Submitted by
Craig Faunce
a Cross Country Rider
from Springfield, VA
Date Reviewed: November 17, 2010
Strengths: Still riding and still loving this bikes. Same strengths previously mentioned. It's just really fun to ride; I sold my dualie (Giant NRS2) and kept this if it means anything. It's black, too - an even faster color than red.
Weaknesses: None. I've gotten rid of all of those. Ok, it's still a little heavy but I don't care. I'm not racing.
Bottom Line:
Love this bike; glad it's holding up 'cause we just bought a house this past year and I don't have the budget right now to consider anything else. And, even if I did, I probably wouldn't buy it. I'm cheap like that, and I like my bike.
I bought the bike in 2000, so I'm going on year 10 of ownership.
Bike Setup: Pretty much as it's always been. Though, I've dumped the racks, replaced the Times with Crank Bros, it's got a King headset (rasta) now, and Marz EXR Pro fork, 100mm. The 100mm took a little getting used too. Wheels are now a matching Mavic Crossmax set I bought years ago now, and I'm using Conti Speed King 2.3" rubbers. Still running XT V brakes.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
sean coolio
a Weekend Warrior
from Mass
Date Reviewed: October 19, 2002
Strengths: frame, FORK, TIRES, rims
Weaknesses: short connecter inbetween the handle bars and fork but thats like $20 for a new one so get a new one and the base seat is a little hard so get a new one for like $10 if you aint a cheap assed basterd
Bottom Line:
for the people that rated this low, they have no idea how much it rocks because they suck too much dick to reliz how good it is
Similar Products Used: fuji nevada, some giant bike.....
Bike Setup: kick ass
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Submitted by
Craig Faunce
a
from Alexandria, VA, USA
Date Reviewed: August 19, 2002
Strengths: Overall value for the money, and while I usually don't buy anything for color, the black and yellow one I got just looked cool. (It's cooler now with all my upgrades...)
Weaknesses: Yep, the seat and the cranks, both of which were replaced within six months. I also wasn't real impressed with the stock IRC's, which went after two weeks.
Bottom Line:
My first hardtail, and a pretty zippy ride on the trails. I bought it as a commuting bike, but have just recently gotten into singletrack riding, but it's a great bike I think. A little stiff, yes, but the Rock Shox post takes the bite out of that. I'm pretty much a roadie (up til now), and I like the responsiveness of the bike.
Similar Products Used: Nothing w/ suspsension - Miyata rigid (got rid of it when the fork snapped); Fat Chance wicked w/ straight forks (stolen - welcome to DC); Gary Fisher (can't remember the model name, but it was flat sand colored, and a hard tail - stolen, and my first 8-speed - i guess that wasn't too bad, though, because I hated the geometry); GT Outpost (I just liked the color, and it made a good messenger bike (also stolen)
Bike Setup: Mostly original componentry - I did upgrade the brake pads to the Deore XT's because I like the slide-out brake cartridges, and I use Ritchey Logic reds for pads), same wheelset (but I had the rear rebuilt after my fourth or fifth spoke busted, now it's fine - I'm only 150 lbs soaking wet), Michelin Wildgripper S tires (green) - but I just bought the Hutchinson Mosquito Golds, which I'm thinking about taking back for Pythons, Specialized Body Geometry saddle with Rock Shox seatpost, Specialized Strongarm II cranks (love 'em), Time ATAC Alum pedals, Onza bar ends (yellow - gotta match the bike), and a Janddt Mt. Expedition panier rack for my paniers (10,000 cu. in.), because I like camping along th C&O sometimes. NightRider lighting system.
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Submitted by
B Rogers
a Weekend Warrior
from Arlington, VA
Date Reviewed: May 4, 2002
Strengths: Great Frame and Shocks...Value.
Weaknesses: Components, but at this price what can you expect.
Bottom Line:
Alot of bike for the buck. Looks geat and performs great. The components are crap, but at this price the value is outstanding. Frame and shocks worth the price alone.
Submitted by
Ollie
a Cross Country Rider
from Esky
Date Reviewed: February 15, 2002
Strengths: Great frame, value for entry level, bike is worthy of some upgrades
Weaknesses: Cranks flex way to much and need to be replaced if doing any serious biking. Heavy for a HT, but what can you expect in this price range. GT at Walmart now?
