Strengths: Steel, agile, fast, takes only minutes to get into the zone
Weaknesses: cheap breaks --> replaced with Avid Disc f/r levers --> replaced with LX headset --> still living with pedals --> replaced with Shimano M545 saddle --> replaced with Selle Italia flight gel hubs --> replaced with WTB w/ 317 hoops
Bottom Line:
After 2 years of hard riding, this bike is still going strong. Only 2 things on this bike have ever bothered me--the breaks and the saddle. They were the first things I replaced. The RST breaks were junk. I have even made shims out of a coke can (out of desperation) to keep the pads from dragging on the rotor. The rear suspension definitely works, especially when correctly adjusted for rider weight. Ok, so the bike is on the heavy side, but who cares.
Favorite Trail: Monte Bello, Canyon Trail, Crazy Pete's (Russian Ridge), El Corte de Madera, Purisma Creek
Duration Product Used: 2 Years
Price Paid:
$600.00
Purchased At: bikeswholesale.com
Similar Products Used: Kona Muni-Mula, KHS Alite 2000, Nishiki Manitoba
Bike Setup: XTR deraileurs, Avid disc f/r, Raceface bar w/ Answer grips, LX levers, Shimano M545 pedals, WTB hubs / 317 hoops, Selle Italia Flight gel, Titec Carbon post, el cheapo bar-ends, LX levers, the rest are stock
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Charlie Jenkins
a Weekend Warrior
from Fairfiled, CA
Date Reviewed: November 8, 2002
Strengths: Can't beat the feel of steel. I had no idea what I was missing.
Weaknesses: RST Brakes, seat, chain, and levers.
Bottom Line:
I love this bike. I never thought there would be that much of a different feel between aluminum and steel. I couldn't beat the price either. This bike feels great climbing and descending. The softtail takes the edge off on most hits but it does give you a little more rear end flex. It just take a few rides to get use to. Definately need to upgrade a few things(BRAKES, seat, brake levers, and chain)but I don't think you could find a better all-round deal out there. The Brakes are the only thing that take this bike's overall to a 4. If you are a weekend warrior or cross country rider you can't go wrong with this bike.
Similar Products Used: My first softtail but I also have a GT RTS-1 Full suspension. Sweet bike but getting to old to buy parts for.
Bike Setup: Z.4 fork, Mavic 317 rims, Power tool hubs, LX rear derailler, RST Brakes(I really hesitate to call them brakes)everything came stock on bike
Strengths: The Steel! A very solid drivetrain. Marzo fork rocks!. A great ride - the softtail works. As far as the below post-the frame doesn't ghost shift. I'm 6'3", 240 and it holds me just fine over 1-2' humps.
Weaknesses: -RST brakes. These do work fine once you learn to adjust them, but I did cauterize them after a very long downhill. The plan was to ride them until they died - I now have Avids. -Powertool hubs (w/ 317 rims). Weird hubs, great hoops. -Narrow handlebar/skinny grips. I'm big and these weren't cutting it. -Sucky no name seat.
Bottom Line:
A inexpensive buy that upgrades well. A great, lively ride that climbs like a randy goat.
Bike Setup: XL frame Easton carbon low-rise Oury grips Easton EA70 stem XT shifters Speeddial 7 levers Avid discs Panaracer fire XCs 317 rims w Powertool hubs Selle Flite Gel Salsa QR Deore cranks Powertool pedals Deore front Derl. LX rear Derl. LH cassette
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Brian Mahle
a Weekend Warrior
from Easton, PA, USA
Date Reviewed: June 28, 2002
Strengths: "Feel of Steel", $$$Price$$$, Marzocchi Z.4 fork, Soft-Tail takes edge of trail hits once you get the KHS elastometer to give.
Weaknesses: Crappy RST Brakes (Gottem working good, but REPLACED!) Cheap "Powertools" Levers (replaced) Cheap tiny KORE handle bar (replaced) Cheap Chain (replaced) Cheap Seat (replaced) Nock-off hubbs (living with) Nock-off pedals (replaced)
Bottom Line:
OK, so... after $650 initially and $390 in additionals, I spent $1040. The MSRP was like $1200, I spent $1040 and have a great trail bike that I will ride for years.
