Submitted by
chris
a Weekend Warrior
from raleigh, nc usa
Date Reviewed: March 9, 2008
Strengths: I dunno. Looks cool.
Weaknesses: Pivot bearing seals, heavy
Bottom Line:
GREASE/MAINTAIN THE PIVOT BEARINGS!!! Mine were seized up. Sat on the bike one day and SNAP goes the swingarm by both pinch bolts. Removed it, punched out the pivot rod and saw that the needle bearings were absolutely rusted and immovable. Of course you can't find a replacement swingarm for this 8-year old bike anywhere, so I had a guy at a muffler shop TIG weld the cracks. Oh: forget about finding replacement bearings too. Even K2 doesn't know where to get them. I spent about two hours with WD-40 massaging the bearings to where they would spin again. Hooked up the white lith grease and so far have been good to go. Hope the welds hold. Bike handles fine. I really notice the extra weight on the climbs, but enjoy the comfort of a FS ride. Grease your pivot bearings, people.
Bike Setup: big scary-looking Terrex fork, avid discs, XT shifters, derailleurs, WTB speedmaster rear wheel, sun ringle disc jockey front, CF bar, Race Face rings
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Paul
a Weekend Warrior
from Bellingham, WA, USA
Weaknesses: Noleen shock is pretty basic - no compression or rebound adjustments, and it pogos pretty well. Adjusting the front derailleur requires a special 90 degree screwdriver (really annoying). You can't fit much wider than a 2.35" to 2.5" tire on the frame, and i found that by doing so you run the risk of grit and rock abrasion on the frame if the tire gets close or scrapes.
Bottom Line:
Though i just got a new freeride frame with a 4-bar linkage, i rode my k2 evo 3.0 (incidentally the same as the evo 2.0, the bumpy,disco, and flying monkey frames except the paint jobs and shocks) for a long time, escalating the abuse i put on it. I rode it in moab, on my local trails, put it to use on anything from quick XC jaunts to long epics, and eventually started to take some serious drops at whistler on the thing. I'm not a heavy guy (165 lbs), and i am not completely insane... however, i began to take 5-6 foot drops pretty regularly at whistler on this bike, and though it held up (stock noleen shock and all), i just recently bought the KHS for a little more travel. I think stock, the K2 is supposed to have about 4.7" of rear travel, but i imagine that if you replaced the shock with a fox or something with slightly longer stroke, you could get at least a full 5" or more. I used and abused my EVO, and it worked very well for me. And for a 2000 frame, it really is/was an affordable and durable deal. I'm giving it a 5 for value (for the year 2000 bike prices), and a 4 overall for the fairly poopy shock and the difficulty in adjusting the front derailleur. Pretty damn good frame overall.
Strengths: Absolutely bullet proof frame that climbs well, descends comfortably and handles big hits. Noleen air shocks are easy to fine tune and light.
Weaknesses: None for this price point.
Bottom Line:
This bike flat gets it done. I'm 6'4" tall and run between 205 and 220. I ride lots of long "back country" rides (3-5 hours) and this bike is great for that. Comfortable and it climbs very well.
On the downhill I don't take it easy on the bike either. I'm a former BMX racer and I jump off everything I can. This bike has taken a beating under my 200+ lbs for 3 years and not even flinched. I've broken nothing. Frame, cranks, wheels and all are still hanging in there.
I recently test rode the Enduro 2x and the Epic looking around for a new bike, but they did not impress.
I've heard bad things about K2, and they may all be true, but this particular bike is the real deal for those of you that want a strong dependable epic-ride bike. Can't say enough good about it.
Similar Products Used: Specialized Enduro, Specialized Epic, Specialized S-Works converted to rigid SS
Bike Setup: Bone stock 'cept for wider riser bars, XT brake pads and Maxxis Mobster tires
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Submitted by
MIKE
a Weekend Warrior
from ENFIELD CT.
Date Reviewed: March 5, 2003
Strengths: GREAT FRAME FOR THE MONEY.
Weaknesses: THE STOCK SPRING IS WAY TOO SOFT FOR A LARGE FRAME.
