Strengths: Climbs like a mule Lightweight Zooms Over Singletrack
Weaknesses: Rear Suspension Pivot Points Squeak Front Derailler Setup Sucks, Hard to Adjust, Chain Rubs Against it Rear Brake Cable Rubs Leg Headset Sucks Fork Sucks
Bottom Line:
When my bike is not getting lubed, tuned, or repaired, it hammers any trail we take. No problems climbing . Wave bye as you pass other riders.If you want an awesome performer after some minor upgrades and can get it for less than MSRP, load it up! Walk on by if you want to buy it for the brand new sticker price and ride it as is.
Bike Setup: Marzocchi Fork Panaracer Fire XC Pro Spinergy Xyclone Chris King Headset Easton Low Rise Carbon Bar Easton Stem
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Submitted by
Taylor
a Cross Country Rider
from Golden, CO
Date Reviewed: October 24, 2002
Strengths: Weight, design, Specialized
Weaknesses: Configuration. Came with a crap shock. A ton of sticktion in the rear. Rear wheel need to be rebuilt immediately upon purchace.
Bottom Line:
Great bike. Light weight. Excellent Cross country bike, but lacks a little in the downhill mode. I replace the front shock and rear linkage for more travel (5 in front, 4 in rear). Tires are crap, change them out to 2.3's asap. The seat is a bit rough, but I fixed that easily enough. I found out that I'd like more travel after changing things out. Bottom line, my bike still wieghs 25 pounds with all the mod's. It climbs like a rocket and descends well enough too. It took some work, but I found utopia in an all around bike.
Similar Products Used: Nothing comes close to this bike
Bike Setup: Stock except for all around xtr components
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Submitted by
Rick
a Cross Country Rider
from Nevada City
Date Reviewed: August 24, 2001
Strengths: Great all arounf XC bike
Weaknesses: Weld broke on rear triangle. Replaced by specialized 18 months ago. Rode many rocky technical trails (moab, sedona) and have had no problems.
Bottom Line:
I had this bike for over 2 years and put on a lot of miles on it and it was great with the exception of the weld cracking.
This is a great riding bike. Very fast and nimble. Swap out as many of components as you can afford to swap at the dealer. They're light but won't last long. The rear brake cable rub against your leg is an easy fix: Reverse the thick and thin spacers that hold the brake pads, shorten the cable if possible. Fixed.
Bike Setup: CrossMax wheels, M858 pedals, CT-2 bar, MSP X-Rated suspension upgrade.
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Submitted by
Kevin
a Cross Country Rider
from Bellevue, WA, US
Date Reviewed: March 2, 2001
Strengths: - smooth riding - light weight - well constructed
Weaknesses: - a little to flexy (rear) - rear brake cable scrapes your leg - dump all of the specialized components and upgrade
Bottom Line:
I weigh 220-225lbs on average and race in the clydsedale category in Washington state. This is my first full suspension frame and I have ever used but I have to admit that it works very well even with my bulk behind the bar.
I bought the frame only and built my bike with parts purchased at great discounts from various mail order catalogs. I highly suggest doing this as the Specialized parts that are used (as with any bike manufacturer out there)come from all over world and chances are that they are much cheaper both in quality and cost.
Other than that I have had little to no problems at all with the bike and would recommend it to anyone out there.
Favorite Trail: Tiger Mountain (because its local)
Duration Product Used: 1 Year
Price Paid:
$2500.00
Purchased At: Greggs Greenlake (frame only)
Similar Products Used: Trek 8500
Bike Setup: Full XTR drive train, Thomson stem and seat post, Chris King hubs and headset, XT brakes and shifters, Marzocchi Z2 Bam front shock.
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Submitted by
Mark Barker
a Cross Country Rider
from Baltimore
Date Reviewed: January 20, 2001
Strengths: Light, fast, 4 bar link full suspension. Under 23lbs (on the postal scale near the bike shop) along with suspension whether sitting or standing. I weigh 210 and ride it hard on rocks and smooth single track.
Weaknesses: Headset and pedals. Replaced headset within 2 months with a race face thermo. No trouble since then. Pedal bearings wore out after one year. Replaced with Shimano 858s.
Bottom Line:
Bike is great for weekend bashing and races. Rear end stays connected to the steepest hill. S-works hubs and wheels still true after two full years of rocky trails and my 210 lbs. Works well all the time. You get what you pay for.
Similar Products Used: Gary Fisher, Specialized, and Breezer hard tails.
Bike Setup: XTR crank, race face stem and headset, monkey lite 1" riser bar. Everything else is stock.
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Submitted by
David
a Weekend Warrior
from San Francisco
Date Reviewed: November 20, 2000
Strengths: very light for a full suspension bike, and very fast bike.
Weaknesses: nothing so far...
Bottom Line:
Great bike for racing. This bike is very fast. My bike is about 23lbs. It can also be lighter if you switch to Sram 9.0 SL. If you are looking for a bike that will get you to the podium, look no further. It also help you become a better rider and will change you mind about full suspension bike. This is the standard for great full suspension bike.
