Strengths: Sid 100, nice brakes, romic adjustability, sweet ass looks, shifting, weight for my size, Beefy parts = less breakage
Weaknesses: tires arent great on hardpack, owners manuals, chainring clearance over dirtjumps(not an issue in xc, so why am i complaining)
Bottom Line:
I got it, assembled with no problems, and rode 35 miles on it. Some on dirt, some through the city. All I can say is WOW. It took 4 & 5 foot drops like it was a curb. If you have it set up right, it bunny hops 2 feet with virtually no effort. The only problems I had were even thinking of looking at manuals, (either over simplified to where you dont want to read anymore or bad italian translations) . The chainring clearance over some dirtjumps, but what do i need with that when racing xc? and the tires had a lot of rolling resistance on hardpack. But what can I say, its a great bike, at a great value. You may see complaints on the gremicas or other components, but i have had no problems with breaking in things.
*advice* dont bleed the gremicas, they should rub just a little, but make sure you dont squeez the levars before the tire is on
Read the romic manual--- its short and sweet. proper adjustment is a must.
tighten up the pedals. stock adjustments had me flying out all day. a quick adjustment and they were great,.
go with the lower recomended pressure in the sid manual. I weigh 170 and abput 55 psi was cushy without bottoming out
not for a beginner, all the adjustments and the techinicalities with the breaks and such can be too much
Weaknesses: Front shifter, 4 inches of travel my &ss
Bottom Line:
Its a very good bike overall, the sid 100 is incredible. It takes 4 inch hits at speed almost without you even noticing, and its light as hell. The only real problem Im having is that I cant get anywhere near 4 inches of travel from the rear. I dont know if its in the frame, or if the Romic shock is just a pos. And the front shifter doesnt get enough pull to go smoothly through the range of gears, it has the chain rubbin in high and low gear, annoying.
But, bobbing is minimal, Ive had more of a problem with the shock bobbing if anything, but thats no big deal.
Im just gonna swap out the shifters, tires, and maybe the shock, and this bike should be great for the next few years. For the prices you can get now(March 02), its an incredible value. And the people at Bikesource were great.
Submitted by
Tom
a Cross Country Rider
from Palm City, FL USA
Date Reviewed: December 24, 2001
Strengths: The bike handles very well, feels comfortable right from the start. Grimeca disks work extremely well, good combination of parts.
Weaknesses: Weight, tires, and somewhat touchy headset/stem adjustment (which honestly could be me)
Bottom Line:
The bike is very well made, but a little heavy (my medium weighed in at 29.9 lbs from the factory). It is very, very comfortable, even on long rides. Shop around, find one on closeout and use the extra money for upgrades. If you are into saving weight, wheel and shock upgrade will make a very noticeable difference in the bike (over 2 lbs, more than half of which will be rotational weight). Also, change the tires if you live somewhere sandy. Otherwise, just go ride it and enjoy it as is. I have ridden the bike hard, and have had no problems. As for who should buy this bike, I think anyone who is looking for a well made, good spec'd bike that is comfortable and handles so good that after your first ride you'll think you've been riding it for years. I give it 5 flamin' chilis for value, mostly because you can buy this bike on closeout for about a grand, and I don't think for that price you can find anything even close. Overall rating I give it 4 flamin' chilis because it's a great bike, but obviously needs a little lightening to be competetive with the big boys. Use the money left over from your smart shopping on go-fast stuff and you'll be one very happy rider. I am!
Bike Setup: Spinergy Xyclone disk wheels, Rockshox SID xc air shock, WTB laser V stealth saddle, Wellgo MG 18 TI pedals, Ritchey WCS Stem, yadda, yadda, yadda.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Nathan
a Cross Country Rider
from Jonesboro, AR USA
Date Reviewed: October 18, 2001
Strengths: Price; You can't get better than 500 for a frame like this. The Romic shock is dialed in great. Climbs better than my old hardtail! plush 4.5 travel. Looks good. Little Flex
Weaknesses: Swingarm paint wears off easily. Very thin. A little heavy 6.8 frame & shock.
Bottom Line:
Great Frame, Hanndles better than a lot of the other guys hardtails on climbs and blows them away on descents. Check out KHS Racer Program for a great deal on a frame/complete bike some cool racer perks. Customer service is great and personal. No complaints. Not exotic but performs very well!
Similar Products Used: giant ht, specialized hard rock ht
Bike Setup: Kore post, stem; Ritchey WCS flat bar; Tru Vativ Stylo Team crank; Manitou SXR fork, LX shifters & frt Der.; XTR levers & R Der.; WTB saddle; Time Atac Pedals, XTR/Mavic517 wheels.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
gerry dyke
a Weekend Warrior
from bc canada
this bike lets me ride much harder and faster than my torrent did. the frame is strong but should have bearings instead of bushings, the gremica system 8 modulate nicely but the front needed to be bleed a few times.the sid 100 is not up to the abuse that the rest of the bike can handle plus it felt a bit too lite I switched it to a Z3 bomber 4inch nicer fork. the wheels are good stuff, lite,strong, Ihaven't touched them since i bought the bike in oct 2000 [ya I got it a bit early].this seat rules! This bike can do really tec switchbacks easily[eg:saw blade],it also handles high speed very well. I love this bike, it climbs like a mad man, jumps good , always does eactly what you want. Go buy one, but get your dealer to put on a Z3 and get ready to have lots of fun
