The newest model with the seat tube support. Almost certainly my next bike (unless I go Alpine 160) so interested to hear feedback and comparisons from owners, especially anyone who’s ridden this bike plus the current Alpine 160 and/or 2013 26″ Five. Ta v much.

They look so much better with a straight top tube too

This is of no help. I am considering one too, trying one out in a couple of weeks so I will let you know.
Though for more than half the price I could get the Capra AL-1..

I too like the straight ‘beefed up’ top tube. Also apparently some geo changes?

This will be my only bike, so will need to perform on uplift days, bike parks, local blasts and long xc rides.. Has anyone used a Five for this? Is it worth going for the extra travel of the Alpine?

jonny – cheers for this. I’ve had several Oranges and they’ve all been brilliant bikes, especially in the wet and gritty north where their reliability really comes into its own. It’s a Five or Alpine for me, defo. Good luck with your testing – keep us posted.

Will do, I have it from the 10th – 13th July and am planning of putting in the miles.

Yeah there is something honest about them which I like. I have been riding an Intense all year round and it has not taken to the freezing mud and millstone grit of my local moors so the reliability does appeal to me.

I have the 27.5 five but not the latest one. I use it for everything from full day xc rides in the Yorkshire Dales to riding up Snowdon to uplift days at Antur Stiniog. The only place I thought I’d like something “bigger” was half way down the black run at Antur! Although to be fair that was probably more down to my lack of skill than the bike! As for the XC riding it climbs better than my Cotic Solaris. That provably says quite a lot.

The beauty is you can set it up for DH type stuff with a shock tweak & fatter tyres or go all light weight for more XC type riding.

dales – cheers. Tried that version and liked it a lot – great bike. Reckon the newer one fits my bill even better, as it’s slightly longer and slacker.

I tried the mk1 2015 and liked it very much. Felt like a 5 that had progressed if that makes sense. Saying that, I prefer my 5 29.

Be interested to have a go on the new 5.

I’m gettin mine later this week. The two hour test ride was a blast and I’ll get it up to the Lakes for some hike-a-bike later this summer and in the meantime some Jacobs/Ladybower/Cut Gate/Marsden Goat Track action (not all on one ride!) whilst it’s bone dry.

They’ve stopped doing it in Pink?
Shame.
That along with White forks looked mint!

scuttler – cheers. Any chance of posting back when you’ve ridden it? Which hike-a-bikes will you do in the Lakes? That’s the sort of testing I’m interested in hearing about. Ta.

Looks good in well orange.

It’s a great bike I almost got one but don’t let the geometery changes fool you, they changed them to keep the bike exactly the same as standard. They increased the top tub length but made the stem shorter and the size a 17 instead of an 18. I had a 35mm stem on my older five and that made the top tube too short so I was glad of a longer top tube but with the new sizing I needed a bigger 19inch to take advantage of this. Sunset cycles in cardiff have a demo five to try with all the good stuff on it.

Looks good but aren’t 5s meant to be a bit flexy?

They increased the top tub length but made the stem shorter

That’s the point of lengthening the top tube. Otherwise you’ve just made the bike bigger.
So it pushes the front wheel out further in front, while keeping the rider’s fit the same.
I love the geometry on my Bird Aeris and this seems to follow that pattern (almost) including the lower bb.

I’ve been astonished at how well the bike handles up and down. People associate slack angles with wander and lift on climbs, but I haven’t found any of this with the Aeris. Nor have I found the steering lazy even though I’ve come from a 79-degree HA before.

I have new 17, poss could have had 18.
It is a fab bike, geometry for a 140 trail bike is right on the money, has better proportions and angles with 140 than most 160/170 trail bikes.
Ridden at Revolution bike park, local trails, and at Antur Stiniog, where it kept up with all the 160/170 trail bikes ( despite the rider being twice the age !!)
You will not outride this bike unless you can do 35 foot gap jumps ( cf Harry Heath) or loop it ( cf Phil Attwill)
Long slack and low!!
Perfect

catvet – long, slack and low – sounds mint, just what I’m after. Any idea on weight? What rims and forks are you running? Ta.

I bought one of the last Mk1’s because I didn’t like the straight top tube. 🙂

Great bike. Been a few years since I’ve had a FS.
They’ve come on a fair bit…
Spent a day chucking it down the runs at BPW a month or so back & it just felt so at home. Best days biking I’ve ever had. Looked at a few options but years of singlespeed ownership have turned me into a fettling luddite, so wanted something that wasn’t going to need too much TLC.
Ideal bike for me. Its as happy ambling along bridleways with the kids as flying off jumps etc.

Wi
Pikes at 140
3 sets rims, all hand built, Stans crests,Stans arch and Ryde trail all with different tyres on! All tubeless with Stans
32 thick thin front 10 speed with hope 40
Dropper slight layback KS
Burgtec carbon 760 trail bars ( absolutely fab bars)
50 mm Thomson stem
Flite saddle
5 ‘ 10 , weight 73 kg Rode on two demo days the 17 (442 reach) and 18 large ( 456 reach) I found the 18 too long and tall at front and I perceived not as nimble, however my 17 is set up and is very similar to an 18 I were to set cockpit up same, if that makes sense?!
Rear shock is CTD FOX Kasimer coated 4 clicks back from slowest compression damping, as advised by Chris Porter @ Mojo and boy does that make the rear grip!!
Weight depends on wheel and tyre combo, but even with Handbuilt crests on it will do bike parks!!
So I gues 28 ish to 29.5 ish
The more solid rims with highroller 2s on front and rear make the bike very stable, particularly at uplift days like Antur Stiniog
Hope that helps
Orange will send your LBS one to demo if you ask.
It needs more than a car park test, a close friend of mine 30 years my junior has gone long slack and low on a slightly different brand but almost identical geometry, and is a very quick agile big air and style rider said it took him almost 4 months to really understand his bike, coming from a 26 150 travel Lapierre

Seriously, I know they’re meant to be good rides – but they seem to be reaching Apple levels of delusional fanboisum – it looks the same as one from 10 years ago.

