Submitted by
collin smith
a Cross Country Rider
from st. louis, missouri, usa
Date Reviewed: July 20, 2009
Strengths: great frame, great crank,great shifters, great brakes,love the whole bike
Weaknesses: seat post size sucks
Bottom Line:
This is a great bike i love it. If you find one buy it and ride it alot,It will not let you down. I ride mostly in the streets but i take the hard routes and hills . I ride everyday anywhere from 12-20 miles a day and no major problems yet. Bottom line great bike for the price and i only paid 180 for it in mint con.
Bike Setup: rock shox dart 3, bbb carbon fiber handlebars, bbb carbon fiber bar ends, dia comp brake upgrades, sette carbon fiber seatpost, sette lite racing saddle,dimension toe clips, race face good n evil sticky grips,kendra kross plus slick xc tires. more to come
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Submitted by
Josh
a Weekend Warrior
from Middleburg, VA
Date Reviewed: February 28, 2002
Strengths: A strong bike, will hold up to abuse. A cool electric blue frame. Shocks rarely bottom out. Toe clips took getting used to, but they're great!
Weaknesses: none that I found
Bottom Line:
I have enjoyed riding this bike. It has worked great on all kinds of terrain, from road to rocky hills. Never had any problems with it. My previous bike, like I said, was a cheap piece of junk that hardly worked correctly more than two weeks. Shifting is much smoother than on the Sears junk. I'm only moving on from this Iguana because it is a little small for me, and I'm interested in trying a full suspension. I recommend this bike to anyone and everyone!
Similar Products Used: none. my previous bike was a Sears-special Open Road piece of junk.
Bike Setup: stock, with chainguard and kickstanc
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Submitted by
Dingo Dan
a Weekend Warrior
from Colo. Sprgs., CO
Date Reviewed: October 8, 2001
Strengths: looks bad ass. Good price, Giant is super cool about a no questions asked warrenty and can get you a new frame in half a week.
Weaknesses: Look, im 13, and ive cracked 3 of the same frames! dont use it as a jumping bike. i do, just because giant gets me a new frame and a renewed warranty every time it breaks and its free! (super cool)
Bottom Line:
the bike is a great value, plus giant's warranty is so sweet!
Favorite Trail: chutes ( its all downhill with berms)
Duration Product Used: 2 Years
Price Paid:
$500.00
Purchased At: Cycle therapy
Bike Setup: sram 9.0 and xt with avid arch rivals
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Submitted by
David Nichols
a Weekend Warrior
from San Diego, CA USA
Date Reviewed: January 22, 2001
Strengths: Good Frame, very sturdy, I like the rapid fire shifters
Weaknesses: I can't think of any
Bottom Line:
I love this bike. I go biking when I can, and this bike does everything I need it to do. It is a good at going up the hills and it will fly on the downhills. I have not had any problems with the bike. It is a great bike for a good price.
Submitted by
Lon
a Weekend Warrior
from Canyon, TX
Date Reviewed: November 8, 2000
Strengths: 6061 frame, old school XC stem and bars. Great local dealer. Giant warranty.
Weaknesses: middle chainring bent, Shimano is crappy about warranty, they take too long to tell you they won't warrenty yours, or the other 5 riders that have bent chainrings.
Bottom Line:
I beat this bike every day except Thursdays. I've left it dirty after a muddy ride. It has sat out in the rain and snow. I've endoed bad enough to bend the seat into the seatpost. It's covered in scratches but hasn't dented. It lives to climb and is indifferent to pedal style, sit and spin, or stand and hammer, it is easily balanced front to back. When the trail points down it is sure footed and tracks well, even with the scary-fast handling of the long stem/XC bar. This is my last hard-tail because with better components will make a great bike even better. Too bad the value rating can't go past 5. Buy it because it is a mid-level bike at entry-level price. The money you save between it and others will buy you a raceface crank and a good seat. Don't buy it if you are in the day-glow-jersey-drink-foreign-beer-because-the-other-riders-do-it-I'm-so-concerned-with-what's-in-fashon-wannabees. Buy it to ride. Giant and the local dealer will take care of you if you break it.
Favorite Trail: Capital Peak, Eagle Point, in Palo Duro Canyon
Duration Product Used: 1 Year
Price Paid:
$300.00
Purchased At: Bike Korner, Amarillo, TX
Similar Products Used: '93 Mongoose (before AMF) Hilltopper sx - 3 years '98 Voodoo Hoodoo- tested for a day
Bike Setup: stock except Warrentied new crank set-steel 5 arm alivo instead of alloy acera. Pyramid gel saddle. Ritchey clip-in pedals, Summit gel grips. Tektro anti-chain-suck spacer.
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Submitted by
Todd K.
a Weekend Warrior
from Canton
Date Reviewed: July 3, 2000
Strengths: Pretty much everything, good tires, shiftes good, a great climber, has globs of traction, mud riding is good, excpet could use dics, suspension is very plush, fast bike too, and great ground clearance.
