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Submitted by
Owen
a Weekend Warrior
from Scotland
Date Reviewed: February 17, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Laggan wolf trax | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$2500.00 | | Purchased At: | manufacturor | | Strengths: | Strong well built frame that has lots of adjustment to fit any riders style. this bike is as happy going uphill as screaming downhill !! builds into a great all day freeriding bike. the romic shock is easy to set up and on the fly adjustment is simple to do. | | Weaknesses: | rear hub bearings rust up if you dont strip and clean after a wet weekend on the trails. frame stickers fade after 5 years of uplifts and polishing. | | Similar Products Used: | Norcos and a mongoose but i still prefer the Dirtworks. | | Bike Setup: | Romic shock, Raceface cranks n bars, hayes brakes ,titec stem n seat,tomac seatpost, XT shifters and derailler, manitou forks (7"travel) mavic rims, razorrock hubs, maxxis mobster tyres(2.7) | | Bottom Line: | Great bike, i would give up a night of sex to get out on it for a day ! what more can i say. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Frank Thriller
a Downhiller
from vail, colorado
Date Reviewed: February 1, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Any pointing down | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Purchased At: | Private | | Strengths: | Great geometry! Pedals up hill! Adjustable toptube length. 20mm rear axel for very stiff, strong rear end. 8in. discs. Built to last. | | Weaknesses: | High stand over. | | Similar Products Used: | None come close! | | Bike Setup: | Shiver, Romic 9in kit, Atoms Lab, Azonic, Hayes, SRAM ,Chris King, Truvative | | Bottom Line: | The baddest thing to hit the Dirt...EVER! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Wayne
a Downhiller
from N Wales,UK
Date Reviewed: March 9, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Scouse track, Llangwyfan | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Direct | | Strengths: | Beefy front end, nicely machined linkage,the new geometry plates make the bike a whole lot better than the old plates also its even better with the 20mm bolt through. | | Weaknesses: | The only downside to this frame is that the bolts do tend to rust easily but a thin layer of grease keeps them sweet, also the brake on the back is a special hayes which cost me £200 it could do with having a universal disc mount,otherwise no problems at all. | | Similar Products Used: | Bullit,Big hit,DH team and b17. | | Bike Setup: | 2002 Shivers,Dmr cranks,ring,chaindevice,pedals,seat also 24/7 bar and stem,d321's on razor rock hubs,hayes brakes,comp 16 tyres,shimano XT. | | Bottom Line: | Kick ass DH bike if you have got the dollars get one they sprint like a cheeta and just seem to pick up speed as they roll and pedal very nicely if you want bike which isnt mass produced and is up to anything get one you can adapt to these brilliantly e.g my first dh ride was my first race in a year and i won my category. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jeff Wu
a Racer
from Boulder, CO
Date Reviewed: January 31, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Dirtworks | | Strengths: | super plush
not as heavy as many other DH frames
great geometery, handles really well
barely any flex
adjustable travel, seat angle, and top tube length
| | Weaknesses: | none that I know of | | Similar Products Used: | '98 Giant ATX-1DH, KHS Dominatrax, Pacific KIRT | | Bike Setup: | Mozo XL-70, SRAM, Mr Dirt, Azonic, Maxxis tires, Hayes, Razor Rock hubs, Romic shock | | Bottom Line: | Best DH bike I've ever ridden! This bike rides really well in a variety of courses. My bike weighs around 42lbs, pretty respectable for a DH race bike. Even with the bigger frame and longer travel, the Piranha handles better than my old Giant DH bike in tight and technical terrain. The guys at Dirtworks are great people who really love to ride and race. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brandon Gleason
a Downhiller
from Chapel Hill, NC
Date Reviewed: December 31, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Plattekill's | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | -Stiffness
-Suspension quality
-Geometry
-20mm REAR thru axle
-Full sealed bearings
| | Weaknesses: | None exept for 8" hayes | | Similar Products Used: | Kona Stab
Specialized BigHit | | Bike Setup: | Stock exept for Fox RC | | Bottom Line: | This is the best bike I have ever ridden. The rear suspension is smooth and adjustable from 6" to 8" of travel. The Piranha will take big drops and absorb the little bumps. It is maneuverable enough to be finessed through tricky sections or you can just point and barrel down.It is nice to be able to apply the rear brake and not have the rear tire hop all over the place. If you are in search of a new DH or modified Freedride rig that can withstand abuse then I highly recommend the Piranha. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dave Watson
a Downhiller
from North Vancouver
Date Reviewed: August 30, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | North Van | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Sponsored | | Strengths: | Best bike i have ever ridden . pedals excellent , tough,
suspension is rising rate so it doesn't bottom . | | Weaknesses: | None except everyone wants one . | | Similar Products Used: | None match this . There is nothing similiar . | | Bike Setup: | Look at my pictures | | Bottom Line: | This bike rocks , Dirt Works 2002 .
