Submitted by
Colin
a Weekend Warrior
from North Carolina,USA
Date Reviewed: November 2, 2003
Strengths: Solid, light frame.Nice paint job.Most of the components are pretty good quality but I plan on changing some things later.Front disc is sort of minimal but works OK.
Weaknesses: Seat is rock hard and front disc is kind of cheap......easy upgrades though.
Bottom Line:
A great bike in my opinion for the money.Some components are cheap but easy to replace with better quality pieces. I had ridden this bike a lot the first year I had it with no problems.Most of the riding I have done on this bike is off road on single track trails.This year its only been ridden 2 times due to other things taking up my time.I have crashed this bike 2 times and everything is still solid....last crash I was going about 35mph,thought for sure something would be broken. Im giving a 4 Flamin' Chilis overall rating only because of the hard seat and cheap front disc. This bike is good for a beginer or someone who likes trails but cant afford a full suspension bike.
Weaknesses: the bottom bracket is crap cuz it's broken after 2 months of biking n the pedals suck, n the shocks are too bouncy, n the seat is hard as a rock and the brake levers aren't that great and i got a alivio r/d n the crankset is too heavy n the brakes r'nt that responsive
Bottom Line:
it has nice frame at first the bike is alrite, fur beginners, the stock are perfect for beginners i give a 5/5 fur every ratin cuz oh the tune-ups i added shox are bouncy for trials the frame is nice too, the red and white one.
Strengths: the frame is realy light and has nice tires
Weaknesses: the crank isn't that great and my bike came with the alivio rear derailler instead of the deore and i broke the frame once and had to get a new frame but it was free of charge through warranty and the rockshox jett rebound is horrible and the front derailler keeps jamming the chain. The front disc brakes suck and the and the brake levers aren't that comfortable and the saddle is hard as hec.
Bottom Line:
after i made all those changes the bike is great. but if you jus ride the retail version with no tune-ups the bikes sucks like you know wut
Bike Setup: i replaced the alivio i got with the deore xt and replaced the front derailler with the deore xt and then i replaced the seat and the disc brakes into hayes hydrolics
Bottom bracket still wobbling! Bike still solid after a year of some nice trail riding. A few chain sucks and a bent bigger ring, but they were easy to fix. Never had to touch the Deore rear, and Acera front seems to be holding well. But that damn bottom bracket, I have to find me a crank puller to get in there. $300 no complaints, 2 bike shops had it for $449 and the other over $500.
Submitted by
Jason
a Weekend Warrior
from Philly, PA, USA
Date Reviewed: April 2, 2002
Strengths: Shimano Deore rear d, strong but lightweight frame, nice squishy handlebar grips, Rock Shox Jett suspension fork.
Weaknesses: Shimano Acera front d, Cheap pedals, squeaky but very functional front disc brake
Bottom Line:
I've only taken the bike out to a rough trail once, but I didn't break anything, so I guess it's solid. I'm not really a die-hard mountain biker anyway... just a dude who's tired of walking everywhere in the city (I don't own a car). Problems: I just found out on the internet that some of the early 2001 Rock Shox forks were recalled, might include this model. I'll be calling Rock Shox later this week. Other than that... the front disc brakes look cool but they're squeaky. I'll use them until they're dead and then replace them with non-disc brakes probably.
I love this bike. It's ideal for the city/pavement rider who likes to occasionally hit the rough trails on nice days, like myself. Not for the serious, hardcore mountain biker.
Bike Setup: Replaced seat with a softer Iron Horse seat at time of purchase for free.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Chris
a Weekend Warrior
from Trabuco Canyon, CA
Date Reviewed: November 29, 2001
Strengths: Pretty light, rides well, it would be a great value if I paid twice what I did.
Weaknesses: Needs a new front brake out of the box, but thats it.
Bottom Line:
This is a great bike for the money, and its a great bike with money aside. The frame is very light, and well balanced. The components are all more than adequate, except the front brake. The RST disk brake looks kinda cool, but it has little stopping power, and the rotor warps easily. I went to an Avid V-brake two weeks with the bike, and now it rides like an $800 bike. The fork works surprisingly well, just took half an hour of riding to loosen up the first time. If your looking for a hardtail, give this bike a good look. Its a very good bike right out of the box, and for $325 you can't go wrong. Oh yeah...the frame might look funny, but it holds together really well. Trust me, I know, I like to go over the handlebars occaisionally. If the situation arises...get this bike.
Similar Products Used: GT Richochet (totally custom, built from bare frame)
Bike Setup: Everything straight from the box except the front brake, which is now an Avid V-brake.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Phil
a Weekend Warrior
from Rhode Island
Date Reviewed: November 20, 2001
Strengths: Cheap for a decent bike!