Bike Setup: Sx Carbon, Hugi 240/517 rims, Straigh XTR, Thompson post, Kore Elite stem, CT2 monkey lite .
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Submitted by
Mohamed Azmi Zainudin
a Weekend Warrior
from Penang,Georgetown,Malaysia
Date Reviewed: October 19, 2000
Strengths: Climbs/rides much like a hartail with the added benefit & traction of a rear suspension when you need it.Nimble bike in the tight stuff.Fox Vanilla RC super reliable & works perfectly to date contary to other reports.
Weaknesses: Pearlescent Yellow paint job though nice/cool to look at is showing signs of wear/tear, specially at the down tube.Paint chips easily.Bushings at rear suspension needs regular lubrication or the rear would squeak.Limited seat post adjustment.Rear end a bit flexy,"chatters" in the rough stuff.No proper rear mounts for disc set-up,the adaptors don't count as they suck!For such a good bike overall,perhaps this would be nit-picking?
Bottom Line:
Actually this is a follow up of my review posted last year on 26th May '99.I only gave it 4 chillies then as I had my reservations on the durability of the bike(quite a number of reports on rear suspension failures & cracking at weld joints?) & I can safely say the bike IS bomb proof!Still...4 chillies only as there are better bikes out there which have raised the standards of full sus bikes,the Santa Cruz Superlight & Intense Tracer readily come to mind!
Similar Products Used: GT LTS,Cannondale Super Vs,Santa Cruz Superlight.
Bike Setup: Kris King Headset/Hubs laced with Black DT Comps & Sun 0 XC Rims,XTR gruppos,Thomson Seat Post,Easton Monkey Rise Bar,Control Tech Team Issue Handle Stem,San Marco Era seat,Continental Navigator Pro/Cross Country tyres,Time ATAC Carbon pedals,Manitou SX Ti 80mm fork.
Strengths: Light, great climber, rear end digs in with no pogo-ing.
Weaknesses: Two major disappointments in design and spec. The front derail. is mounted on a bracket attached to the BB (I think it is called e-type or something.). After a couple months of riding, the front XTR derail. will get a little slop in it and will slam into the frame when moving to the granny gear.
There is virtually no way to adjust the bracket or derail. to prevent this for long. Specialized has yet to give my LBS a good explanation. They did send new "thinner" chainrings, but that did little. The "seat tube" opposite the front derail. is crimped (as in looks like they take a vice to it at the factory). IMO, Specialized did a lousy job of designing this and it was not corrected in 2000 either.
Specs are a little light on the stock bike. The Specialized stem, crank, pedals and hubs are not up to XT/XTR or aftermarket standards/quality and you can plan on replacing them as they wear out or sooner. In addition, the Fox Vanilla Float RC rear shock is a piece of crap. Mine won't hold air for 24 hours and recently blew out completely. It never held air. I race, but I don't do super abusive stuff like big air jumps. Fox is sending a free rebuild kit.
My rear triangle cracked after 9 months just like every one elses.
Bottom Line:
After all of the above, I still like the bike and would never go back to a hard-tail...I am faster on this bike. Buy the frame and build it up or plan on replacing stock parts that are not up to par after awhile. If you do build it up, maybe plan on putting a spacer on the BB or getting a slightly longer axle to take care of poor front derail. setup.
The 2001 models are probably worth the wait. They are changing the design slightly and you can now adjust the rear travel with a linkage system depending on racing, riding, etc.
Bike Setup: Stock...mostly XTR and Specialized parts - Large Frame
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Submitted by
John McMahan
a Cross Country Rider
from Ojai
Date Reviewed: September 9, 2000
Strengths: Light,rugged,fun to ride. I have confidence the bike will take me where I want to go and the manufacturer has stood behind the product at every level. Specialized representives are at their dealers to answer questions and provide support. The dealer and bike mechanics in my area around Ojai and Ventura,CA. have been fantastic. I took the bike in for servicing and my mechanic found a crack in the the rear triangle..specialized took care of it no problem. I ride this bike hard at least once a week over the worst terrains and it never lets me down. Gridly Trail in Ojai is very technical and has sections that look like the surface of Mars. The bike takes it like a champion. The bike is a great climber and does well on downhill technical sections. You won't be dissappointed.
Weaknesses: The bike has serveral teflon pivots that began to squeak after a year of hard riding. $20 for a new set plus installation. This is how my mechanic discovered a small crack in the rear triangle that Specialized took care of on a one year old bike with no problem. The rear break cable sticks out and hits your leg. Very annoying. After market cable with small wheel tucks the break cable in nicely and solves the problem. Specialized should take care of this.
Bottom Line:
Great bike from a company that has well trained dealers and factory support that stands behind their products. In my area, this is not the word on other products like Cannondale where some shops in nearby areas don't speak highly of Cannodales willingness to do warranty work when needed. Talk with the bike shop owners in your area about after the sale experiences with warranty work. It may be important later.