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ryan
a Downhiller
from San Francisco
Date Reviewed: May 15, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Porcupine Rim | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$2200.00 | | Purchased At: | Kalomtb.com | | Strengths: | Superior construction
Super stiff rear-end
Pedaling/Acceleration
Adjustability
Customer service | | Weaknesses: | Hayes only | | Similar Products Used: | GT
Santa Cruz
Karpiel | | Bike Setup: | Boxxer,Profile cranks/Pedals,WTB Laser DH laced to Razor Rock hubs,Hayes 8", all the goods. | | Bottom Line: | This is the best bike I have ever ridden. The rear suspension is buttery smooth and adjustable from 6" to 8" of travel. The Piranha will take big drops and absorb the little bumps. It is maneuverable enough to be finessed through tricky sections or you can just point and barrel down. Also, the Romic shock feels just as good today as it did the day I got the bike. But I have only had the bike for three months. Besides the suspension, with no brake-jack the bike corners really well through rocky sections. It is nice to be able to apply the rear brake and not have the rear tire hop all over the place. Since I will probably only do about 7 races this year, Dirtworks specially welded on an adapter for a front derailleur so I can ride with my cross-country bros. It works suprisingly well. There is no hill in the bay area that I have not been able to climb. The original spring was to light so I UPSed it overnight back to Romic and they sent me another spring within 2 days. Also, right after I got the bike I drove down to San Diego and stopped off at DirtWorks. The two owners, Rob and Dave, spent about an hour rerouting the housing, bleeding the brakes, and dialing in the rear suspension. In an industry that lacks customer service (SANTA CRUZ) its nice to finally deal with people that care about their custormers and believe in their product. If you are in search of a new DH or modified Freedride rig that can withstand abuse then I highly recommend the Piranha. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ed Wick
a Downhiller
from Durango,CO,USA
Date Reviewed: March 28, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | The worlds race courses . | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$2500.00 | | Purchased At: | Mail order | | Strengths: | Bombproof , handling is super . good adjustability to get dialed , Construction is amongst if not the finest out there, reliable . Terrific bikes to ride , | | Weaknesses: | Slight problem with shock once( due I think to me not having a stiff enougth spring . Whoops my fault ) . But now using Romic shock ( with right spring for my weight ) with no probs . | | Similar Products Used: | Turner ( nice but don't build there own bikes so crap race program ) Intense , Yeti , | | Bike Setup: | THE forks .and rims , | | Bottom Line: | No way this frame will fail . Seriously sick product
Great race and freeride bike . Check out fox site with Sweetland hucking cliffs it inspires his confidence . I seriously recommend this bike to any SERIOUS biker . The guys at this company have always been really helpful to me and they have a terrific team for 2001 . Good luck Dirt Works you deserve it . Weekend warriors be careful the Piranha can bite you. Yum YUM. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
alex bikeless
a Downhiller
from victoria/whistler
Date Reviewed: October 6, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | the steeper the better | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$2800.00 | | Purchased At: | Evolution | | Strengths: | pretty good ride if you can ever get/keep it running
Razor Rock Hub rocks | | Weaknesses: | everything?