Weaknesses: Cassette is garbage, Bottom Bracket is garbage
Bottom Line:
This is to supplement my last post. In the past couple months I have replaced the seat, the bottom bracket because the axle bent, the cassette because the big gear bent, the fork because it got soggy after using it for about a month. Both the cassette and BB were broken because they were second rate parts, a poor choice by the manufacturer...but the bike remains a good deal at $300
Strengths: Deore Rear Derailure Rapid fire shifters (Alivio?) Front disc.
Weaknesses: Acera Front Derailure Rock Shock Jett.
Bottom Line:
For $299 and mid grade Shimano parts, and a disc brake to boot, how can one complain. The frame is a bit odd looking, but it seems strong enough to handle some rough treatment. Had to tweak the Acera front a few times, and I am sure a few more even, just to get it right. The rear I didn't even have to think about. The barrel adjusters are a little hard to turn, or don't have much play with them, but that's minor to me. The Rock Shock Jett bottoms out way to easy, and when dampening set to high, it makes a thud when it bottoms out. With dampening off, if bottoms out easier, but doesn't thump, go figure. The bottom bracket has a slight bit of wobble, although very slight. The Kenda coyote tires are decent so far, but the rims CR18's need some attention. The rear is all set for a disc brake, with hub already in place. I rode it 26 miles the day I bought it, and I thought my ass was on the post, the seat was so hard. Gel seat fixed that for now. I liked the gearing better then the other bikes I had ridden, it allows me average higher speeds on pavement and daily commuting. I had her going 43MPH peddling my ass off down a long hill, and it felt stable.
Bike Setup: The only extras are my Bell 8 function computer. And my gel seat.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
rudy
a Weekend Warrior
from spokane,wa
Date Reviewed: October 19, 2001
Strengths: shifts smoothly, awsome front disc break, eye catching paint, light but not to light, front rock shock is adjustible for the smoothest ride, a lot of bike for a little price.
Weaknesses: seats kinda hard but cheap to replace
Bottom Line:
u couldn't find a better bike for under 1200 dollars. my only compaint was when i first got it the front disc brake rubbed the frame but the dealer udjusted it for free and it has worked perfect ever since. two weeks after i got it i took a hard spill and thought for sure i broke something on the bike. but the only damage was the chain fell of the front i put it back on in 10 seconds and rode for another hour with no problems. the paint on the bike didn't have scratch even though my helmet was thrashed. if u want a good bike for under the 1200 dollar range i would recomend the 2001 ironhorse desperado.
Similar Products Used: 2000 mongoose that cost 30 dollars more than the desperado and was 1/4 the bike. it sucked.
Bike Setup: stock besides seat and two water bottles
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Phil
a Weekend Warrior
from Prov., RI, U.S.
Date Reviewed: September 26, 2001
Strengths: Nice Deore Derailleur. Disk brake works well. Very solid frame. Jett shock not too bad, was expecting worse.
Weaknesses: Front derailler isn't too reliable. Seat hurts!!
Bottom Line:
I love this bike. For the price I paid, this bike performs unbeleivably well on the trail. The disk brake works good, it works well in mud and rain, but I didnt notice anymore stopping power than a v-brake...not really a dissapointment though. The rockshox jett is really not a bad fork at all. Aside from not having a whole lot of travel, no dampening, and not being very light, most importantly it soaks up bumps, big and small fairly well. The frame is very solid and strong, once again...I love this bike (oh yeah not very important, but the paint job is sweet!)
Favorite Trail: Light off roads in Rocky Mountains
Duration Product Used: 3 months
Price Paid:
$600.00
Purchased At: LBS
Similar Products Used: GT Avalanche 2.0
Bike Setup: Stock
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Dan
a Weekend Warrior
from Mexico City, Mexico, MEXICO
Date Reviewed: September 4, 2001
Strengths: Pretty good frame, light descent components and nice paint job. Disc upgradeable rear hub. Not-too-bad front disc brake.
Weaknesses: Early 2001 models came with non-upgraded, factory recalled Rock Shock Jett forks. Front derraileur is difficult to keep adjusted and ghostshifts a lot. Saddle was terrible at least for me.
Bottom Line:
This is a pretty good bike. It is better than other bikes that sell for about the same price (at least where I live).
Front derraileur is bad but is relatively cheap to replace. Read derraileur works pretty well even when loaded. The disc brake is not the best around but after seeing my friends slipping because of muddy brakes I guess it is not so bad after all. Web site says it comes with Velociraptor tires but mine came with Nanoraptors.
You pretty much get what you pay for and won't be dissappointed because you had to change lot's of stuff right from the beginning (except for the saddle...OUCH!).
Remove 1 Chili from value because of the crappy front derraileur (a slightly better one would cost $10 USD).
