That old - which bike dilema again!!!

neil_uk

Time to sell my upgraded trance, xtc and even my 'leccy guitar to treat myself to a new bike.

I'm looking for around 5" of travel, suitable for moors trails, forest singletrack and the occasional fast rocky descent.

I've narrowed it down to these three, they are all in a similar £2000ish price range -

Cannondale Prophet 1 2008
Orange Five pro 2007
Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Expert 2008

Any opinions??? My main concern is fork, and suspension/frame performance, as the other bits and pieces are fairly cheap to upgrade.

Any advice people??

cheers,
Neil.

prophet_1000

I have a prophet 1000 with a lefty (which the Prophet 1 doesnt have?) its a fantastic bike, I THINK, its extremely light for the available travel and climbs/ desends fantastically, handles great and I believe that the 2007/2008 bikes price is more inline with the rest of the bike industry.

My mate has an Orange Five which is also a great bike, I have ridden it, and it feels like you are in a more relaxed sitting up position (to me it felt a little like a motocrosserstyle, Higher handlebars type feeling?) which I imagine would feel more suited to the descents than climbing (although he doesnt have any problem keeping with the rest of us on the climbs) And the Five gets great reviews in all the Mags.

I dont know anybody with a 2008 stumpy, but another mate owns a 2005 model and he loves it, the only thing that would put me off a stumpy is all the rear end pivots and therefore more expense when they need replacing, which they will eventually. Apart from that spesh makes some brilliant bikes.

Just watch out for clever speccing from all the above (in their favour) such as Bling rear mechs to catch your eye, they usually fit crap components in other places such as the bottom bkts or cranks which people dont pay much attention to when purchasing a bike.

Hope this helps

Andy B

I'm an Orange fan (Gringo & a 5!)

The 5 is a superb bit of kit, mine (upgraded 5S) weighs in @ 28-29lbs with a similar spec level to the Pro.

Pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/andy_b/set ... 282167805/

I love it, it flows through singletrack with ease & devours descents as well as climbing very well too.

The Spesh will be the most expensive for servicing the forks & shock as it has the 'Brain' system.

Go have a test ride of the bikes in your shortlist (& then go buy the Orange )