Ultimate All Mountain Rig.

fly4fun

Ive already got teh frame - orange 5 - sorted. But i have a few questions on the build:

Forks: Pikes or 36 Talas?
Brakes: Avid, hope or formula? Which model?
Thomson elite finishing kit with Race Face Atlas Am bars.

Drivetrain is all XT/XTR but thats also sorted.

How does that sound? Advice would be nice, cheers!
x

Splasher

Well, you've got the wrong frame for the ultimate AM bike, it should be a Reign but otherwise I'd recommend a TALAS 36 on the basis it is only 200g heavier but much bigger and stiffer (160 vs 140 and 36mm vs 32mm). I'd also recommend any Formula Oros (K24s for example). I bought Bianco GMs but that has more to do with my initials being GM than anything else.

fly4fun

Ewwwww. rode a reign, didnt enjoy it at all. The 5 however...what a bike!

how good are the k24's relative to other brakes?

schmako

I'd say the Patriot is much more of a do all, I wouldn't trust a 5 on some of the downs my Patriot has done! Plus its not impossible to get the Patriot uphill too.

dave_s

If in doubt, get the Fox forks you won't regret it.
I like Avid Juicy Sevens but Formula brakes are supposed to be superb too but I can't comment having not tried them.
For bars, you might be better off with Easton EA70s or Sunline bars are good too.
No probs with your drivetrain XT/XTR is reliable enough.
Thomson finishing kit (stem/seatpost) is the best on the market in my opinion.
Think about going for the Thomson 4X stem if you can and you can run 31.8 bars or standard bars with a shim (Giant make a shim which works great)

zero303

I gave the 5 a battering at Cwm Carn this weekend, I'm only a light-weight at 11st but found it to handle everything quite nicely with little complaint - it's tougher than it looks!

I was riding alongside a patriot briefly and this is probably more rider than bike but I creamed him on the uphill as expected but surprisingly did the same going down!

It's definitely more tough trail bike than AM but 90% of people's definition for AM is pretty much just welsh trail centre type stuff.

Your proposed spec certainly makes it more AM though... do yourself a favour and save some good money for a decent wheelset/tyres, even just running a set of Hope ProIIs with some feather light conti tyres made a huge difference, this bike would just carry speed to the point that I was easily catching others without even pedalling (just pumping the berms and lips)...

(I'm ordering mine next weekend by the way! Going for a spec halfway between S and Pro... *giggles*)

Splasher

fly4fun wrote:

Ewwwww. rode a reign, didnt enjoy it at all. The 5 however...what a bike!

how good are the k24's relative to other brakes?

Was it the fact the suspension still worked under brakes that you didn't like

Anyway, Oros modulate as well as Hope but stop and cope with heat as well as Hayes whilst weighing very little.

K18s for the basic brake
K24s for the bite point adjuster
Biancos for a polished finish and a different lever
Puros for titanium hardware and a carbon lever

fly4fun

I thnik the patriot isnt quite good enough on hte uphills for me.

I already have dt4.2 rims on hope proII hubs as wheels, so they'll do me fine. I was also going to go 31.8 on the old stem.

Mainly the question is just brakes and forks.

Cheeers.

x

p.s. the reign. Nahh, it was an 'alrite bike, but it was far too average when i rode it. The orange however you get on it and...wow!

dave_hill

Just from a personal standpoint, I do think that Orange are massively overpriced for what they are. But that's what you get for having the frame built in West Yorkshire...

Ditch the chainrings on your chainset and fit 22/36/bash ring, 11-34 cassette and a short-cage rear mech.

fly4fun

you got links for a bash ring etc you would suggest?

dave_hill

fly4fun wrote:

you got links for a bash ring etc you would suggest?

I have one of these - Blackspire Ring God C4

one of these - Blackspire Super Pro Middle Ring (36T)

and one of these - Blackspire Chuck 22T inner

all fitted to one of these - Shimano Hone HT2 chainset.

As well as increasing your ground clearance slighty, only having 18 gears reduces the number of duplicated ratios.

clarkson

id say a spesh enduro, but i'm biased...

but no really, id say the 36's although it may jack the front end up a bit.
avids are brilliant brakes either juicy 5's if you want lightweight and simplicity or codes if you want loits of power, although my juicys are fine for me.

zero303

Orange do an AM version of the 5 with the Talas on and the frsme warranty is fine for 160mm

fly4fun

Ok. full story:

I had a £2500 hardcore hardtail. I won a competition in dirt magazine for an orange five s. I was already in love with the 5 before i won the comp. Im gonna stick all my componentry onto the 5 and sell of my current 5 with all the 5's components.

I then want to make the 5 into an All mountain rig....

does that make it clearer?

x

zero303

Lucky bugger! Here's me going off to drop £2k of hard earned wedge on one next weekend and you got yours for free!

But seriously, I'm happy for you and I hope you enjoy your bike as much I do...

fly4fun

Cheers mate

How does the 'zocchi 55ATA compare to the 36 TALAS?

x