Strengths: super stiff frame/swingarm. Lots of travel. No chain slap. little to no bob on hill climbs. Built to last. One-of-a-kind bike.
Weaknesses: Race Face LP cranks. The chain ALWAYS misses the granny gear. stock saddle is crap!
Bottom Line:
I threw out the stock saddle b/c it was horrific. Imagine really stiff cardboard wrapped with a thin piece of vynl. Had to go (for the kids ;))
The Panaracer fireroad tires were replaced b/c they were too nobby for where I ride ( 60% hardpack, 20% loose, 10% roots, 10% rocks). I replaced them with some really sweet Bontrager tires (backcountry in the rear... drawing a blank for the front - but it's the B/C's front mate).
My changes to the front end would have came with any bike b/c I need a bit of a rise in the bar due to a neck/shoulder issue. The Titec stem and handle bar is good enough, but I really needed a riser bar. I upgraded the whole front end with Race Face as a "want", not as a "need".
Once the bike was customized to my liking, it became more than I ever hoped for. Really stiff frame/swingarm with lots of travel. I was a sceptic about having more than 3" in the rear, but now that I have experienced 4.7" of travel, I do nothing but praise it for giving me the ability to quite litterally "float" across trecherous terrian (single track consisting of roots and or head size rocks). I have never ever felt the bike flex or bend out underneith me, and I am 6'1" and 190lbs too. The carbon fibre is real durable, too. I have yet to get a scratch on it let alone a gouge - even with the chain dropping off and missing the granny gear - grrrr. Must say, the "silver lining" to the granny being unreliable is that it has forced me to become a stronger biker by using my middle ring a lot more where I have always thought I couldn't or should simply gear down.
The front shock is awesome, too! I can really tell when the "brain" is on or off on the fork. On climbs it tightens up, almost locking out, and on sudden drops, it does a beautiful job on tightening up on the compression. I have never bottomed the fork out, nor have I experienced the pogo / "boing" effect on rebounds. Replacing the 9V battery was painless and straight forward. The fork is great. It's too bad the Smart fork is discontinued b/c I would replace my current fork with the same thing any day of the week.
Weight aside, (28lbs) the bike is perfect. I have seen the bike listed as weighing as little as 25lbs with the really light components. The majority of the frame weight comes from the swing arm. It's unreal how lite the triangle is on its own! I really like my SUN sub IV wheels, too. The bike is totally bomb proof and becomes an unfair advantage especially in rough wide open terrian.
I mostly do endurance races, so the comfort factor out weighs the weight issue.
I gave the OZx 4 chilis b/c the market price is pretty steep. 5 chilis for overall b/c it's more than I ever hoped for from a bike. Surprisingly good.
Similar Products Used: Pro-Flex 862, Schwinn S10, Rocky Mountain Element, specialized big hit.
Bike Setup: Race Face SYStem, Race Face low riser bar, Race Face heaven/hell grips, Race Face Real Seal head set, K2 telescopic SMART fork, Race Face LP cranks, LX front derailer, XT rear derailer, SUN sub IV rims, LX hubs, Specialized saddle, TIME clipless pedals, Bontrager tires.
Submitted by
se muller
a Cross Country Rider
from sac ca
Date Reviewed: December 20, 2000
Strengths: good all around ride the bike frame has held up well. Plenty of suspension, reasonable weight. Rear shock holding up great, Race Face cranks and cogs also. No swing arm bushing problems, no headset or bottem bracket problems. The rims needed truing a couple of times, to many rocks
Weaknesses: 9 speed drive train wears quickly, broke a couple of chains,that hurt!Finally got tired of the smart fork going dumb and traded for a cross link, good thing to do. Cracked the rear rim almost all the way around, sub 4's are light but thin.
Bottom Line:
It's been a good solid bike, I have ridden it over a year, it sounds like a lot of parts have been replaced but I ride EVERY WEEKEND and night ride week nights, this bike has major miles on it off road, wet, dry, and muddy, it takes a toll. The HG 92 chain solved breakage problems, the XT cogs are much longer lasting than the LX stuff that came on it and I just plane wore the sub 4 rims out! That and a 16 penny nail through the wheel at 35mph sort of cancled the usefull life of the rim, as well as doing some brake damage. If your looking for a used bike, there probably arent many around in the shops, and you are a cross country rider this is a good ride! 5 chilis for value, 5 Flamin Chilis overal rating
Similar Products Used: nothing, got off a hard tail and havn't gone back.
Bike Setup: Up graded to XT drive train, hubs, cogs, hg 92 chain, and bontragger mustang rims, Cross link fork, WTB saddle and dual density grips, Race Face cranks and rings, Aztec teflon coated cables, WTB Enduro Raptor tires, avid arch brakes, Dual Pro lighting system.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
BF Jagman
a Weekend Warrior
from Charlotte
Date Reviewed: April 17, 2000
Strengths: Smooth ride. Great handling. Good components.
Weaknesses: Not a lightweight. Pansonic tires.
Bottom Line:
Great value at leftover prices. Rides and handles like a $2k bike for just over $1k. Same frame as Oz M. Buy it if you can find it.
Similar Products Used: None that were thermoplastic/carbon fiber.
Bike Setup: Stock bike except LX cranks instead of RaceFace.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
TheHylandr
a Cross Country Rider
from Marquette, MI USA
Date Reviewed: April 8, 2000
Strengths: Suspension, Design
Weaknesses: LX Components
Bottom Line:
Absolutely outstanding ride. This is the all around best bike that I've ridden. The smart shock front suspension kicks butt. With a little component upgrading - hubs, deraillers etc to XTR this will be the PERFECT bike. I can't say enough about it. Would definately recommend this bike.
