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got a test ride coming up on a stage 6 (wanted to try a stage 5 but don't have one as demo), 6 is a bit too much travel for what I want, ive got used to riding shorter travel 130mm trail bike and its great for all dayers but in 650b guise
the stage 6 is 150mm but I'm assuming the 29er wheels should make the bike at least as good climbing? only thing being I'm on a carbon frame at present so will be going back to alloy
I think when I look back at the bikes ive had I had the most fun a on a five, it was simple, effective and fun, it looked a bit industrial, but the new stages in the flesh look bleeding nice (pimped up)
anyone ridden both, or even just a stage 6? how does it climb? I'm assuming Its a pretty capable bike DH of course, is there much difference between stage 5 and 6 climb wise?
My riding buddy got a Stage 6 recently. He has always been a quicker climber than me, but now he leaves me for dead.
It's a really impressive bike and not as heavy as it looks. Do try the Stage 5 as well though, I find short and mid-travel 29ers are more fun most of the time.
I have not ridden either but I do know someone who did a lot of test rides including the Stage 5 twice and a Stage 6 (I can't remember all the others, it was comprehensive). They really, really preferred the looks of the Stage 6 and said it was a great bike to ride but ultimately bought (and there were so many test rides we thought it would never happen) a Stage 5 as the best bike for the intended riding. (Peaslake was the main area of testing to give an idea of use)
I thought Orange would get a demo bike wherever you wanted it? Based on the above I'd say do yourself a favour and try both before deciding
cheers chakaping, good to know it sounds like its a climber, I could see no other reason it wouldn't other than weight (with it being a 29er), what sort of build spec is that, and do you know weight?
yeh they can get a demo stage 5 for a little bit of cash no problem, but they have the 6 in shop ready, so ill try that first, it looks a bit bigger all round geo wise over the 5, obviously a bit more travel than I want, got used to a short travel 650b and I love that for all dayers, which is why I'm thinking stage 5 as its basically the same setup as my 650b at present, stage 6 probs to much bike, but cant harm it in trying it also
Your comments sound a lot like what I was hearing post Stage 6 demo. Too much bike, great downhill but....too much and the Stage 5 is more fun.
i rode my mates stage 6 with 160 lyrics for week. it was amazing, and i aced all my PR's on it, up and down. enough to decide i wanted an Orange, this was a big descision itself as i was adamant i needed a bottle cage before!! Ultimately the S6 just felt like a bit too much bike for most of my riding. its an absolute brute in the flesh! plus i prefered the more svelte lines of the Stage 5 so went for one of them without even demoing, i assumed it'd be just like the S6 but lighter and livlier and i was right. its the business... I do run a 150mm fork which is a bit naughty but its a dream! still cant keep up with my mate on his S6 tho but i doubt that is down to the bikes!
rubber - sounds promising that the 5 is the way forward in terms of what I want also, be interesting take the 6 on some of the rougher stuff, but I don't want it to dull out normal traily stuff also, that said I was on a 160mm nomad before and although it was a slog for me sometimes it was still a fun bike to ride especially pointed downhill....but I came away from that as I wanted something that was a better all rounder for a bit of everything, so the stage 5 still does sound ideal
mahalo - ditto above really, sounds good what spec have you got on yours? id probs want the forks at 150mm too, but would prob try at 140 first just to see, bottle cage isn't a massive issue, but id prefer it to have one, I ride with my back pack in spring summer on all weekend rides, so its not an issue really
how did it descend to the stage 6? is it a different beast?
what sort of build spec is that, and do you know weight?
Lyrik, DPX2 shock, Flow rims, 11sp Sram probably 31 or 32lbs.
The shock is so good, I would see if Orange can do them on the Stage 5 if you do end up going that way.
i think it feels faster than the stage 6, but the S6 was deceptively quicker. i remember it took a lot of effort to get up to speed, but i now put that down to not being used to 29ers at the time.. im as happy to ride my S5 over any terrain/obstacle as i would on any other bike, or my skills allow...
i built it from frame only. Pikes (with luftkappe!), Monarch RT3 DB, E13 TRS wheelset, reverb, XT, Saints...