Strengths: Marzocci Fork. Soft Tail. Good Looking.
Weaknesses: RST Brakes. You can´t use v-brakes on the rear.
Bottom Line:
It´s great for going up hill, and Down Hill, I love it´s a very nervous bike, fast. I´ve used the RST brakes from factory and i just hate them, The pads run out, and I didn´t found any replacement so i have to buy the Avids, I think thats the best purchase i´ve ever done, they work great, the only problem is the weight, but i´m not the king of weight saver.
Buy it if you like long day riding and you don´t want to spend a lot of money on a rear shock.
Forgget it, if you´re a serious rider looking for light weight or a trial wanna-be rider.
Strengths: The feel of steel and a nice front shock
Weaknesses: the rear stays
Bottom Line:
I tried this bike out for a test ride and found the rear stays wouldnt hold my weight. Im 6'2" and 200#. I rode this thing on the road and found it would shift unexpectedly. I wasnt sure what was going on at first but when I would bounce on the seat while peddling it would shift over a couple gears. The tubing is apparently not designed for larger riders like myself. Why make an XL if it wont hold the weight of the size person it was designed to be ridden by? Avoid this bike if your my size. Otherwise it seemed like a good deal for a steel softail. Its a good value if your not a "heavy" rider but as far as the overall rating that would have to be low.
Submitted by
Leon
a Cross Country Rider
from San Jose
Date Reviewed: February 1, 2002
Strengths: This is an excellent bike for the $$$. Smooth and agile. Excellent ride. Climbs like a goat. Very plush on the downhill. Love the WTB tires.
Weaknesses: uncomfortable saddle (upgraded to new one) disc breaks also hard to adjust mushy break feel due to cheap break cables. Fixed with new break cables. grips too hard and too small for my hands.
Bottom Line:
Excellent bang for the buck. Get new saddle to save your butt and get new break cables while you are at it. Better yet, get the Avid mech disc breaks and dump the RSTs to save your sanity. (I actually melted the pads on a couple of rides.) The rear suspension takes the edge out of the real rough stuff without compromising climbing ability. Ok, so it is a bit noisy, but who cares. The bottom line: great bike. I love it.
Bike Setup: Kore/Kore light, XT crank-derailuer(R), Deore(F), Powertools(KHS) brake levers-front and rear hubs, RST disc brakes, Mavic disc rims, Selle Italia flite gel
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
JD
a Cross Country Rider
from San Angelo, TX, U.S.
Date Reviewed: January 1, 2002
Strengths: The bike is great. The price is excellent and for the money you can't beat the components. The bike rides great everywhere I've been and I ride 10 to 15 miles daily on road and offroad. Overall the bike is very light and rides like a dream.
Weaknesses: The seat is a little tough but you get used to it.
Bottom Line:
This is a great bike It will get you where you want to go. Everyone seems to complain about the brakes but if you adjust them properly they work great mine stop perfect and never make a sound. I have had other bikes and had never been very serious about riding until recently and this bike is awesome. It is very light and I climbed some tough hills and gone down some crazy down hills everything is working fine. The only thing I plan to do is switch the drive train up to xtr. Everything else works great.
Submitted by
Jon
a Cross Country Rider
from Tehachapi CA, USA
Date Reviewed: September 1, 2001
Strengths: The price (at PricePoint.com) Decent component mix for the $$$ It's the ride man...
Weaknesses: KHS saddle sucks Stock brakes are dangerous!
Bottom Line:
This bike is a solid deal for the price! MSRP is out of the question given the brakes (RST mech discs), saddle and most of the Powertools (a KHS subsidiary) components.
The stock RST brakes never even consider actually stopping you, they just kinda slow you enough to where you can step off. Upgrade to something better before your first ride, you'll be a lot happier with the entire experience!
The overall ride is excellent! I'm 6'4" and 215 and after setting up the Z4 to Marzocchi specs for my weight and thoroughly lubing the Powertools elastomer shock, this steel frame delivers one sweet ride!!! There is a little flex in the rear triangle when I hammer a big gear, but I haven't ridden many bikes in the past 15 years that didn't flex at least a little due to my weight! The rear triangle/shock combo take a significant edge off the bigger hits without feeling like I'm losing power while climbing. The longish top tube helps me stretch out a bit as well.
