Submitted by
Eviltwin
a Weekend Warrior
from Leutkirch, Germany
Date Reviewed: March 23, 2010
Strengths: Weight, Geometry, Bang-for-the-buck
Weaknesses: It's a HARDtail - get a comfy seat. Decals look cheesy.
Bottom Line:
One of the all time greats - a classic. Fisher's Genesis frame is awesome (mine is a XL). You will be hard pressed to find a better all-around, do-anything bike for a better price.
Submitted by
mikey
a Cross Country Rider
from Edinburgh midlothain Scotland
Date Reviewed: February 3, 2010
Strengths: Scandium, made in usa, Quality frame,fast,Committed to speed,Rewards Experienced riders,Light ,Fantastic Build Quality,Flaweless,Mavic crossrides Juicey 7,s ,,Huge satasfaction in every way every ride..
Weaknesses: not suited to clumsy riders & slow riders ,, use as intended only.
Bottom Line:
My 4th mountainbike,, By far & away my best ,Buy a scanduim Hardtail fron fisher one of the Founding Fathers of our Beloved sport & i Guarntee if you use the Componets listed you will never change
Submitted by
Chris Knaffle
a Cross Country Rider
from Hillsdale, MI
Date Reviewed: June 8, 2004
Strengths: For the money, I don't think you can get a better bike. Great components, sweet paint job (especially compared to the 2001), and an overall very functional bike.
Weaknesses: Seat was way hard. Stem was too short.
Frame is cracked in two places, but its been that way for 3 years, so I just keep riding it because they haven't made a frame that looks as good as this one since 2000!
Bike Setup: Velociraptor tires front and rear, new seat, longer stem, XT front deruilleur, otherwise stock
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Jeroen
a Weekend Warrior
from Arnhem, Holland
Date Reviewed: September 1, 2003
Strengths: Geometry and quality components used
Weaknesses: Not a real weakness but finding replacement parts for the Bontrager components is hard when most of the shops only sell Shimano (compatible) parts...
Bottom Line:
After riding the bike for well over two years and eating approx. 6000km of dirt with it I think I am entitled to chew on some minor details. The problem with the Bontrager parts (crank, bottom bracket, rear/front hubs) is that it is hard to find substitute parts here in Holland and if you do you do not have much choice or variation. So, if I ever buy a new bike it will be all Shimano components (except for Magura brakes). I changed the drive train twice since I purchased the bike. I think this is normal because there is not much left after 2 times 3000km :) I had the bearings of the rear wheel including cassette body changed ones but that problem hasn't come back. And what amazes me the most is that the Bontrager RE1 pedals are still holding, the look awful but keep going!!
The bottom line is that I think that I will be riding this bike until the frame breaks!
I love this bike. Its light and strong, kicks ass on climbing. It had a few upgrades when I bought it, but I love it. The front end does get squirrely on climbs but I am light at 155 lbs.
Submitted by
Johan van der Heijden
a Weekend Warrior
from Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Date Reviewed: July 7, 2003
Strengths: Genesis Geometry, Value for Money
Weaknesses: Front Suspension Manitou SX, brakes
Bottom Line:
Great bike, I love the Genesis Geometry. Especially climbing becomes fun with this! I recently broke my frame, but it will be replaced by Gary. Great service!! The reason I bought this bike is the good value for money balance. It performed well in European Alps, Belguim Ardens and the dutch mountains (just joking).
Bike Setup: LX - XT, Manitou SX, Bontrager Wheels, steering and seat, Avid brakes
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
sHasta
a Cross Country Rider
from Charlotte, NC
Date Reviewed: October 3, 2002
Strengths: Frame, wheelset, and pedals.
Weaknesses: Fork, (Mantiou SX I believe)
Bottom Line:
I have ranged from ~210-240 during my time owning this bike and it was taken a beating. For some reason I cannot seem to break this wheelset. I folded the rear wheel on my Ruckus like a soft taco, but these cheap-o bontragers take a licking (although my 170lb buddy bent the front one a little.. thanks Mark). This bike has been smashed into tree, droped off a bridge (along with me :( ) laid out on a rock garden, hell I have done 3-5ft drops with no problems. At first I did not like the bike, but after the hell that I have put it through.. I love it. The fork is the only down side, a bit sloppy, what can you ask for with a sub $150 fork? .... it hasn't broke.
Also, I would like to add if you are in the Charlotte area and in search of the best bike shop, goto Bike Line; Shane, Cory, and Brian will hook you up.
Bike Setup: Stock, expect I put Avid Ti Brakes and a Body Geo Saddle on, and Time ATAC clipless pedals.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Stark
a Weekend Warrior
from Highland, CA
Date Reviewed: July 5, 2002
Strengths: Still a great bike.
Weaknesses: Seat, brake levers, rear tire.
Bottom Line:
After two years, I still really like this bike. I also have a sugar 2, but actually prefer the big sur for trails with more down than up hill riding. It would be nice if you could lock out the front shocks for riding on pavement. The addition of a suspension seatbost is a great improvement.
Somehow I bent the heck out of the small chainring but it bent back and works just fine.
Bike Setup: replaced seat with terry liberator, added thudbuster seatpost, panaracer fire xc rear tire, deore brake levers
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Ross Anderson
a Weekend Warrior
from Oregon
Date Reviewed: October 16, 2001
Strengths: Good frame design puts over the rear tire for better traction. Pretty good components LX, 80mm. Bomber Air Shock. Good brakes (for V-brakes)
Weaknesses: Rims bend easy
Bottom Line:
It's a good bike for the money if plan on riding for a while. It's not a hardcore downhill bike, but it can take a thrashing. If your an intermidiate mountain biker this is a good bike. (The shock kicks @*%)
Weaknesses: Most other stock components (seat, bontrager rims, tires, bontrager crank , manitou SX fork. As someone said before ugly too
Bottom Line:
I bought this bike originally for fast commuting around the city but have been using and abusing it on trails. I like the frame very much but I had to send away the fork after 3 months because the steer tube came loose which wouldnt be a big deal but the service from manitous distributor or whoever fixes it was terrible and for some reason I ended up having to pay for it. Also if u wreck alot of chain rings the first thing you'll find out is that a regular 4 bolt ring wont fit very well on the bontrager comp crank, it will work but you could be in trouble if the chain slips off. The only chain ring that u can get is the racelite which is about 100 canadian loonies. Im slowly adding better and tougher components to this bike, and it is good for its money so im giving it 4 flaming poo's but overall with the bontrager components its only gets 3 flaming poo's.
