Orange Five AM

*AJ*

New project for me, treated myself to an Orange Five for my 30th.



The parts from the Mega will be transferred over to this.

Need to nip it down to the bike shop to get the Hope headset pressed in and then I'll get going on the build.

@lexD

Nice AJ come on get it built then.......

russyh

Can't wait to see it AJ. I kept my last five build off hear for risk of getting slated ha ha. I am buying a slightly bigger frame now so will post progress as well.

rockmonkeysc

Nice. Frame only options are much better value than complete Orange bikes.
Subtle colour!

CitizenLee

Seen it built on Pinkbike. Looks good AJ

Russy, stop being lame and post your damn bike!

*AJ*

Got it built today!

Nipped to my mates bike shop first to use his headset press, then came home and set about taking the nukeproof apart.



15 mins and got it to this stage lol!





Then started on the Five



Took a bit longer to rebuild, but not too long. Took the opportunity to clean most if the bits whilst it was apart.

As the old chain device wouldn't fit I thought I'd give a hope retainer ring a try.

This was it when it was first built, the gold didn't look as offensive as I first thought.







Then I changed the stem as I still had the black 50mm Thomson one knocking around in the garage, which I think looks better.

rockmonkeysc

That's one heavy duty Five.

*AJ*

Forks are going soon. The frame deserves better and they weigh a tonne!

My mates offered me his shops display pikes for £420. I'm tempted. But I'm also tempted by the Marzocchi 55 CR too.

paul.skibum

*AJ* wrote:

Forks are going soon. The frame deserves better and they weigh a tonne!

My mates offered me his shops display pikes for £420. I'm tempted. But I'm also tempted by the Marzocchi 55 CR too.

The new Marz 350 CR's look good too.

Nice bike but not sure I'd go from the Mega to a Five....

ilovedirt

Takes all sorts I s'pose. Having just gone from an Alpine to a Mega, I couldn't be happier. But as long as he enjoys it!

Pikes would be a good call, maybe drop them to 150mm though if they're not already.

rockmonkeysc

The 350CR is very, very good. Not sure how it compares to the Pike for weight though.

russyh

AJ, Pikes for £320 delivered to your door mate: http://www.alltricks.com/mtb/forks/fork ... 72325.html

use discount code SOL5.


My Five AM runs at 160 as standard, but to be honest I am dropping it to 150mm.

ilovedirt

paul.skibum wrote:

*AJ* wrote:

Forks are going soon. The frame deserves better and they weigh a tonne!

My mates offered me his shops display pikes for £420. I'm tempted. But I'm also tempted by the Marzocchi 55 CR too.

The new Marz 350 CR's look good too.

Nice bike but not sure I'd go from the Mega to a Five....

The 350 CR is for 650b only.

rockmonkeysc

There's no reason not to use a 650b fork with a 26" wheel.

ej2320

RockmonkeySC wrote:

There's no reason not to use a 650b fork with a 26" wheel.

Yep. Just means there's more tyre clearance which can be seen as a good thing

IDave

I don't understand why you would swap the Mega for an Orange 5..... why?!

*AJ*

IDave wrote:

I don't understand why you would swap the Mega for an Orange 5..... why?!

Because the orange is so much nicer. It fits me better and suits my style of riding.

I felt cramped on the mega due to the short top tube and steep seat tube angle. This feels much better to me (long body with short legs).

Had its maiden voyage today. Loved every minute of it. Manuals like a boss compared to the mega with its long chain stays!



Don't get me wrong, the mega was a great bike, but this suits me much better.

On a separate note I'd just like to say how impressed I was with the hope retainer ring too! Totally forgot about it until I came to wash the bike and remembered I'd had no chain device on! It's had some stick today and never once showed and signs of dropping or nearly dropping a chain.

*AJ*

Russyh wrote:

AJ, Pikes for £320 delivered to your door mate: http://www.alltricks.com/mtb/forks/fork ... 72325.html

use discount code SOL5.


My Five AM runs at 160 as standard, but to be honest I am dropping it to 150mm.

Cheers mate, out of interest why are you dropping to 150?

Mines a Five AM too and it feels fine with the 160mm fork.

russyh

Because I have tried a five with 150's on now and it just felt a little more lively. Now that could of been a lighter set of forks I guess. But considering the pikes were so cheap I thought it was a good time to try out.

As for others comments around why swap a mega for a five, I swapped my transition covert for one! The simple fact is neither the mega or the covert are better bikes. They are very different, I think you are either a single pivot fan or your not. I prefer it by a country mile, like AJ it just suits me and gives me exactly what I want for a bike. I finish a ride with a smile every time without fail, sure it's not as fast as my old covert but boy is it more fun. Unfortunately some people let brand prejudice or forum fashion cloud their vision.....

rockmonkeysc

The Five, Mega and Covert are all single pivot.

russyh

RockmonkeySC wrote:

The Five, Mega and Covert are all single pivot.

Very true, let me re-phrase that post then.

I like the simplicity of the Orange Single pivot system. It feels so much more alive than my Covert did. I really, really enjoy how it rides. Like i said, i understand people not liking it. I found my covert very fast, but it just didn't feel as nimble, as direct, flickable or as fun. I did find it so fast that someone with my poor skill set was going to get themselves in trouble pretty quickly. I guess it maybe more down to the geo of the bike than the suspension setup (which i appreciate is now 'old hat') but I love my five and really struggle to see what i could buy next that would make me smile as much.