Bottom Line:
GREAT FULL SUSPENSION BIKE FOR THE MONEY! FOR ABOUT A GRAND I HAVE NOW HAVE A VERY RELIABLE FS BIKE. IVE BUILT MINE FOR MOSTLY XC USE BUT WITH A RIM UPGRADE IT WILL HANDLE ANYTHING I THROW AT IT SHORT OF SERIOUS DOWN HILL RUNS. AT THE TIME OF THIS REVIEW, EDISCOUNT BIKES HAVE THE NEWER VERSION OF THIS FRAME (DISCO MONKEY) FOR ABOUT 4 BILLS. IF YOU NEED A FRAME UPGRADE OR JUST WANT TO BUILD A NEW RELIABLE FS BIKE, YOU CANT GO WRONG WITH THIS ONE.
Similar Products Used: FSR COMP A1, STILL HAVE. K2 ZED 5.0, STILL HAVE, MONGOOSE ROCKODILE, EX GIRLFRIEND STIL HAS.
Bike Setup: STOCK SHOCK WITH 600LB SPRING, FULL XT COMPONENTS WITH ROCKET SHORTY SHIFTERS. PSYLO XC FORK, TITEC STEM, SPECIALIZED SEAT AND BAR, BONTRAGER SEATPOST, HAND BUILT MAVIC 517 CITRON RIMS ON XT HUBS, AVID ARCH RIVALS, AND PANARACER FIRE XC PRO's.
Strengths: Easton ultra lite tubing, rear disc mounts, nice taperd welds, and is the perfect all around free ride frame for dhing to x-counrty.
Weaknesses: The Noleen rear shock is ok. It hasen't blown yet so it did its job. I replaced it with a fox rc rear. 8.5 i2i with a 2.5 inch stroke. More travel!!
Bottom Line:
For the price of the frame it's the best deal around. I think the 3.0 is way better that the 4.0 they sell. The bike handles great up or down hill. It's a little heavy but who cares I'm not racing pro. ( yet ) It's perfect for some who wants to build a bike from scratch who doesn't have $2500 for a complete free ride bike. ( like me ) Just for the price alone it gets 5 chilis but after riding it. It dose deserve a big 5.
Similar Products Used: Scott vertigo pro, Scott Neva, DDG slammerII k2 evo 3.0
Bike Setup: K2 frame, RC rear shock, pro taper bars, Kore b52 stem, odi lock jaw grips, titec bezerker dh seat, XT rear LX front derailler, KT pods, LX hollow tech cranks, LX bb, sach chain, Hayes front and rear hydrolic brakes, hayes elite rear hub hayes hugi 20mm front hub, mammoth rims, white bros dh2 fork with skins, mobsters tires 2.7 front 2.5 rear king headset. I think I got everything.
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Submitted by
Joe
a Cross Country Rider
from Milford, NH
Date Reviewed: March 10, 2002
Strengths: Here's a follow-up to my first post... This is the bike of my dreams. I've turned it into exactly what it is, a kick ass all-around bike!!!!!!!
Weaknesses: none anymore
Bottom Line:
Needless to say I've completely changed the look and feel of my bike, all making it that much more fun. Check it out at--http://fivefootjacked.com/pics/bikes/joebike.jpg
Bike Setup: K2 Evo 3, to much to list, needless to say whats stock are the bars, seatpost, stem, shock(to be replaced with Progressive shock), fr and rear deraillers, bb and crankset, k2 clipless... i think thats it!!!!
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Submitted by
Hyrum Kirton
a Cross Country Rider
from Sandy UT USA
Date Reviewed: January 20, 2002
Strengths: solid ride shock performs well Very good value for the money
Weaknesses: little heavy at frame weight of about 7lbs small noticable bob during extreme climbs
Bottom Line:
This frame rocks for the money if you are not a racer and don't have lots of cash you can't go wrong with this Frame! And if your a serious racer you will use a hardtail anyway! It looks feels and the geometry is good. Not excessive bob didn't notice any more bob than with my idrive. Little heavy, but than again all fs's are pretty much. One less chile overall cause for 2000 bucks you can prolly get a better frame.
Bike Setup: XT shifters, f/R derailer, bottum bracket, and cranks, sid xc 80mm shock noleen nr-1 reer shock xt Vbrakes, and spd pedals
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Submitted by
Don Joey
a Cross Country Rider
from Milford, NH
Date Reviewed: May 3, 2001
Strengths: It feels as good as thought it would. A very good baseline component set. Super sweet fork, value for my $, this bike will be with me for a long long time.
