Orange 5 – How strong?

Hi,
Basically i have an 06 trance with pikes im looking at trading for something with a little more travel and capable of a dh run every now and again…and before you say get a dh bike, i have one thats getting sold due to increases in uplift and racing costs!

So ive seen this years orange 5 has an AM option with a 160mm fork and a maxel rear end. This makes me think the frame can take some abuse…true? Does it really need the maxel back end or is a qr stiff enough?

Do 5 frames crack like 224s?

Were there any changes to the frames from 06?

Cheers,
Stuart.

never heard of a 5 frame cracking & i can vouch for the uild quality coming from halifax an all.

a std full build will also come in at under 28lbs easy.

get one now though as prices are set to rocket @ orange next year epecially if you want to choose a different colour.

sold loads, don’t recall having any returned broken at all.Don’t know about specific changes to 06 models, Orange would be the people to talk to about that, we’ve already had two versions of the 09 frame so there’s every possibility there were.

My Mate had one, was mint condition not used in anger !! the frame cracked at bottom bracket Orange aftersale’s is S**T it was a few weeks out of warranty & they wanted £250 to repair it,i was going to get a 5 but no chance now

the 09’s have reynolds hydro formed top tubes and are particularly lovely, if you were to build it up on the burlier side of AM then you’d probably be looking at it weighing in at around 31-32lbs, thats about perfect weight if you ask me and you’d be hard pushed to find a nicer riding full susser imho

I’ve not had any issues with Orange back up because my bikes not broken, I’ve heard the odd tale of dissatisfaction and most seem to be post warranty issues, all contact I’ve had with Orange has been really helpful & positive if that helps?

how did he crack the bottom bracket??

they ARE STRONG AS ****
was thinking about selling mine but there isnt anything that compares to it
i had a 16" five with 160 forks on it and it destroyed everything else, beat a rather alot offolk on dh bikes!
think the biggest drop was about 10ft vert on it ( dont think its recommend by orange or anything) but i have complete faith ith it
not doing as much dh so got my self an 18" and it feels amazin for allround stuff

as for the rice increases dont blame orange( frames havint changed much in price, the incrased upcharge for custom colour is because of high demand)
its the big wigs fault i do believe shimano are going up again in march and rockshox ec going up stupid amounts

I’ve no kmowledge at all about the strenght of the 5, but I managed to break 2 of its predecessors the Sub5, pretty much JRA.

I’ll not ever buy an Orange again on the basis of the after sales treatment I received. Arrogant, called me a liar and all the worst characteristics of the sterotypical north. Shame, since I liked the bikes.

If you are unsure, what about a Orange Blood AM?

It wasnt the bottom bracket that broke,the bike started clicking & when checked found a crack around b/b weld ,also found Orange arrogant accused him of faking the photo,

Si’s right. Not really a top choice for occasional downhill(trail bike), look at triple ringing the alpine 160 or something? They also dont crack or anything like the 224’s. Well good warranty too, if it runs out, then it does, they have to have a cut off point like everyone else, after that its assisted purchase. They are really friendly at Orange too, not tossers at all. And im sure theres more to the story than Orange just accusing them of faking photos…really! :-)If youre looking at doing some aggressive work now and then i’d sure want it over 30lbs too (thats if your light!). And to the point of the reynolds top tubes, there very nice and strong too. Aslo on a final point, buy now, prices are gonna go up soon.

Sorry, should have mentioned im not buying new, so stuff like the blood or alpine are no go’s.
Have been looking at 06/07/08 patriots and their variable travel(5.5 or 7). Bit thougher but dont think that much heavier…does anyone know the weight diff from a 5 to a patriot?

I think the 05/06 patriot66 was the best they made. I have one with 2 different shocks. A big Evolver air can with 6.9" travel and a FOX RP3 with 5.5" travel. Great adjustable geometry via the shuttles, so you can slacker head angle off considerably.

Sounds like it would be a much better option for you than the 5

I think the 05/06 patriot66 was the best they made. I have one with 2 different shocks. A big Evolver air can with 6.9" travel and a FOX RP3 with 5.5" travel. Great adjustable geometry via the shuttles, so you can slacker head angle off considerably.

Sounds like it would be a much better option for you than the 5