Bike Setup: Stock w/ Ritchey pedals, specialized bar ends and shoes.
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Submitted by
rob harris
a Weekend Warrior
from orlando,fl.usa
Date Reviewed: November 14, 2001
Strengths: frames great
Weaknesses: lower end parts,paint job/stickers
Bottom Line:
first full suspenion bike,i made a great choice,many ride opition,alot of trails to ride.if your looking for and all around ride to up grade this is it are ride it as is ,its a winner.
Bike Setup: mav 517,xtr rear der.xtr cranks. raceface risers.profile stem,spec.team master tires,new forks are next..
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Submitted by
MR. T
a Cross Country Rider
from A-Town, Colorado
Date Reviewed: May 28, 2001
Strengths: FRAME is awesome. climbs like a hardtail. decends like the full suspension it is. supports a big tire. easily upgradeable. I love it. used all the cash i saved to buy cool stuff 4 it.
Weaknesses: most of the parts are crappy for serious riding. If you are just going to do two or three rides a year and ride on the road the rest of the time you could leave the stock stuff on. Brakes are the first to go. then get a new chain. then a fork (manitou sux), rear derailleur next. then get some cranks that don't flex. wheelset is Ok but has to be trued alot.
Bottom Line:
sweet bike for poor people. can upgrade over time. when stuff breaks.
Bike Setup: XTR brakes, race face air alloy bar (flat), Ringle CC stem, weinmann wheelset, XT rear der., same old piece of crap STX front der., LX cranks (getting some raceface), real rings, thomson elite seatpost, specialized sport cock rocket seat, coda grips ( stock ones get slippery), shimano747 clipless pedals, sachs chain, shimano BB, marzocchi Z3 air fork. I think that is all. I have some bar ends and a computer too.
This is a good freeride bike. I race it downhill, but it can't really take the beating. I has also lasted very long considering I have done 2 roof drops of 10+', 3 drops of 15+', and one drop equalling about 21' (this is all with my new parts). I roached the bike right away when the stock components were on it. My rating is of the stock bike, for me, it was a bad value because I had to build it up to better fit me, and overall it never performed well (when stock), but now, considering the beatings it takes, I'd give it a rating of 5 for a freeride bike. Also...if you wanna buy this bike from me, E-mail me @: MTBerBryan@Hotmail.com
Similar Products Used: Intense Uzzi...(other 4 bar linkage bikes)
Bike Setup: I re-did all the parts but the frame to make it beefier...new risers, new Azonic Shorty Stem, Ac Cranks, Blackspire chain guide, Snafu Platform pedals, new seat, Sun Mammoth LX wheelset, Tioga DH 2.1's, and Manitou X-Vert T's*, and now this thing can take some hits.
* I'd recomend some single crown long travel forks, such as the Psylos or Manitou Supers/Supernovas
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Submitted by
John Mack
a Weekend Warrior
from Fort Worth, Texas
Date Reviewed: March 22, 2001
Strengths: Inexpensive, Tough, Stable, Predictable. It is a Specialized.
Weaknesses: Slightly over weight, cheap seat, Stx front derailer, Not much adjustment for seat height. The tires grip too much for most of the hard pack trails around here. I am starting to have problems with the Stx front derailer. It does not shift into all the gears and the bike shop tells me they have done all they can do. From what I have been told the Stx is really an 8 speed derailer. It is also tough to find a bike rack that works well with this bike because of the frame design.
Bottom Line:
Despite all the weeknesses that I pointed out I love this bike. Most of these are common and not very expensive to fix. This was my first mountain bike and I bought it mainly because of the reviews on this website. If I had the money and could do it over again the only thing I would do different is buy a Stumpjumper FSR.
The 1999 FSR Sport is a little heavy. Mine was 29 lbs when I first brought it home from the bike shop. But then again I have picked up a lot of hard tails that cost the same or more and feel like they weigh 29 lbs.
This bike is stable and predictable. It will do whatever you want it to do. It goes where you point it but it is not too twitchy. It has an extremely plush ride with very little pedal induce pogo. I am not at all worried about tearing up the frame.
