Well, I’ve seen a box with my name on it anyway! I nipped into Cycleworks on Saturday and saw a big box with the Orange logo on the side, along with my name. Inside were all sorts of goodies waiting to be built up into my dream trail machine.

The only problem though is that this weekend we are off to Afan in Wales for some proper Mountain Biking (although many will argue about how ‘proper’ is the riding at a trail centre). This leaves me with a bit of a quandry, since the Five’s first adventure is going to be across pretty rugged terrain and inevitably I’ll still be dialling myself in to it’s suspension settings.

On the other hand, the alternative is to take my On-one Inbred which needs a bit of attention beforehand that I have so far managed to find excuses to avoid. But with dodgy lower gears and brakes that could do with bleeding at the least, I’ll need to do something to make it suitable for the Welsh hills. Plus of course, the Marathon forks are currently only giving a limited amount of travel which limits it still further.

If I have to, I’ll take the On-one, which despite its deficencies (brought about solely by my laziness) will still be a hoot. But I’m quite keen to give the Orange Five the baptism it deserves!

About the author

Matt is one of the founding Molefathers of the Muddymoles, and is the designer and main administrator of the website.

Having ridden a 2007 Orange Five for many years then a 2016 YT Industries Jeffsy 29er, he now rocks a Bird Aether 9 and a Pace RC-627.

An early On-One Inbred still lurks in the back of the stable as a reminder of how things have moved on. You can even find him on road bikes - currently a 2019 Cannondale Topstone 105 SE, a much-used 2011 Specialized Secteur and very niche belt drive Trek District 1.

If you've ever wondered how we got into mountain biking and how the MuddyMoles started, well wonder no more.