The Orange Five has been around for over 10 years, and continues to run in all of its simplistic, single pivot glory. Updated in 2013 for 27.5 wheels, it also received a through-axle update at that time. Now, the front end gets an update, moving from a bent top tube, to a straight one with a jump brace that will increase front end stiffness by 15%.
Available mid-February, they are just showing it off now at Silverstone. The British brand’s best selling model keeps going strong since the mud-prone country loves to keep their bikes simple and easy to repair.
It will be available in three colors and builds, check out the pictures and geometry of the new model after the jump
By slacking out the front end, it lengthens it by 10mm, which will improve climbing ability by keeping the front from lifting up. The extra wheelbase will also help keep the bike more stable at speed. The shock mount has also been redesigned to distribute stress on the downtube better, and reduce weight. The rear end also gets some small updates to improve the rigidity of the swingarm.
The 140mm travel frame is still built in Britain, where they prize the easy maintenance of a single pivot.
The beauty of a simple design is that they can be extremely reliable. Orange touts the durability by noting that in the last 12 months, the failure rate was just 0.47%. Its hard to understand that number without context, but most larger brands automatically budget in 2-3% in this area. It means they have no problem backing up that five year warranty.
There are three different specs available, the Five S, Five Pro and Five RS.
We did find it a bit strange that they created the geometry chart from an unsagged position, since most other brands do it at sag, and all suspension bikes (properly set up) are ridden at sag.
SPECS –
Five RS
RRP: £4000
- Brand new frame design
- Handbuilt in Halifax, UK
- Five year frame warranty
- 27.5 inch wheels
- Aggressive trail geometry
- Longer top tube and wheelbase for high-speed stability
- Internal dropper routing
- Suspension: 150mm front, 140mm rear
- RockShox Pike RCT3 150mm fork
- RockShox Monarch Plus RCT3 shock
- SRAM X1, 1×11 drivetrain
- Shimano XT brakes
- Hope Pro II Evo/ Mavic 323 wheelset
- RockShox Reverb Stealth seatpost
- Kore Torsion 50mm stem and 800mm wide bars
Five Pro
RRP: £3,200
- Brand new frame design
- Handbuilt in Halifax, UK
- Five year frame warranty
- 27.5 inch wheels
- Aggressive trail geometry
- Longer top tube and wheelbase for high-speed stability
- Internal Dropper Routing
- Suspension: 140mm front and rear
- Fox 32 Float Evolution 140mm forks
- Fox Float Evolution shock
- Shimano XT drivetrain
- Shimano XT brakes
- RaceFace Evolve double/bash chainset
- Hope Pro II Evo/ Mavic 319 wheelset
- RaceFace Ride cockpit
Five S
RRP: £2,600
- Brand new frame design
- Handbuilt in Halifax, UK
- Five year frame warranty
- 27.5 inch wheels
- Aggressive trail geometry
- Longer top tube and wheelbase for high-speed stability
- Internal Dropper Routing
- Suspension: 140mm front and rear
- RockShox Revelation RL 140mm forks
- RockShox Monarch RL shock
- Shimano SLX drivetrain
- Shimano Deore brakes
- RaceFace Ride cockpit
