So Orange are now doing 3 sizes of the Five? Which one will die a death first!

No 26? So just the two sizes?

Just 2 sizes now – 26 is gawn!

quite a step for them…

the Five AM has now been replaced by the Alpine AM which retains 26″ wheels

Surely they are just following the latest industry template: 29er for XC (Gyro), 650B for trail (Five) and 26″ for the longer travel enduro/alps bikes (Alpine). The fly in the ointment is the Five29 I guess.

The fly in the ointment is the Five29 I guess

Indeed. The review I read in Dirt suggested the 29 is an extremely capable enduro machine. From the 26 Five being exactly the bike I need, I now haven’t a clue which one is best for me 😕

Good job I’m not in the market for a bike really

I recently got a 26″ five and to be honest it doesn’t feel like a new model has come out.

My 26″ is perfect for me. I thought i’d have that feeling of annoyance after a new model appearing but i simply don’t.

If you want a 650b Five then this new model is brilliant for you.

I have a 26″ Five and am no way inclined to change to any of the other size Fives they have come up with. Mine fits me lovely, I am comfortable with it and it will do me for many years, so why change.
The 29Five looks like a tank, not sure if I would do an Enduro race on it.

If you were considering a 26er Five, the 650b will do the same job, that’s what 650b’s for- being basically the same but with a veneer of new-and-exciting. But it’ll be worth testriding the 29er as well, it’s a good bike and does the same job as the 26er, just a bit differently.

I wonder how many people will give the Five29 a try though and how many will just look at the numbers and conclude that it’s not for them. It’s not as though there are even many magazine reviews to pump up interest. While the newer Alpine seems to be getting tested everywhere, there is still just that one Dirt review of the Five29. Not sure why that is.

Looking at Orange’s facebook page today the responses to the 650b Five look overwhelmingly negative at the moment too, but maybe that’s to be expected and will probably change once the mags start raving about it.

The pics on the website for the new 5 are horrible. Where are all the bright neon’s. All boring grey!

I know, I couldn’t understand that either. OK, some people like a raw finish and some may even like grey, but surely there should be at least one picture of it in a neon colour.

Nobby Nics! FFS. It’s a step up from ****-awful plastic OEM-spec Contis I suppose but still a mismatch. And Mavic 319s on a £4500 bike! Not to mention carbon XC cranks on a five inch bike, might as well just admit it’s for mincers.

Looking at the geometry charts it would appear that this new 650b Five has the same wheelbase as the Five29 (only 4mm shorter) despite having 24mm shorter chainstays (and all the other measurements being pretty much identical). Not sure how that works, but the differences between the 650b and 29er versions of the Five, on paper, look miniscule. I dare say that there is a big difference in how they ride, but how much of that is real and how much is just down to the preconceptions of the rider is always going to be hard to tell.

Race to the floor 🙂 when the frame costs as much as it does you have to cut corners somewhere…

Those cranks aren’t a cheap option, they’re just a bad spec option. It’s the same with the rims, they could go for a more suitable (wider, stronger) option without much price difference but they’ve gone with this option because it has a yellow sticker.

319’s and nobby’s to pay for a nice crank awesome choice 😀
It will be perfect as the carbon crank will look good (and be identifiable) on your bike rack but you can peel the stickers off the wheels.

Those cranks aren’t a cheap option, they’re just a bad spec option.

I was concerned when my Stumpy Evo had carbon cranks fitted. I’ve not checked them since i first got it, but they are still attached to the bike and seem to be holding the pedals on too. I’ve given them some abuse and so far so good.

Nothing wrong with carbon cranks, but light duty xc cranks on a five is weird- would be the same if they were alu.

I could kind of see the point in selling a 26 and a 29 inch 5, but what’s the difference supposed to be now?

If i buy a 27.5 Five frame and put 26″ bits on it, will it make any difference other than a fractionally lower BB height?

odds on the P7 coming back as a 27.5/650b??

So when are we going to see the old five frames going cheap? I quite fancy a 20″ neon purple one, and not that fussed on going 650b just yet.

nickdavies Bike Scene are doing them cheaper.

timc – Member

odds on the P7 coming back as a 27.5/650b??

Crush is already 650b I think so yeah, seems fairly inevitable. Expect a price rise too 😉

Andy_K – Member

If i buy a 27.5 Five frame and put 26″ bits on it, will it make any difference other than a fractionally lower BB height?

someone has a healthy level of realism.

i suppose that 150mm 27er forks might be a smidge longer than 150mm 26er forks, so fitting 26er forks to a 27er frame might steepen the head/seat angle a smidge of a degree, i doubt you’d notice anything was ‘not right’.

the 650b will do the same job, that’s what 650b’s for- being basically the same but with a veneer of new-and-exciting

THIS
As fives dont break they need to do something to make us thing our 5 year old 5 is lold hat – geometry not really changed much- so they do this

I assume the “change” is enough to get some folk to blow £1500 on a frame but not me not even close tbh

nickdavies Bike Scene are doing them cheaper.

Uh-oh! £1699 for kashima front and rear and they have every colour in the size I want….. 🙄

Times like these i’m glad I haven’t got a wife to explain myself too!