Submitted by
Dave
a
from NJ-Millstone Va-Blacksburg
Date Reviewed: April 14, 2003
Strengths: I bent the front fork in a crash, and bent the stock wheels around the fork. The bottom bracket also started creaking on me, but thats not a hard fix.
Weaknesses: my friends Big Hit and an Enduro
Bottom Line:
I think its a great bike. I orginaly got it because i didnt have 1200 to kill on a bike. I go this so i could upgrade it over time. Its been working out. It handles most every thing i can dishout. The Magnum on it originaly neede to be replaced, it would botttom out on anything over a 2 foot drop. With the Black on there it has no problems with bottom bracket clearence and complements the bike well. The wheels i had to replace but they broke from some bad crashes. Overall a great bike if you want to start usign full suspension, and if you get attached to the frame like me you can upgraded it or if not buy a new bike.
Favorite Trail: Brush mountain..The beast (down it at least)
Duration Product Used: Tested or demo'ed only
Price Paid:
$500.00
Purchased At: ebay
Similar Products Used: Stock exctept, Sun Ryno lite rims, easton carbon riser, XT shifters, sram 9.0 derailer, 02 Mantiou Black (120 mm version), Time atac pedals, and im looking into a long travel kit, or enginnering one. Hayes hydro's are next.
Bike Setup: I think the bike is great. I Didnt like the magnum that was orginaly on there so when i bent it i was happy. it gave me a good excuse to replace it. The frame has held up tp every that that ive ridden over. The problem with the bottem bracket begin low can be solved with ta new fork, i no longer have problems hitting it on things with the new fork. The bike is not light, but its also not heavy. Im not a XC racer i ride for fun so i dotn care. It just means some parts are beefier then neccessary. Which is problaby a good thing for me. Id recomend it to anyone that likes riding and wants to get a good inexpensive bike. It can be upgraded to match the bikes of today give a little time and effort.
Strengths: Very good bike for taking a beating. I found that I could trash the bike and make it go through a lot of hard stuff, and it wouldnt break.
Weaknesses: I found that the comps that came with it were not as well made as some of the other comps on bikes. I found this when my chain kept snapping because of the rear derailer.
Bottom Line:
I think this bike is a very good bike to ride. it can take a lot from the rider, and i think its a good investment. it looks awesome, and when the rider hasnt washed it for a while, the paint will still look that same.
Bike Setup: easton DH handlebars, xtr comps, bomber front shocks, fox rear, specialized seat...that good one for your nuts, and tight pedals
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
cnbdragon
a Downhiller
from Bend oregon usa
Date Reviewed: October 17, 2002
Strengths: cool looks, strong frame
Weaknesses: comes with a light spring and the vinila float rear shox weight 29bls + all the double wall rims i added
Bottom Line:
this bike rides just as well if not beter then the gt i drive for more then $1500 less. you have to get the bike set up right by throwing the coil away and geting a heavyer one. and the mountu shok needs replaced if you doing much technical but is fine for riding the street. some of the coponints are a little lower quality then you expect from specilized, but for a entry level bike it is dealable.the bick handels great once it is dialed in. it can handel any thing i have thrown at it so far. a little heavey for climbing for a long time but can handel the 50 degree climb on lose sand if you just dont get ahead of your self. i can bomb kgb or phils with out any problems. both of witch are 1000 foot drops in about 10 mins of winding single track, with pleanty of skid row romble bumbs. this is a great bike if you are a beginer, and if you're willing to put money in to it it is a pretty go down hiller if you just want the edge off, or a good xc bike
Similar Products Used: gt 2002 i drive spcilized endero pro
Bike Setup: stock. new rear shock and coil(rack shox 900 -1200 lbs)thanks bsg for the shok and coil. replaced the seat after a year with a spcilized reviloution racing seat. specilized sport brain. double wall rims(thanx agin the bsg) spds back on the mountu for now since i destoide my 100mm front shock ,double wall rims
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Joe Gosselin
a
from Goffstown, NH, USA
Date Reviewed: August 8, 2002
Strengths: strong bike.. can take one hell of a beating... simple rear shock for a simple mind
Weaknesses: not enough suspension in the front or rear... VERY VERY VERY LOW GROND CLEARENCE!!! my regular Mt biking partner laughs at me because my big size 12 feet drag on the ground!
