Help folks, this is proving much harder than I thiught.!

My 2006 orange five has done sterling service but it’s time after 12.5 years to experiance a newer world of biking.

I ride mostly in the Chilterns with the odd trail centre trips to Wales, Surrey hills riding and very occasional trips to the lakes and Scotland. Love going up as much as down and a good ride = 3 hours and +20-30 miles.

I had thought a Santa Cruz 5010 but then saw yt jeffsy27’s had 10% off and now an Evil calling has caught my eye.

I’m also wondering if a Bronson is more what I need than a 5010.

I got this far thinking 27 not 29 for fast Chiltern single-track and roots. 130 travel on 27 = 150 on 26 so the 5010 makes a good modern equivalent but if the Bronson is as good as the 5010 on climbing then why not and the calling seems in-between.. but the jeffsy cheaper.

Any sage advice appreciated…

Just get the latest orange five .job done

That would be easy. But I have a steel commute bike, an aly five and a ti pastey howler so was looking for carbon for the next one

I also had a 2006 five. My advice – try a Whyte S120. 29er is the way to go for your type of riding. Orange are great but so pricey unless you can find a stage 4 reduced.

Bronson…. rocking!

Whyte T130.

+1 new (or newer) Five. All the same benefits of the one you had but a way better bike now, especially if you get a 2017 onwards model. Very versatile, great fun, easy to live with. Just forget the whole carbon thing: I definitely wouldn’t let that be a deal breaker.

I replaced my 2007 one with a Trek Superfly FS, a 100mm 29er. It’s supposedly an XC race bike but it’s as good on the way down and much better up than the 5 was. I’d be looking at some of the mid travel bikes like the Kona Heihei trail or an Orange Four.

I had a 2006 Five and a 2013 version. The 2006, in modern parlance, was more XC/Trail. The 2013 version was a lot better on the descents while still keeping a fair bit of XC versatility. The newer versions, to my mind, are even better going down but worse as XC machines. But that might be because the newer crop of short travel 29ers are so much better in that regard.

All of which is a long winded way of saying that the closest thing to your 2006 Five, in terms of intended purpose, these days is probably a Stage 4. If you want something that covers miles well but still gives a lot of confidence on the descents then I’d certainly be looking at the shorter (~120mm) travel slacker 29ers. There is plenty of choice 🙂

If you’re after Carbon and all rounder I’d add a Whyte T-130 to your list. Not as bling as a Santa Cruz but I’d imagine you’d get a better spec for the money and they always get good reviews.

What to replace a 2006 orange five with?

https://www.argos.co.uk/browse/technology/laptops-and-pcs/external-hard-drives-and-usb-storage/external-hard-drives/c:30073/

IGMC…..

I moved to a 5010 after my Five. It’s an amazing bike for real-life, Southern England riding. I just hire something burlier for overseas trips. The only time I miss the Five is when we are somewhere really rocky but only because the Five felt completely bomb proof. Saying all that .. I’d probably prefer a new generation 29er now having ridden a few.

new stumpy. ive got one and love it.

However after my recent experiences i wouldnt touch a mail order carbon bike like the jeffsy no matter how good it was.

alternatively the 5010.

Just as an add-on, current or recent Fives would be fine in the Lakes/Alps unless you want to hammer downhill courses and hit jumps all day. Plenty to choose from nowadays, true, but there’s something mint about the ride of a well specced Five, and they’re great if you want low maintenance.

Having a close group of riders inc myself, my personal opinion is I wouldn’t touch another Orange at this time having 4 from 6 fail in the last 18 months all from the 2017-2019 batch, and besides again in my opinion there are better bikes out there at the moment for the money. Im going to throw the Whyte T130crs in the ring for the money and spec and more so for what the bike is capable of. This is a bike that rides so much bigger than its 130 numbers. I don’t ride one but do ride the 160 which id have thought is more than enough for Lakes and Mountain days, but the lad whos with me most of the time and others who ride them cant be wrong. Great bike and for the money I wouldn’t dismiss it.

Any bike will be ‘enough’ for lakes or trail centres. It just depends what you want to prioritise. If you ride around your local woods for 51 weeks of the year then get the bike that suits that and just go slightly slower on the descents in the mountains. You’ll still be riding up the mountains faster.

Decide what your priorities are. Or get two bikes.

Thanks folks, appreciate the comments thought I’m not sure I’m any closer!

The calling still looks a good option, 130 rear dw link, 150 up front places it halfway between a 5010 and a five/Bronson. Ibis mojo 3 similar too. I’m demoing tomorrow so will see if it meets all im looking for. The Whyte 130 I like and will give another look.

29ers I worry will smooth stuff out too much and make the local trails boring hence I’ve not looked too hard at

If you’re considering a 5010 (an excellent choice), this seller has very good prices on 2018 frames / bikes, still a few left :

https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/ltmracing17?_pgn=1

29ers I worry will smooth stuff out too much and make the local trails boring

That’s nonsense imo. Being bumped around isn’t ‘interesting’ is it? It just retards your progress. Flow makes trails interesting, and if you carry more speed trails flow better. It’ll also make it easier to climb things which means you can go faster and it’ll be more fun. Trust me, 29ers DO NOT make anything boring. 29 isn’t some sort of limousine style magic carpet. It just means that when you hit rocks and stones on the trail there’s less force slowing you down. You still pick lines just like on 26.

You should definitely try one or two then you’ll see what I mean.

I replace my ‘13 Five with a carbon Transition Patrol and it’s awesome, sentinel is worth trying as well (think I might get one when I replace the patrol

That’s funny, because some of my mates with 29ers describe them as exactly that – magic carpets that smooth trails out. Not saying that’s a bad thing (and my mates mostly like their 29ers), but it’s not necessarily for everyone. I demoed a Stage 5 and it was ace, but I still preferred the regular Five in the end, even though it might be slightly slower on certain terrain.

Orange like every other manufacturer have issues and even I’ve had issues with a 2018 model but a brand new bike was issued no questions.
4-6 is just coincidentally bad luck.
Buying a Taiwanese carbon frame is like rolling a dice .there are massive inconsistencies in the production. Employees removing layers where there should be extra material it’s just not worth the gamble unless you go for a company who produces there own frames which can be sometimes in Taiwan but that factory has there own team there full time rather than leave it to them 90% of the time .
Specialized have such quality issues on there carbon at the moment I’d stay clear .
The evil is one hell of a bike but dealing with them from the UK if anything happens can be awkward and time consuming.

They are talking bollocks.

but it’s not necessarily for everyone.

That’s why you need to try it out. 29ers might be slower in tight twisty stuff – I’ve not ridden a slack one but my XC one is razor sharp still. But saying it makes trails boring, that’s just properly daft.

If you are worried that xc / rooty trails will be smoothed out by a 29r, what on earth are you thinking a Bronson will do?

If you want the trails to be engaging and have a bit of feedback i’d suggest the 5010 is the best bet by far.

So the calling was demo’d, as was a yeti sb100, an orbea rallon and an orbea occam.

The calling was too big in the size I tried and I didn’t quite get on with it.
The 29ers were very much opposite ends of the spectrum and neither was for me although the sb100 came very close.

The Occam fitted just right and felt just right. Bit more travel than I intended but very agile and very light so it’s the one that arrives next week.

Many thanks for the comments, maybe I’ll get to a 29er one day but 12 years of progress is enough for to deal with. Will the 150mm travel smooth things out too much, I’ll report back after a ride.

Many thanks to Adam at biketart for sorting me out and having the patience of a saint. With the deal I got and the service I received, no way I’d got direct order after yesterday unless I was already fully clued up on what I wanted.