bikemeister2000":1r2hn28h said:
It's held up quite well. I basically lived on it from new and when it was replaced with my Orange in 2009 I still used it has a commute bike.
I even wore the rear V brakes through the rear rim it's had that much use, that's why its black and not silver.
It's been round Coed-y-Brenin and LLandegla Twice, nearly keeping up with my keen Mountain biker mate who has a Trek Remedy, before I bought the Five.
You can defiantly notice the difference on the down hill sections though, modern bikes are so much lighter and easer to control.
The bike to me was ahead of most other bikes for quite some time, As mentioned it still looks quite modern.
There's only been only one minor flaw in the design that I've noticed on it though.
Before the shock bottoms out, the Seat Stay (rear part with the V brakes mounted on it) hits the frame.
It actually hits the boss for the top pull gear mech squashing it. It did this with the original rear shock and the Fox Vanilla one shown.
I'lI fit a spacer under the shocks rubber bump stop to stop the new paint from getting damaged.
I was also confused why ball bearings were used for the bottom pivot has it only moves a fraction of a turn.
These bearings were absolutely shot, mainly due to water ingress (rust), I also wondered why shielded bearings (Z) were used and not rubber sealed (RS).
My commute is too far to bike now with a new job, But it still gets used quite regullay, mainly by other mates needing to borrow a bike or has a spare, incase My Five frame snaps again!
Said to shop keeper when I took it back under warrenty, " Never had this with my old Mtrax"
