Submitted by
Chris
a Cross Country Rider
from FT. Stewart, GA
Date Reviewed: March 31, 2008
Strengths: Great short travel XC ride. Built from frame up, can't comment on stock parts, nimble, light, fast. If you want a racer or fast XC machine look no farther.
Weaknesses: Short rear travel. This is no free ride or trail bike by any means, you get what you want out of it.
Bottom Line:
I picked up the frame from a grass-roots factory ride at a race in CT and built it from there. Great XC race machine. The bike is most at home on flat to slightly hilly, smooth trails. The small amount of travel is best at sucking up small roots/rocks and great in the turns. Rode bike at snowshoe and blew away brother on trails pointing down, (he made up a lot on the paved rode back up the mountain on his hard tail. If you are looking for a used, affordable racer check it out.
Similar Products Used: Wolf Creek ti hardtail C-dale F600 Trek fuel's
Bike Setup: Razorback team frame SID race fork XT drive train Race face crank Hayes hydro Spin disc wheel set Thompson post Sella Itella seat Race face xc stem Answer carbon flat bar
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Submitted by
mark smith
a Cross Country Rider
from Stafford UK
Date Reviewed: March 16, 2003
Strengths: Super composure in tricky situations lets you exceed your previous limits. Forgives even bad riding(useful for me).
Weaknesses: Reliabiltiy of rear shock, forks generally. Original brakes.
Bottom Line:
Main problem is that the product is not supported in the uk, even after 2 years. So they are rare. This gave me a problem when the rear shock failed - twice- K2 have a warranty company who repair the shock well but it is not the same as factory support. Cant understand why they want to miss the UK market . All triers like the bike.
Noleen forks poor for me (a leightweight), either solid or blow through travel. Bushing wrecked after 12 months, bottom bracket lasted even shorter time. Marzocchis reveal the bike at its best. Now has more uk (mud!) suitable BB and Hope disc brakes(XC4).
A vastly under-rated and (here at least)little known machine. Good enough to race XC I think, great for epics and fantastic for those much needed blasts!
From reading the other reviews, the number of warranty problems worries me. It must be a great ride for people to stick with it.
Bike Setup: Frame/rear shock, marzocchi atom race forks, Hope discs .TTT riser bars
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Submitted by
Jim
a Cross Country Rider
from Atlanta
Date Reviewed: January 7, 2003
Strengths: Superb frame shock, fairly light for the class, great components
Weaknesses: Fork setup a bit touchy
Bottom Line:
This bike is exactly what I had in mind for my first full suspension. It soaks up the big hits without much action otherwise -- almost rides like a hardtail. Plus, when the air fitting stripped out of the right fork cap recently and I e-mailed K2, there was no "when did you buy it, where's your receipt, we think you overtightened it" -- they just Fed-Exed me TWO complete new caps, AND the tool to install them! Fantastic!
If you're looking at full suspension and want a great deal, check out this bike.
Bike Setup: Stock -- and I'm always passing the guys with the fancy stuff
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Submitted by
vchenzo
a Cross Country Rider
from anch. ak.
Date Reviewed: August 7, 2002
Strengths: Awesome CROSS COUNTRY machine, super smooth!! verry responsive in corners with not a lot of whip. I am a big rider and this frameset eats it up!!k2 customer service is tops...
Weaknesses: NOLEEN FORK ...blew the slider tube of the fork through the steerer crown..world class bottom bracket was toast after 800 miles.k2 customer service is awesome they replaced the noleen fork unit with a FAR superior rock shox duke and ever since its been ...super
Bottom Line:
great frameset, awesome ride ,lose the fork and your set!!!!!!!!!!!!
Similar Products Used: fat city fat chance (not really similar..oh well) santa cruz super light.. a buddys ..too much $$$ for the bang!!!!!!
Bike Setup: xt xtr mix.. flite saddle a must...rock shox duke great for BIG boys doin xc
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Submitted by
brian mills
a Cross Country Rider
from west virginia
Date Reviewed: March 8, 2002
Strengths: very little bob, super light
Weaknesses: none so far
Bottom Line:
The frame is all that I purchase off of ebay and I swapped components. The frame has been awesome. There is very little bob on the climbs and just enough give for the downhills. I suppose that I could make it even better with a shock upgrade. It is the 21" way big frame that has had some complaints about fractures at the junction of the seat and top tube but I have had no problems and I weigh around 200. This is a good buy! Not really for downhilling, more for cross-country which is clearly stated by the product specs.
Submitted by
Al
a Cross Country Rider
from Aberdeen, UK
Date Reviewed: December 28, 2001
Strengths: Light, stiff quick! Well balanced front & rear suspension action.
Weaknesses: Standard brakes not up to the job.
