[Closed] What's the most over-rated bike out there?

[Don't understand the whole '5s are overrated' thing that a lot of people have. Certainly one of the best bikes I've ever ridden...]

I had a Five and sold it on. You might say that it was overrated but in all probability I was never in a position to get the most out of it. I think that many UK riders on UK trails do not need this type of bike. Those that do will enjoy it.

I would have said a 5 too - never liked the look of them, didn't think I liked single pivot bikes and can't stand noisy bikes.

After a proper thrash on one recently I'm a bit of a convert though.

We test rode a 2008 5 pro against a HT and my TranceX on the Qs, mostly on singletrack in The Great Wood. All three of us thought it was the slowest bike all round, especially under power. To us, the rear suspension did not feel active except in response to pedalling. The downhill performance may have been marred by the MK2.1 tyres which felt very squirrely in the wet. So I'm prepared to give it chance with other tyres.

Airborne/Van Nicholas Zion. Had one - spent to much on it to realise it just wasn't very nice, all personal opinion of course.

Customer service comes into rating bikes IMHO. Just had a frame warrantied by Orange + they were brilliant. Great communication, went the extra mile to sort things out, couldn't have been more helpful. (No it wasn't a 5)

I see everyone has had such a range of experience riding different bikes.

No such thing as a modern over hyped bike, just an unfashionable one based on popularity.

A high percentage of bikes never get used to the capacity that they were designed for or even close.

Judgement then is clouded by appearance and price.

Judgement clouded by appearance and price... On an internet forum? Never! 😉

In all seriousness though, I've ridden and owned quite a number of bikes over the years, not as many as some people but probably more than most. But I can't honestly say I've ridden a bike I felt totally underwhelmed by when I had a go on it.

In pure terms of how many people go on about how good they are, versus how good a bike can actually be, then you have to look at the Orange 5... If it was as good as everybody on here says it is, it'd be 10 times better than any other bike in the world, which is of course a technical impossibility! The funny thing is, as many single pivot bikes as I've ridden, I've never had a go on a 5... I expect it'd probably impress me to ride, the thing is I can't quite get over the way they look myself, and as such would never buy one. Still, if someone wants to give me one, I'll happily thrash it around for a while!

There have however been a few bikes I just did not "get" when I had a go on them for one reason or another...

Dialled Bikes Prince Albert... Probably a brilliant bike, but my brief go on one left me with the impression that the frame was too heavy and not lively enough for steel. This was a 1st gen frame though, I understand newer ones are lighter and more lively.

Specialized Demo 9... Dare I say it, but as much as a low BB helps a bike to handle well, a 13" BB and 9" of rear suspension makes for LOTS of pedal strikes. Again, only a brief go, but I just didn't get it.

Cove G-Spot... Spot on geometry and handling, fitted me like a glove, really wanted to like it as they are so nicely finished, but the poorest pedalling suspension system ever lead me to change my mind ordering one within 400 yards on the bike!

Ventana X5... Possibly the most attention to detail, and the most over engineered 5" travel full suspension XC frame out there. It looked stunning, and everything is built to last. Sadly a low main pivot and linkage driven shock meant it pedalled just like a Kona, only worse as the main pivot was even lower! So as nice as it was to look at, it was rubbish to ride.

Airborne Lancaster... This one I actually owned, albeit briefly. Had longed to own a titanium frame for years, I finally did with this. Only at 3.5lb whilst I'm sure it was plenty strong enough (as titanium is), it was bloody flexy! It also had IMO a very slack head angle for an XC bike, which made it very lethargic to turn. Lasted about 4 rides before I swiftly got rid... Funnily enough, the only 2 titanium bikes I've ever liked (and again I've had a go on a few) have been a Cove Hummer and a Lynskey built On One...

Santa Cruz Heckler... Not the original one, but the later 5" travel one. Could never quite understand why you'd buy an 8lb 5" travel frame when you could have a Bullit (this was 2004 and I owned a Bullit though) which was less than 1lb heavier, pedalled just as well, and was much more capable as a DH and play bike and 98% as capable as an XC machine.

