thinking about getting a 223. anyone have personal experiences or tales to share? Thanks.
orange owners
- Thread starter SuperSlow
- Start date
only get it if u get a floter or weigh 160+
I would definately recommend one, but make sure NOT to get a swinger on it, get the 5th and to find the correct spring weight for you, multiply your body weight by 2.2222 To give you an idea, I weigh 140ish and used a 300 pound spring.
I owned the 222 (had 5th) and 223 (had Swinger) and the 5th tracked better, felt better, and absorbed hits better, and neither had floaters. Good luck
I owned the 222 (had 5th) and 223 (had Swinger) and the 5th tracked better, felt better, and absorbed hits better, and neither had floaters. Good luck
I have a 223(2004) with the 5th Element. It doesn't have a floater and I like it that way. The bike is more simple and you don't have to worry about breaking the floater that is pretty exposed. As far as I know even Peats bike has no floating brake 
(correct me if I'm wrong). The ride is good, atleast in my humble opinion. The singlepivot design does have its "flaws" but on the otherhand the Orange tracks ground well, is simple and light etc.
(correct me if I'm wrong). The ride is good, atleast in my humble opinion. The singlepivot design does have its "flaws" but on the otherhand the Orange tracks ground well, is simple and light etc.Hah, conversely, my friend just built up his 223, and changed his 5th for a 4way, and loves the bike now... he came from a Fly+Curnutt, and couldn't stand the feel of the 5th.
Why do I say this? to highlight it's all down to personal opinion when it comes to shock feel and preference.
Why do I say this? to highlight it's all down to personal opinion when it comes to shock feel and preference.
I have ridden a 222 all year and had tons of fun on it. I also think the floater is the right option and disagree with Mr. Terrible about it being at risk of damage more than anything else on your bike and its build sturdy. All in the whole bike is very sturdy with a super strong headtube area and the pivot will not give you any problems and matched with a 150mm rear end you get a very stiff frame.
Its a light frame and its easy to move if you run it with a lighter fork up front mine is under 40 lbs. I started out with a Shiver and changed to a Boxxer which is much better match. This made it a perfect balanced bike that is easy to jump, steady in the air and with fast acceleration.
My experience is that it is a pick-your-line-bike in stead of bomb-through-everything-bike. When you have the shock and fork balanced you will find this easy to do. It took me a little time to find this out but once I did I could not believe how easy I could just go where I wanted simply by pointing the bike. Or by preloading the suspension and jumping my way through technical sections.
Most of my time on the bike was spend here on the East Coast but I think it did even better in Whistler with the faster down hills but its a versatile frame that can also be used for freeriding by changing the shock placement and it has full extension of the seat post and the 5th Element can be setup for both dh and freeriding.
Besides the super customer service of from Progressive I love the 5th Element on the bike as the adjustments gives you so many different ways to setup the bike from super plush to stiff and very responsive. Even small changes in the suspension setup can make a big difference so if you take a little time to understand the frame and shock you will get even more speed and fun out of you bike.
Complete bike:
Internal cable routing and you can see the different settings for the shock placement on the down tube which can change you headtube angle:
Its a light frame and its easy to move if you run it with a lighter fork up front mine is under 40 lbs. I started out with a Shiver and changed to a Boxxer which is much better match. This made it a perfect balanced bike that is easy to jump, steady in the air and with fast acceleration.
My experience is that it is a pick-your-line-bike in stead of bomb-through-everything-bike. When you have the shock and fork balanced you will find this easy to do. It took me a little time to find this out but once I did I could not believe how easy I could just go where I wanted simply by pointing the bike. Or by preloading the suspension and jumping my way through technical sections.
Most of my time on the bike was spend here on the East Coast but I think it did even better in Whistler with the faster down hills but its a versatile frame that can also be used for freeriding by changing the shock placement and it has full extension of the seat post and the 5th Element can be setup for both dh and freeriding.
Besides the super customer service of from Progressive I love the 5th Element on the bike as the adjustments gives you so many different ways to setup the bike from super plush to stiff and very responsive. Even small changes in the suspension setup can make a big difference so if you take a little time to understand the frame and shock you will get even more speed and fun out of you bike.
Complete bike:
Internal cable routing and you can see the different settings for the shock placement on the down tube which can change you headtube angle:
cool thats the info i was looking for