Orange Five Buying advice - having a look tommorrow!

Andyt1054

Hi all,

Im new to the site although ive been biking for many a happy year - mainly on roads on my triathlon bike ( :oops: )

Ive decided to buy a new full sus bike and im really interested in an orange 5 (with the upgrade pack) and just wondered what the general opinions were about orange in general and more specifically the 2011 five. I only intend to tdo XC and im not looking at getting into downhilling etc, mainly riding at the pines or Derbyshire/Scotland

Any thoughts or comments really welcome!

Thanks in advance


Andy 8)

cooldad

Good old fashioned engineering, like the Forth Bridge.

Duffer

You see a lot of them on the trails, which speaks volumes to me. People moan about them being too common and looking ugly, but you can't deny the popularity must have been for a reason.

I really like them, and will deffinately look into one when the time comes to replace my susser.

http://www.vitalmtb.com/videos/member/2011-Orange-Five-First-Look,2920/MTBCUTtv,6
a little vid

ricardo_smooth

my next bike is gonna be an Orange alpine 160 with all the toys I think. (either that or a Santa Cruz nomad). Just go ride them and see if you like. if not. try something else!

Pudseyp

My view..expensive for an old single pivot bike that looks like it's been cobbled together out of old oil cans....but hey can't deny they get great reviews..

Also take a look at the Trek EX8, Marin Mount Vision, and the Mondraker Factor and Foxy R's these are all great trail bikes that also get great reviews and are as popular...

KulaBen

They get great reviews and you see lots on the trails so gthey must be doing something right. However they are expensive for the spec. I think you'll need to decide how much travel you need, as a longer travel bike like the five may be better downhill but you may find it harder going up.
When I was looking for a full suss I tried a five as well as an Orange ST4, and really liked the ST4, so it might be worth looking at one of those.
The other thing to consider is whether a 2011 bike really has been improved, or if it's just new paint and a price hike. To be fair I think the tweaks they've made to the 2011 5 are good. However there are a lot of deals out there for 2010 bikes- I saw a trek fuel ex9.8 going with £800 quid off the other day.
The trick is to try a load of bikes and go with what feels best and fits you best.
Enjoy!

miss notax

Brilliant bikes!

I ride a Orange 5 Diva (the ladies specific version) and I love it. I rode a Santa Cruz Superlight before which I rode in Scotland, Alps etc but wanted something more aggressive - which is what I found with the Orange. It climbs as well as the Superlight (although a different technique is needed!) but comes into it's own on the descents... It just gobbles up anything in it's way

They are popular for a very good reason, and with a bit of clever speccing they don't have to look boring...



Anyway, have fun choosing!

Pudseyp

Very smart I must say..love the matching jacket...although the shoes let you down...

Seriously it is a nice bit of kit...but each to there own..

miss notax

Pudseyp wrote:

Very smart I must say..love the matching jacket...although the shoes let you down...

Ha ha ha...! You would not believe how much stick I get from the boys (well, men!) I ride with for wearing white MTBing shoes!!

Northwind

Main criticism I have of the Five builds is the erratic spec. Frinstance, £2500 for a bike like that, then fit it with 317s on Pro 2s? What's that about? 317s are a decent rim and you'd be pleased to get them on a £750 XC bike but they're not particularily strong or wide, and they're a budget option. But, there's no 719 option which would both make more sense- the only upgrade is to 819s. No 721 or Stans either. And why build cheap rims onto expensive hubs? Makes no sense. And then they take that Pro 2 hub and whack a cheap, heavy non-spider cassette on to boot.

Same with the 117s on the Crush... "Here's our hardcore hardtail, here's its big forks, its wide bars, and its cheapo skinny XC rims" And you know exactly what the only consideration was- "What's the cheapest rim we can fit that has a Mavic sticker on"

So it's a bit of a shame. There's places they could save money elsewhere in the spec to build a bike that's more balanced, and to make sure all the parts can cash the cheques the frame can write.

Duffer wrote:

You see a lot of them on the trails, which speaks volumes to me.

I see a lot of Apollos on the trails Fives are great but I reckon they're largely popular because they're popular, not just on their merits. In fact I reckon from watching Five owners out on the hills, that about half of all Five owners got the wrong bike and would be better off on an Anthem X or similiar. (same is true of Zestys, Pitchs, etc etc to be fair)

t0pc4t

everyone should ride an anthem x though really

GHill

Nice bike, but think carefully whether you need all that travel. The 100 - 120 mm bikes are a lot of fun, fast, and can still take a bit of a thrashing.