Anyway, we been here before too many times sorry to hijack your thread AJ

CitizenLee

Russ stop being a pansy and post your bike FFS! Show us the god-damned goods

Anyway, good to hear it's riding nice AJ! Not a fan of the gold stuff personally, I'd go for all black parts on such a bright frame... but hey, if they work why change them.

russyh

OK OK, posting a new thread now!

CitizenLee

Russyh wrote:

OK OK, posting a new thread now!

Jolly good show! :P

*AJ*

CitizenLee wrote:

Russ stop being a pansy and post your bike FFS! Show us the god-damned goods

Anyway, good to hear it's riding nice AJ! Not a fan of the gold stuff personally, I'd go for all black parts on such a bright frame... but hey, if they work why change them.

Indeed.

Whilst im Kind of stuck with the gold hubs for a bit, I was thinking about changing the headset spacers, seat clamp and other little cheaper things for either Gunsmoke or Red.

CitizenLee

*AJ* wrote:

Whilst im Kind of stuck with the gold hubs for a bit, I was thinking about changing the headset spacers, seat clamp and other little cheaper things for either Gunsmoke or Red.

Deffo gunsmoke mate. Would suit the yellow better... IMO of course.

ilovedirt

Russyh wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

The Five, Mega and Covert are all single pivot.

Very true, let me re-phrase that post then.

I like the simplicity of the Orange Single pivot system. It feels so much more alive than my Covert did. I really, really enjoy how it rides. Like i said, i understand people not liking it. I found my covert very fast, but it just didn't feel as nimble, as direct, flickable or as fun. I did find it so fast that someone with my poor skill set was going to get themselves in trouble pretty quickly. I guess it maybe more down to the geo of the bike than the suspension setup (which i appreciate is now 'old hat') but I love my five and really struggle to see what i could buy next that would make me smile as much.

Anyway, we been here before too many times sorry to hijack your thread AJ

I guess if you like the feeling of chain growth and pedal bob... Feels wallowy to me, certainly not "more alive" than my mega, but horses for courses I guess.

Orange bikes descend very well and handle well enough, but I'd never buy another for actually pedalling up hill, they're awful (in my experience).

mike hunts alpine

Very nice bike wilkommen to das klub

russyh

ilovedirt wrote:

Russyh wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

The Five, Mega and Covert are all single pivot.

Very true, let me re-phrase that post then.

I like the simplicity of the Orange Single pivot system. It feels so much more alive than my Covert did. I really, really enjoy how it rides. Like i said, i understand people not liking it. I found my covert very fast, but it just didn't feel as nimble, as direct, flickable or as fun. I did find it so fast that someone with my poor skill set was going to get themselves in trouble pretty quickly. I guess it maybe more down to the geo of the bike than the suspension setup (which i appreciate is now 'old hat') but I love my five and really struggle to see what i could buy next that would make me smile as much.

Anyway, we been here before too many times sorry to hijack your thread AJ

I guess if you like the feeling of chain growth and pedal bob...



Orange bikes descend very well, but I'd never buy another for actually pedalling up hill, they're awful (in my experience).

You get pedal bob with most full sus bikes it's not unique to fives. I have not had a problem with it, even with a coil shock.....anyway, didn't your alpine have a slackset and offset bushes? No wonder it climbed like a 3 leg asthmatic goat

ilovedirt

Russyh wrote:

ilovedirt wrote:

Russyh wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

The Five, Mega and Covert are all single pivot.

Very true, let me re-phrase that post then.

I like the simplicity of the Orange Single pivot system. It feels so much more alive than my Covert did. I really, really enjoy how it rides. Like i said, i understand people not liking it. I found my covert very fast, but it just didn't feel as nimble, as direct, flickable or as fun. I did find it so fast that someone with my poor skill set was going to get themselves in trouble pretty quickly. I guess it maybe more down to the geo of the bike than the suspension setup (which i appreciate is now 'old hat') but I love my five and really struggle to see what i could buy next that would make me smile as much.

Anyway, we been here before too many times sorry to hijack your thread AJ

I guess if you like the feeling of chain growth and pedal bob...



Orange bikes descend very well, but I'd never buy another for actually pedalling up hill, they're awful (in my experience).

You get pedal bob with most full sus bikes it's not unique to fives. I have not had a problem with it, even with a coil shock.....anyway, didn't your alpine have a slackset and offset bushes? No wonder it climbed like a 3 leg asthmatic goat

It didn't have offset bushes. 1.5 deg in head angle isn't going to explain the wallowy pedal strokes (though a knackered shock might). I'm not trying to start an argument here, I'm a lot happier with my mega for how I ride it, and I'm sure you guys are happier with your oranges. If I didn't enjoy a decent pedal so much, I'd have kept the alpine, but that bike just wasn't made for pedalling.

rockmonkeysc

I thought the Fives I tried pedalled pretty well. Better than some FSR bikes I have ridden anyway.
There are other reasons the Five isn't to my taste but it's all just personal preference, nothing wrong with the Five, they ride very well.
Oranges downhill bikes on the other hand do have some definite issues, mainly pedal feedback.