Hi
Looking at getting the 5 AM 2013 and upgrading the forks to fox float 36. I would just like to know everyones thoughts on these bikes are.
Thanks

Can’t help with the specific question, but there seem to be a few rumours circulating about an imminent refresh of the Five. 650B? Unlikely, but some sort of changes may be in the pipeline, so it could be worth waiting a week or two.

You’re out of luck. Orange Fives aren’t that popular in the UK so I doubt you’ll get any real feedback. I guess you could try doing a search just in case it’s been mentioned before.

I’ve only ever seen them at trail centres, so I’d be very way about buying one if you plan on using it elsewhere, I don’t think they are designed for that.

The seem to fit in the boot of an Audi well though and keep remarkably clean.

Does AM stand for Audi Model then 🙂

Seriously, the Five is a Marmite bike. Some love it, others just love to insult it.

By all accounts the new Alpine 160 is a more versatile bike than the older version (i.e. goes uphill a bit better). So, if you are thinking of 36s on a Five I’d also be looking at an Alpine.

Its mostly trail centres and natural stuff around the lakes that i will be riding.

I think they are popular i see them most times im out at trail centres and aound the lakes, plus they are made in the uk.

eeeewwwww, you went to a trail centre??

As roverpig says, there appears to be something ‘new’ on the way so might be worthwhile holding off

built my 2011 frame with a ccdb and 36s, great pointing down at places like stile cop but climbed like a wobbly coffin at llandegla. total overkill for trail centres and local xc loops, going back to 140s and an air can when funds permit.

Unlucky, you’ve got the standard responses you can expect from any Five thread. 🙄

To be honest, I wouldn’t bother getting a 5 AM. I just can’t see any benefit over the new Alpine 160. Okay, it’ll eat up the downhill sections compared to a normal five, but it’ll be a lot heavier, and still no Alpine 160 when it comes to descending.
The slack head angle and added weight will also make the bike feel a bit less responsive .
Lots of people do ride them with 36’s and CCDBs though, so I’m sure there is a decent case for it – I just can’t see it.

If you are looking for a Five with a little more travel upfront, then I think Fox Floats 32s or 34s with 150mm up front are the way to go. It slackens of the head angle a tiny bit, and adds a little extra weight, but in my opinion, that sacrifice in terms of uphill performance is more than made up for when descending, and it gives you the perfect build for a bit of Enduro too.

EDIT: Yeah wait for the new one!

As above, if you want to be lazy/ get really rad then a new Alpine 160 will do the job better. A Five is pretty crap with 36s IMO – mega heavy and wander-y for not much benefit on the way down. Much better suited to a set of suitable axle to crown 150mm forks.
Even then, for everything you hear said about how great Fives are, they only really work when you get on a rad bit of track and really lean on it – not a bike well suited to general trail centre type stuff, but if you point it at some steep Lakeland stuff it makes more sense.

I’ve got a 5, but not an AM. I absolutely love it but I wouldn’t buy the AM, especially not without forks that you can drop the travel on (e.g. TALAS / U-Turn ), as it would be too hard to keep the front wheel planted on climbs.

I’d either get a standard 5 or go for the Alpine. I’ve found it to be perfectly capable on downhills with the 140mm forks.

My Five is a 2006 (I think?) and is mostly very capable with the old 130mm floats, I would like to try it with something longer, but I’m not sure i’d like it to get much heavier. I only really miss the travel as I used to have a bike with 170mm Monster T’s , you kind of get used to taking any line you fancy, but I don’t miss what they weighed. (9.7lbs)
Try and find a demo day somewhere you would be likely to ride and then see after a day on the trails?

I’m about to stick a set of 160mm coil u-turn lyriks on my brother’s orange 5 for his Alps trip next month. May even try them on my 5 when I get them back. Its not just the travel, burlier forks help the bike track through the rough stuff better. Yep, climbing is a PITA but descending is the payback, as long as the terrain warrants it.

I tried one year before last back to back with the Alpine 160, I went for the Alpine in the end as it just felt much nicer to ride up and down.

I’d buy a bike on it suitability for the riding I was doing, rather than which country it was made in.

