Submitted by
ware bear
a Weekend Warrior
from Bath, Somerset
Date Reviewed: October 23, 2005
Strengths: The Frame and wheelset are Shuppuerb on the stock 200!!! light strong frame, Visually Impressive, Great Geometry, Delicious in red! Ridden for 3 years with no upgrades and loved it's versitility, Recently upgraded to a freeride/all mountain setup and got blown away all over again!! This thing corners like nothing else i have ever ridden. U point it in and it nail them every time. I don't know what magic happens in the rear suspension whilst cornering but it sticks so hard to the ground and it's predictable.
Weaknesses: I broke the swingarm after light jumping sesh. + The shock blew up!!! This was due to the valve of the cane creek air shock contacting the frame when under load! This problem is exlusive to the 14" frame size and can be solved by putting the shock upside down! Trek Replaced the swingarm as part of the warranty. But I had to pay for the reapairs to my air shock!!
Bottom Line:
Even after breaking the original swingarm and the shock in the first few months of riding,this bike has got better and better. With the addition of the long travel forks, discs and fat tires it has gone from being a comfortable xc\all day bike to a smooth freerider with no effort at all. This again highlights why the VRX is so good, THE FRAME!! Lightweight, Great Geometery and Sexy as! Buy one while you can and look after it!
Similar Products Used: GT rts3 (old skool bouncer) Cannondale M500
Bike Setup: Marzochhi Jnr t's, Halo combat's, Diatech Anchor disc's, World force riser's, DMR V8's, Tioga 2.3 DH's
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Submitted by
frazer wain
a Cross Country Rider
from UK (Leicester)
Date Reviewed: January 17, 2005
Strengths: The frame design is a classic piece of engineering magic and I like to think historical in some ways due to the amount of low budget bike maker who followed suit in early 2000. It's made from high grade aerospace materials and the craftsmanship is second to none. The design isn't flawless but I've never managed to bend it which underline the fact that this chunk of ali is bomb proof.
Weaknesses: The lower end of the frame between the swinging arm and crank isn't wide enough to cope with forces of the rider. The section being quite slim allows the frame to bend and twist as the rides weigh is transferred from to saddle, which is slung way out there over the rear tire. Sounds bad, but it really isn't. I actually belive this contributes to the bike phenominal handling on down hill cornering, it almost guides you round the bends and the Cane Creek shock is just right to deal with this, due to its slow rebound characteristics. Forget the components, you're not spending your money on those when you bought a VRX. Trek's budget was obsorbed on the frame that's why it was discontinued after the accountant looked at the books.
Bottom Line:
I've looked at trading this baby in many many time but nothing I've ridden feels the same. I first realised what this frame was all about when I was riding up a old pack trail on the Penines in Derbyshire. Imaging an old cobbled street, inclined and too bumpy to ride on a hardtail. It was was actually like riding down a flat freely laid highway! I was amazed. It looks stunning, maybe a bit dated now but that doesn't mean newer designs are more efficient. No matter how you design a frame you can't eliminate bob completely without lock-out. This frame is as near as it gets, infact the bob effect is what helps it gluide up rough, slightly inclined trails. It looks like a down hill preditor and many people have tuned them for free ride. But this babe is bread from cross country long days out. It obsorbs the trail and never leaves you feeling fatigued even after the hardest days ride. On the down hills it always wants more, certainly more than I can give it. I always seem to run out of stamina and balls. A quick breather and I can't wait to get back on again. If you've got one don't sell it, upgrade to the best kit you can afford and keep riding it. It's the mountain bike equivelant to the chopper and will be a classic one. If your in the UK key your eyes open cos they're rare, in fact I've never seen anyone else with one its so unique.
Similar Products Used: Cannondale Jekyl, Specialise Rockhopper, various hardtails
Bike Setup: All major components upgraded over time. Hope XC hubs on Mavics with Hope M4 discs, XT drive kit throughout, riser bars. Still have the original Judy XC's never serviced and still going strong (lush)
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Submitted by
Mac Harris
a Weekend Warrior
from corvallis, OR
Date Reviewed: December 26, 2004
Strengths: Bike has a nice neutral feel, looks cool (especially in red)
Weaknesses: I have had more problems with this bike than I can count. I have always been hard on my toys, but I cannot ride this thing without breaking stuff, and I'm only riding street, small parks, and trails, no big hits! I don't even crash much and I have destroyed my derailer, bent my frame, stripped out my crank (on the frame), toasted 2 other cranks, my forks no longer adjust (they did for about a month) and blown the cane creek shock. This is the first bike I spent any real amount of money on, and I can barley even afford to ride it. I don't know if I got a lemon or what but this thing is a piece of sh#@!!
Bottom Line:
Despite regular maintence and relatively low key riding terrain, this bike doesn't hold up to anything!!!
Bike Setup: Bone stock, except for free ride pedals, and nice handlebars.