Weaknesses: For the price pretty much nothing, except for the hard seat, though it is easy to get on and off, also pedals should be clipless
Bottom Line:
Great bike, i love it and going to keep it all my life, its a good light bike that can get over pretty much everything once u get use to it, it has good traction, some good stock WTB tires, and drivetrain does not have any problems no matter what people say. i ride hard with it, i ride it about 5 hours a day both on and off road, and log on about 50 miles a week, its also got a good light frontend for wheelies but still keeps the bike balanced. hell i even do huge downhills with it, its not a downhiller but one reliable bike that can do everything almost. defintly deserves 5 chilis
Bike Setup: some Specialized tires, LX rear derailleur, front and rear fenders, Sette Italia seat, rockshox seatpost
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Submitted by
James
a Weekend Warrior
from Savannah, GA
Date Reviewed: April 12, 2000
Strengths: Everything!!! The best bike for the price!!!
Bottom Line:
Great bike!!! I bought the bike used and the components were already upgraded to XT. I did upgrade the pedals and added a suspension seatpost. I'm 6'3" and 240lbs and can really put the bike through hell. So far not one problem!!! Highly recommended!!!
Similar Products Used: I used to have a $2000 Kline. I'm just as happy with my Giant Iquana.
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Submitted by
Sam Palmer
a Cross Country Rider
from Groton, MA
Date Reviewed: February 16, 2000
Strengths: Great Lite snappy frame, responsive, and takes one heck of a beating. Vilociraptor tires, great all around. Good fell, you can tell what this bike is going to do. Hops well, and does everything when you want it. Also, long travel rock shox suck up the hard hits, so your arms dont tire out so fast.
Weaknesses: Alivio drivetrain advertized as stx-rc. Alivio sucks! I already killed the whole drivetrain
Bottom Line:
Great bike at a great price, just upgrade components when you break them. Frame design makes it a great bike. I give it 5 value chili's cun, hey what kind of components do you expect for $550? And I give it 4 overall chillis cuz whatever the price, my drivetrain broke, but love the frame.
Bike Setup: Stock, with following exeptions: Deore XT Crank, duerailuers, cog, SHifters, Brake levers. Kore GASS pedals.
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Submitted by
Dan Smith
a Cross Country Rider
from Lakewood Ohio
Date Reviewed: February 12, 2000
Strengths: SOLID, SOLID, SOLID, SOLID this bike has endured 6 foot dropoffs(some landed, some not) without complaining. I ride this thing like i hate it, and it comes back for more!
Weaknesses: WTB saddle sucks, bottom bracket needed replaced after 2 weeks(my brother's too, we have identical rides) Cheep rims
Bottom Line:
The bottom line is this.....this bike (for the money) rocks. I have beaten this bike, abused this bike,....(insert another creative metaphor here)...this bike!
I love it. it has held up to more punnishment than any bike i have ever owned.
I am not, by any means, a weathy individual, but i like to ride hard, so i go out and buy a $500 r so bike, and run it till it don't run no more. this bike won't stop runnin'!
Similar Products Used: schwinn mesa, gt (can't remember name)
Bike Setup: stock except the following....titec hellbent riser dh bar Time atac pedals titanium/kevlar saddle Shimano LX bb
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Submitted by
Craig
a Weekend Warrior
from Raleigh, NC
Date Reviewed: December 6, 1999
Strengths: Excellent value for the money! Great tires Good components Solid frame
Weaknesses: For the money - none to speak of...
Bottom Line:
This is an excellent bike for anyone except perhaps a serious racer. Beginners can be confident that it will meet their needs as they develop and more experienced riders will appreciate its high quality frame, solid value, and its ability to take abuse. I use it frequently on rather technical trails and it does great. I have also put slicks on it and done fairly long-distance road touring. Versatility and value -- BUY IT.
Similar Products Used: This is my third mountain bike. I started 6 or 7 years ago with a Schwinn Impact Pro MOS, then moved to a Trek 930 - all in similar price ranges. The Iguana SE is by far the best bike.
Bike Setup: Stock - with Rock Shox T2s.
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Submitted by
Kenny Davis
a Weekend Warrior
from Plano, TX
Date Reviewed: November 8, 1999
Strengths: Solid Build Easy to Handle Good Looks Takes a Beating
Weaknesses: Pedals Saddle Rims
Bottom Line:
When this bike is dead and gone I will look at Giant first for a new one. This bike is a sweat heart as far as handling those tight turns. I have taken it of drop offs, down some major downhills and had a few bad wipeouts with this thing, but it just keeps going. If you are looking at this bike, be ready to get a new saddle, cause that WTB saddle will let you know its there. I also put on some Shimano clipless pedals, get rid of those toe straps, they will do you harm. For the price this is the perfect bike.
Submitted by
Salvatore
a Weekend Warrior
from New York, NY
Date Reviewed: August 30, 1999
Strengths: Great components Smooth Ride Nice Looks
Weaknesses: Uncomfortable Seat Pedals
Bottom Line:
This is a sweet bike for the price, especially if you are a beginner like myself. The first weekend I rode this bike I tore apart Central Park without a problem.
Buy this one. It has the best stock components in its price class. It has a better fork, better brakes, and better tires than other bikes near its price. Set this rig side by side with something like a Hardrock A1 and compare the components and this Iggy is the clear winner.
