then I reckon id be a Five owner right now. Grr

Love my 2013 26" Five with 150mm (20mm axle) Revelations. Weighs in at a shade over 29lbs with flat pedals, and is overall the fastest, most fun and most versatile bike I've owned.

2008 Five here... and although it feels somewhat barge-like and ponderous, it's probably not much slower around Coed y Brenin than my Yeti ASR5c. I'm pretty sure it's faster than my XC-tastic 2007 Giant Anthem round CyB..

Not sure that helps you, but I guess what I'm saying is that a standard Five is actually quite a fast bike on gnarly-xc stuff, but it never really [i]feels[/i] all that fast.

Messing about with it would probably make it slower though.

I keep looking at those reduced Five frames at BikeScene and nearly convincing myself to buy one..

It it wasnt for the need to splash out more on a decent fork to compliment then I reckon id be a Five owner right now. Grr

You've got more willpower than I had then 🙂

Ran my 2009 with 130mm qr Revs and hope XC/717s on 2.1 tyres for ages. Not as racy as you are suggesting, but it was great. Still run the same wheels but with 140mm forks the frame was designed for.

The FF29 is faster, for example, on a long not too technical climb. But even there the difference seems to be less than 2%

29" Wheel in only marginally faster than 26" shocker! 😀

Bearing in mind the purpose of these 2 bikes, it's surprising however.

It it wasnt for the need to splash out more on a decent fork to compliment then I reckon id be a Five owner right now. Grr

Buy frame, keep in garage, save up for fork - simple.

My XC race bike is so much quicker than my 5 on smooth surfaces it's unreal. I've got no idea why, even on the flat it's fast. Riding it on my normal trails I suddenly find myself having to slam on the brakes in places I never normally do.

The last thing I'd want to do is lower my Five with a shorter shock/shorter fork. I smash the pedals into anything that protrudes from the ground as it is with 150mm forks...

There was a Strange Five SL doing the rounds on eBay a while back (I have a feeling it popped up on here as well). If you wanted a XC race Five then that'd have to be the one...

Bearing in mind the [s]purpose of these 2 bikes,[/s] [b]limiting factor will be the rider's power[/b] it's [b]not[/b] surprising however.

FTFY

FS might feel slow as it's less (technical) effort to keep up the speed, so your legs feel like they're doing more work becuase they can put down more power without loosing grip?

But even there the difference seems to be less than 2%, which might matter if you are chasing a podium spot, but doesn't amount to much for the rest of us.

Well I dunno, the impression of speed is pretty subjective, and that's what we are really chasing as recreational cyclists. Speed = thrills = fun. 99% of max controllable speed is controllable and safe, 101% is much more sketchy and thrilling 🙂