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Submitted by
bacca bacca
a Weekend Warrior
from London, UK
Date Reviewed: November 10, 2004
Strengths: Trek quality, lifetime warranty, simple design, very strong frame, not too heavy, nice looks (I think !), good paint finish on main frame
Weaknesses: none to worry about - seat slightly uncomfortable, decals on swing arm came off
Bottom Line:
I have owned this bike for over 5 years now and I am still as pleased with it as I was the day I bought it. The frame is very strong and takes everything. I have never stripped the bike down, and it has never had a major service - just keep it clean, oil it and thats it - it will keep on going. I want to get into some more heavy duty freeride (hence the set up), but this bike can still handle everything I can. I have never been worried about the bike failing. I was a bit annoyed when this frame was discontinued after such a short production run, but it has proved Trek wrong, and just makes this thing more rare ! I do not like the new rocker-type Session 7 design of Trek's new freeride bike and prefer this more simple design. If you get a chance to buy one - DO IT ! the frame is amazing (light and strong) and better components can be added if you wish. I have never had a real problem with bobbing of the suspension, just don't jump up and down on it as you climb hills - simple as that. Get the 1999 VRX, it has a coil shock and 3 suspension settings (rather than 2 on the VRX 2000 air shock model).
Strengths: nice swing arm and multi position rear suspention mount, icon bars and seat post
Weaknesses: shocks all around suck, brakes are garbage, seat breaks, crank creaks after about 3 months of hard riding, pedals come apart and bend, hard to find a rear disc brake to mount up
Bottom Line:
bottem line is if you see the frame and like to biuld your own bike go for it its a GREAT frame and i like it, ive taken a 12 fter and kept on crankin im 170lbs and 5'11 i race PRO AM and im notorious for destroying bikes and the VRX has taken everything i put in its path and spit it right back out great bike for everyone from beginners to PRO AM, from trail riding to agressive XC/DH tracks
Similar Products Used: yeti, trek 9900, specialized endro, specialized stumpjumper
Bike Setup: maxxis mobsters, deore xt disc compatable hub, white brothers DC118DH fork, kiori brakes to make room for the 2.35 mobsters both front and rear, deore mega 9 shifters, avid brake levers,profile design grips, icon deisel bar, specialized 6" 2 degree neck, 2003 fox float vanilla rear shock, icon seat post(likes to get striped but i like it), specialized body geom seat,deore xt front derailer, deore xt mega 9 compat rear derailer, deore xt mega 9 cassette, deore xt crankset, DC platform pedals and soon to have a rear hayes hydrolic disc thanks to my pal at clark cycles in essex CT
Strengths: Great bikes all around, this was really relaible bike, much more so tham the experience my freidns had with thier Trek Fuels. This year after 4 years of learning how to do x-country jumps, drops and endo abuse I uypgraded alot of parts and the thing is a total demon with not alot of $. It's much lighter than most of the new freeride bikes out there, but with that means it is not capable of full speed downhilling such as a VPS would be able to handle.
Weaknesses: Nothing, but if you have more $ there are always better bikes
Bike Setup: Rock Shock Psylo Fork Original Fox Vanilla (squeaks a bit though) New Swingarm bushings XTR Rear XT front Wellgo BMX Platform Pedals Hayes Disc Rear (had to get the mount custom machined) Hayes Knockoff Brand Disc Front Fire XC Pro Kevlar Tires Rhino Lite Rear Rim Ditch Witch Front Rim
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Submitted by
Jonathan L
a
from Sudbury, ON. Canada
Date Reviewed: August 22, 2003
Strengths: Light enough for a full suspension... no longer an outdated frame because of new suspension technology. Awesome control going down.. a little heavy going up but I can keep up with the pack on light bikes
Weaknesses: don't know if it's just me but a bearing system at the pivot location would provide a much stiffer ride... Need a special adapter for hayes disc.. fixed the problem though.
Bottom Line:
Pedals better than most bikes on the market now, change the rear shock and it'll be hard to find a bike capable of doing everything this thing does. Change the travel from 4"-5.25" makes it an all round trail bike (blackdiamond) Frame geometry is out of this world. Bottom line, right parts spec and this bike rules... real head turner... I haven't seen another one like it in Northern Ontario.
Similar Products Used: Giant AC3; Kona, Norco, Specialized, Gary Fisher... tried a lot.
Bike Setup: Psylo, XT everything (derailleurs, shifters, hubs) Mavic wheels, Fox Vanilla (changing to a Manitou with SPV)Custom weld for internation standard disc, Magura hydro brakes,
Strengths: I bought it just so i could upgrade it in the future... and now its done.. the Frame really takes it all ! i have been using it for hard freeride and its just keeps going on and on...
Weaknesses: Factory setup is ok for a beginner but if you planning on go for some freeride/urban you should upgrade the fork and wheels first of all.
Bottom Line:
I strongly recommend you to buy one of this bike if you are in to some free-riding in the woods and for urban riding... 200,300 or 500 no matter i got the 200 it´s all the same, this frame kick **. i never hade any problems with this frame and every time im out riding i cant stop thinking that i bought the best bike (after upgrades) and that it´s 3 years old and still produces so well...
