What now?

[Gooby]

My '5 was the highly specced SE model, dripping with XTR, Race Face, Hope, Carbon Fibre and ceramics. There is not one thing I would change, I couldnt make it better.

The plan is at the weeknd I wil go and order another UNLESS...

What bikes are out there that are just THE BEST RIDE! Give me some inspiration.
Basic guidelines;

• minimum 140mm suspension front and rear
• No carbon fibre frames
• no hard tails
• no stupid 40kg DH bikes - or even 35kg bikes, my 5 was down to 26.5lbs, has to be comparible.

Please help

[timbo48]

You could do worse than have a look at the Commencal and Lapierre websites. Should be able to find something equivalent to your Orange. Having said that, they might persuade you that you don't need a change.

[Gooby]

timbo48 said:

You could do worse than have a look at the Commencal and Lapierre websites. Should be able to find something equivalent to your Orange. Having said that, they might persuade you that you don't need a change.

I rode a lapierre earlier this year ... 514 I think, great bike just not my style of riding. I think it suits a hill nazi better than me who it a bit lardy and likes it when gravity is on his side!

Are commencal any good, I have heard stories about quality? Also they seem to have made a decent single pivot then messed it up by bunging a set of levers betwen the lovely single pivot and the shock.. That is a judgement and I welcome being proved wrong.

[Steve UK]

Gooby said:

timbo48 said:

You could do worse than have a look at the Commencal and Lapierre websites. Should be able to find something equivalent to your Orange. Having said that, they might persuade you that you don't need a change.

I rode a lapierre earlier this year ... 514 I think, great bike just not my style of riding. I think it suits a hill nazi better than me who it a bit lardy and likes it when gravity is on his side!

Are commencal any good, I have heard stories about quality? Also they seem to have made a decent single pivot then messed it up by bunging a set of levers betwen the lovely single pivot and the shock.. That is a judgement and I welcome being proved wrong.

I have 2 commencals, a meta 5 and a supreme mini dh. Very good bikes in my opinion but the 5 is on the heavy side. Large with a gravity dropper, e13 lg1+, singletrack rims on hope pro2's and fox talas 36's and its about 34 lb. On the scales it is heavy but I don't notice it and its on a 1x9 gear set up too.

The mini d is awesome, you can pedal it uphills nearly as good as the meta5 but its oh so much faster on the down bits. Fox 36 van up front and a push tuned van r on the back, my most favourite bike ever.

Your right on the quality issues though, in 2009 this came to a head with many frames cracking and a very poor responce from commencal. This is supposed to be all good for 2010 though.

Yes its a single pivot but the lever things you mention are the secret to quite an active rear, commencal suspension design is by BOS (linkages not the forks/shock )

I find bike choice very subjective so you have to read and try before you buy.

Steve

[theboymoon]

Gooby said:

timbo48 said:

You could do worse than have a look at the Commencal and Lapierre websites. Should be able to find something equivalent to your Orange. Having said that, they might persuade you that you don't need a change.

I rode a lapierre earlier this year ... 514 I think, great bike just not my style of riding. I think it suits a hill nazi better than me who it a bit lardy and likes it when gravity is on his side!

Are commencal any good, I have heard stories about quality? Also they seem to have made a decent single pivot then messed it up by bunging a set of levers betwen the lovely single pivot and the shock.. That is a judgement and I welcome being proved wrong.

i'd give the zesty another shot it you can, neil's is a really sweet ride. Wildcards on here has a meta 4 (i think) which seems to ride really well.

one of my riding chums has a blur lt and he rinses both the up's and down's on it. (mind you, he is a bit useful). then there's bigger blurs to consider too.

abarthchris is a dirty commi boy too with a 666. i think thats more on the heavy end of the 'peddalable spectrum'

hmmm. choices choices!

[Gooby]

One of my best buddies has a 'pierre. I just dont love them, I respect them and think they are great but it doesnt fill me with a desire to ride. I will have a good look at the 714....

Before i got the 5, my first choice was a Gary Fisher HiFI pro carbon. I may have a look at the alu version.
In the last 6 months I have ridden a couple of Garyfisher 29ers, one hard tail and one full sus. - Not a fan of 29ers...
Trek Top fuel 9.9, incredible superfast but it didnt "flow" for me. Too highly strung, I am too ham fisted and not gifted enough to ride it well.
Trek fuel ex9. Just didnt flow for me, no passion.
Specialised stumpjumper (I think, full sus thing) and specialised enduro. Better than the ex9 but no love. Felt a little "mass produced" and cold.
Gary Fisher Roscoe two. Loved it, like a trek with some orangy goodness sprinkled in but far too lardy.
an old pace hard tail from '95 - wierd box section thing. The guy who owns it and 4 others like it is so gifted and so fast he kept up with the racer on the 9.9. This thing had about 20mm of front travel and felt like a stiff board and required far too much talent for me.

