Submitted by
Cornelius
a Cross Country Rider
from Albuquerque, NM
Date Reviewed: January 28, 2006
Strengths: Stout. This bike will NOT break or fatigue. Example -- I drove into the garage with it on top of the roof rack. The roof rack was actually pulled of my car, but nothing happened to the bike - I'm still riding the dang thing 2 years later. The frame is super stiff with absolutely zero flex at the bottom bracket. It climbs like a goat. Once the front wheel is over the rear wheel follows without any coaxing. The best part about this frame is that there is not chain slap on rocky downhills and as a bonus chain suck is impossible. Oh yeah, it looks good too.
Weaknesses: I found it difficult to go downhill, especially the steep stuff. Could be that I got the medium size frame and I had to use a longer stem than what I thought would be optimum. I'm 5'11" and on their website they recommend the medium size frame for my height. I think the cockpit is a bit tight. Also the paint started to buble around the headtube and at 4.5 lbs. it is slightly heavier than what you can find on the market at this price now a days, but since I weight almost 180 lbs. myself an extra pound on the frame doesn't make much difference.
Bottom Line:
If you break bike frames. If you like going uphill. If you want to get rid of that annoying chainslap and chain suck. If you don't mind carrying 1 extra pound on the frame. If you like a unique bike. This frame is for you. Remember, the cockpit is a bit short, so if you're an inch or two from getting the next size bike, just get the next size bike.
Strengths: Very quick bike. Not sure how to explain it but it handles single track with ease. Climbs like a mountain goat. It just feels FAST.
Weaknesses: Hmmmm..... my heal of my shoe does rub the chainstay bar but I never notice it until I wash the bike and see the rub marks. They do rub out. Decals do peal and damage easy.
Bottom Line:
Very close to a sub 22 lb. bike. Sent the frame back to Mzarek this Spring to get repainted, new decals and fix a broken cable guide. Very easy to deal with and the frame came back in absolute perfect condition. It's now a one of a kind with the paint color I got. Not sure if it's good or bad but all the ladies do like the bike. Only thing I wanted done was clearcoat but they weren't quite ready for that so maybe this Winter it will go back and be redone. Overall a very fast bike that won't disappoint.
Similar Products Used: GT LS FS, Performance hardtail
Bike Setup: XTR brakes/Shifters, derailluers, Mavic Cross Max Ceramic Wheels and hubs, Scott Thermoplastic cow bars, FSA stem, ti bottom bracket and carbon crank, Chris king headset, SID Team forks, carbon seatpost, Crankbrothers Candy Ti pedals and Jagwire Kevlar housing.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Stev
a Cross Country Rider
from Monterey, Ca
Date Reviewed: May 15, 2005
Strengths: Weight, compliance, climbing
Weaknesses: I had trouble with the headtube angle, but that changed with a longer fork
Bottom Line:
I really enjoyed this bike. I originally had it setup with a Judy SL, but the fork was too short and made the ride a little unstable. I changed it to a Manitou SX Ti, and it was right on. The Mrazek guys are awesome too. Jeff and Boh are great people, and I wish I would have kept in touch with them. Get one of their bikes and you will be very happy.
Similar Products Used: Cannondale hardtail, Specialized FSR
Bike Setup: Too many goodies to list.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
TIM STEVENS
a Cross Country Rider
from PENSACOLA, FL , U.S.
Date Reviewed: August 21, 2003
Strengths: STIFF, AGILE, MANUVERABLE ON SINGLE TRACK, GREAT HILL CLIMBER, BEAUTIFUL TO LOOK AT. A ONE OF A KIND, CHICS DIG IT, SMOOTH AND FAST.
Weaknesses: ABSOLUTLY NOTHING!!!!
Bottom Line:
I HAVE TRIED THEM ALL AND HAVE NEVER IN MY LIFE EVER ROAD ANY FRAME AS FAST AND AGILE AS THE BOH FX. I PURCHASED THE COMPLETE BIKE USED FOR ONLY $500.00 AND IT BLOWS AWAY ALL OTHER HARDTAILS WHICH WOUKD HAVE COST ME THOUSANDS MORE. HERES SOME ADVICE SELL YOUR HARDTAIL AND BUY A MRAZEK. WWW.MRAZEK.COM.