Bottom Line:
This is my first real mountain bike and it's a great bike to start and learn with. Got a great deal from Mike and have been hooked on riding off road ever since. The Rebound handles awesome and is very easy to control. Noticed a decent increase in performance when I replaced the cranks since the XT's are much lighter and stiffer than the STX's it came with. The only negatives are the weight and the beating you take with this frame. It's very stiff and puts power down when you need it, but man you feel every bump on the trail. This bike is worthy of upgrades, but don't get to carried away with them since the new full suspension models are putting hard tails to shame. Now I just need to wait til the wife gives me the green light to upgrade to my next dream bike.
Strengths: I realy liked the nice strong frame and the forks are great allso
Weaknesses: To every good thing there is always a down side like the seat that literaly was a pain in the ass and the crank didn't last long until it was replced. And i am a big dude too and i didnt like that the wheels which were quicly bent. Other than that it is a pretty good buy.
Bottom Line:
It is a great entry bike to the world of MTB and has lasted me great, but there is always a point and time to move on to something lighter and ready to race.
Bike Setup: all orginal except for lx crank and derailers, and WTB Speed V seat
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Submitted by
Everett Washburn
a Weekend Warrior
from Brunswick VA.
Date Reviewed: June 24, 2001
Strengths: Rides great corners well. Pretty light for the money. Climbs okay if your legs can hold up. Not ashamed to ride beside any other bikes.
Weaknesses: The seat and cranks
Bottom Line:
Love the bike and will ride it for as long as I can. Only been riding for a year and I can' think of a better bike I could have chosen to ride. Thanks! GT.
Bike Setup: Got rid of the factory seat, went to a gel seat. Bought a new Shimano Deore lx hollowtech crankset and front and rear derailleur. This made the bike handle and feel better. Got more power too. Finally went to clipless pedals and that has been fun trying to learn to use them.
Great bike. I ride aggresively and I have never had a problem. This thing will move on the downhills and flys like and airplane. I have started using it to race duel slalom and to ride North Shore style stunts and have never been let down. Get one of these if you still can. The fork is the best that I have ever had. Spend a little time working on it at first and it will totaly pay off. Change the fork to 100 mills of travel befor you even ride it and it is a magic carpet ride. I love this bike and will probably never get rid of it.
Bike Setup: Stock, except for Bar Ends and hutch. alligators
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Submitted by
traildawg
a Cross Country Rider
from Silverspring, MD
Date Reviewed: May 15, 2001
Strengths: great shock, great frame
Weaknesses: seats a butt buster, crank set, the pedals must go and a few other skimped out components.
Bottom Line:
i've had this bike for a while and think its great. it's held up well and hasn't given me any problems. i'm light (~120lbs) and i fly on the downhills. the bike is fast and responds well. i'm planning on slowly upgrading and look forward to how awesome it's gonna be. great bike for the price.
Bike Setup: ditched the pedals and went w/ clipless. pretty much stock.
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Submitted by
Derek
a Cross Country Rider
from San Francisco
Date Reviewed: May 15, 2001
Strengths: Judy XC Shock and strong frame
Weaknesses: saddle, pedals, rims
Bottom Line:
This is a great bike for someone who is looking to get into mountain biking such as myself. I ride 55 miles commute each week plus 1-2 days of trail riding on the weekend and it has held up extremely well. The only complaint that I have is the rims have pulsed under hard braking after the first month of riding and I haven't been able to fix the problem. I've had the seam ground down by a shop and also had the rims retrued. It only seems to alleviate the problem for a week or so and then they are back to their annoying selves. Hopefully the new rims on order will make a world of difference. Other than that a solid bike that can take hits harder than I can dish.
Bike Setup: spd clipless pedals, titec stem, bontrager saddle, avid arch-rival 50, sun rhyno-lite rims
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Submitted by
Kyzr
a Weekend Warrior
from Bozeman,MT USA
Date Reviewed: May 2, 2001
Strengths: Rockshox Judy, Nice heavy frame. I've pounded it a few times off rocks, and the rims seem to hold together. A great bike for someone who is just starting to ride.
Weaknesses: Seat, it really sucks, and dump the pedals.
Bottom Line:
For the money, I found it to be the best buy on the market. As for the shocks, they really hold up. At 200lbs, I'm not a small person, but even for me, I can really feel the difference.
Submitted by
Chris Baron
a Weekend Warrior
from Indianapolis
Date Reviewed: March 14, 2001
Strengths: The frame and Judy XC,s. This is worth the $550 I paid for it alone.
Weaknesses: All of the things you would expect to be weak when you spend under $600 for a MTB. The cranks, pedals, seat, seat post, straight bars, front and rear derailers.
