The Orange Five is a British mountain biking icon. From its inception as the Sub-5 at turn of the millennium, this simple single-pivoted trail bike has been a common sight on trails all over the country. Its distinctive design makes it instantly recognisable, and seems to give it an equal measure of lovers and haters.
The core of the Five is its single pivot alloy swingarm, welded in a factory in Halifax, West Yorkshire. There’s none of the fancy multi-linkage, varying axle-path, virtual pivot point tomfoolery going on here – it’s just a simple system consisting of a pivot and shock linking the front triangle to the swingarm at the back.
This has its advantages too. With only one pair of bearings to worry about, servicing is as easy as it comes. It also makes the system easier for Orange to construct, with less design parameters to work their metal folding jigs around.
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It might be simple, but Orange’s single pivot is a lot of fun
Single pivots still have foibles though, and the Five is no different. Brake jack, the stiffening of the rear suspension while braking, is noticeable, compromising traction on descents. Likewise, the impact of the suspension moving on the BB to rear axle length means there’s a hint of pedal feedback too. The Five also has a tendency to bob when pedalling out of the saddle, which costs energy under hard efforts.
You can read more at BikeRadar.com
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