Similar Products Used: GT, Gary fischer bikes, Cannondale Raven and Kona Stinky -02
Bike Setup: Marzocchi Dirt jumper 2 -03, Sun Rhyno lite wheels built with DT black spokes and DMR revolver front and XT disc black rear, RaceFace diablo steam, RaceFace Freeride BB, DMR bashguard, FSA Xtrem Arms, DMR flatties, XTR rear mech rapid rise, LX shifters, Hayes HFX 8" front and rear. Custom painted: darkgrey with black flames in the front.
Strengths: Great foundation to build on. Color you can live with.
Weaknesses: Who was the genius that decided how to mount the front derailleur? No more lunch in the paint booth!
Bottom Line:
Nice bike, but the next change would probably be a better rear shock. The bike handles nicely, but it is a bit on the heavy side. This may be because it is the first full suspension bike I have owned, and I came off of a 9900 prior to this bike. It's unfortunate that this bike has been discontinued, and that more companies don't make a bike that fits smaller people. I am 5'4" in my shoes, and I barely clear the top tube.
Overall a nice starter suspension bike. Affordable and comfy enough to get your teen or significant other into riding. It's also nice that you are dealing with a company that will be around for the life of the bike, and that they stand behind their product.
Bike Setup: mostly stock but with bombers (shox are a definate upgrade must) and some other small stuff like tires.
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Submitted by
Max
a Cross Country Rider
from Pocatello, ID
Date Reviewed: May 29, 2002
Strengths: Bulletproof! I have beat this frame to hell, but it keeps performing.
Weaknesses: A little pogo during the climb, but with increased PSI in the Cane Creek AD5 it is minimal.
Bottom Line:
This bike takes a beating. A little sluggish on the uphill, but has great handling through the rough stuff. Takes big hits, but is a little slow on the rebound. I wish that Trek would have continued this line, it is great. A great XC bike. Not a downhilling bike, although I have heard of people lengthing the rear travel and setting it up as a sweet free ride bike. Since I built mine, I did not experience the need to upgrade. Great value. The guys at Trek are awesome, I blew up a 9500 hybrid, and they warrantied it no problem. I am glad that I chose this frame from their line up.
Submitted by
nick slim
a Weekend Warrior
from britain
Date Reviewed: April 10, 2002
Strengths: Bomb proof frame -but still xc weight - great feel on downhills
Weaknesses: poor kit level - saddle from hell - anything but xc setting on the rear shock results in the hardest uphill struggle.
Bottom Line:
Fantastic bargain price - frame is upgradable for years - maybe a better rear shock would prevent the bob uphil - but quite simply for the average two hour general weekend ride this is a star.
Great frame to build upon. Too bad TREK didn't continue this line. It is a great frame and they (TREK) should have speced it with better parts...no biggie though. The frame can really handle lots of abuse. It makes the new FUEL models look like woosy frames
Bike Setup: FSA after burner cranks, XTBB, MAVIC rims, JUDY XC's, XT disc on the front and Magura HS33's on rear, Squale tires, Tioga CNCed platform pedals,Raceface short stem, custom made delrin bushes, Black spire chain rings, WTB headset
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Submitted by
Mark Winters
a Weekend Warrior
from Ft Worth Tx
Date Reviewed: April 6, 2002
Strengths: Killer RED frame, great value/price, decent travel (for my style)
If you are looking for a great beginner/intermediate setup that you can gradually spend some money on, this is the ride. It is hard to find one for sale, but it is worth it to wait it out. I have had mine for 1 year now and have steadily done upgrades. Nothing major yet. I do intend to replace the front shock with a SID soon, just waiting for a good deal. Got the AVID SD7 brakes from pricepoint.com for 65$, for the SET! That is the best upgrade I have done yet. I like not sitting over the front wheel like the Rockhopper, and this affords more reach. I did not like the flat bar, I have longer legs so my seat sits higher and therefore I had to stoop over. The titec riser helps tremendously, and the paint matched! Overall, I wish this bike would return to their lineup in an upgraded fashion from Trek, and allow more people to experience this great ride....
Weaknesses: Original component package sucked as much as any low end package would. In fact that's why I bought the VRX-200. With the intention of upgrading about everything.
Bottom Line:
I have put a lot of miles w/ mild abuse on this bike and it has been awesome. A lot of DumbA$$ people ripped on this bike when it debuted because they thought it was a downhill bike. Silly consumers! And Trek discontinued them after a 2yr. production. Silly Trek. All I can say is, "I'M GLAD I GOT MINE!!!". This bike was designed for free-riding and is perfect in that realm once you attach all your trusted and/or favorite components.
Similar Products Used: Gary fisher, canondale, etc.
Bike Setup: Custom Built wheels(nuke proof super-fly's w/mavix 517cd),9 spd Grip-shift 9.0 sl shifters/r-derailleur and brake levers,XTR f-derailleur,Raceface (cranks,rings,and ti bottom bracket),time carbon/ti clipless peddles, selle italia flite gel saddle, noleen crosslink forks, easton monkey lite bars,etc.