Bottom Line:
Great frame and shock. If you want the bike to last and you get serious about riding you will want to upgrade many of the stock components as I did. The great thing is the frame and shock are worthy of upgrading. For another $300 or so you can make this bike very nice and enjoy it for several years. If you don't want to invest any more $$$ into it than my advice is sell it before you trash it. These were somewhat hard to find last year, especially here in the midwest and you should be able to get back a decent chunk of change from it to invest in a new bike with all of the bells and whistles.
Bike Setup: Truvativ Firex SL Cranks, Time ATAC Alium pedals, Deore LX front and rear derailers, SDG Bel-air seat, Carbon post, Azonic Risers with OURY grips.
Strengths: The frame Is really sweet. great XC setup especially if you don't weigh much. Amazingly durable. Replaceable der. hanger. Good weight. Frame can take more abuse than any hardtail short of a Kona. good geometry. Nice lengths for technical and trick riding. good Judy XC altough it costs alot to change the amount of travel, it's a little soft. Great Jumper. Strong chainstays.
Weaknesses: cranks are soft and kinda weak. Soft crankset although I rip up components more than anyone I know, partially because I do a lot of riding in little bursts (standstill wheelies and standing wheelies, nose stoppies, ass-flops) tires are really thin, I got lots of flats b/c they have no punture resistance. If you're gonna do anything other than XC replace bar stem. Grips neeb to be replaced immediatly. Rims kinda weak, not that bad though. Fork bottoms on big drops.Brakes Suck.
Bottom Line:
The frame is sweet especially for the price. I got it because I wanted a tough frame for cunstruction site riding. Not so great component batch. I know itseems like a Bitc...complained alot in the weakness section and changed alot but it didn't need anything for a while except the grips. The only reason I changed most of it was because I started riding different styles (freeride jumping urban) Don't get me wrong the fork will bottom out if you land level or on the front unless you have mad shock absorbtion skills. But it's still great for it, the fork has NEVER given me any grief or needed any attention. If you do jump or dropoff I recommend wheelie drops. Frame is truly an amazing feat of engineering.If it had a reinforced headset are I would drop a Z.1 on it but it doesn't so Judy is stayin. Great entry level.light tail makes it easy to do nose wheelies and ass flops (going up on the front wheel and flopping it aroung so you're pointing a different direction.) A little rough riding down stairs though. Overall GREAT value and frame. 5 FLAMING MONKEY CRAPS
Favorite Trail: the matildaville (long live technicals)
Duration Product Used: 1 Year
Price Paid:
$550.00
Purchased At: Wash Bike Center
Similar Products Used: Schwinn sidewinder
Bike Setup: I have two setups: XC: Time Atac Carbons, I can put on stock bar & stem and 1.95 stock tires. Although I hardly ride XC anymore. Freeride/Urban: Azonic 1.5" worldforce Riser bar Kore 40 degree 75 mm long stem Sun Ringle ZuZu platform pedals Maxxis 2.1 Mobsters MAde a rockring by grinding all the teeth off the big ring replaced chain ODI lock on Yeti HArdcore grips Magura Hydraulic QuickSilver HS-33's
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Submitted by
Cory
a Weekend Warrior
from Wheeling, West Virginia
Date Reviewed: February 5, 2001
Strengths: This bike has all of the performance you could ask for at a "typical consumer" price. Every component compliments the others. This bike is meant to ride hard and fast. It eats up downhills. I can bring it into the corners as deep as I can handle and the bike responds. The Judy XC is a masterpiece at this price. I've slammed this bike off of 4-5 foot jumps and the shock almost laughs. To get the quality of components this bike has from a maker like Cannondale or Gary Fisher, you would have to spend a great deal more. I will put this bike up against ANY in this price and performance range. LONG LIVE GT!!!!
Weaknesses: The only thing that let me down was the rims. This bike came with Weinmann Zac-19's. I ride hard. I need a rim that can handle it. These were unfortunately not in agreement with me. Upgrade the rims as soon as you can.
Bottom Line:
I planned on spending $1000.00 on a bike. I have always ridden GT's. I wanted to shop around and see what else was out there. I really like the Big Sur from Gary Fisher. But after close inspection I realized that the components were almost identical. I almost paid $400 more for almost the same bike. My advice, check out a GT. They have the most aggressive frames out there. The rebound flat-out performs.
Wondering if anyone can help me stop the clunking on the rebound stroke in my atom bomb. Have tried tearing it apart many times, think it has something to do with the top out sprin Read More »