As far as I can tell the front triangle on the Stage 4,5 and 6 is basically the same (except for the position of the shock mount). Changes in geometry are basically just down to the longer fork. So, the difference is really longer chainstays for more travel. Stage 4 for snappy handling, Stage 6 for monster truck stability and Stage 5 if you can't make your mind up 🙂
I'd probs want the forks at 150mm too
it might be worth checking that running a longer fork than the quoted maximum doesn't invalidate the warranty. Wouldn't want to be left with a cracked frame that wasn't covered.
I've ridden both and prefer the 5 to the 6 also. It felt a bit like the difference of the Fuel EX and Slash to me.
The Slash/6 both encourage you to ride hard and fast at everything to make them work IMO. The downside is not having the terrain to make it work.
I thought it would make a bigger difference when racing, but I've been on a slightly odd Fuel for a 18 months now and it's not actually any slower than a Slash IME. Another guy in my team is on a Slash and we're still level pegging - the big difference is I can't steamroller trails, but I gain in a bike that's lighter and more efficient. To be fair my Fuel does have a 150mm fork & coil shock, but nevertheless it still rides very different, a lot more poppy and fun, but still has the speed.
Basically how I felt about the 5 over the 6.
Stage 4, 5 and 6 all have different front triangles - the head angles get slacker with the travel but the seat angles don’t. I’d be surprised if they’re using as thick gauge sheet on the Stage 4 as the Stage 6 considering the fork lengths and the design goals.
I demoed both and enjoyed them overall. Sizing is spot on (XL and 6ft2 in my case). Stage 5 unsurprisngly felt much faster on climbs and was great fun on the trail centre tracks i demoed them on. The Stage 6 did not climb great at all and felt heavy and sluggish. Downhill it carried speed well and never felt unfazed but evidently needed something steeper and rougher to shine on.
However I didn't enjoy the classic single pivot brake jack on either and their long chainstays made them stable but not very flicky. Went with an S-150 in the end.
Fair enough, the seat angle does get very slightly steeper on the bigger bikes. Presumably so the chain stays don’t have to grow quite so much. But I thought I read something about them using the lighter gauge sheet on all the bikes now. Could be wrong though.
cheers hobnob - your input appreciated as I know you ride and race and swap bikes a lot, always sounds like you want the same out of a bike as me, difference maybe is we do have the terrain round here (peaks/wales) for plenty of full on descents, but nothing the current 5010 cant handle, as you say what it lacks in some areas it more than makes up in others, just cant steamroller things the same
I literally have no idea how its going to feel, both up or down having never owned ridden (properly) a 29er, so I'm intrugied! maybe the 6 will just blow me away from the off, or maybe it wont and ill hate 29ers!
ive used/abused a nomad round here and plenty of local folk ride them too, I'm just sure ill miss the snappy feel of the 5010 if I go longer travel to a 6, but always willing to try new things, the stage 5 is pretty much the same bar 29er wheels so I can imagine that its going to feel poppy in the same way the 5010 did over the nomad
I've got a Stage Four on order, quickly tried a Stage 5 too.
Front Triangle on the Four is thinner sheet than the Five, and size-for-size its a smidge longer too.
The same dilemma you have between Five and Six, is what I had between Five and Four. The Stage Five felt like it would be a very capable bike on the steep and techy stuff, was still light but then it was the posh factory build.
I'll be building my Stage Four up with decent mid-range stuff, and expect it to be <30lbs.
As above, don't ignore the Stage 4. I went from a 26" Five to a 5 29 to the last of the Segments, so very similar to the Stage 4 and can confirm it loses nothing in ability to the other two but feels far more lively. Feels like it has much more travel than it does where as the 5 29 was a bulldozer. Great fun, super fast but not very subtle.
There might be a Stage 5 in the classifieds if anyone is interested!
bump just incase anyone else has any thoughts, I'm takin the stage 6 out this weekend all being well so will give it a good thrash!
can get a stage five in to test too so will see how stage 6 feels first