If I could have found a better full suspension bike for the money I would have bought it. This was the best thing going for the money.
If you are looking for an inexpensive entry level full supension bike that can take just about any thing you dish out then this is the bike for you. I would really give this bike a 4.5 for an overall rating but because I think it is better than a 4 I will have to give it 5 flaming chilis.
Similar Products Used: Trek VRX 300, DiamondBack Voyager,
Bike Setup: Stock expect for seat, rims and hubs. I replaced the Specialized seat with a Giant stock seat. It is hard to belive that Giant's stock seat is so much better than a Specialized stock seat. I added a set of clipless pedals. I patato chipped the rear rim so I replaced the set with Bontrager mustangs with XT hubs and 14/15 gage double butted spokes. I am thinking about changing the stem to try to get a little more weight on the front wheel. I am also thinking about trying some Bontrager ST2's.
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Submitted by
marty raming
a Racer
from salt lake city
Date Reviewed: February 10, 2001
Strengths: the frame is really strong. Lots of upgrades. And its really cheap. They come it really large siezs. Great rear travel.
Weaknesses: The components are low grade but they work. It is a bit heavy. The seat is hard.
Bottom Line:
This a way nice bike. It is great if you are a big person. I am 6'4" and it fits great. You save enough money to go out and buy better componets that you get to choose. I got this bike instead of the elite for example because then i could get the fork i wanted instead of spending more money on a fork i was going to toss any way.
Bike Setup: I upgraded to xtr brakes , 2.2 tires, new rims, boxxer fork, ans kore headset and handel bar. Planing on geting 6" rear suspension upgrade and disk brakes.
Strengths: FRAME,FRAME,FRAME, it's great, good entry and intermediate level bike.
Weaknesses: Components could have been better (STX-RC in front), and brakes aren't the best. Hard to adjust rear shock.
Bottom Line:
I LOVE THIS BIKE, the best buy I made yet. Although some changes are needed, it's ready for almost anything. I will never buy any other brand, FSR RULES!!!
Similar Products Used: Marin Full Suspension, GT Full Suspensions
Bike Setup: Pretty much still factory, WTB Veloceraptor 2.1 in the front, Tioga Phycho 2 size 1.95 in the rear + double thick rear tube. Will get bigger front and rear shocks, change cranks and derail's. better rims, disc brakes. I also put the body geometry seat (I would like to have kids one day).
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Submitted by
Charles
a Cross Country Rider
from Strafford, PA USA
Date Reviewed: October 24, 2000
Strengths: Frame will not quit. Good selection of entry level parts. Perfect platform for upgrading to your own taste.
Weaknesses: With the entry level parts it won't be long till your skill level reaches the limits of their performance potential. The stock fork and rear shock are crap.
Bottom Line:
I love this bike. As my skills grow and reach the limits of the parts, I can upgrade something else, and best of all they are the parts I choose. Now I won;t go overboard and put ultra high end parts on, this is not a frame quite worthy of that, but this frame does me very well for hanging good mid level parts from and getting the most from them. My latest upgrade to the fork, I installed Total Air Cartridges in the SX-R which was an upgrade to the Spyder, was the best one yet. Wish I had those in place on Mt. Snow. Replacing the Rock Shock DeLux with the AD-10 gave similar improvements in handling and ride. All that's left to replace are the crank and bottom bracket, and when spring rolls around it will be time for a left over 2000 XT bottom bracket and crank. I see no reson to replace the bar and seatpost, other than snob appeal. Both those parts are bulletproof. This bike can be had for for abotu $650 these days. Buy one, the frame alone is worth it.
Similar Products Used: Schwinn Moab 2, an awsome hard tail.
