Submitted by
bean
a Cross Country Rider
from australia Date Reviewed: January 3, 2008
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Purchased At:
Rebel sport
Strengths:
Took a hell of alot punishment over 6-7 years
Weaknesses:
The derailer and cranks had to be changed, the rims were soft as butter.
Bike Setup:
I changed the grip shift for rapid fire xt. Rims were bent so they got lots of changes and all the running gear.
Bottom Line:
I rode this bike for 2 hours every day to and from work half on the road and half through the bush. It worked perfectly. I don't know about hardcore rides but it did take alot of punishment. It is now bent for being hit by a car twice and sadly is now retired. The best bang for buck you could find.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Ricky D.
a Racer
from chatham, New Hampshire Date Reviewed: May 25, 2002
Favorite Trail:
white mountians
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$700.00
Strengths:
rugged frame nice body position, gives good control. good brakes
Weaknesses:
not much rear shock travel. kinda soft spyder fork. not a big fan of the grip shift.
Bike Setup:
modified shocks, shifters.
Bottom Line:
A very good bike, i think, i didnt like the rear rst shock always bottomed out off dropoffs. the fork is of good quality, but kinda soft. I ride the bike all the time and the frame is still great and all the brakes and trasmission are still very good. I love the bike with modifications but stock is okay just for a day rider.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
cleaner
a Downhiller
from Honolulu, HI US of A Date Reviewed: October 24, 2001
Favorite Trail:
St. Louis
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$600.00
Purchased At:
Military Post Exchange
Strengths:
high single pivot design, monocoque front triangle
Weaknesses:
parts included on the original bike and its just a touch on the heavy side.
Similar Products Used:
kona mano mano & mongoose fairlaneK
Bike Setup:
fully adjustable judy fork, rock shock delux rear shock, salsa stem, monkey bar handle bars, shimano rapid fire shifters w/ LX derailers (8sp), LX crank arms w/ GT platform pedals, rhyno lite rims to LX hubs front & rear, KMC chain, michlein (spelling?) 2.2 semi slicks, arch rival 4.0 f & r w/ matching levers, standard cabling, and ODI grips..
Bottom Line:
i'm back to tell you about this bike... after all this time, parts changes (i had to change out the pivot bearings for the rear triangle).. THIS BIKE ROCKS!!! i suppose, if you set up any frame w/ da good stuff, it'll perform on par to the sum of its parts, HOWEVER, i got this machine riding pretty dang sweet.. i believe it is a great severe duty cross country bike because i use it to do some significant climbing very successfully (you know, so i can go back DOWN!! heh heh).. but its pretty plush for travel just over 3 inches in the rear (3.5 in).. i dunno.. maybe its just me, but i just love this machine as part of my stable.. i also ride an stinky upgraded to 6.5 in travel f & r (parts..etc, etc), a kona scab (13 in frame) w/ a 4 in marzoochi fork (parts.. etc, etc) and (drum roll) a chumba wumba zulu down hill (extreem sweetness down hill but also extreem difficulty pedalling up the hill, but i keep working on it.. one day..) not to mention my trusty 20 inch bike.. i do love to ride and wrench (i like to ride more than wrench).. and this '99 g out is up there in my applications with it with my other rides.. quite dang good.. as with any full susp bike maintaining the pivots (and the rest of the bike) is essential.. i have riden this bike until the rear triangle was rattling, but i changed ALL the bushing provided by the cool people at IRONHORSE, and now (naturally) it rides like new.. i have taken this bike in stock trim and pushed the single wall rims to the limit (cracked them.. i tried very hard to be smooth) but changed them (original hubs are 36 hole!!) and there was a large difference in ride characteristics (naturally).. same with all the other upgrades.. now i take this thing to some pretty fun stuff, not extreem but where a lighter full sus bike would do well, and dang, this thing performs.. i guess my point is, this is a feasible & durable frame (dunno about the parts but hey, you will get to learn about bikes & their builds .. cool subject).. I LOVE THIS BIKE and spend alot of time with it.. it makes me want to ride, and i guess thats the whole point.. w
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Rorza
a Downhiller
from australia Date Reviewed: October 18, 2001
Favorite Trail:
bulli pass downhill track
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Strengths:
strong frame shock ok for a first bike to get used to riding downhill
Weaknesses:
a few parts need to be replace i change the handle bars for titen hell bent downhill raiser bars then the seat, i cut the seat post i changed the pedals for primo meat tenderizers and changed the extra too long stem for a shorter one and got some oury grips the front derailier stuffs up easy and gear 7 and 8 dont work.
Similar Products Used:
giant boulder se
Bike Setup:
i told u in the weakness practickly
Bottom Line:
a good bike to learn downhill on and a good bike for jumping and going fast.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
michael summerville
a Weekend Warrior
from fort worth Date Reviewed: July 2, 2001
Favorite Trail:
state college pa mountain trails
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$475.00
Purchased At:
oshman's fort worth tx
Strengths:
solid build. inexpensive for what it is.
Weaknesses:
the seat sucks. rear shock bottoms out easily and is impossible to tighten. i only weigh 155-160. frame is too odd of a shape. pain in rear to hook up computer or water bottle.
Similar Products Used:
this is first full suspension. had a trek 820 antelope before.
Bike Setup:
stock.
