Submitted by
Bryan Brooks
a Cross Country Rider
from Agoura Hills, CA
Date Reviewed: September 22, 2001
Strengths: Active plush suspension when dialed in. Stiff rear end. Durable powder coat paint. Fairly light.
Weaknesses: This frame broke just below the front derailer. Limited warranty of 1 year. Don't get it wet unless you can put up with the squeak or don't mind the maintenance. Had to have the main pivot drilled out. The grease ports are nice but don't help much. Water bottle placement.
Bottom Line:
It is a great ride but I have had more problems than expected from this amount of money. I seen to be rough on bikes but I am not the only one who has broken one. It took Mountain Cycle a couple of months to respond. The pivots are a lot of work. Always clean dry. Don't use lube on the pivots. Take apart and re-grease. I am not completely satisfied with this bike. I am strongly looking at an Ellsworth Truth or Santacruiz Superlight. I think all bikes have some problems but for the money I think there are some better or at least equal values out there. But when this bike is running good there is no stopping it. AWESOME RIDE ! Great climber, racer, technical decents. I feel very confident riding it. I got it to 28lbs with my current set-up but I am also riding a Marzocchi original Z1 which gives the bike a nice balanced weight and rides great but weighs as much as the rest of the frame.
Similar Products Used: Gary Fisher Joshua (junk), GT Zaskar (broke), Supergo full suspension (very nice but heavy and stolen).
Bike Setup: All XTR RaceFace combination. 517 rims Stratos Air XC (nice when not leaking) (prior Helix shock seized on me) Don't use RaceFace bottom bracket with it.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Chris Hatch
a Cross Country Rider
from San Diego, CA
Date Reviewed: July 19, 2001
Strengths: Quite light, great standover clearance, long top tube, active suspension, grease ports, efficient climber.
Weaknesses: No head tube badge, annoying bolts in rear "Horst style" pivots, not the best tire and mud clearance, monocoque frame is susceptible to impact damage, no replacable derailler hanger.
Bottom Line:
Great all arounder. Pure x-country racers will want a less active suspension (Sugar or Fuel or even a softtail) and or a shock lockout. Climbs efficiently, handles predictably. The suspension is very active and plush, but set up more for control and comfort while rolling, not for soaking up landings after big jumps. My bike of choice for an all day ride with significant climbing.
Submitted by
Seth Daniels
a Racer
from Sterling,Va, USA
Date Reviewed: May 15, 2001
Strengths: Fantastic frame....climbs and decends very well. I cannot think of anything that it does badly. I am a 225 lb dowhhill bomber that uses this frame for Cross Coutry riding and racing and it has performed flawlessly with one small exception...It has broken twice. Both times on the left chainstay right below where the disc brake mounting bracket attaches to the frame. The first time....the guys at Mtn Cycle replaced it within a couple of days and were VERY cool about it.. recently...it broke again, I think it is a design flaw due to a combonation of my size and the Hayes Disc brakes adding a lot more stress to that area of the frame. In any case, this time they have custom made me a stronger chainstay assembly with gusseting...and they have done all of this VERY VERY fast and were VERY cool about it. I cannot say enough about the guys there.. I called them up and told then it broke and I needed a new one in a few days...They delivered and were cool as hell. Supposedly, the new SLIX frame solves this problem...so BUY ONE!!!
Weaknesses: Chainstay possibly not strong enough on non-drive side for agressive >200 lb rider with discs.
Bottom Line:
Mountain Cycle is a VERY cool company that will go out of their way to keep their customer happy. I have ridden their frames for almost 5 years now and cannot say enough good about the guys over there. They build bad ass bikes and more importantly ....they stand behind their product. If you have the means or are in the market...BUY ONE. You cannot go wrong.
Similar Products Used: Mountain Cycle San Andreas 8.0 for 4 years
Bike Setup: combo of XTR and all other top end goodies, Manitou X-vert super and hayes discs..
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Christian
a Weekend Warrior
from San Jose, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: December 9, 2000
Strengths: Light, burly, unique, machining is superb, bike reeks quality...quality..quality. As far as linkage bikes go, this one is executed very well along with one-of-a kind looks you don't see everyday. Super plush, a XC bike with the heart of a downhill freerider. Whenever you ride it, people stop and stare in admiration. All pivot points have grease ports! In general, frame is sexy as hell. Has the curves of a supermodel.
Weaknesses: Would be better with sealed bearings instead of bushings, bushings require constant cleaning/lubrication otherwise pivots develop an annoying creak, expensive maintinence when you need to get replacement parts...but what do you expect for a handmade bike? As with many similar designs, bobs during climbs...but if you use a shock with a lock-out, the bike climbs awesome. Whenever you ride it, people stop and stare like they want to rip it off from you. As with any monocoque frame, this one is pretty loud...
Bottom Line:
AMongst all the similar linkage bikes out there (including the original trend-setter burner), this bike is still the sexiest IMHO. The suspension set-up is widely used, but nobody does monocoque like MC, and this bike earns bucko style points. The ride is very very plush. With the way my bike is setup, it weighs 26.3 lbs...not the lightest, but you hardley notice because it is so agile and responsive. It can be raced XC, but begs to hit the trails and do whatever. This frame is recommended with an airshock due to it's linear nature, but I switched to a coil and it's just to much fun to go back. Only problem I have is the high maintinence of the bushings. Sometimes after long wet rides I develop a creak even injecting fresh grease into the pivots doesn't cure. What you need to do is dissassemble the lower pivots and completely grease inside and out...wished they used sealed bearings. In comparison to the other bikes I tried, the CXS isn't any better necesarily in terms of performance, but it certainly stands out in terms of quality and originality. You will probably see 4 stinkys and 3 turners before you even see a CXS...and as far as i'm concerned...this is exactly what I want. Take a close look at the machine-work of the shock arms...this is a great example of attention to quality and detail. Oh yeah, mine was painted a custom metallic midnight blue...fortunately/unfortunately my bike draws attention like nothing else i've ridden...sweeeeeeeet! I'm giving it 5 burning jalepenos for value, and 5 for overal rating because it's just too much fun to own 8)
This bike has gotten me riding again. The Mountain Cycle designs seem to scare people (some people don't like the departure from traditional looking frames) but I'm digging it! Low standover height. ("the boys" are greatful fro that!) Nimble geometry. I'm WAY faster on this bike. Maybe it's just new purchase pride, but I'm stoked. Full Suspension that climbs? hell yes! OK, normally I trudge up hill just to bomb back down, but now I actually enjoy pedaling. I'll be damned. The rear end is super stiff, no side to side flex. The best part: grease injector ports. MC uses those composite/teflon bearings and aluminum pivot shafts, which have these really cool grease ways machined in them (Yep, I took the whole thing apart already.) You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that they're lighter than stainless steel ball bearings. But anyways, you can inject grease into the pivots, to keep'em lubed, and the dust and dirt stay out, cause they're sealed. Sweet!
Other than that, I'm loving the "Kawasaki Green" paint job. Looking a bit like a leprauchan bombing through the trails, but it's the style, right? And, this is pretty cool, it's got a gusset behind the headtube that you can bolt this little knob deally to. It stops a double-triple fork from denting that sexy-ass mainframe. Never seen that before! (Well, except on a KX...)