Bike Setup: FSR Sport, LX brakes, XT front and rear derailure, Cane Creek AD-10 rear shock, Manitou SX-R with Englund total air cartridge upgrade, Chris King headset, Fizik Nisene saddle, XT hubs w/ Bontrager Mustange rims, Fire XC front, Pyro rear, Kore 3D stem, 545 pedals
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Submitted by
Steelio
a Weekend Warrior
from Santa Cruz
Date Reviewed: September 3, 2000
Strengths: It's a great bike. Very tough, i've given it plenty of chances to break, but so far (a year) i've only replaced minor things, chains...ect.. it's great on for free ridin'
Weaknesses: It's a tad heavy, and came stock with a manitou Spyder (which i'm gunna replace with a longer travel fork), and the dia comp brakes weren't the best
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Bottom line is...for a starting bike...it's GREAT! heck...with the money you saved buyin it (about 700$ retail) you can upgrade the brakes...fork... seat... whatever... once you've done that..there's nothing wrong with this bike. it preforms really well.
Bike Setup: the bike came stock with Dia comp v-brakes, but i put Avid arch rival 40's on (which kick major butt) and speed dial 2.0 levers (nice...easy to adjust on the fly) manitou spyder with 80mm, Shimano LX drive. rockshox deluxe in back (4" travel)
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Submitted by
george cote
a Downhiller
from bronx,ny usa
Date Reviewed: August 25, 2000
Strengths: the frame ,the frame, the frame
Weaknesses: the parts the parts the parts
Bottom Line:
the frame is fantastic!!!!!, 7'0 drops in nyc to flat no problem . I run at mt. creek aganist foes brooklyn intense giant and santa cruz bikes . they cant believe i fly by them at a blur.if you find this frame DO NOT GET RID OF IT!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bike Setup: nokian tires, sun double wide rims, mrp upgrade, hope diskbrakes , hope big um hubs, xtr dh crank, easton pedals, thompson seat post, nuke proof neck, azonic bars x-vert carbon fork 98,atomic front 26"rim, and about 2years of dirt.
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Submitted by
Frank Benish
a
from Sultan, Washington, U.S.
Date Reviewed: August 18, 2000
Strengths: good entry level bike.
Weaknesses: diacompe brakes
Bottom Line:
I would suggest this bike to any entry level rider on a budget. The thing about it is that this a great frame. When it's time to start replacing things like, brakes etc. You can upgrade to better than what came stock and have 1 heck of a good ride on even the sickest of trails. I've had mine for nearly a year now and have started upgrading. It has been a good choice for me.
Submitted by
Eric
a Cross Country Rider
from Hastings Minnesota
Date Reviewed: July 17, 2000
Strengths: Cheap Cheap Cheap, A great deal for only $600. Better then bikes that retail for about $1000. Handels great. Great entry level bike for a begining racer or just a weekend warrior. FSR ROCKS!! the frame alone is worth the price of this bike.
Weaknesses: Brakes are marginal (dia comp) Fork is good but sometimes its unforgiving. STX-RC front is not too hot at shifting. Stock seat is cheap. All the compenents could be easily upgraded though.
Bottom Line:
5 flaming turds for this thing. Great value bike. Highly recommend it to any novice rider
Similar Products Used: BMX bikes (specialized, GT) Huffy mountaing bikes
Bike Setup: Mostly stock I replaced the seat with a bontrager FS Kevlar, Also a new seat post (Kore) I also replaced the skewers with kore titanium. And 636 Clipless pedals
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Submitted by
Sidney Sirany
a Weekend Warrior
from San Diego, California
Date Reviewed: July 11, 2000
Strengths: Love the frame
Weaknesses: Replace front derailer for an LX. Thinking of a new front fork.
Bottom Line:
Buy one if you can find one under $700. Great bike for entry level or intermediate.
Favorite Trail: Any one that goes somewhere and returns
Duration Product Used: 6 months
Similar Products Used: First full suspension.
Bike Setup: Recently added 2000 Manitou SX-R fork, 850lb spring for Rock Shox (I weigh 230lbs), Easton black seatpost, Terry black saddle, Icon black Stem and Stripped off all decals. Next upgrade bought Avid 25 brakes & 1.9 levors (gray) looks great, Stealth if you wiil!