RCR shocks offer insufficient damping and spring rates. can't hold a charge for more than a day. terrible.
non existent customer service. | | Similar Products Used: | i'm a shop employee. i've tried everything. begs the question: why the hell did I choose this bike? | | Bike Setup: | Hanebrink LT8, 8" hayes systems, Kooka/king/azonic/gaz/321s | | Bottom Line: | Here’s my Review:
I ordered my Dirtworks Piranha last november. It arrived in December in a battered cardboard
box which contained no protective packing material whatsoever. the head tube was crushed and
had to get sent back. bike costs $4000. wait a month. send it back a day later. no apologies
given.
canadian distributor lends me his frame to use, which was definitely above and beyond the call
of duty, but he was my friend, so don’t expect this service yourselves. later i took flak for
putting scratches in a DH frame he lent me to “ride”.
so my frame eventually comes back. everything goes together ok. a week later i tear through the
rod which supports the seat tower and the RCR shock loses its charge. apparently the first time
this has ever happened. bike’s out of action for another two weeks until I get another of each.
another week later and i blow up another rod through a sloppy landing. another two weeks
without a bike.
another week later the brand new replacement shock blows up. more down time. Ultimately I
destroy 4 RCRs, two T1s and two T2s. I bought a Fox RC intended for a Santa Cruz Bullit and
an extra heavy 850lb spring (which isn’t available for RCRs) to get a shock which actually works
for more than a day.
The reason i bought the piranha and not a termite was because I was told that the piranha was
warrantied against all types of extreme and aggressive riding, including big air, while the termite
was designed primarily as a freeride/XC bike. so I bought the piranha and then received much
insult for “being sloppy enough to break it”. apparently this $4000 downhill bike isn’t strong
enough to survive a few sloppy landings? Seems weird when an 8” travel bike designed to take
risks and go big can’t handle the inevitable screw ups that come with pushing the limits.
now it seems that the rear end and seat tower are out of alignment. i have to twist the shock to
slide it between the loosened linkage plates. at rest the lower shock reducers are about 1 cm off
towards the drive side. i send it back to dirtworks, who do absolutely nothing about it. after
about a dozen phone calls the frame is returned, unfixed, uncleaned and looking exactly as it did
1 MONTH ago when i sent it off. by the time it gets back to me it’s mid july and the better part
of my downhilling season has been spent on my hardtail “backup” bike. apparently 1cm of twist
at the rear end is normal.
what i have learned from this is that more money does not equal more quality. it just reflects
lower production runs and higher overheads. customer service doesn’t come from companies
run by racers. it comes from big companies who care and employees who are cyclists that
appreciate your need to ride. Dirtworks did not seem to understand that $4000 is alot of money
to spend on a frame in Canada or the US. They just didn’t care that i couldn’t ride my bike.
In my opinion the difference in cost between a Norco VPS1 (which is a super-affordable
production DH bike) and a Dirtworks/M1/whatever should be attention to detail, quality of ride
and customer service. Dirtworks so nicely showed me that this is just not the case. Dirtworks
showed me that a $4000 frame is no better than a less expensive one, rides only slightly better
and is absolutely impossible to get help for when it breaks down. i don’t expect bikes to not
need service, but i expect some attention when I need major help, if I’m a shop employee or not.
The fact that the company is run by guys more concerned with their own racing and are never in
the office guarantees that any down time will be maximized.
I sold my Piranha for a huge loss just to get rid of it. hopefully it’ll work better for its new
owner (assuming he never rides it). In all fairness the Piranha rode great if you could ever
manage to keep it running for more than a week.
