hora,
Wasn't me, 8am I am normally still in bed on a weekend…

im going to demo the new 5 and the orange (am) and if i can get hold of the alpine too ill have a go and i will make a decision, but guys.. dont confuse me too much haha

the bikes in my mind are

Orange Apline 160

Orange 5 pro

Orange 5 AM

the 5 pro and the AM are the main 2 that are on my list due to what people said about the apline being just for alps/lakes and not as good for uphills where as the other 2 are both

The 5 is an awesome climber! I was on the 2011 demo one yesterday & Friday & I ran out of legs before I ran out of traction.
Mine should be ready by the end of the month. 😆

wayhey good for you…thats another Orange rider hooked then !!!! 8) 😆

how is it on the downs essel?

and was that the 5 pro ?

how is it on the downs essel?
dunno, I was riding Nidderdale.
Oh… you mean 'going down' as opposed to South Downs!
Honestly, it/we fu**ing flew down the descent into Ramsgill without any bother at all. As I've posted on other threads, I felt completely at home with it & that's on the first ride. can't wait for mine.

and was that the 5 pro ?

It was a demo bike, bit of a mix n match I reckon & not what the pro is specced at. Fox 32 Float fork, RP23XV shock (I think!), SLX chainset, Thompson stem & s/p, EA70 bars, Hope V2 brakes, Maxle back end, not QR.
Anyway i wasn't arsed about that stuff & just wanted to see how it rode.
The one I've ordered is a custom build, £3800 down to £3200 for my cheek!

ah right well ill be demo-ing the new one to see how it rides and then the other 2 bikes im also interested in, glad u liked the one u tried though hehe

Let us know how you get on eh?

yea its going to be a while yet as the lbs are still getting these bikes in as they have just come out etc so yeah ill keep ya updated essel hehe

I've got both and got to admit the 5 feels slightly more nimble than the Alpine. I've got 160 Floats on the Alpine and it doesn't feel that unpleasant to climb at all – quite surprising.
I've taken both to the Alps and not a huge amount in it, though the Alpine does come down very well indeed.
I've also done a couple of enduro races with them both and again theres not a lot in it.
The 5 feels super sweet when I'm back on it. To be honest it really does take some beating. I've got 36 Talas on it and trim the travel when climbing & descending.
The one thing I do like about the Alpine is the external routing for the rear mech cable. Keeps the back end much quieter. My 5 feels noisy when I ride it now.

yeh thats what got me, the alpine having 160 forks where as the 5 has 140 which is why i thought it would make it slightly harder for technical climbs etc, frostie have you been on a AM ? this is also what im going to be trying out thx

My 5 has 150mm Fox 32's with the QR15. It closes the gap on the Alpine with little weight penalty.

Try it.

Chris I haven't got a stock bike – I bought the frames and built both bikes myself. The Alpine only weighs a tad more than the 5.

IMO its all down to what sort of riding you're going to be doing. If its general XC and trail centres I'd get the 5. If you're after regular trips to the Alps, uplift days and more aggressive use I'd consider the Alpine.

Having said that, I took my 5 to the Alps in 2007, gave it a really good pasting and it coped admirably, embarassing some much bigger bikes in the process, and I wasn't hanging about 😛

Sometimes when I ride my 5 I wonder what the point was of me building the Alpine. It seems to jump better than the Alpine, but the Alpine does land pretty sweet with that extra bit of travel.

I honestly think if I did an enduro event on both bikes there would be nothing between them.

