HI Has anyone ridden one of the new Patriots,? how do they ride up and down,

Would it be too much bike as a do it all bike, I’m slow at climbing anyway , but love going down, or should I stick with my 5 ,would it just be a huge pain to ride.

Would of thought the five would be fine. I’m demoing a patriot Saturday so I’ll let you know.

philfive feedback would be great, can’t find much about how it rides, its a lot of bike, I should ask my LBS to see if they can get one in for me to try.

My mate has the new patriot, not as nimble as the alpine 160 he had. He has it built up reasonably light (for a patriot) so he can get up the hills without too much huffing and puffing!
Looks good but cost 4k to build!!!!

I’d stick with the Five if i were you.

I’ve been out on mine today over Cannock Chase and was catching people up hill and downhill it is just brilliant.

If only people would learn to move out of my way!

My mate had the ‘old Patriot’ which he got for Alps trips, however for the riding we do over here (mainly the Yorkshire Dales) it was just too heavy to be hauling up the likes of Fremington Edge! He was usually f**ked after a decent ride (got him fit though). He’s had a few goes on my 2011 5, both up & down & he’s now got his heart set on one. ( a 5, not an On One!)

It’s actually pretty good uphill for such a capable bike but it’s no mountain goat. Amazing bike for the Alps.

Alpine Bikes have a demo at Inners – best to try before you buy – here’s a video

[video]http://vimeo.com/26533386[/video]

Still got the itch Mr M?

Yes 😀 Mr K

You can get some cream to rub on it…..sorts it straight out 😳

That took me from not wanting a Patriot to wanting a Patriot in 02:27.

Nice video, that. Totally sold Inners to me too.

How would it work with an RP23 for trail rides, keep the Van R for gravity days??

Just stick a cane creek double barrel air on it….and some devilles up front 8)

I’ve an 06 Patriot, coils both ends. Weighs about 36 lbs. Still manage a 30 mile ride no worries.( not at the mo, due to a snapped Achilles tendon). Up hill is always a chore. Downhill it freckin rocks. Man up, get one!!!

How would it work with an RP23 for trail rides, keep the Van R for gravity days??

To be honest if you’re looking for a trail bike a Patriot is probably not for you – it’s a mini DH bike that can be ridden up hill – not a beefed up trail bike IMO.

If you want something more all round to swap shocks etc then a Five is probably a better option and VERY capable on steep stuff with the correct setup – remember it’s the rider not the bike that’s generally the limiting factor – Gary Forrest won the Seniors at Innerleithen SDA last weekend on a Five running High Rollers – pretty much everyone else was on full DH rigs and mud tyres…

Devilles and a CCDB , very nice but how much are they?

Psa…Jeffus has got a 5 and had an 07 Patriot (mine!!).
No price on the ccdba(!) and the Bos’s are cheaper than 180mm 36’s!!

07 Patriot was very good , can’t remember it being a poor climber, most hills around me are slow and steep , and the Patriot just trundled up fine, as does my 5, I think the rider makes a bigger difference on climbing ability and I’m just slow and steady 😀 I’m sure if I was on an XC whippet bike and Rorschach was on a 224 I know who would get to the masts first, not me. 😀

Yeah for sure…it’d be in the back of the ‘hearse’ 😆

So far it seems I should keep the 5 , I’ll see if I can get a test ride on one.

The grass is always greener…or should it be the orange is always orangier?
That said ,I still can’t stop staring at the Yeti SB66….wrong size wheels,boingy and GEARS.What I’m I coming to ??!!

Patriot looks nice, but why not split the difference and get the alpine 160?
I’m loving mine as a do it all/mini DH bike.

I have one and have used it in Verbier all season, it’s a great bike. The fully built version from Orange is pretty burly. They should have an option with 180mm floats and air shock to make it a bit more Uk friendly.

That took me from not wanting a Patriot to wanting a Patriot in 02:27.

Ironically it made me think “nothing’s happened on there that couldn’t be done with most 140mm trail bikes”!!

FWIW I used to have an Orange 5 and found it perfect for a UK allrounder, I’ve since moved to the Alps and have got an 06 Patriot 66 with a newish RP23 shock. Built up fairly burly with Lyrik Coils, it weighs in at around 33lbs I think. It is a fantastic allround for the Alps, can climb well but it gets tiring after a while due to the geo / set up more than the weight. On the downs it is wicked, can do most black DH’s and most importantly it feels fast and efficient on rolling or flattish trails. I love it, but if I was back in the UK I’d get a 5, its all you need unless you are riding DH only.

