Orange five 2014 model review-650b

Well I've had this bike a few months now and thought I'd write a review, this is my 13th bike in 2 years for various reasons (relocation to Dorset , no need for a dh bike etc etc)

So the spec, this one is a fully loaded five with the best bits I could afford
Orange five frame
Pike fork
XTR brakes with ice tech rotors
Hope pro 2 evo hubs on Stan's rims rolling on a Hans damf front and nobby nic rear 650b
Renthal carbon bars and integra stem, hope grips
SRAM X11 drive train , carbon cranks
Hope pedals
Reverb dropper with Fizik gobi seat on ti rails

So my last bike was an alpine, and what a bike it was. It had a BOS Deville fork formula brakes DSP dueler shock , it was awesome but a bit portly and short in a 16". I decided to move to a five as I wanted to try the new wheel size etc but wanted the fun aspect and confidence the Alpine gave at getting loose downhill and on the jumps and drops etc.
So I brought this bad boy and started to get to grips with it, first impression was that I'd made a mistake the bike didn't handle well at all and blowed through its travel on 4-5 ft drops and didn't grip like my alpine. I had a idea this was down to the float CTD fitted, so tried upping the pressure, all this did was make it sit too high in its travel and pitch up in corners, to say I was gutted is an understatement as the bike climbed very well and was quick on the flat and road sections etc. Due to this I decided to sack off the float and replace it with a ccdb coil, I know it's a BIG weight increase but it was last chance saloon of either try it or sell the bike. I'm glad I tried it because it has transformed the bike, the weight is not that noticeable when your on the bike and it still climbs stellar and on the road I'm still averaging 15-16mph it flys. However the true improvement is now whenever the trail has a berm , jump, drop or points down !! It's unbelievable, quicker than my alpine without a doubt and it gets low and grips awesome in the berms, the confidence this bike gives is amazing i can hit anything I would my alpine just only quicker it seems and on the climbs it's gone. I never ever thought there would be a one bike to match all my needs and as I stated earlier I thought it was going to get sold and replaced with a Capra or keep it for 10 months and buy a new 650 alpine next year. No way will I be doin that now this bike is so versatile it does everything I need and I kinda like the way it resembles a filing cabinet It's on uplift down the dean next week so I'll keep you posted with a vid or 2 of how it performs, something tells me it's gonna make some dh bikes look very stupid