I crossed over from downhilly stuff to a trail bike about a month ago.
I went with an Orange Five, simply because I saw one that was cheapish, the right size and I had previously had a Patriot 66 (It wasn’t a great bike, but I thought the five would be better).

I’m really pleased with mine, it’s very happy at high speed, fun to ride, and very very fast as well as being more fun then my patriot. Mine is a more enduro setup and weighs in at 29lbs, with 150mm forks.
Overall I love it and I’m a much better and more precise rider since I downsized. However, that might be me more than the bike. The rear shock also can be a bit hit or miss, it depends on tune and weight tho.

If you are taking weight seriously though, I’d go for something carbon, you can get much more bike for your kilo that way, so maybe a 146 may be a better option, it seems like a fun bike, although apparently the rear end is a bit flexy ?

To be honest, I can see Orange getting left behind in the near future, and I may not be buying another aluminium filing cabinet from the Halifax boys again if carbon bikes start performing on par with the Five.

great, thanks, I just wanted to double check 🙂

Volvo’s are pretty damn big in the boot.
So are Subaru Outbacks as well as the legacy, though I think the new outback may be a little bigger.
We’ve got an Outback and rate it a lot.

Mine was pretty damn close to touching on my totems, you could try using washers as a form of spacer to push the rotor out a bit – I have no idea if it would work though?

The alternative is to sell them (you’ll get a decent price) and get a normal rotor, in my experience floating rotors offer no benefit anyway.

Running at least thrice a week. Everyday if you can stand it. Biking whenever possible, eat healthily. Sorted.

Giant Reign
Last Herb
Propain Tyee
Alpine 160
Spesh Enduro
GT Force

Those would be on my list anyway 🙂

Haha, yeah I heard it on Darjeeling Ltd. originally too

Great film 😀 Great soundtracks too 🙂

Good effort! Love it, especially the song, heard it in the The Darjeeling Ltd. I think. Anyway, great vid!

That’ll take some splitting 😀

Complimenting oneself having ridden a challenging trail/jump.
A worse rider picking holes in my technique.
People thinking they are much faster/better then they are.
Blaming a lack of ability on the bike!!!!!!!!!!!
People being rubbish at sticking to a plan / backing out of riding a matter of hours/ the day before.

I do however completely understand mechanicals having been through so many myself……………

However, well worth putting up with the occasional annoyances to go riding with a mate /mates and in reality all of the above rarely happen 🙂

EDIT: Asking to put loads of stuff in my backpack when they haven’t brought their own!!!!!!

If it’s just the shock you’re worried about, I don’t think that should be much of a consideration as a custom tune will cost nothing against the cost of the bike.
I love my frame, although it is definitely happier at speed so I’d advise you to go ahead and get a five especially if your using it as a do it all bike.
I’m using mine to do all the stuff I used to do on my Patriot freeride rig, and it is much more fun! Granted I have to be more picky with my lines and I can’t plow everything like I used to (40mm totems 😀 )and there is less margin for error (not a great thing as I’m shit at jumping) but the bike is more responsive, and for the forest of dean downhill trials I am much faster on my five then my patriot!

I’ve got a Fox Float RP23 BV Kashima on mine, I think that our shocks are pretty much the same (ish?).I use my Orange Five for downhill and trail riding.
The shock seems to work really well, really really good small bump sensitivity and excellent middle stroke. It just seems to push through the last part of the stroke too easily though, and even after non DH trails I find the O ring right at the end.
This could be solved with a custom tune though, so not much to complain about.

Also, I normally run my shock in the 0 or “fully open” mode, just because I like to push myself when riding, but I tried it in 1 (the “trail” equivalent for my shock) and the bike felt much more lively and I enjoyed extra firmness in the rear end (no jokes please :D) which was perfect for trail riding (I’d keep it in 0 for DH).

I’ve heard coil shocks work well, but I’d never shed out a bomb on a CCDB for a trail bike based on how well my RP23 works.

I haven’t had my five long, so I still need to ride it more to learn a bit more about how it performs. I did find that having previously run 30% sag, the shock works ,much, much better (not to mention being more fun!) with 25% sag, and the propedal seems to work much better too.

Hope this helps 🙂

Imagine landing on the SPD side, there is a whole load of pain right there. They are described as trekking pedals for a reason.

Yeah, having looked at them, they are clearly not ideal, I was just showing that such a pedal exists.

(I want to learn to do that really cool back wheel stays on the ground, front wheel floats over the double/gap thing – going to land on my arse sooner or later mastering that one)

That is a manual, and they are really difficult to do properly – it’ll probably take a long time to learn – or at least it is with me 🙄

They’re not.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=67250

Read the description, you can.

Full face would be a very sensible option. I’d seriously ditch the SPDs, you can get pedals which are flat and SPD together, so they may be worth a look.
I think all the stuff like shin pads, body armour etc. is really unnecessary (neck braces are another story…), I’d stick with knee pads and maybe elbow pads, but neither are gonna stop broken bones, just cushion the landing a bit.