Intense XC full sus bikes... Their DH, Freeride and 4X bikes have always been the stuff of legend, but I can't help feel they've always let the side down quite a bit with their more XC stuff. Usually poor tyre clearances, and high prices for what were (until they went VPP) basically a Specialized FSR clone.

And that's about it for now, I'm sure there are more but I'm struggling to think right now!

I'm with Sharki and stevenmenmuir. It's not that the bikes are overated it's just thatr their capability is so much greater than the riders therefore they make things seem easy. That's why having different bikes to ride is good.

It's the same as riding big sports motorbikes. Ride about at 70 mph and everything seems really dull. You need to get at warp factor 9 for things to be interesting

I'm not reading all that. Summary?

I'm not reading all that. Summary?

You're lazy.

i have heard of bikes that climb well, jump well and descend like demons but when i laid them on the ground they did **** all.

mboy - Member

Airborne Lancaster... This one I actually owned, albeit briefly. Had longed to own a titanium frame for years, I finally did with this. Only at 3.5lb whilst I'm sure it was plenty strong enough (as titanium is), it was bloody flexy! It also had IMO a very slack head angle for an XC bike, which made it very lethargic to turn. Lasted about 4 rides before I swiftly got rid... .

Eek! What forks were you running? Id certainly agree that it's a bit, err, lively but no way is it slow steering. My (Lancaster copy) is the exact opposite.

Oh - and the 5.

tried one. Completely underwhelmed, especially for the cost.

Soul. I agree with what's been said above about PAs but I found my Soul to be more of a disappointment, all things considered - a good frame for sure but not all that.

Sticks my head out briefly to laugh at Jedi.

further to my earlier post...

Anything that Klein made!

Eek! What forks were you running? Id certainly agree that it's a bit, err, lively but no way is it slow steering. My (Lancaster copy) is the exact opposite.

Rockshox SID's

Steering just felt really slow to me! Even compared with the bike I'd owned just prior to this which was a 2003 Specialized S-Works Enduro with 5" travel forks.

Anything made by Jeff Jones.

STEEL.
HEAVY BIKES BEING COOL....theyre not theyre just Shi*
LONG TRAVEL HARDTAILS.
WHYTES.
CANNONDALES.
BAGGIES.
BRITISH MADE.
ORANGES.
......

slow bikes.
BIKES WITH MORE THAN 140mm front and rear unless your dh'ing.
learn to ride otherwise....

Orange 5 Definitely!

The heckler for me my mate loved his but really wasn't for me on the other hand he hates my five!!!

Konas, Lapierres, Spank rubbish... Magura. Norco.

None I can think of, people rate them as they see them and it's their choice, OOSCM!!!

Shit thread.

Different people fit different bikes, different bikes suit different people.

For what it's worth I didn't get on with the Demo 9, Norco Atomic or Specialized Pitch (even though I really wanted to.) All good bikes that have received rave reviews.

Bikes I have loved? Kona Stinky (various years and models), Norco Fuse (the ugliest bike ever!!!) Dialled Alpine and Coyote Dual (my favourite, fits perfectly).

Bikes are rated by folk that like them. I wouldn't rate the Pitch but you can't deny it is a hell of a bike for the money.

+1 on DW-link bikes. Don't get it. Doesn't feel right to me (in my highly detailed 2 min car park tests of 2 different bikes)

yeah, you need to try one for a much longer period to determine how good they actually are! 😉

my answer: anything Ti IMO

I'm not reading all that. Summary?

Specialised Pitch Pro

😈

If you are a trail centre mincer then the 5 will be wasted on you, ride the Lakes, Peaks and Alps and you will enjoy it lots.

anything that have more than 2 piston in the engine...

Kona Explosif: average at best

Anything from the Brant Richards Hype machine.

I'm genuinely astonished at the number of mentions of the Orange 5.