Weaknesses: stupid bar ends, red paint and cheesy wheelset, but all are coming off:)
Bottom Line:
I've wanted this bike for about a year and it truely has lived up to my expectations. Lightly modified it will be MINE. Robust enough take the drops and nible enough to work tight slow singletrack with grace... Please check out me and my friends web site at: fivefootjacked.com
Strengths: -Good components -disk ready -good fork -super plush -takes hits -GREAT for free ride -very responsive, but not twitchy. -Great front and rear suspension. -Strong & light, for what it is.
Weaknesses: -Mega air fork gave in one week, the got driven about a third of an inch through the crown. It was defective, and I am in the process of haveing it warenteed now. I wasen't exactly rideing it to church every sunday tho :) -Other than that I have been extremely inpressed that it handles so well and dose everything nicely. It has saved me from many a crash.
Bottom Line:
This bike is the best value ever. it cost my 900 bucks and takes any thing I throw at it. Its light enough that I can take long excercise rides on it, and do trails fast. It sticks to the ground, jumps, and lands smoothy, and really soaks up big hits. You would hafta pay alot more for a better bike for free ride, jumping , and city rideing (freestyle, free ride, ledge droping , jumping). The fork is a defect that is being fixed and is rare, consideing the volume of bike and fork sales.
Favorite Trail: I am mostly a city rider, Big drops big air, and big jumps.
Duration Product Used: Less than 1 month
Similar Products Used: tryed a FSR and numerious free ride hardtails
Bike Setup: Stock, except for wellgo spikey dh/BMX pedals ( those RULE for 20 bucks)
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Jase Y.
a Cross Country Rider
from Vancouver Canada
Date Reviewed: July 12, 2000
Strengths: Good drivetrain, quick and reliable SRAM 7.0 shifting. Disk-brake ready. Sporty color scheme. Strong frame design. Nice adjustable Noleen rear shock. Steady rear end when hauling uphill. Fast. Sharp handling. Good weight 28.5 pounds. Nice component selection for a bike under 1200cad.
Weaknesses: Heavier riders (230+ pounds) may want to upgrade the stock forks. Can't find many K2 dealers in Canada.
Bottom Line:
A fast, strong bike. Sporty look. Solid SRAM 7.0 drive-train. Uphill rides are stiff and light. Hard-tail handling around town. Coushie rear shock when you dail it in right. A good full-susp ride for cross country and tech-trails. Only thing I'm thinkin of upgrading is to shorter handle-bars and maybe the forks to Noleen Smarts. After test riding various full-suspensions in this price range, this bike had by far the best components and weight. So for the money this bike deserves 5 chill's. Great bike K2 but wish you guys had a stronger product presense in CANADA. It's a shame to see your bikes at tennis racket stores etc... You don't get the profesional service from these guys that you would at a bike shop.
Strengths: good value, nice fork (mega air 100), 4.7" of rear wheel travel. disk hubs and tabs. lx/xt.
Weaknesses: i got the bike as a demo bike (it is THE bike that is in the catalog). the front rim was so bent that it could got be trued. i work at the LBS so i do kno how to do this. i ended up having to build a new wheel. which was a reall big pain in the ass, sense k2 had this wheel machine built, and used different size spokes on each side, which is good when you have a disk hub, but not good when each side is mixed with both long and short spokes.
Bottom Line:
i think that this bike is an awesome deal. i like it better than the evo 4.0 b/c you dont have the carbon swing arm, that way you can mount disk, and it has the disk hubs too. only think that i dont really care for is the fact that the derailuer is so had to adjust because of the location of the swing arm. the fork is amazing!! its only 3.0 lbs. but has 4" of travel. you think that it would be weak and not stiff? forget it!! it is very rigid. but the fork is so smooth that it honestly feels like 4.5" or even 5". i originally was planningon get a new fork very quickly after the bike arrived, but i was pleased to see that i did not need one. over all id give it 5 flaming chilis for value, and 4 for k2 wheel building skill. but im a nice guy and i support the local guy. 5 flamers. what a great bike for the money.