Definitely get a full face though – I’ve got a 661 comp shifted and it’s great unless you’re a weight weenie or brand man (don’t talk to me about troy lee helmets…)

If you want to do it with a reasonable price you just need to be prepared to comprimise on parts. For example, I regret buying renthal bars and stem, granted they feel great and the quality is good, but a set of nukeproof bars and stem would be near enough half the price, and to be honest, I doubt it would affect the handling of the bike at all. I also wish I had gone RS or ‘zocchi instead of Fox, and a cheaper frame over my Five, but hey ho!

If you are willing to to compromise a little bit on parts you can effectively end up with a bike that will basically do the same as your “dream bike” but at a fraction of the price, at the expense of a little weight and less labels.

I’d say go for it, build one! So long as you don’t get drawn into buying all the best parts, and are willing to look around on here, eBay and Pinkbike to find secondhand bits, then you should do it for a decent price. Also, check online shops as they often have bargain clearances.

I built my bike with mainly second hand parts for £1900, but it is probably now more closer in value to £2200ish, or more judging by Pinkbike buysell.

You have to be prepared to take the time though, it can take ages waiting for the right part to turn up.

“xv” refers to the tune of the shock I think.
I think the Kashima CTD is basically the same as my Kashima Adaptive Logic BV, but with climb, trail, descend rather then 0,1,2,3.

It seems to work well, and is super sensitive at the beginning of the stroke, but it seems to blow through the last part of the travel, as I often find the O ring at the very, very end of the shock after a fast DH section of trail.

If I were you, I’d whack an RP23 CTD Kashima thingymajig on and see how you like it, and then get it custom tuned if needed (that’s what I plan to do anyway). I have heard amazing things about coil springs on fives though, although I’m not sure if the weight is worth it unless you’re doing a lot of DH.

Beautiful country, if a bit barren.
More people live in Cardiff, then in Iceland 🙂

I’ve got one of the Kashima Boost Valve RP23s with a medium tune (not CTD) .
It seems pretty good, although the propedal seems to make little to no difference.
Thinking about getting it custom tuned to ramp up in resistance at the end of the stroke as it seems to blast through all the travel too easily on drop offs and jumps. Need more ride time to be sure tho.

I’d steer clear from the DHX air, as it seems rubbish by most standards.
RS Monarch Plus looks really good for a hard hitting air can though, so that may be worth a look?
DB air is good if expensive, and I wonder if the mod cons are worth the money unless you really know what you want to get out of it, and are a good enough rider to need the difference.

Kimbers – thanks anyway – looks like a good event 🙂

FOD, verderers in the morning, then DH in the afternoon 🙂

Thanks 😀

Don’t worry, I completely understand where you are coming from and would never hold it against anyone.

Sorry, I thought you were “Unbelievable”ing the thread.
I would never use it as an insult, just thought I acted like a bit of an idiot – I didn’t mean to cause any offense to PWDs.
I did think twice about using it, but then went ahead, because as far as I could see I wasn’t causing any offense as I was referring to myself rather than anyone else.
I won’t do it again 🙂

Unbelievable

Someone’s got an axe to grind.

Oh my god
Forgot you had to pull the thing first 🙂
Thanks so much for your help !!!!!!!!

I deleted the email agggeeesss ago.
It’s probably worth mentioning that the shock didn’t have this problem when I bought it, and developed it somehow in between being stuffed in a draw in my bedroom, being fitted to the bike and just before my first ride on it :/

I’m thinking 1×10 would do nicely

might just be ready for when the whether gets nice…

If the weather gets nice :/

Agreed. Mine took 5 months, but by god it was worth it (or it should be – first ride tomorrow 😀 )

I can, the op clearly just wants to show the previous owner how he’s getting on with the build.

blingage in the village

Ask Joe Barnes

+1

Check this out – it should put your mind at ease
http://vimeo.com/45093982

Makes me think the “32’s are really noodly and flex too much for me to use them at the local trail center” is just a good excuse for a hugely over weight rider.

Thanks, that’s very helpful.
I just found this if anyone else is interested:
http://www.mountainracingproducts.com/mrp/lube-and-degreaser-compatibility/

Well by the sounds of it I can’t go too wrong with either 🙂

I suspect he’s probably fitter then me 😳

Might head up to Afan and ride W2 then, and then maybe onwards to Garw, or do Twrch on the way back – depends how long it all takes.
@Garage dweller – I’ll be fine, it’s my friend I’m worried about 🙂 I’m sure he’ll be fine, so long as its not full on DH level trails.

We don’t have heating 🙁
I have been known to wake up to ice on the inside of my bedroom window though 😐

Hmm, might be an idea to do CwmCarn first then and then head down to afan 🙂

Sounds like the howl of a retarded wolf.
I bet that turns a few heads, and gives the bike snobs a lot to talk about 😉
Is Garw any good?