Ordered an Orange Crush, got a 5 Pro, will I climb better

wollow007

Hi Guy's

Trashed my Commencal super 4 carbon and grabbed an Orange 5 Pro for the trails and general XC, however I have noticed that the 5 hates hills, it cannot compare to the Commencal due to weight, single pivot and general guild. I'm aware the 5 is superb for trails and love every minute of my trail rides until I hit the big hills.

I have been eying up an Orange Crush for a couple of weeks, love the look and kit that comes with it (apart from the brakes which I have asked them to change for Hope Tech X2's) and finally ordered one today. Unfortunately I was unable to trial one, all demo models are out until June so I had a play with a 17" frame but opted for a 21" (6'6" tall, not small).

So what do you think guy's?

I'm aware that the geometry is pretty much the same as the 5, also kit list is pretty identical and the only real difference is a bit of weight and a lack of rear suspension. I did ride a Fuji HT for a while until I got the 5 and I was able to get up the hills with the same effort as the Commencal so I'm hoping that the Crush will do the same, and give me a grin going downhill with the 140mm fox forks on the front.

What do you think of the bike, I love all the Orange bikes?

sheepsteeth

it is the same kind of bike as the 5 from what i can gather, designed for going down hills as opposed to going up them.

it has a slack head angle and longish forks which dont drop down which dont normally add up to great climbing bike

its a cracking looking bike atleast

wollow007

To be honest I like going down and hate climbing hills, I checked out the Orange site and had a chat with a couple of bike shops and they said the same thing, geometry is built for down as opposed to up.

Orange sell the bike as a better climber and all round XC bike as opposed to the 5, I thin the HT of the Crush will help me climb out better than the 5 and better when doing really light trails around where I live.

I would stick with the Commencal Super 4 carbon when it gets back from repair, but to be honest the bike has been nothing but a pain in the a*s, cable rub, broken chain stay, however id did climb like a mountain goat on speed!

I think I got it right for what I want it for, screaming down and plodding up (a little better up than the 5). If not it will be on here in the classifieds

miss notax

wollow007 wrote:

however I have noticed that the 5 hates hills, it cannot compare to the Commencal due to weight, single pivot and general guild. I'm aware the 5 is superb for trails and love every minute of my trail rides until I hit the big hills.

Really?

I ride a 5 and it climbs equally as well as - if not better than - my previous bike (a santa cruz superlight). I found I needed a slightly different technique as the front wheel is prone to lifting on the 5, hence you need to make more of an effort to keep your weight forward when climbing, but that said it can tackle pretty much anything. And i'm not a girlie wimp when it comes to climbing, I do enjoy my nasty technical climbs

wollow007

Yeah, I cant really explain it, its like someone has got a bungee on the back connected to another bike.

It's not the weight because I have a hard tail which is heavier and climbs OK.

It might be technique, I do get the front wheel airborne a lot but i used to get that with my Commencal and it doesn't really phase me.

I used to be able to grind uphill or sit and spin till the cows come home but the 5 is somehow different. Not complaining though, wouldn't change the 5 for anything love it to bits

wollow007

Maybe It's my legs, need to get them used to the 5 only had it couple of weeks

Still looking forward to getting the Crush for local works and medium rides where I don't need the full sus 5 :P

Anonymous

Just keep riding up hills. They get easier each time.

miss notax

I'm a wimp and ride my 5 everywhere - i'm a firm believer in the joys of full suspension!!

If it's any consolation I hated the way my 5 climbed for about the first month - it really was different to the superlight - but once I got used to it I didn't look back 8)

blablablacksheep

im pretty sure going uphill is less to do with the bike and more the rider.

Given that, that bike spec has a decent suspension system you should find it not a issue going uphill compared to a lower spec bike with less control over the suspension, and in turn bobbing as you pedal.

do 100 squats a day might help more than a beter bike :P

Dirtydog11

wollow007 wrote:

Maybe It's my legs, need to get them used to the 5 only had it couple of weeks

Still looking forward to getting the Crush for local works and medium rides where I don't need the full sus 5 :P

I've recently built up a new 5 and fitted a 36 Talas and all I can say is when seated with the fork dropped to 100mm and Propedal on, it climbs as well as and in some situations better than my Maxlight.

