Orange 5, Mount Vision, Heckler or Hustler ?

s1mon

Hi,

Looking to buy one of the above. Had a quick ride on an Five S which was nice fits me well (16") as they recommend 5'4" - 5'8".

Heckler, I'm in between size's Small & Medium, tried a Medium fit's ok but not alot of clearance.

Not riden the other two yet, anyone know where they have Mount Vision ( Small) and Hustler (15.5") in stock for a test ride in my area ?

Anyone ride one of the obove ?

Thanks

Simon.

delcol

simon how tall are you.....

i got a sc heckler in medium i am 5ft 10 and the fit is ok i could of got a large but i love the chuckabilty of the med im defo glad i got the med the bike comes alive on techy singletrack.
i took the bike to whistler in may and it was in its element on the tight singletrack and in the bike park.
as for the other bikes i would phone other shops in the area to see if have or can get hold of any of the other bikes for you to try.

s1mon

Hi,

I'm 5'5" - 6", i'm right between the small and medium sizes :roll:

Anyone know where I can get a test ride on a Hustler ?, I have test ride's sorted out for the other three now.

Simon.

dhxcme

i'm 6ft and ride an 18" orange so you want something like a 15" frame. I also have long legs which means i dwarf most frames. my mate is 5'11" and can't get on my 17" 223 frame where as I get a good 5" of stand over. I'd say go to the shops and see if they will let you have a 5 min ride round the car park.

s1mon

Hi,

Have now test ridden the Heckler and Mount Vision both at the same place and pretty much same condtions, wet :roll:

anyway the Heckler is definatley not for me, way to heavy ! for my ridding and where I went. The Marin is a nice bike and very comfy, but I'm seriously considering going back to hard tail, I just don't think I need the rear suspension or 5"+ of travel for where I ride.

so it's down to the Orange vs Marin on the full susser's if not back to the good old HT's

Simon.

zero303

Be aware that your body quickly adapts to the weight penalty - not long after I got my Five (first full-suss) I actually started getting quicker on just about everything except very hard-packed roads...

gravelrash

Size wise, I'm 5'8 and found the small Orange 5 and Marins a perfect fit. Bigger felt too stretched out to me.

After test riding both bike (5 and mount vision) I preferred the Orange - better feedback from the terrain, and consequently a bigger grin factor. The Marin inspires loads of confidence and a feeling of invulnerabilty right up to the point where the travel suddenly seems to "ramp up" at the back, and I'm suddenly feeling out of my depth, where the Orange seemed to give a more progressive warning.

That said, I actually bought myself a 2007 Rift Zone (same frame as the Mount Vision, slightly lower component spec) and have to say I love it. Reason being, there are no bargains to be had on 08 Marins, or any Orange 5's at all, thanks to both bikes rave reviews in the bike press. 2007 Marins however can stil be picked up at bargain prices, and ride, as far as I can tell, identically to the 08 model I test rode, and a £600 saving goes a long way towards some top spec carbon bits for your new bike :-)

Oh, and definately get a full susser if you can afford it. I kept my beloved hardtail thinking, like you, there would be times I didn't need full suspension, but the full susser ride is so much more enjoyable on all but the smoothest terrain that my hardtail is rapidly becoming redundant.

Chaka Ping

Or you could get a 4" travel full-suss?

My first full-sus bike was my 3.5" Giant Anthem and I was expecting it'd be slower than my hardtail round the flat and twisty local woods - but I couldn't have been more wrong.

A little bit of rear suspension makes you so much faster as the rear wheel is in contact with the ground at all times - and you can just pop the front wheel over logs up to about 4 or 5 inches high and let the rear wheel follow.

Chaka Ping

Or check this from the classifieds...

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12577142

grantway

My Orange made me go to the next level and still keeps on pushing me
where ever I ride.

Im sure I ride that bit more faster too.
With Orange they have a great upgrade option list that does lighten
the bikes weight too.

Andy B

I love my Orange 5, it's an '06 18" weighs approx 28lbs, pretty much custom build built from a 5S.

Superb bit of kit

Heckler is said to be a very good bike by it's owners, not been near a Marin, so no comment.