Had a 150 fork on a 2006 5 for a year.It pushed the riders weight too far back which made the front feel nervous on all but the steepest stuff and didn’t inspire any confidence.Also the pedalling ability was really poor.
The front end felt like it wanted to constantly wash out.
Tried a 130 fork which gave a bit more feel and the climbing was better,but i believe overall the seat angle is too slack and a longer fork just makes it worse.

Cupid,its knee and SHIN pads next time for you then.Hope you had a good flight back and that the skiing season goes well.

Definitely Orange 5’s(rode one for a year).Until i changed bikes i never realised how poor it was.A couple of years ago it was “trendy” to buy Commencals and it seems as if its Lapierres turn now.
If the media didn’t hype bikes then they’d be out of business.

The Orange 5 S that the guy is looking to buy doesn’t come with 36Vans and a fancy shock.Put those parts on a different make and it would probably ride the same if not better.

I,ve not ridden a Trek but had a 5 for a year(bought without a test ride).
Fine downhills,but i thought its pedalling ability uphill was poor,and the geometry for me just didn’t seem right with too much weight over the back wheel.Also the paint finish was really second rate and needed a repaint after less than a year.Not impressed!

I’ve been using WTB tyres for years,the Weirwolf being my favourite.
Never had any problems and would consistently buy them,especially if there was good discounts.

Ridden a Blur and the Orange(for one year).Blur every time for me.

I’ve been renting property out for over 25 year and had very few problems.
Some tenants do believe though that you are there to do everything for them,including one tenant who phoned me when a light bulb went.
Now i have everything in writing as to who is responsible for what so everyone knows where they stand.I would never take a tenant on “cash in the hand,stay as long as you want mate”.
One property has just cost me 10k to make lettable due to the actions of the previous tenant.My solicitor said its not worth taking action as you’ll never recover the money.
Its pretty simple really.If the property is badly maintained,rundown,with no type of agreement available,leave it alone.

My Reign is coming up to 3 years old and the only other bike i'd look at is a Trance X.After years of riding single pivot,this suspension system is great.It gets on with the job,uphill or downhill,and the finish of my Giant is the best of any bike i have had.Why more people aren't buying these over the boutique stuff and saving themselves a packet beats me.
Guess vanity comes first.

Travelled down from Calais to Bordeaux a couple of weeks back.
The only non autoroute section was through Rouen,which was dual carriageway anyway.A new autoroute links Rouen to Le Mans which now makes it easier but the toll is quite steep.The last section down to Bordeaux is toll free.Easy drive,just boring.

Been using a pair of Diadoras on my mountainbike for the last 5 years.
Used week in week out with no problems but the stitching is just starting to go,but are still usable.It would be the first make i'd look at when i need another pair.

I echo what RS4KEV says.
I bought one without a test ride,believing all the hype,and i hated it.
Used it for over a year thinking it would all come right,but i got more and more disenchanted with it.Wooden would sum it up.It had a high spec build so nothing wrong with the parts,but i could not get on with the geometry.
Bought a Reign and loved riding again.

Shimano every time over RaceFace.Raceface bearings are made out of putty,and the assembly and diassembly is more time consuming than Shimano.

Give me a multi pivot,Giant Maestro system,any day over the 5 for climbing.Not much in it in the descending though.

Go Shimano!The raceface bottom brackets are crap,mine lasted 3 dry months.
The Shimano is far easier to install and take apart.Only the raceface rings are better looking but don't seem to last any longer.

I've done quite a bit of walking in the Sierra de Huetor Natural Reserve which is north east of Granada smack next to the A92 motorway.
The tourist info centre was excellent on providing walking routes and there is also a good cafe in the park.
The info centre is called Puerto Lobo and the park is about 20kms from Granada and is signed from the A92 towards Almeria.
Its an interesting area with trenches left from the civil war and lots of small villages.

Its really easy to replace the bearings in HT11 bottom brackets so theres no need to shell out for complete units.You can choose your quality of bearings,from 2 quid on e-bay to 10 quid for a top brand.Did mine yesterday and with the cups out less than 15 minutes.

Just fitted a new pair of bearings today.The inner one has a slight notch but the outer is smooth.Initially the inner one went in slightly off square so maybe that was the problem.

Go and ride a selection of bikes first and then decide.
I bought a 5 without riding one because of all the hype,and for me it was just that,hype.Expensive mistake!

Orange 5 has a falling suspension rate?Surely a single pivot with the shock mounted directly to the swingarm with no linkages is rising rate.
At least that is what Orange have said in the past.

If you want something different from Andalucia have a look at the Sierra Espuna.Camping,self catering,cabins,good value and top end hotels are all there.Orange test protoypes there too!

The Nixon coil fork usually had a wind down facility on the top of the leg.If you take that leg apart and reveal the wind down you can slot in a shallow spacer which would have the effect of pre-loading the spring,not ideal but it will stiffen it up a bit.I've removed the wind down completely on mine as it went faulty and put spacers under the spring to give the fixed travel i want.It is fiddly and you have to keep re-assembling the fork to test it.

Tioga DH's in 2.1 or 2.3.Big size,tough,will deal with most surfaces but a bit heavy.

Thanks mudmonster.Can't find any info on internet about oil change so maybe its not possible.

A simple yes or no would do!

MBUK,isn't that a kiddies mag?

I've used the organic and had no problems with them.Last pretty well,reasonably good stopping power but mine have sometimes been a bit noisey.Trying Clarks next from CRC,similar price.

Been using a Fox Float and RP23 for nearly 3 years with just a seal and oil change in the fork.Still working perfectly well.Hate to think what i'd have paid in servicing charges.
I keep the bike upside down and every so often pour a small amount of fork fluid into the shock pump and blow it into the fork and shock.

Using a bottle on the caliper on my hayes 9 it seems to take a lot of force to push the fluid through to the master cylinder.Also i seem to have to open the bleed nipple an awfully long way which means fluid comes out of the threads.I always stick some old pads in when i'm doing it.
Still not had problems with them after 4 years use though.

Sierra Espuna,Spain.Different types of accomodation around the park,and with some you don't need a guide as routes are provided for you.
The Espuna is the best kept secret in Spain.

Not ridden the Trek but my Reign is ace.
Had an Orange 5 before the Reign and the Reign beats it everywhere apart from not having a Union Jack sticker on it.
After over 2 years really hard use all pivot bearings are tight and smooth,and the paint finish is excellent.
The maestro suspension works really well and made the Orange feel like a slug on the climbs.
If i were to change i wouldn't look at anything else but a Reign.

I had a 2007 5 for a year and had no confidence in the front end at all.
Downhill straight line,no problem.But throw in bends,switchbacks and loose stuff and it felt like the front was going to wash out every time,and drifted in curves.Tried 3 different forks and 2 different shocks with only a small improvement.I came to the conclusion that the geometry was wrong with a high front end and slack seat angle putting more weight over the back wheel leaving the front light.Solved it by getting rid and buying a Reign.Far better balanced bike,front end grip restored and climbs brilliantly compared to the Orange.