Bottom Line:
worth the cash if you don't mind making a few minor adjustments and putting up with a few very minor quirks.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Nick
a Downhiller
from Steep Falls Maine Date Reviewed: September 2, 2000
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$500.00
Strengths:
The brakes and still strong and derailer still shifts(which is good with my shifting style of like eight at a time)
Weaknesses:
The thing is making tons of noise. Its like the fork isn't greased(it is)
Bike Setup:
stock
Bottom Line:
The bike is a good value and still works well. I'm gonna change the setup quite a bit. Unfortuntly the rear shock is setup weird. The metal bars widens to fit the rear shock in and is still conected the whole way. A great bike for anyone who isn't racing. Its a great fix up bike to make into a hardcore bike.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Nutcase
a Weekend Warrior
from ss Date Reviewed: January 5, 2000
Favorite Trail:
icy shit
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Strengths:
its still running
Weaknesses:
lots of sqeaks and rattles from the thing needs more maintence with age iron horse service sucksREAR SHOCK HAS BEEN BLOWN( just damper)
Bottom Line:
not much new to say.....I say uh forget nylon spacer in swing arm put steel ones on the outsidde of the bolt to add to bolt thingy also i replaced my oddball fork which was tyoo soft.....now i have rst delta hl which required my old judy springs to get it to run full 5 inches.....its uh wise to replace spaer in that fork with springs or ull be regreting that u bought this fork.....replace grease immediatly its unsafe in winter....rst should get its *ss whacked that freezes up the travel...!! it usless in like 50 to 60 Degree weather and below ...replace all grease with slick honey or judy butter
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Nutcase
a Weekend Warrior
from Vanc ,WA Date Reviewed: November 28, 1999
Favorite Trail:
something thats so damn nasty no one else rides it and yeah you have it has to be slippery and a big hill
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Strengths:
geee I dont know i guess cuzz it hasnt died yet also cuzz it dosnt complain much when u smack it around
Weaknesses:
uh pivot is a whore after 1 year
Similar Products Used:
voodoo bike what the hell the name is it was titanium though some other weird sh*t
Bike Setup:
uh this thing (its judy xc with judy xl guts softride stem shock stx-rc and a whole butload of other shit that i seem to replace or break
Bottom Line:
the bike is good my freind who owns or owned gspot frame from like 97 but it was 98 frame has gotten rid of his but i keeping his other frame for a while until i can get me a k2 animal or something different that might have 5-7 inches in rear. Its prety reliable but pivot is not much fun to deal with cuzz it goes loose andin old age the drive side of the pivot ingraves into frame and you have to add nylon spacers to stop the thing from going side to side. i have had the wh%re hit swingarm and frame cuzz of some g#y sh*t iron horse did to this nice frame also my bike has been repainted black and it matches the xl legs i got on my xc stanchions ....I recomment getting big riser bar and at least 4 inches of travel in front my freind calculated from to acutaly have around 5 1/2 inches of travel (after some bending and cutting) also the new ones with minatou ....i recommend ditching that sh#t or getting a judy or some sh#t like that (as long as it has springs and not foamy sh*t its good)
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
cleaner
a Weekend Warrior
from honolulu hi Date Reviewed: August 11, 1999
Favorite Trail:
waimea
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
strong frame & swing arm
Weaknesses:
seat (ouch!)
Similar Products Used:
titus quasi moto titanium kona stinky se
Bike Setup:
stock
Bottom Line:
i love this bike. i did a trail that almost killed me due to major roots, drop offs, etc. and this bike did great! good stuff!
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Bryan
a Cross-Country Rider
from Thunder Bay, Ont Date Reviewed: May 16, 1999
Favorite Trail:
Cascades
Duration Product Used:
less than 1 month
Strengths:
The mighty Strong frame design, gripshift, pivot design
This has to be the best equiped full suspension bike at this price! The manitou spider shock really smoothes out the ride and so does the RST rear shock!
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Johnny
a Weekend Warrior
from Sydney AUSRALIA Date Reviewed: April 5, 1999
Favorite Trail:
Trail with lotz of rockz
Duration Product Used:
less than 1 month
Strengths:
The robust and beautiful frame and its attracting logo was its strength. rear shock was strong for its size and travel too... ...
Weaknesses:
no-waknezz accept for Spyder fork......
Similar Products Used:
Iron horse G-8 Mongoose NX 8.1 and 8.3 Haro Ex-1 Trek Y3
Bottom Line:
I loved its big, fat and robust frame and its mighty shock. Also the logo was kind of cute... ... It would make fine DH machine after changing Spyder fork, And it is a great all day trail bike... ... ... .. .. .........
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mr. Bojengals
a weekend warrior
from Your Closet... Date Reviewed: January 21, 1999
Bottom Line:
This bike is not great, full alivio components, and worse. Manitou spyders, some little shock from risse racing i believe. Affordable... yes, desirable... no. Mr. Bojengals says no. *I can see you*
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Willy
a weekend warrior
from Australia Date Reviewed: December 29, 1998
Bottom Line:
I feel this is the best equipped bike at this price range. Rides very well and the Manitou forks although low-end works very nicely, better then similar RSTs. The GripShift for the front is user friendly, espicially at night, smooth shifting with only one click required. Haven't gone serious offroad yet but rides so far so good. Will update later regarding suspension qualities and parts reliablity.
Overall Rating:
What's New
»
BEST OF MTBR - Check out the highest rated bikes, parts, & gear!
»
LED BIKE LIGHT SHOOTOUT 3 - We test all the newest products and latest light and battery technology in this comprehensive guide»
$ 699.00
Overall Rating:
