Bike Setup: sid sl shox, easton carbon front bar and seat post,race face carbon crank and ti bottom bracket,hope m4 brakes, mavic crossmax wheel set,xtr gear set,hope xc head set ,panaracer fire xc pro tubless
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Submitted by
mike stout
a Cross Country Rider
from shawano, WI, usa
Date Reviewed: June 7, 2003
Strengths: awsome acceleration and very nimble, i love the crap out of it
Weaknesses: none the condition i recived it as
Bottom Line:
awesome, all together it was worth 5g's but my friend hooked me up with it for 1000 awesome, this bike is rad and every time i get off it i get even more stoaked to get on it again
Similar Products Used: gt zaskar, raleigh talus, trek elite 9.8, trek fuel(still own all of these
Bike Setup: all xtr, titec titanium stearing, rolf domlite wheels, raceface sealed headset, kenda kahrisma light tires (hella light from kenda try em they are semitread but boy are they fast), and easton ec-70 seatpost with selle italia flight gel seat, also sid long travle fork
get on it, ride it, and go home happy. simple as that. seat post gets tweaked easy, otherwise nice rig. ill give an update with crank bros pedals and thompson post.
Similar Products Used: gt, giant, cannonwale, spec.
Bike Setup: XTR/XT setup, with cheapy ritchey pedals, (crank bros. egg beaters on the way.) marz z.3 fork. sworks crank and stem
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Submitted by
Sean
a Weekend Warrior
from Sacramento, CA USA
Date Reviewed: September 21, 2001
Strengths: light
Weaknesses: dropouts!!!!!
Bottom Line:
Don't buy one of these used. The frame warranty vaporizes if you aren't the original owner. And as I've learned the dropouts are weak. But it was nice while it lasted. Due to my improperly adjusted derailleur, my fault, the derailleur wound up in the spokes. The spokes didn't bend. The hanger barely bent. The dropout on the left bent out and back. I can't find anybody that wants to try and fix it. But I guess it is really a racer and like any racer, it can't get much of its original purchase price when resold. Just keep that in mind. If you are hard on frames or don't feel lucky, only buy one brand new!!! You should be happy.
This is the most comfortable bike I have ever ridden and so damn responsive! I dont like to get on my road bike now after riding this. But like other people that posted, the cranks do suck. Mine worked loose and on a climb, I stripped them. Not nice pedalling one legged home.
Weaknesses: This bike "as is", is very race worthy but with a few upgrades it can be the best xc rig you'll ever own. My only problem so far has been breaking two frames but speicialized is one of the best companies for replacements
Bottom Line:
The bottom line is that this bike "rocks" I love the way it rides and the way it feels
Strengths: stiff and handles better than a giddy school girl on prom night. Has a great parts spec, except. . .
Weaknesses: the stock specialized cranks!! They'll work themselves loose, and if u ride hard they can strip. Replace with B.C. invented ~Raceface tourbine~ crank and you're in Bike heaven.
Bike Setup: XTR deraillers, xt 'all in one' shifters/levers, xt brakes, crossmax rims, GT hubs (mmmm), michelin wildgripper tires, sid SL.
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Submitted by
Russ
a Cross Country Rider
from Lancaster
Date Reviewed: February 8, 2001
Strengths: Lightweight and a build quality 2nd to none. Everything about this bike breads speed, it climbs like its stuck to the ground and descends like its on rails. The frame is stiff enough to give superb acceleration. If this bike was a girl I'd marry it.
Weaknesses: Can get a bit too frisky due to the frames stiffness.
Similar Products Used: TREK 8900, Y33, YETI ARC, MERLIN MOUNTAIN
Bike Setup: Full XTR, Specialized tyres, Velocity deep section rims, Marzocchi Super Fly forks
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Submitted by
Alex
a Weekend Warrior
from Alberta, Canada
Date Reviewed: October 31, 2000
Strengths: Super light! Good component group, kool colors, SID SL, awesome acceleration, racer profile, everything is sealed
Weaknesses: That damn crankset (welcome to flex-ville)! SID SL, dumb colored bar (stock), rear-d dropout
Bottom Line:
Pretty narley bike -- super light, pretty good component group, spiffy acceleration, overall awesome bike! But that retarded crankset gives a new meaning to flex, the SID SL is a biotch to tune perfectly That dumb stock bar and stem just don't compliment the bike's full potential Hasn't failed me yet when doing trials and other urban assualts, but see to get rid of the XT rear brake set (there's a little too much modulation) Go out and get it as long as you can get a good deal on it, or else you'll be upgrading till the cows come home!
Similar Products Used: GT Zaskar LE, Fisher Supercaliber, Schwinn Howmegrown Team
Bike Setup: SID SL, XTR rear-d, XT everything else, XT disc in front, Blackspire bashring, Easton stem, bar, seatpost, IRC Mythos XC, mavic 517SUP,
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Submitted by
grunt
a Cross Country Rider
from Park City, Utah, USA
Date Reviewed: October 23, 2000
Strengths: A bulletproof frame and good component set. A better bike than I am a rider.
Weaknesses: First, the crankset. After the fourth chainsuck episode, AMF. Several rides where the seatpost let the saddle slip didn't help (I didn't think you should use a cheater bar on an allen wrench). Thomson solved that. I see the new models come with Thomson - good decision.
The saddle didn't do me any favors so it too went AMF. But the thing that gripes my butt is the fork. After reading about Specialized replacing the titanium springs in the fork on the Internet, I had to see for myself. Sure enough - steel. Thanks big S. Lastly, the pedals were an accident waiting to happen. The ATACs are so sweet!
Duh, what's with the gold bar????????
Bottom Line:
A good bike but once the Specialized stuff is gone it borders on greatness.
Bike Setup: XTR Crank, Thomson seatpost & stem, Time ATAC pedals, Selle Italia saddle, Hutchinson tires, Easton bar
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Submitted by
Lewis
a Weekend Warrior
from Fort Worth, Texas
Date Reviewed: September 6, 2000
Strengths: Weight, handeling, and solid construction.
Weaknesses: Crank set, paint and sticker set.
Bottom Line:
I got this bike last year and have put a lot of miles on it since. Bad news first- the crank set sucks. Mine broke and it took forever to get another from Specialized so I went with an XTR set. Although cosmetic, the paint does chip easily and the sticker set tends to come off easily.
Good news- this bike rocks! It is very lite (22.5 lbs), handles like a dream, extremly quick, and very dependable. I have ridden the crap out of it and had no problems (excluding the crank set). This machine is well worth the money! I will buy again.
Bike Setup: Monkey Lite bars, XTR crank set, and Body Geo seat.
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Submitted by
Vincent Asselin
a Cross Country Rider
from Repentigny
Date Reviewed: August 13, 2000
Strengths: Very Very Light!!! Shimano XTR and XT Very beautiful bike...it flash!! ACCELERATION!! (La Bomba!!!!)
Weaknesses: Price is high, but i thinks is a good value! The seat is not very confortable...but, is not a bike to ride...lol
Bottom Line:
WOW!! THis bike is a very fast and very very light...what I can say? An d the look, very cool. So, I have nothing to say for the moment, because ismy first time a have a Specialized. Before that, I had a GT Timberline, a good bike too.
Bike Setup: The original setup, i change nothing, for the moment...
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Submitted by
Jacques
a Racer
from Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Date Reviewed: July 13, 2000
Strengths: This bike is extremely light, stiff and very responsive. It's an awesome climber and a fast descender.
Weaknesses: I had a problem with the headset, and I chose to replace it with a Raceface. I also replaced the stock pedals with Shimano 747's for better performance. The stock saddle isn't as comfortable as I would have liked it, but that's a matter of preference.
Bottom Line:
A great racing bike. Steep descents are a little twitchy, but that's to be expected from a bike designed for cross country racing. It climbs like a goat and descends well on long fast descents. This is a killer bike for anyone who loves aluminum frames, or wants to race!
Similar Products Used: Specialized Rockhopper Kona Kula Dekerf Generation Rocky Mountain Thin Air and Blizzard
Bike Setup: 19" frame, RS Sid SL, Raceface headset, 747 pedals, All XT except XTR BB and Rear mech., Selle San Marco Saddle, Ritchey post, Onza bar ends.