The only time I could see it being a problem is out of the saddle sprints because of the fork bob but as I'm not particularly fond of out of the saddle sprints it's not an issue for me.

Just out of interest you say your 6' 6", what do you weigh?
If your heavy it may have something to do with the tune of the Shock.

wollow007

16 and a half stone, set up the sag with my backpack on at about 20% to minimize the bob which I have read about, haven't really played around with pro pedal yet, will have a go tomorrow but I don't really notice bob from the back end

floosy

I some situations my 5 climbs better than a hardtail due to increased traction from the rear suss.
It is all bout getting your weight over the front forks to prevent them from lifting.(seated climbing)
Its a bit more difficult to kepp traction and stop front from lifting when standing climbing though.

I know of one short climb on a local route that no hardtail rider (from our group) has yet to get up, but guess what the 5 does..

Dave.

PS im 5`1" and ride a 16" frame...

paul20v

I think as already said it technique you just need to get into it
the pro pedal on 3 and go
i must admit i find it no harder than my old HT for climbing
just 100% better on the rest

Shaggy_Dog

yeehaamcgee wrote:

Just keep riding up hills. They get easier each time.

It never gets easier, you just get faster

paramart

my mates got a 5 and a crush they are well different to ride, he prefers the 5 and can climb on it as well, if the wheel starts lifting he just flicks the pro pedal off and lets the suspension work, it stops the wheel lifting on steep climbs, the crush feels shorter in the reach you feel over forward on it compared to the 5, both good bikes though and good spec,

dmorton

I have a 2010 Crush and find it great on climbs, and even better going down. I don't think it's limited in its climbing ability by the geometry, lockout on the fork would probably be of more use. It's definitely more a fun bike than a race bike so a pure XC hardtail would probably climb better....I don't know how it would compare to a Five though....I would like a Five

Thewaylander

Personally i don't think the crush will make a blind bit of difference.

Do you have DH tyres on it? they slow me down when climbing a bit? but other wise it's just pedal get fitter kind of thing.

I mean I hated the crush when i owned one, and E-bayed it after a few rides, Hated the Long Travel HT felt like it was hucking me over the bars half the time and was a horrible bike with the traddional orange blind man welds.

dmorton

Thewaylander wrote:

Hated the Long Travel HT felt like it was hucking me over the bars half the time

I find the opposite, each to their own though.
I've gone over the bars many times on old GT Backwoods on descents but never on the Crush

Could have been frame sizing maybe? If you have too small a frame and whack the seat up you get that going over the bars feeling.

fasterthanaspeedingbullet

I went from a 2009 Orange Five Pro to a 2010 Orange Crush, and haven't looked back since.

My personal opinion is that climbing is easier and the descents are more 'interesting' :shock:

Thewaylander

dmorton wrote:

Thewaylander wrote:

Hated the Long Travel HT felt like it was hucking me over the bars half the time

I find the opposite, each to their own though.
I've gone over the bars many times on old GT Backwoods on descents but never on the Crush

Could have been frame sizing maybe? If you have too small a frame and whack the seat up you get that going over the bars feeling.

What that you were gonna go off the back all the time

And sizing was fine been riding a long time. It was just a crap bike with a poorly made frame at the end of the day was glad to rid :S

dmorton

What year was your Crush, Waylander?

Thewaylander

2006 i think getting old now lol, was one of it's early years. but was not a fan which was a shame as i really really wanted to like the oranges kinda blind sinded myself into buying one as i wanted to like it more than i actually did

sheepsteeth

that reminds me, i used to have a crush too, it was brutal. mine was an o5 though.

dmorton

I think it's a more refined beast nowadays! I love mine