The Alpine does look pretty sweet though, even with rental forks 😛

Here's what it should look like;

Go and demo them, but if you genuinely don't know which one you ought to get it's probably the Five pro that you need IMO…

There's being capable and fun and then there's being overbiked and being overbiked is no fun…

The Five pro is very capable but rarely do you feel overbiked, even in the flat woodland of Bristol it's a hoot, yet I'll quite happily do Cwmcarn DH on it.

yeah nice pics frostie i can see what your saying, i do more xc/am thats why i was suggesting the 5am as its inbetween the alpine and the pro, but like i keep saying i need to keep demo the bikes and see how i get on

Ive just sent my 36r talas to MOJO and turned them into Floats
and reduced the travel to 150 on my 5 AM which really feels
bang on and dont feel to high at the front as it did set
at 160 travel

so 160 feels to high ? unless ur seat was to low xD

so are you saying 160 travel feels too much on the five AM…. lol the longer this thread goes on the more intriguing it becomes..

its all about adding to my decision on the 3 bikes i have in mind i dont care lol

are you sure its 3 bikes…. you could go for (five) bikes.. 😆

I'd say look at the options from Giant, Specialized, Trek, Santa Cruz etc (any of the big names) because they know what their doing when it comes to suspension and they use sus designs that actually work, as opposed to a single pivot. Plus they are better value for money.

saying orange aint big?

saying orange aint big?

Yeh, I think they only have about 10 employees or something like that, a small bike brand compared to the ones I listed.

its not the staff its how they ride ;p

Nope not to much travel? But as I turned the Talas into a Float fork
and being I dont only use this bike for going downhill all the time more
a rough all rounder I wanted to balance the bike more and it works!
and if I was doing the Alps or CwmCarn I can take these spacers out just for that.
And when I do the trail riding I will put the spacers back in.

i do a bit of both, xc/am trail centers etc, just want something stronger xD

chris_mbuk Go for the AM version the difference of stiffness
between the 36 to the 140 float fork is very noticeable which swung
it for me.
But then the 5 AM 08 spec had all the upgrades I wanted at the
time which was cheaper than buying the pro version and selecting
upgrades.

well yep there are some big names up there like spesh and giant but when it comes to ORANGE … they just know how to build bikes…better stronger faster… ("built to last".. (you dont see hairline cracks in 'orange bikes' within the first few weeks of riding them like others !
own up : whose ever had a crap orange bike ?????? lets have a poll… 😉

dont start another thread mum ;p

agreed grant i cant wait to demo a AM

I'd say look at the options from Giant, Specialized, Trek, Santa Cruz etc (any of the big names) because they know what their doing when it comes to suspension and they use sus designs that actually work, as opposed to a single pivot

Wow what a load of old tosh that was. Do you work for Halfords ? 😮

I could write chaper and verse about how my 5 has lasted much longer at the back end than my mates Stumpy and how much stiffer it is but you sound like you've already made your mind up.

Whats wrong with single pivot ? You saying Orange have had it wrong all this time ? You mentioned Santa Cruz – despite your claim they use a single pivot so what exactly is your argument ?

You know, thats the main thing I love about my Oranges – absolutely simple at the rear, 2 bearings, any play change them and not have to worry if you've picked the right pair of bearings to change out of 16 or so. Whats the issue with single pivot when clearly (and very clearly) it works perfectly ?

dont forget to keep on my subjectxD

lol a 'chris_ mbuk' thread only….
i guess you just have to demo the bikes soon….. come on 'Blazing saddles'…these demo bikes need to get here like yesterday…. we need good Demo results and excellent feedback A,S,A,P.. lol dont ya just luv this thread…
Next::: 😉

75 posts in total lol

Whats the issue with single pivot when clearly (and very clearly) it works perfectly ?

I always thought single pivot very clearly didnt work perfectly, thats why they need to use fancy shocks with platform damping etc.

Seemed to ride a lot more perfectly than my Spesh did!

seems to ride 50 times better than my spesh did too ! 😉

I always thought single pivot very clearly didnt work perfectly, thats why they need to use fancy shocks with platform damping etc

Why does the 5 keep winning trail bike of the year then ?

Don't get suckered into believing that all these linkages are required. I had a Trek Liquid before my 5 with a mulilink back end and the 5 is unquestionably better.