160mm slack angled, heavy full susser will be not much fun at trail centres. Do some test riding, try some hardtials and shorter travel xc bikes.

I’m about to stick a set of 160mm coil u-turn lyriks on my brother’s orange 5 for his Alps trip next month. May even try them on my 5 when I get them back. Its not just the travel, burlier forks help the bike track through the rough stuff better. Yep, climbing is a PITA but descending is the payback, as long as the terrain warrants it.

its not great at 160. front wanders a bit. i’ve got solo air lyrics spaced down to 140 which seems to be the sweet spot.

Thanks for all the info. I had a specialized enduro 2012 that was 160 all round and found that fine on climbs.

Try before you buy?
Orange actually do some decent demo days.
The AM comes with 34 160’s so that should give you an idea of what the angles would be like just pop 200g on the fork to guess the weight difference.
There was some discussion on the Enduro thread about 34/36’s for me having tried both 36’s are great but double blind the 34’s will feel stiff enough for most people and more than stiff enough for trail centres and probably the lakes. I’ve seen smaller weedier forks romped down some of the big stuff up there 🙂
On the rest of it not my cup of tea, prefer some thing with a bit more to the suspension.

A mate of mine has a 08/09 5AM and it is plenty capable although in the colour and state it is in it looks like a battered old filing cabinet. It seems to ride just fine with 36s and an RP23 and copes with everything he has thrown at it.

I like the look of them but I think I would go for the Alpine if I wanted 160mm forks.

Not sure about some of the opinions on this thread. I’ve got a 36 on my Five and the front has never “wondered” on me. Obviously it doesn’t climb like my old Anthem but it was like a mountain goat!

The 36 gets the front end where I want it for the trails I tend to ride, and the back end does the job at taking the edge off without killing undulating trails like longer travel bikes tend to do. Has a CCDB shock on it for a while, took it off as it kinda bored me – if I want a proper bump-eater I’ll just get on the DH bike

Thanks for all the info may look at the alpine.

160mm slack angled, heavy full susser will be not much fun at trail centres

🙄

My Alpine 160 is fun in the chilterns, let alone trail centres. Its even better in Switzerland, India etc, but I’ve never not enjoyed riding it (well apart from when the rear freehub died with 20km left of the CyB enduro, but then technically I was left pushing not riding it!).

I’d ‘second’ the idea that if you want 36mm 160mm travel forks, get the right frame ie. Alpine.

never seen so many bike mag word count filling cliche’s quoted in my life, fives ride just fine with 36’s on. i’d suggest if you have trouble climbing on a 160 equipped five you’re either very unfit or need to be taught how to shift your weight about an inch.

i’d suggest if you have trouble climbing on a 160 equipped five

its doable but it climbs better at 140 and even better at 120.

it goes downhill better with a 160 fork

it rides twisty fast singletrack better at 140.

i fixed my solo-airs at 140 after riding with a coil u-turn for about 6 months.

its doable

You make it sound like its touch n go if you make it out alive

its doable but it climbs better at 140 and even better at 120.

it goes downhill better with a 160 fork

it rides twisty fast singletrack better at 140.

i fixed my solo-airs at 140 after riding with a coil u-turn for about 6 months.

Agreed.

I liked running 160 Lyriks on my Five.

But I liked having the option of winding them down to 140mm too.

I’d consider it as an Alps/Lakes ‘XC’ or ‘trail’ bike, where there’s lots of big ups and downs, but for living in the mountainous south I’d consider it overkill.

Dual position Revs on my ’05 (with an On-one slack set) 120mm for the climbs and 150mm the rest of the time 😀 67 degree static head angle (at 150mm). The bar height is a bit of an issue though: no spacers, zero rise stem and 7mm rise bars, to keep it low. 36’s are 16mm longer again, but at least you will have the integrated headset on a new frame.

Never owned one, but rode an AM a little bit, didn’t like it as much as a normal one. TBF the Five is designed for shorter forks and rides brilliantly with them, the Alpine’s designed for longer forks and rides brilliantly with them, where’s the gap there?