So does a 911 and so does a Caterham ( of which I have owned 3)
So what?
Please tell me then which bike / suspension is the best out there, cos if there was one all the bikes would be identical!!!
Buy what you wish
If you don’t like it, don’t buy and don’t criticise others, it’s a personal choice
Mine gets ridden hard 3 x per week all year round as an only bike ( not the I ride a hard tail in the winter bollocks)
I can do all maintainence at home, so LBS cannot say it will be ready next week!!

Seriously, I know they’re meant to be good rides – but they seem to be reaching Apple levels of delusional fanboisum – it looks the same as one from 10 years ago.

So you don’t know how they ride but think people that do and have decided to buy one are delusional? I’d suggest it says more about you then those who like a 5.

IMO the newest version is starting to look like virtually every other fs from a distance.

chestrockwell – Member

Seriously, I know they’re meant to be good rides – but they seem to be reaching Apple levels of delusional fanboisum – it looks the same as one from 10 years ago.

So you don’t know how they ride but think people that do and have decided to buy one are delusional? I’d suggest it says more about you then those who like a 5.

IMO the newest version is starting to look like virtually every other fs from a distance.

Of about 500m maybe…

Please excuse me if I lead you down the wrong path, I never said, or considered 5 riders to be delusional for buying or enjoying their 5s – just for thinking it looks any different, to any other. This is after all, a thread about looks?

Anyway, I’ll go a troll somewhere else now 😉

Anyway, I’ll go a troll somewhere else now

I don’t doubt that for one second, 😮 😉

catvert- cheers for this. I’m not interested in any other bikes as I’m already an Orange convert – have been for many years. Your set-up sounds good. I’ll probably go 2 x 10 for where I ride and I was wondering about Arch or Flows. I have Arch now on a 26″ Five and they’re tough enough for me, and lighter than Flows. Already know how good Pikes are, so they’ll be fine. I’m the same height as you, and I’ll be inclined to go 17″ as I like smallish bikes if I can get away with them. Riding Pennines and Lakes, Alps once a year, as steep and techy as I can find.

Wl
Glad to be of help !
seems you use your bike in a similar fashion to myself !
Enjoy the ride

Inaugural trip out.

Goat Track / Packhorse descent was a hoot! It climbs really well on the techy stuff too – not sure how much of that is down to grip, pressure, damping, geometry, placebo effect but it’s loooads better than its 2008 predecessor. I flippin love it.

scuttler – nice pic. That the very latest Five, then, the Mark ll? With the seat brace and longer, slacker geometry?

Closer up

Fox Factory 34s
Factory shock
Flow EX tubeless, Pro II hubs
Thomson Dropper Elite
XT brakes, gears (2 x 10)
Renthal Fat Bar, Hope stem

All mine!

Ha, nice. Approx weight?

Ha, nice. Approx weight?

Definitely less than the old one (that had DH tubes in and never had the weight weenie wand waved over it) but will chuck them on the bathroom scales tonight for comparison.

Almost identical build as mine but for the rims.
Be interesting to ride them back to back.

Anyone ridden Flows and Arch? I have Arch in 26″ and love them, but wonder if they’re strong enough in 27.5 and whether the extra width of Flows is noticeable and good to have?

I’ve got 27.5″ arch on the five. Copes with anything upto Antur Stiniog black runs. Not sure why I’d ever need anything stronger unless it was for a full on DH bike. I’m 13st by the way (without riding kit).

dalesjoe – exactly. I’ve hammered my Arches for two years in the Pennines and Lakes and they’ve been good. I don’t need stronger, but are Flows more stable/planted/grippier because of the tyre profile, or what? If not, I can’t see why so many folk buy Flows when Arch would be strong enough and are lighter? Genuine question.

Probably because we tend to buy stuff that will be suitable for the riding we think we do rather than the riding we actually do. 😮 😆

dalesjoe – exactly. I’ve hammered my Arches for two years in the Pennines and Lakes and they’ve been good. I don’t need stronger, but are Flows more stable/planted/grippier because of the tyre profile, or what? If not, I can’t see why so many folk buy Flows when Arch would be strong enough and are lighter? Genuine question.

The Flow is wider so you can run lower pressure before the tyre squirms and with many tyres you’ll get a better squarer profile for more edge grip. The Flow is stiffer and stronger. The Arch is lighter and might feel quicker because of the lower rotational inertia but the reduced flywheel effect wheel mean it carries speed less well, so it’s rather six of one, half a dozen of the other.

The two main things for me are the extra width and the increased long-term durability. However long an Arch would last me, a Flow will last longer because it is stronger. I don’t tend to replace stuff often, I ride until it wears out, breaks or looks/feels like it’s about to break. The less often my wheels have to be trued the better. And breaking an Arch on an away trip would be really annoying when a Flow might have survived. If I break a Flow then few rims of sensible weight would have survived.

“Looks mint”

Now available in “Mountain Mint” (picture is an Alpine but new colour available on the Five)

I considered arches for my new wheels, on a 5, but decided on flows for a bit more strength and width. Very pleased with my choice. The weight diff was not much of an issue since I was not looking for a weight weenie build or I would not have gone for 900g tyres when I could have used 700g tyres. I tend to err on the side of stronger and keep it longer.

Looks way better with the straight top tube. I wish orange frames weren’t so obscenely expensive otherwise I’d probably end up with one of these.