It's going back a bit, but the Specialised FSR gets my vote. I went with cash to buy one at a demo day but was completely underwhelmed - in my opinion it was awful. And all the mags were raving about it. I bought a 5 instead.

my orange 5 daoes exactly what it says on the tin, so for me its not over rated. possibly over priced, but I can afford it, and Id rather pay more for a solid bike, that has been tested and proved to be a winner. theres other bikes out there thats equally as good but I like the industrial solid look of the bike, and the fact it's British. I would guess the majority of people who are anti orange prob have never ridden one. But each to their own

jedi - Member

i have heard of bikes that climb well, jump well and descend like demons but when i laid them on the ground they did **** all.

😆

felt like i was sat right over the back wheel, again a very long top tube and v steep head tube

How does that make any sense at all? If head tube too steep, and top tube too long, why would you end up "over the back wheel." Anyway, it goes back to the right bike for you is the bike that fits you.

Like others here, I never got on with my Heckler5, but I don't think that's because it's "over-rated", it's just that it wasn't great for the riding I did. The few times I took it to trail centres, it rocked, hard.

There are very few bad bikes out there these days, but there are plenty of bikes that might not "be for you".

[img] [/img]

that's too big for you! you can clearly see you have no standover clearance at all and a pretty short seatpost showing. should be just fine for mincing around on bridleways and non technical trails though 😉

Anything that gets 10 out of 10 in MBR's yearly (you must buy this bike or you'll be ridiculed at your local riding spot) trail bike test. Or the Specialized Stumpjumper FSRs from the early 2000s which were a flexing, creaking cheapo version of the Intense Tracer. Or the original Whyte 46 which was billed as the best thing ever when it came out.

Jones!

[quote="druidh"]
Oh - and the 5.

tried one. Completely underwhelmed, especially for the cost.

Thats cos your old and crap

and I am crap cos I double posted

Only bikes I've ridden that didn't do it for me were:
the orginal Giant Reign (the worst climbing bike ever and not that great downhill),
the Charge Duster (just an awful lump of heavy steel) and
the original Whyte E5 (boring, for some unknown reason).
Haven't really read anything rating them that highly, so can't see that they fit in as overrated.
But if you've got one and think it's fantastic, then you're overrating it. Cos this is STW and I'm right and you're wrong.

Orange 5 for sure:

The main reason I ride a mtb is really for the image thats associated with it. A fearless, athletic, mountain warrior whos not afraid of the outdoors.

However, the Orange 5 just gave me the classic trail centre mincer / weekend warrior aura. Within 2 weeks of owning one, I'd gained 3 stone in weight and my hair had started thinning. I'd also applied for several jobs in IT and there was an Audi parked in my garage.

I'd taken a turn for the worse so I sold it on as a revelation in mtb technology "a 5 inch travel trail machine with the lively ride of a hardtail (when braking over bumps)"

Anyway, back on a single speed hardtail now, and the girls love me.

Expensive bikes generally!

Bikerbruce

STEEL

BIKES WITH MORE THAN 140mm front and rear unless your dh'ing.
learn to ride otherwise....

[i]the girls love me.[/i]

Yep. We've seen the pictures.

I have had 3 hardtails, a Single pivot FS, a Horst link FS and a 29er

Im not good enought to notice the difference TBH. As I get better the bike gets better. If I rode a 5 now, I would think it was ace. If I rode it 2 years ago and replaced it, I would think it was over rated?

I'm not sure there is a bad bike to be honest - sounds hippy'ish but all bikes are designed for a purpose or given scenario. I've alway taken the piss out of Orange and their evergreen 5, but tested one at Glentress and thought it was amazing. Had I tested it on my usual Thetford/Alton Waters ride and I'm pretty certain I'd have branded it rubbish

Likewise a rigid 29er SS on semi-slicks will be rubbish riding Inners or the 'tress, but it'll be awesome on dry Thetford singletrack (RIP).

Horses for courses