Bottom Line:
Good little bike for a really good price... with some work it can be better
Strengths: fox vannila shock on the back, great for the cash, little bob and feeles like you could go anywhere on it (once youve replaced the frok and pedals)and low maintanence
Weaknesses: front fork it complete c**p and makes alot of noise as well as the rear dearailuer is always hitting the frame and the pedals are worse than the fork
Bottom Line:
very nice bike for the money and is perfect for the starter mtber who dosent know what they are wanting to do as it'll take anything you give to it. Specilized has earnt 4 flamin' chilis
Submitted by
Bob Kamp
a Cross Country Rider
from Anacortes, WA
Date Reviewed: December 23, 2001
Strengths: Great frame handles well, very versatile.
Weaknesses: Fork, pedals and rear shock kind of heavy
Bottom Line:
I am 6'1' and I was sold a large, it seems to be o.k. for my size, mashing the pedals is a problem you have to really watch it. The bike performs well and we have some pretty gnarly trails up here. I was not very impressed with the chain it broke where I thought it shouldn't have and left me with a long ways from the house. All in all I would buy it again. This is a good bike for a beginner or an experienced rider can definetly upgrade.
Bike Setup: Marzocchi Z2 atom bomb, fox float, ritchey speedmax alpha&omega, vredstein slizer/grinder, primo platforms cushy GT grips,new chain.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
matt walsh
a Weekend Warrior
from spring tx
Date Reviewed: December 15, 2001
Strengths: good shocks very able bike made for dirt fast and accleorates good and stable low center of gravity allows for extreme handling highly ajustalbe suspentions
Weaknesses: brake porblems are high derailures suck but other wise none make sure you grease all the moving parts though or the supention will bind and clean the the chain and gears beacause ive found plastic botles caps and saran wrap in thier and who knows what else ive stripped and bent a couple of gears but overall most durabillity probles were minor
Bottom Line:
good for any one foing from hardtail to suspention as i did i use it for downhill cross country and mudding
best buyer is anyone looking looking for a mutiperpus bike that wants a lot of features at a reasonable price such as a fox racing shox and a ajustable manatiu fork
Submitted by
Cam
a Cross Country Rider
from Logan, UT
Date Reviewed: October 5, 2001
Strengths: Beefy Frame is nice becuase your not gonna beat it or yourself to death. Doesn't bob much during climbing, good tires/rims, comfortable on your bum and your wallet. Long wheelbase makes for good stability
Weaknesses: Incredibly heavy. I didn't realize this till I jumped on a friend of mine's hardtail and rode it some. This is the reason I am going to switch back to a hardtail, and sell this bike. Front shock sucks. Bike is constantly making noise, even when in perfect tune. Sweet spot for making sharp switchbacks is way too far forward compared to other bikes. I keep hitting the bottom bracket and chainrings on every ride. Something that doesn't happen on my cyclocross bike on the same trails.
Bottom Line:
If you are a beefy rider, go for it. If you are on a budget and want FS, go for it. However, if you want to smoke your friends up that hill... Well, get a hardtail
Similar Products Used: Several different FS and hardtail mtn. bikes
Bike Setup: Basically stock except I threw on XT brakes, SPD clipless pedals, and tomorrow I am going to have to replace the front chainrings (probably go with an LX)
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Seb Wiers
a Weekend Warrior
from Minneapolis, Minnesotta, USA
Date Reviewed: September 28, 2001
Strengths: Sharp handling in single track and at high speed, easy to shift weight, climbs well, good suspension. The componant set is decent, and the stock tires are well suited to trail riding. Cool frame design.
Weaknesses: Low bottom bracket leads to ring bashes and pedal hits, especially when combined with plush suspension settings. Front derailuer seems impossible to set to negate chain rub in more than half the gears. Large size weighs 32 lbs, not bad but maybe heavy once you start to upgrade. The grips are uncomfortable if you don't wear gloves, and the saddle damages easily and feels pretty hard, but both of those are no-brainers to fix.
Bottom Line:
Buy it if you want to push yourself into a "freeriding" state of mind without breaking the bank. It's a great general purpose bike that does most trails better than an XC bike and is cheap enough to commute on if your route allows some fun like stair riding and drops.