So I bought a Turner RFX. a bike made by a bike fiend for a bike fiend. he cares. i know this
because i know many turner owners who have had great support from Dave over the life of their
bikes, most of which worked beautifully on day 1 and continue to do so. This is what I expect
from a handbuilt frame. Maybe this time i’ll be able to actually ride my bike during that
honeymoonish first month, instead of waiting for it.
too bad the minimum rating is 1 flaming turd otherwise i'd give this bike a 0.
| Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sam B
a Downhiller
from Seattle WA
Date Reviewed: March 27, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | -Stiffness
-Suspension quality
-Geometry
-20mm REAR thru axle
-Full sealed bearings
-8" Hayes only | | Weaknesses: | -RCR rear shock
-Self loosening pivot bolts
-Adjustability
-8" Hayes only | | Similar Products Used: | Turner Afterburner (2 years)
and my friends:
Intense
Yeti
Cheeta (proline, prowler, and DH)
Foes
Karpiel | | Bike Setup: | Stratos Superstar
Hayes 8" front and rear
Profile cranks
MRP world cup
Mavic 321 Disc rims | | Bottom Line: | I really love this bike. My Turner Afterburner was a great ride that served me well all the way into the expert category. But towards the end of it's (the Turner's) life I started to need higher level of bike. I am not going to lie to you and say that the Dirtworks blows away all the other bikes I have tried. But in all honesty it is equal to and possibly, depending on what your needs are, better than the Intense, Karpiel, Foes trinity. I looked at all three of those other bikes and settled on the Dirtworks. Why? Because I like supporting the smaller companies and riding something that is a little less common. This is a very good option that deserves looking into. And for about $2400 for the frame, shock, and rear 20mm hub it is firmly seated as less expensive than the Intense and a little more than the Foes.
The ride is pretty similar to the Intense but with a tubular front triangle and of course the 20mm rear axle adding to it's stiffness. Also the bike feels so comfortable and sturdy that your confidence will increase a lot.
I have had several chances to ride the bike on varried terrain and have decided the following. In very steep, situations with drop offs and chutes the bike feels stable and confident, in medium speed rough terrain the suspension works very well but you have to pay attention or the bike will drift off line, in very fast situations you can let er rip and it won't bounce you around too badly or kick back when you land a little off center from that high speed jump. The geometry and suspension design are a good balance of high/low speed handling and performance. I was dissapointed that the adjustments in spring curve (rising rate, straight rate, etc) are no longer present - despite it's good handling I would like the to be a little more progressive for the really big hit courses. I was glad to see that there are still two travel positioins (6" and 8") and the adjustable top tube length.
As far as the weakness go... The RCR shock seems to work fine but the spring makes a loud creeking noise. When I first got the bike assembled the pivot bolts at the linkages loosend on their own and very rapidly. I put on some heavy thread locking compound and they have stayed tight ever since. Unlike some other bikes I have had/worked on assembly went very smoothly with no questionable fits or part mismatches. The absolute only thing that didn't go on %100 easily was the MRP guide. I needed a very thin spacer (a freewheel spacer that makes room for the spider type XT cassetes worked great) on the BB cup to space the MRP boomerang away from the BB area pivot bolt.
Overall a wonderfull bike that inspires confidence and tames the hardest courses. Feel free to E-mail for pictures of my bike or answers to your questions. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Josh
a Downhiller
from newport beach
Date Reviewed: December 2, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
stiff as fuc*, super adjustible, decent weight, super active, 3 tire capable, 20mm thru axle rear wheel | | Weaknesses: |
i bent the shock mounting bolts | | Similar Products Used: |
m1 sl, kona stab.... etc | | Bike Setup: |
fox RC, hanebrink z-7, hayes disc, mammoths | | Bottom Line: | this bike rides great, sucks everything up and doesnt complain. i did bend the shock mount bolts, but thats a easly replaced item, later in 2000 they will release a kit for 3 inch rear shocks, overall i think this bike would be good for sport class to pro class.... i even ride mine with my cross country buddies..... | | Overall Rating: |
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