Submitted by
Tom
a Weekend Warrior
from boise, idaho
Date Reviewed: September 22, 2001
Strengths: everything, this bike is sweetish, good travel with a 2.5" stroke shock. easily upgradeable, nice all round bike. with the 2.5" stroke shock i get in excess of 6.5 inches travel
Weaknesses: the rating suck the big one... i don't get it.. how could the other level betty and all the other joshuas get high rating's like 4.50/5.00 This is the exact same bike
Bottom Line:
This is a totally sweet bike, i do not see how the rating could be so low compared to all the other joshuas and other stuff... so thats dumb.. they are the exact same bike, this is really sweet bike. i use it for freeride, drops and urban all the time. if any of you have pictures of you freeride joshua's or bettys send them to gary fisher, we'll see if we can get a freeride revolution going!!!!!! the site is www.fisherbikes.com peace dudes!!
Strengths: hahahaha strengths?? i dont think there is any hah this bike sucks my balls maybe the color cuz red is fast haha
Weaknesses: EVERYTHING!! well maybe cuz my frend set his up like a total beater hah but it is like the hardest peice i have ever had to pedal like seriuosly my frend has a kangaroo dh with 7 inch travel and it ride sooo much better and my frend says his fisher rides better or as good as konas and speciallizeds and stuff haha thats so much bull...he has never rode any of those so he should shut his mouth!!! hah and the back shock is such crap!!!!!!!!!! that is like the worst part oh and the frame is the uglyest thing ever it looks like a poser bike
Bottom Line:
this is such a crappy bike hah and the rider is soo crappy hah how can he say he is a big dh racer?? he dosent no what DH means and he cant jump at all well actually he probly would be good if he didnt ride such a peice..actually well maybe not...well anyway dont buy this hurting sorry A$$ peice of white trash bike IT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!
oh and mtbr should make a selection of zero flaming chilis or whatever cuz thats what i wanna give this bike aha
Bike Setup: like a friggin peice of sh!t i hate everything about it and the rider
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Submitted by
Craig
a Weekend Warrior
from Kelowna BC canada
Date Reviewed: July 26, 2001
Strengths: Beefed Frame, Price for what you get, it's just amazing
Weaknesses: umm i had my bb come loose twice
Bottom Line:
I have had this bike for a year now. It has had many fork/wheel/rearshock/brake/cassette/chainguide/ and other setups. Yeah I know I have posted it as an awesome DH bike on the other page... BUT.. you have to realize, with all kinds of aftermarket parts i have MAYBE $1000 CAN$ into this bike. It has been absolutely awesome for me, sure i have had my problems with it, but over all it has been a beautiful bike. I killed the rear bushings, blew my rear shock, and my bb came loose twice. But this bike can do anything just as well as a: Giant ATXDH, SantaCruz bullit, Specialized BigHit or even a Kona Stinky. Sure, maybe it has this URT design(unified rear triangle) but i have noticed no problems with this design. This bike is great at DH FOR THE PRICE... you have to get that straight. (for the price) I use this bike daily, beating it over urban stairs, 6+ foot drops, and anything i want to do. I have done a little trials on this bike, some northshore, lotsa DH, TONS of dirtjumping, and even more Urban. You can't tell me that this bike absolutely sucks at DH/URBAN/FREERIDE. For the price this bike is totally wonderful. I have had no problems doing DH on this bike, i found it worked great. HINT:(setup the rear shock REAL soft). And i have had many compliments on this bike for dirtjumping. Maybe you all have it setup sh!tty, but the way i have this bike setup, it works great. i have had many compliments on this bike, and intend to keep it as a cheap FREERIDE bike. If had to recommend a cheap freeride bike, that will take anything you want to give it, get a Gary Fisher Level Betty/Joshua FRAME. Then build it up with choice parts marzocchi forks only, and all the parts you want.. It is an awesome cheap freerider that you can do everything on, and thats all it is!!!!
Bike Setup: Betty, Z.1 DropOff, Mammoth rims, superdeluxe rear shock, Bontrager DHcrowbars, roox chaincat, lotsa other stuff, this bike is not stock at all, and that is the way i want to keep it
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Submitted by
aaron Bertrand
a Downhiller
from North Bay Ontario
Date Reviewed: July 15, 2000
Strengths: THis bike is only good for weak, handicaped, girly riders! It has no strengths whatsoever. I regret spending all of my newspaper route earnings at the age of 14 on this p.o.s.
Weaknesses: Does not work to well on 40 foot drops, cracked too easy, blown suspension after first ride, etc, etc, etc.
Bottom Line:
The bottom line is that i regret buying this bike and i hope that no one else purchases one of them
Weaknesses: Not Enough Travel on either the front or back Rear Shock is unrealiable Front forks are unrealiable Chain jumps off a lot Not ideal for downhill
Bottom Line:
not an ideal bike for any kind of downhill or any kind of jumping. Would do for any one who wants to do cross country on it.
Bike Setup: Manitou X-vert t Rockshox Coupe Deluxe Lx cranks, front mech, shifters Hayes hydralic XT rear mech Wilderness trail handlebars and grips Unknown stem
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Submitted by
sean tynan
a Downhiller
from vancouver, BC Canada
Date Reviewed: March 16, 2000
Strengths: cheap cheap cheap. Beefy, well gusseted. Light enough. URT is good for drops and jumps. Bright red makes bikes go faster.
Weaknesses: The rear shock (rock shox coupe deluxe) sucks bad. Change it and you have a good bike. No URT's will make a great DH bike, so if that's what you want it for...
Bottom Line:
If you want a good all around, affordable bike this is it. If you want to mod it to a beefy freeride machine, it will cost as much as one already set up as such. It holds up really well under harsh conditions. URT has some advantages over drops and jumps.
There are many suspension designs out there and apparently even more opinions. Some URT's behave different than other due to design. URT's would not be my first pick for the type of riding I do. But after spending some time on a 98 level Betty I ordered a 99 given the improvements and value with this bike. Another bike that is similar to Betty is the Rocky Mountain Pipeline, Both use URT's and both bikes are geared to extreme riders. So why would they and a few others use this design. I've found that they have actice rear ends and handle big drops better than say a 4 bar link like on a specialized. they are less likely to bottom out on drops and big airs. As the suspension stiffens when standing but only moderatly enough to stop bottoming out. But compared to the pipeline which three of my friends ride & I've tested it seems to handle better at speed and in the technical stuff maybe it's the genesis geometry or magic.
Submitted by
Robert
a Cross-Country Rider
from Oceanside, CA
Date Reviewed: August 17, 1999
Strengths: Plush suspension, Rear Lockout, Sweet Front Disc Brake, Cool Color (Red)
Weaknesses: Pedals. The 545's aren't very durable.
Bottom Line:
I've been waiting for this bike for months and I wasn't disappointed! Excellent bike! Plush suspension for downhilling, rear lockout for climbing, and an Awesome red paint job for impressing your friends. The Hayes hydraulic brake works well.