I love the 5 cos it flaters my lack of skill and can make me look good - and feel good.

I will check out the commencal, never ridden so I look forward to it.

A friend has just come round to do the friendly thing and tel me how good his ride was... He thinks I should have a look at Turner. Has anyone got any experience with Turner?

[mk1fan]

I refer to my reply on your other post.

Cove Hustler - for 140mm travel
Cove G-Spot - For 150mm travel

As the saying goes;
There are two types of people in this world. Those who own a Cove and those that wish they owned a Cove.

[timbo48]

You mentioned a Turner and that would be a very good choice. Came out op in a recent MBR test against Yeti and suchlike. Buy a frame according to what riding you do and build it up (more fun than buying a complete bike). This is what I would do. Turner frames, although American, have good tyre clearance and he's been at it for a long time now so should know what he's doing. As somebody said, choices, choices.........

[theboymoon]

yeah but its a, you know, a Turner.

Try a demo a Blur LT, i think you might like it

[hot66]

Santa Cruz Nomad or

Yeti 575 or ASR 7


I ride a Yeti 575 & love it .... great all round bike Friends have Nomads & they are impressive bikes

[Gooby]

hot66 said:

Santa Cruz Nomad or

Yeti 575 or ASR 7


I ride a Yeti 575 & love it .... great all round bike Friends have Nomads & they are impressive bikes

I had an ASR. Not in the same league as the 5. But a 575... Hmmmm. Trouble is yeti UK importers are a bunch of codpieces and the yeti will go wrong...

[R.P.M]

If you want a truly special machine that is hand made to your order and finished exactly how you want, there is only one true contender.

http://www.nicolai.net/products/e-frames/e-helius-...

I bought an AM in the summer, it took me 6 months to decide and having test ridden ALL the usual suspects, it blew me away.

[Gooby]

That nicoli looks the dogs. Get rid of that SRAM stuff....

Who has a demo bike?

[Gooby]

Poo - euro conversion is very unkind. 2k more than a similar spec 5. Is the frame worth nearly £3k?

[R.P.M]

By sram I assume you mean the RS forks!?

I tested and bought from head for the hills in surry. If your interested ring the importers direct, Mike or Simon http://www.nicolai-uk.com/ both top blokes and will do anything to please.

Yes they are expensive. My frame with a few options and the shock was just over 2k. The build quality is second to none, and all the bearings are ceramic. Any dents or dings and you can send it back to the factory for repair. Couple this with the fact that Nicolai change their design very infrequently (similar to orange) and I see no reason why this bike wont last me 5-7 years. I believe the frame offers good value.

HTH

edit to add my AM offers four different rear travel settings 167/150/140/130mm and comes in at 31 lbs.

Edited by R.P.M on Friday 27th November 12:24

[killinginblack]

Cannondale RZ One40? Maybe.

[hughjayteens]

I test rode an Orange 5 and liked it, but didn't love it! Rode a Blur LT2 at the same time and much preferred that.

Ended up with a Maverick ML7/5 which for my riding style, is the best thing in the world ever!

Maybe a Maverick ML8 would be worth a look - 150mm of travel but climbs like an XC racer!

[ratbane]

killinginblack said:

Cannondale RZ One40? Maybe.

Just picked this 09 Rize 4 up for £1100 less than an O5 Pro.

Tried Zesties/O5s/EXs, and this was my personal favourite. Taken me 12 months to decide, and this one rides supremely. Far more lively than the O5 IMO, and climbs better than the Zesty (the swingarm of which which I broke). Cannondale lifetime warranty on frame/swingarm too.

[Gooby]

Ok...
Been to my dealer!
I have had a great relationship with these guys for a long time, they know my riding style and have a great understanding of the bikes.
So far I have booked a Yeti 575 Race M for the week. It looks great. I have a few reservtions. I would have to change some serious components and though it is more expensive than than the Orange 5 SE, the speck is FAR lower. Brakes, shifters and cranks would have to be changed.... But I do like the look and feel of the bike.
I have booked the Blur LT after I finish with the yeti. I like it but I am not convinced about the shed loads of rear pivots and linkage.
I have ruled out the Turner. Too many moving parts on the rear.
I have ruled out the topfuel 9.9 - carbon and too little suspension.
I have ruled out the roscoe. I would have to spend a fortune on it to shed some lard and it still wouldnt be as good as the 5
I have ruled out the trek ex's I have never enjoyed them and to get a decent spec, I have to have far too much carbon fibre.

I have a destinct legasy of breaking bikes and kit. I dot have time to maintain it every 5 seconds so the bike has to be burley.

On the list of burley bikes, the best is the 5, second is the yeti and third is the Blur LT.
That is my short list. I have not looked at the spec builds for the blur yet.

[Gooby]

Havent got a Cove dealer in the area.......
Any suggestions?