Strengths: Smooth ride
Shocks are nice and responsive
Rides Great on and off road
Aesthetically pleasing
Feels solid, yet relatively light weight
Shifts really well
Great bike for the money compared to the competition
Weaknesses: Nothing bad I can say really, however, the pedal arm fell off the bike the first day of riding. Turned out the bolt was defective. Bad QC I guess, but not a huge deal
If you haven't ridden a bike in a while the seat will make your a$$ sore, but even the most expensive bikes have the same issue
Bottom Line:
This bike rides really well and feels solid. I tried a lot of 29er bikes before I tried this one. Needless to say, after riding this one I knew this was the bike for me. Just seemed better than the competition. I felt like I was riding a more expensive bike than what it was. I always get a lot of compliments when I'm riding around town. So far this bike seems to be a solid ride and works really well in the rugged off road. You will be impressed with this bike. I have had many mountain bikes in the past and in comparison this is the best bike I have owned in this price range. The shifting on this bike is extremely reliable. Very snappy and no weird grinding in between gears like most bikes.