If you want to stick with Orange, the new ST4 looks ace. I ride a Trek Fuel Ex 8 and it's way more capable than I am. Not that that's saying much

Duffer

Northwind wrote:

Duffer wrote:

You see a lot of them on the trails, which speaks volumes to me.

I see a lot of Apollos on the trails Fives are great but I reckon they're largely popular because they're popular, not just on their merits. In fact I reckon from watching Five owners out on the hills, that about half of all Five owners got the wrong bike and would be better off on an Anthem X or similiar. (same is true of Zestys, Pitchs, etc etc to be fair)

You are entitled to your opinion. You are, of course, wrong - but you're still entitled

All jokes aside, you make a valid point about the spec, and if you want shiny parts you'd be better off buying a Boardman. However, it is notoriously expensive to manufacture frames (or anything else, for that matter) in the UK. For this reason, they will always be overpriced. But look at it this way - you'll never see one reduced. The most discount you'll ever get, even on last years model, is perhaps a hundred quid. So there's no risk of paying big money for it, only for it to be half price come January.

Pudseyp

Duffer wrote:

Northwind wrote:

Duffer wrote:

You see a lot of them on the trails, which speaks volumes to me.

All jokes aside, you make a valid point about the spec, and if you want shiny parts you'd be better off buying a Boardman. However, it is notoriously expensive to manufacture frames (or anything else, for that matter) in the UK. For this reason, they will always be overpriced. But look at it this way - you'll never see one reduced. The most discount you'll ever get, even on last years model, is perhaps a hundred quid. So there's no risk of paying big money for it, only for it to be half price come January.

Yes but you don't have to pay import taxes etc..etc...so it's horses for courses...aluminium has very similar market values world wide so it is only the labour costs to consider, so against the import taxes I bet the costs would not be too disimilar...it's Orange relying on the brand to maximise proffits...and if it was my company I would do the same..

Also compare hydroformimg to alloy welding....I bet the later is cheaper !

Northwind

Duffer wrote:

All jokes aside, you make a valid point about the spec, and if you want shiny parts you'd be better off buying a Boardman. However, it is notoriously expensive to manufacture frames (or anything else, for that matter) in the UK. For this reason, they will always be overpriced.

Oh, no, I'm not complaining about the price- they're better value now than they were a while ago. I'm complaining about the actual choice of parts. Example I gave, 317s on Pro 2s, it'd cost very little to raise that to 719s which are actually appropriate for the bike, and the difference could be found elsewhere in the spec without sacrificing performance.

(Or supplying a non-spider cassette that'll bite into the freehub. And then again, the maxle option uses a pro 2 and a maxle lite and that way broken axles lie. Bad combos, 2 parts that shouldn't go together)

Basically what I'm saying is, spec the bike more like a clued up customer would build it. Money in the parts that count, and a balanced spec.If you look at a Zesty, as a good direct competitor, it's not so much that it's a better spec, it's just a more appropriate spec. It's a rider's part's choice not a brand manager/marketing man's choice.

Oh and also, make the upgrades more cost effective- to get a Hope BB upgrade costs exactly the same as buying one seperately, it should obviously be less as you're not getting the XT one that'd cost £25 at retail normally.

I get slightly riled because Fives are great and could so easily be better. remember the old Five S? Said on the page "minimum fork length 140mm" and came with a 130mm fork

miss notax

I would agree with all of these comments

I specced my Orange myself (hopefully I am that 'clued up customer'!) having got the frame, which for me was the best solution. I'm not being funny, but personally i'm much happier with the spec of my bike compared to the 'standard'.

I'm also pleased to read above that Northwind views 719's as a good fit for the Hope hubs and the bike - that's what I chose

Andyt1054

Wow thanks for all the really helpful advice, thoughts and opinions. Definately have given me something to think about!

Further to my first post, i went to the bike shop today and the sales assistant lent me his own five pro and said - just go for a blast around on it take as long as you want! 4-5 off road miles later and i really liked it. Pretty sure its the bike for me.... just got to decide on the colour!

Thanks again!

Andy

PS miss notax - now you've got me thinking.... :? colour coded bike and accessories!

ftwizard

I got a very good deal on the frame, chainset and headset from BikeActive and managed to build the bike to this spec, for well under the cost of the Five SE.

Pudseyp

A good looking lady on a bike...sold !! lol