You will fall in love with this bike. It is very responsive on single track, climbs extremely well and downhills like a dream. I have put about 1500 miles on this bike since last November. The majority of the miles have been commuting miles with the other miles on the Colorado front range. You will also love to hate this bike due to some bad parts and chainstay design flaws.
Had some problems with the cranks not staying on the BB because the crank bolts kept coming out. Put some locktite on the bolts and this seemed to fix the problem.
The M950 XTR BB is not really the best choice. It can be serviced and this is a problem becuase the seals don't hold out water. Pulled it out after 1300 miles and found out the bearing races on the drive side were pitted. Ended up getting the new M952 XTR bottom bracket which has sealed bearings and doesn't require any non-standard BB tools to install. New M952 BB is about 20-30 grams heavery however.
The chainstay cracked on the drive side right behind the chain rings on top of the hollowed out portion. My brother has the FSR pro and his has cracked also. LBS talked to specialize and part was replaced under warranty within a week. Seems that Specialize knows all too well about this problem. The new chainstay appeared to be beefed up a bit where the crack formed before. Specialize claims the crack comes from the fact the FSR rear end has a bit too much lateral movement thus causing the Al chainstay to fatigue.
The Fox RC Float air shock failed after about 500 miles. The rebound damping dissappeared. Returned it to Fox and within a week had a rebuilt shock back. Haven't had any problems with the shock since then.
Overall this bike is a dream to ride. The quality of the bike is good except for the parts listed above. I haven't had any problems with the Manitou SX-Carbon shock like others. The headset was a bit stiff but after a regrease appears to work well. I can't seem to get the front derailleur to work well. Derailleur rubs in the extreme positions. I give this bike 5 chilis for value (good price for the bang) and 4 chilis for overall. Knocked down for some poor quality parts and poor chainstay design. I would recommend the FSR XC bikes to anyone thinking of getting a full spension bike.
Weaknesses: Crap bushings,after reading these reviews I'm worried about the chainstays.
Bottom Line:
This is the ultimate cross country bike.I regularly blow away guys on hardtails even on steep climbs without even locking out the shocks.On decents it's equally at home.I keep reading that the Intense tracer is better-it must be something else!!! I've noticed that the 2001 s-works has a revised rear end with full cartridge bearings,longer top tube and looks a bit beefier.I want one.Incidentally the Macbike bearing kit is fantastic,it's a pain to fit but you'd be suprised at the difference.Now I don't have to keep lubing the pivots. This is a lot of wonga for a bike,but it's worth every penny if you buy the frameset only-specialised components are pants!!
Strengths: Light,Innovative Tube Matterial,Sharp looking,Great Handeling Slead Great cross county bike.
Weaknesses: Rear triangle Durabuility is in Question, the rear end brakage problem has been a real headache, mine has gone capoot twice.
Bottom Line:
This crotch rocket is a great overall machine.It does allmost everything well, but it does run short in one department and that's been frame durabuilty,This I think has now been corrected. This bike handles with exactness,and is a feather weight full suspention slead. My Intense does seem to out shine the M-4 in the attention to detail department,Lets face it Intense makes a very fine frame. My Tracer has also been more durable, prob due to the box square tubes instead of the round used by specialized on the rear triangle. When it comes to weight, the M-4 win's hands down. I do feel that the M-4 has had a prob with rear triangle breaks,I've had two my self, but my third does seem to be the charm. I think Specialized has got the bug's worked out. I give this bike 4 almost 5 Chilis.
Similar Products Used: I've raced a Litespeed and Merlin and Now train on a Intense Tracer that I Love. I use the M-4 to race becouse it's Lighter.
Bike Setup: Built up custom,chis king headset and Hubs-RaceFace stem, cranks and BB-LPBars and Bar ends-Thompson seat post-Salsa scewers-XTR with Plasma Gripshift-M-517 wheels for the rough trails in AZ-Continental Tires-and I can't forget to mention the incredable Time carbon pedals.
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Submitted by
Russ Langley
a Cross Country Rider
from Charlotte, NC
Date Reviewed: May 22, 2000
Strengths: Excellent handling when all is in working order. Great design.
Weaknesses: All stock components
Bottom Line:
I'm 6' 205 lbs and ride over 2000 aggressive miles a year. I love the bike, but I am disappointed in the stock components. I went through the first set of chainrings like butter! To date I have been putting on new rings when needed. Changed the headset to a Chris King and now I'm happy. The Fox RC Float sucks, not for actual performance, but for the constant squeaking. I have been into it at least 6 times to the point that it is obvious. Had to cover it up with a Lizard Skin because of all the wrenching. Still squeaks. Just bought a Stratos to replace the Fox, but I haven't put it on yet. Looking for better results. Cracked the rear triangle 4 times. This time I am told it will be beefed up at the hole near the large pivot. 1 crack was at the weld, snapped in half and the other three are cracks at the hole. Bottom bracket and cranks need to be replaced and I am also doing that. Specialized does not make this switch easy. Perpare to dig deep. $$$ Bottomline, if you ride hard and alot plan on dropping another grand within a year or two depending on your usage.