That Alpine Bikes vid of the Patriot is nothing compared to this one…. but then again, 99% of [Patriot/Five/160] owners would probably be riding the same terrain as Alpine Bikes…

Joe Barnes takes a Patriot up (and down…) Ben A’An…

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMwpO25nWno[/video]

Is there really much difference between an old Patriot 66 and the new one. After spending a day doing downhill on Saturday I thought I would like to do this on a downhill bike instead of the Prophet. I have a Patriot frame and thought I could build it up as downhill bike. It has currently got the original Manitou Shock on it and I have got either some Fox 36s or Marzocchi 55s to put on it. Would it make much difference putting a newer shock on it, any build suggestions?

why not split the difference and get the alpine 160?

+1

Or perhaps get a bigger fork for the Five if you don’t already have a 36/Lyrik class fork.

Is there really much difference between an old Patriot 66 and the new one.

Not a huge amount…. it’s still a long travel single pivot frame, designed for 160mm+ travel forks….. but Orange want you to think it’s some dramatically improved re-designed/optimised bike, which makes your old Patriot seem useless by comparison… 😉

( i.e. depends on how cynical you are, and how deep your pockets are… )

There was a Patriot on the Peaks Pootle, think it was the last of the old ones? Anyway, it was significantly lighter than my Pitch which is somewhere in the mid 30’s! Shedding weight off big bikes is counter productive unless you’ve access to free spares and/or mince.

That said ,I still can’t stop staring at the Yeti SB66….wrong size wheels,boingy and GEARS.What I’m I coming to ??!!

check out the SB94 then (or is it the 49, I can’t remember) 29″er and 4″ travel.

My mate has gone from the Patriot 66 which he broke to the new Patriot and says its alot different. It climbs better due to the seat angle and has a lower BB which makes it more stable than his older 66.

The Patriot was mine – it’s an ’08. Weighs in at about 32-33lbs but isn’t a “light” build in terms of parts tbh. Float front and rear with burly bars and stem, Stans flow rims and big volume tyres. Could go lighter but like thisisnotaspoon says, what’s the point? Managed most of the ascents with 9 gears (not quickly mind) but sure was fun on the descents!

Thing with the ’08 (and poss ’07) was the adjustable geo – you can set it as steep or as slack as you like!

O5 has adjustable geo too!

2008

2012

The Patriot was mine – it’s an ’08. Weighs in at about 32-33lbs

It must surely be less than that? I’m sure the pitch is/was arround 32lb on Saturday and you’rs was definately lighter.

Managed most of the ascents with 9 gears (not quickly mind) but sure was fun on the descents!

Somehow I managed to get to the tops towards the front of the group when I wasn’t taking photographs, so either everyones very slow or the bacon in my breakfast had been taken from Contador’s secret supply?

Thanks for the info , seems to be a big country only bike, I’ll see if I can try one and see where it goes, 🙂

I’ll weigh it over the weekend and let you know.

Ha, ha – I noticed that. I was with you and the guy on the Commencal on the way back up Mam Tor.

Thanks for the info , seems to be a big country only bike, I’ll see if I can try one and see where it goes,

The new one seems to be more ‘big country’ as you put it but I wouldn’t let that put you off. The grin factor alone might be worth the extra weight etc.

If I do get one it will be 180mm Float RC2 fork, and Float RP23 , Flows, and XT 1 x 10, and a sram dropper post, I guess around 32lb-34lb , I never seem to ge down low on weights compared to most people

Ok demo over.

I’m 5ft 8 and weigh 15.5 stone and have average fitness.

Spec of demo bike

Medium
Fox van 180 fork
Fox van coil shock
Renthal fatboy bar and stem.
Avid elixr brakes.

It ride a lot better than expected uphill and was very comfy and balanced. It bobbed a bit on pedalling but I managed to dial some if that out on the shock. It flew downhill and ate the rocks and techy stuff for fun, it never felt like it would fling me off. I reckon with a few weeks to play with setup the bike would be 100%

I’d just keep the 66’s in the front and save money on upgrading to the fox. I’d also spec the cane creek double barrell for the rear to help keep it stiff on the pedalling.

This is no all day bike but for rides of 2 to 3 hours its brilliant, Aslong as you dont mind pushing up the really steep stuff

Thanks phil5 feedback sounds good, I have a demo booked , earliest I can get mid November, 😯

I’ve been going through my bits and today I put my 36’s set to 160mm, I bought some off set bushes for my Van R shock and I’ve fitted some good DH tyres to my Flows ,I’m going to fit these to my 5 and see how it rides,should be 66deg head angle and BB lowered about 10mm ish, if it rides well at least I can swop and change for some DH days, I’m certainly not going to reach the limits with my skill level,

so I will have one bike with two modes , trailbike and DH orientated .

Just wish I could afford two bikes 😀

can’t wait to try the new build, I’ sure the uphills will be a challenge.