Bottom Line:
I've been riding this bike for over a year, and it's been fantastic. I can do rides on this bike that would have left me battered and bruised on my old hardtail and still feel fairly fresh at the end. But there are few penalties to pay for this - the bike climbs well and absolutely flies over all but the roughest singletrack. Downhill speeds are far too high for the standard brakes to cope with - changed these first to XTR Vs and then to the XT discs. Only use the lockout on road sections, otherwise there is no need as the bike doesn't suffer from bobbing.
Bike Setup: Standard + XT discs, Hope hubs, Monkeylite bar, Prodigy ISIS crankset, Crud Catcher!
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Submitted by
steve
a Cross Country Rider
from Littleton, CO, USA
Date Reviewed: September 15, 2001
Strengths: K2s customer service
Weaknesses: cracked frame pinch bolt around rear shock and both barrels lost seals in Noleen front shock/
Bottom Line:
I've only had the bike for 6 weeks, but have had a cracked frame and the fork gave out. K2 customer service was fantastic. They told me to take it to REI, who tore it down and had it shipped out the next day, K2 had it diagnosed and and shipped back to me in a total of 4 days-total down time 7 days. It appears that the two bolts that clamp the frame to the rear shock were overtorqued somehow (not necessarily a frame failure). Then just 5 days later i lost air in both tubes of fork. I sent it back to them two days ago. we'll see what happens. Other than that!- the ride is tremendous. I am a road racer who is trying out mountain biking and was worried i would spend a lot of money and not be happy with my first bike. It turns out i got lucky with the razorback team. It's a quality machine backed by a quality company- very difficult to find in the bike business anymore. (i.e. try Ritchie's customer service sometime for an exercise in futility)
Submitted by
Brad Wendling
a Cross Country Rider
from Dallas,Tx,USA
Date Reviewed: June 30, 2001
Strengths: Lightweight,Affordable,Both front and rear shocks
Weaknesses: Upgrade seat and whatever makes you happy
Bottom Line:
The bike is sweet and the weight rocks, my hardtail weighs more than the K2. This is almost the perfect bike to race with, only needs a few possible upgrades(advance up to XT or XTR if you choose). I am partial to Geax tires, but I will soon find out how these bad boys work out. Once you get the bike broke in and set specifically for you, you need no other bike.
Strengths: this is the next generation design taken from the stinger - but has been matured and sensible moderations and alterations to the stinger design have been made to make this a very light frame to build a FS bike on. The shock is really plush making the ride feel like it has 4+ inches of travel when it only has 3.
Mud clearance is good and it is fully disk brake compatible including spare guides for your hydraulic cables.
Weaknesses: The paint job is not brilliant and it scratches quite easily. Or maybe I just ride into stuff? :-)
Bottom Line:
this is an amazing bike. It is pretty much my dream bike and it never ceases to amaze me how this bike handles XC and DH trails.
It is very light. I haven't measured the weight recently with the B4's - but it is under 11 kg which is not bad at all. Disk brakes are a serious upgrade to this bike and should be considered. I removed the frame enabled brake booster for more mud clearance and the frame still feels stiff yet plush...
Similar Products Used: All K2 and profex bikes back to 1995. driven a few Cannondales at races and other manufacturers. Have a Kona Sex 3 with a long travel kit and some other proflex bikes
Bike Setup: Fork: Marzocchi X-fly Chainset: FSA Afterburner cranks, SRAM PC81 chain, SRAM 9.0sl with carbon shifters BB and Headset: FullSpeedAhead Ultimax and Orbit RD (FSA) Wheels: Mavic x517 built up on SRAM 9.0sl disk enabled hubs Tyres: Panaracer FireXC Pedals: by Ritchey Brakes: Formula B4 disk brakes
riser bar and long stem.
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Submitted by
Mike Dalton
a Cross Country Rider
from Wellington, New Zealand
Date Reviewed: March 26, 2001
Strengths: Everything
Weaknesses: Rear shock packed up after less than 100km Price in New Zealand Not enough rebound damping adjustment available.
Bottom Line:
I like this bike. My previous bike was a Marin East Peak with Noleen cross link FS. The K2 has a much plusher ride, climbs fantastically. When climbing the Marin would behave like a hard tail under power i.e. the rear suspension would not move if riding over a rock or tree root. The K2 has a more active rear suspension set up and simply soaks up the impact without compromising the traction.
The FS is a revelation. Compared to the Noleen cross link FS I had before, the Ronds are like comparing a Rolls Royce with a F1 racing car. The Ronds simply absorb any impact whereas the Noleens wouldn't move unless the hit was a big one. I don't know how the Noleen Mega Air FS compares to the Ronds but as they are both air shocks I presume the performance would be similar.
I now have a bike that currently can out-perform its rider. I find myself going faster than I used to, so much so that the brakes get a fair bit of use.
The only problem so far has been the rear shock. It stopped holding air on the third ride (less then 100km). However, this was replaced (not repaired) by the K2 agent in a couple of days and the new one performs better than the original. Good service here in NZ.