With this bike, I've out-ridden folks I did not expect to and taken on terrain I'd never considered facing before. Its a great bike for agressive trail riding and some urban goofery, as long as you don't have to cross a lot of 8+ inch obstacles. It has smoothly handled rocky roads, steep descents, 4 foot drops, steep climbs, and generally begs me to ride fast and hard. No real mechanical failures yet, just a lot of cosmetic bashing. The frame design leaves a lot of room for when you muscle it around- I've never had another frame that I didn't hit some body part on.
I'm not really sure its worth putting a lot of money into upgrading, however. I've only had it 3 months and I'm already considering a 2001 Iron Horse G-spot from Supergo- for $1200, I could upgrade the FSR with better suspension, wheels, and disc brakes, or I could get a whole new bike that has every upgrade I was planning.
Similar Products Used: Never rode any other FS bikes.
Bike Setup: Stock except for cheap clipless SPD style pedals. The stock pedals are OK, held up to some mashing, but were to easy to pop out of while jumping. I also zip-stripped the rear cables to the shock so that they can't bow out when the suspension compresses- this was causing me bruises on my calves!
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Brian O'Sulllivan
a Cross Country Rider
from Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
Date Reviewed: August 29, 2001
Strengths: Value, frame is solid, suspension is plush, decent components for start, updgrade from there
Weaknesses: Manitou Magnum fork has no rebound dampening, a little heavy, had problems with chain slap, constant tune ups, cheap grips, cheap seat (but who cares with plush ride)bottom bracket noise, but have worked out the bugs with a new mechanic/bike shop and a years time
Bottom Line:
A good first full suspension bike. Grow skills, updgrade and keep or get the latest in 2-3 years. Suspension and brakes are great, drivetrain and weight are a drawback.
Bike Setup: Manitou SX-R front fork, 950 lb Mountain Speed rear spring (I am 230 lbs), Time atac pedals. Plan to get lighter wheels, xtr rear derailer, new grips, new crank and/or gear set
My dad bought the bike at closeout for me. we upgraded it slowly and now it not only looks mean it is mean, as in Kick-ass. Dad says if you're a serious rider you'll ride Marzocchi son. I don't know why people waste their time putting RockShox on their bikes, but I'm only 10 years old. Anyway I love my bike even if alot of riders I run into don't like Specialized. I got the white with orange paint job. looks awesome with my orange Z1 forks.
Bike Setup: Marzocchi Z1 up front,CNC blockstyle stem,2.5 risers,SunRhyno lites,Specialized 2.3 tires,Avid digit7 brakes. XT
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
zobozo
a Cross Country Rider
from Warren
Date Reviewed: July 5, 2001
Strengths: I reviewed the bike a long time ago.
Weaknesses: Watch for hairline cracks around the tube that links the swingarm together just behind the BB. The inside corner of the tube is not chamfered leading to a stress riser in that area causing some cracks possibly due to residual stresses. Disassemble the forks regularly if you ride in the east, mud will get trapped under the fork boots resulting in pitting of the sliders which will destroy the low friction lining on the bushings. These are easy to disassemble, no reason not to.
Bike Setup: I have the FSR special edition with the white and yellow paint job, Rockshok psylo SL fork, Ritchey stem and risor bar.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Evelyn Richardson
a Cross Country Rider
from London England
Date Reviewed: June 24, 2001
Strengths: Frame Forks Rear Shock
Weaknesses: Pedals
Bottom Line:
Great bike for a first Full Suspension bike and it takes a lot to damage it need to up grade pedals got it at a reasonable price .I was impressed with the forks and the frames. I would definitely consider buying it for a first full suspension bike but perhaps not for a more experienced rider.
Strengths: Strong well built frame. Handles well in all terrain.
Weaknesses: Brakes!!! Brakes should be replaced as soon as possible! Pedals are weak. If you ride rocky terrain change these pedals or you will bend and break them on the first ride. Front derailler constantly needs to be adjusted.
Bottom Line:
This is a great bike for the money. Frame is good enough to last for a long time. Is a fun bike to upgrade. If you are a beginner or a die hard rider on a budget this is an excellent bike for you.
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