The drivetrain occasionally skips and complains when pressed for a shift under full power. That upgrade will have to wait for my next bit of spare cash... :)
5 flamers for value and 4 overall due to the mandatory brake upgrade...
Weaknesses: Hubs suck. Drivetrain is flexy if you ride hard. A little heavy. Levers suck.
Bottom Line:
The brakes are ok so far but they are the first disks I've ever had. The steel frame and small travel really make for a lively ride. After you make some badly needed upgrades, it'll be the bike that I hold on to forever. The drivetrain skips really bad when pushed. It scares me on climbs as a result. This is a great deal for the money. Buy it if you ride on semi-smooth fast single track. Don't if you ride the big roots & rocks.
Bike Setup: I put on a tomac riser, avid levers, fire xc 2.1 tires, bonty clipless & bonty seat.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Gabe
a Cross Country Rider
from Minnesota
Date Reviewed: August 6, 2001
Strengths: softtail, steel, ride, price. great frame. disk brakes.
Bottom Line:
Fantastic bike for the price. There is no doubt I would reccomend this purchase. It climbs fantasticly. Rides awesome with just "enough" off the edge from the 1/2-3/4 inch softtail.
I don't know that I would reccomend paying over $1200 (suggested retail) but at under $700 there is absolutely NO DOUBT.
The steel ride is SWEET. I highly reccomend this bike.
This bike is awesome! It's plush on the downhill, fast in the corners and uphill, and really smooth altogether. I recommend this bike BIG time, (escpecially if you can get it cheap, DUH)if you like light, fast and durable, this is for you.
Excellent bike for under $700. I got into this bike to give the soft-tail design try. I was definately NOT dissapointed. It's hard to say if it's the steel frame or the ST design---but this bike is fantastic. It climbs well, has very low rolling resistance, and is really lite for steel.
There is no question there are huge differences between the feel of a steel and alum frame.
The ST design rides like a hardtail and you hardly notice it's there...except when you need it! I have no doubts about the concept now and I am sure I'll keep a ST in my garage for a long time to come. If you haven't riden one, you owe it to yourself to try it out.
Brakes aside---the rest of the parts are livable, I'll replace them as they go out.
Strengths: Price was what turned my head. The frame rocks and I have raced and trained hard on this bike and love it. Components are good enough to handle the rough stuff and easily upgradable. Love the steel feel and may be my imagination but, I fly on this thing vs my oldre aluminum frame.
Weaknesses: The brakes. If you ride hard at all you will need to upgrade. I am having Avid's installed as I type this. Saddle is weak. I was going to upgrade my tires but I have such great roll that I'm keepin em on. Rear suspension very subtle, almost not worth having it there.
Bottom Line:
I got a great deal on this bike. If I paid a grand I would question the value but, I paid $649 and now afford upgrades. I race almost everyweekend and train a lot. I should be riding a much better bike but, I cannot find fault with the durable frame. It took a couple of challanging fast single tracks to fall in love with this KHS With the brake upgrade I may just marry this bike. Buy it if you can.
Similar Products Used: Specialized Hardrock, Rockhopper
Bike Setup: See previous post. Stock.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
John
a Weekend Warrior
from Rhode Island
Date Reviewed: May 4, 2001
Strengths: Light (for steel) Nimble, Softtail. I road this bike and it inspired confidence---no need to go all the way full suspension and why rigid when this is an option.
This bike total costs less then most ST frames (Trek, Ibis)--save some money and GET THIS BIKE.
Weaknesses: Still A little heavy, deore components, stock disks (swap them with Avids)
Bottom Line:
"I have got to get me one of these"
kick ass bike for the money. The ST design is unreal. You have to ride it and I mean RIDE it to really appreciate the beauty of it.
If you like technical, fast single track---this is your bike.
Now that the 2001 models are here---you can pick up a 2000 model at half the orginal. There is really no question here.
The feel of steel is fantastic. It's amazing how much you get used to aluminum. If you've been off a steel bike for a while--give it a shot. You'll notice the difference immediately.
Only down point---I suggest swapping the stock disks with Avid Mechanicals---other than that 5 flamers all the way.