The other thing that could do with improvement is the range of rebound damping adjustment could be greater. Even with the rebound full on there does not feel like enough. This applies to both FS and RS. A heavier grade of oil would do the trick and while this is a relatively simple job to do on the FS, the rear shock won't be so easy. This will be a job to do when the shocks need servicing.
One last thing. The K2 Razorback Team has a very cool paintjob - much nicer than the bare aluminium on my old Marin.
Bike Setup: 2001 Razorback Team, Rond O24U FS, Shimano Disks, XTR, Raceface
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Submitted by
Kevin Hoffman
a Cross Country Rider
from Ogden Utah 84404
Date Reviewed: February 27, 2001
Strengths: Great bike, climbs like a hardtail, quick handling
Weaknesses: bottom bracket height
Bottom Line:
This is a follow up to my review of a year ago. Great bike for x-country. Customer service from K2 is exceptional. I recently discovered a crack in my frame 2 days before an out of town bike ride. After talking to K2 customer service and warranty people on Wednesday afternoon explaining my problem they had a new frame next day shipped to me. There was none of the usual B.S. regarding a warranty claim, they just wanted to make it right. You can't go wrong with this bike and K2 as a company has been a pleasure to work with.
Strengths: The suspension is the best around. It got the stiffness of Marzocchi and the weight of a Sid. Verry good balance between the front and rear suspension.
Weaknesses: The low bottom bracket, the pedals hit rocks and dirt at difficult tracks. There is also a bit of wear out of paint caused by the cables from the brakes and gears.
Bottom Line:
I´am a large and heavy biker (100 kilogramms) and its hard to find a bike with suspension that performs well (not to jumpy or fluffy). This bike kicks ass and gave me super powers (like kryptonite). It´s a competition bike (easy climbing and acceleration) and not a very comfortable bike (like a KLEIN or a proflex). I love it
Similar Products Used: Kona King Kikapu, Specialized enduro, Rocky mountain, Steppenwolf
Bike Setup: I´ve got the weight down to 10,5 kilogramms, totally SRAM 9.0 sl,Swalbe extra light tubes, easton seatpost and bar.
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Submitted by
Chris Owens
a Cross Country Rider
from Whitby
Date Reviewed: February 12, 2001
Strengths: Stif and fast frame and great geometry the Noleen shock and fork are performing flawlessly. Great value in components right out of the box-and Light !
Weaknesses: none found yet
Bottom Line:
I loved this bike the moment I sat on it ! I called all over North America to find one because they sold out, but I found my baby in Anchorage Alaska of all places--3 days later she arrived-sweet ! We just rode for 10 days in Chile on punishing gruelling trails with huge 1000 plus m. climbs and wicked full on downhills that lasted for miles and miles and this bike was amazing. The suspension design was perfect for the conditions--The Bike was punished and came up smiling and so did I--AWSOME !!!!!!
Bike Setup: Spinergy Spox, raceface next LP, Carbon monkey lite bar and Thompson post, WTB saddle
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Submitted by
Simon
a Cross Country Rider
from plymouth ,england
Date Reviewed: January 24, 2001
Strengths: stiff/lightweight/durable/FAST
Weaknesses: short travel needs 4" not 3"
Bottom Line:
I USE THIS BIKE FOR ENDURO AND XC RACING AND IT IS PERFECT I GET ON THE BIKE AND IT FEELS LIKE I CAN DO ANYTHING. EXCELENT IN SINGLE TRACK SMOOTH CLIMBER COMPETANT DOWNHILL THIS IS ONE SORTED BIKE IF YOU DONT HAVE ONE WHY NOT! ONLY QUIBLE IT NEEDS AND EXTRA INCH OF TRAVEL
Bike Setup: total custom build from frame XTR , MIDDLEBURN , HOPE XC4 , RINGLE , USE , CARBON MONKEYLITE , SID XC , NO LOCK OUT ,SPECALIZED TIRES
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Submitted by
Irish Mud
a Weekend Warrior
from Sacto, Cally
Date Reviewed: January 2, 2001
Strengths: After 6+ months of riding, the performance has been flawless. I have changed quite a few things, but not because I really had to. The bike is strong and K2 is below the mass marketed radar for this model. Kudos.
Weaknesses: None so far.
Bottom Line:
I do most of my riding in the Sierra, so I found that I don't need the large chainring at all. Also, I have been getting good enough to not need my granny ring either. Therefore, I put 180mm Race Face cranks on with a 32T chainring and a rock ring. I used a chain guide on the inside from Jump-Stop, and the whole setup kicks ass. Get this! I use the old front der. shifters to lockout the rear shock! Talk about flying up hills! If you do this you will need to be mechanically inclined enough to fashion a cam, or a spring to take up the slack in the cable (the shifting used much more cable than the lockout requires).
Best damn bike I have ever had, 23-24 lbs. TRUE lockout on the fly, and well balanced!