Strengths: Silver FX. Gorgeous! Light, accelerates, climbs, very flickable in the tight stuff, very compliant frame. Gorgeous!
Weaknesses: None.
Bottom Line:
Did I mention this bike is gorgeous? I have had it less than a week but am totally impressed. This is one sweet riding bike. Very compliant. Mine is an 18 inch frame and I am 5'11" at 170 lbs. The bike is pure joy to toss around in the tight stuff, climbs like a cat. This is the one have for the technical trails. The silver paint sparkles in the sunlight and the bike comes alive. Everyone remarks on how sexy it looks. Everything else looks dull in comparison. Goes like it looks too.
Bike Setup: XTR drivetrain, Daves Dream wheelset, Race Face BB, carbon crank, seatpost, stem, Chris King hs, hubs, Avid Arch Rival brakes and Speed Dial levers and shifters. Marzocchi Z2 Atom Race.
i know this sounds stupid, so laugh if you want: after some miles, THE REAR END ACTUALLY SEEMS MORE COMPLIANT THAN WHEN IT WAS NEW, COMFORT FACTOR IS SURPASSING MY STEEL RIDE.
will the alu tubes be weakened? i ride strictly XC, no stupid jumping stuff. and i'm fairly light. i checked every square millimeter and didn't find anything. and just by looking at those fat straight gauge tubes i know there's no way to convince myself that this thing is going to break. all the amazing features of this frame still remain.
Submitted by
Jake
a Cross Country Rider
from Portland, OR
Date Reviewed: June 12, 2002
Strengths: Fast Handling, Durable, Stiff, Looks Great. If you like fast, tight sigletrack with lot's of climbing and DH, you can't go wrong.
Weaknesses: Are you kidding?
Bottom Line:
I can jump it, drop it, carve it, climb it, rock it, smooth hardpack rippin, steep DH, technical - everything kicks ass with this bike. I've been on it for two years and now I'm waiting for my FS Mrazek. Every other bike i've ridden does not compare. I know several others who have bought a Mrazek and they will all swear by it. Drool.
Strengths: laterally stiff, compliant for alu frame, full cable housing, good looks.
Weaknesses: 1. paint chips easily 2. my size is a small, and the limit screws on FD is hidden below the elevated chainstay, making adjustments a pain 3. still not as compliant as my steel ride 4. sometimes my shoe will rub against the elevated chainstay. 5. needs LONG seatpost
Bottom Line:
One fast ride. the bike came down to about 24.7 pounds. no it ain't very light. but i want it to be durable (within the limit of a college kid's pocket). so far i haven't put a lot of miles on the bike due to weather problems, but just enough to tell some difference.
the first thing i noticed was some extra vibrations from the rear. there's a particular frequency that the tubes like to transmit. now other than my legs and my eyes, my butt also can tell whether the RD is shifting. second thing, this frame is freackin' stiff laterally. hammering has never been so much fun (i've been a spinner). power transfer is very efficient. third thing, it's compliant for an alu hardtail, but still not comparable to my old x-caliber. i had to hammer a bit more because of this. 4th, full cable housing is a blast. fully protected from elements. 5th, turns pretty quickly, just a little bit twitchy at very high speed (i.e. on the road). no big deal for me. 6th, make sure you have tapes on the chainstay and seatstay and anywhere you may touch the paint regularly. my black frame chips pretty easily. 7th, rear derailleur hanger is sturdy.
finally, it took me a while to dial the geometry (still in the process). it takes a long seatpost, and my 350mm post barely made the desired saddle height at its min insertion mark. make sure you get the right size post.
and yeah, i would really appreciate a headtube badge.
overall, it's been a very good ride. stiff and nimble just as i wanted. i'll post a follow-up when i have enough miles on this baby.
Submitted by
Billy
a Cross Country Rider
from Boise, Idaho
Date Reviewed: April 8, 2002
Strengths: See Below
Weaknesses: See Below
Bottom Line:
This is a follow-up post to my last one that appears below. I finally have the bike put together and have a few rides in on it now. Came in at 25 pounds, which will go down once I've put on Eggbeaters and a lighter Koobi saddle. First of all, it's a hoot seeing all the looks you get when you're riding an elevated chainstay bike with a name like Mrazek. Secondly, this bike is so much about fun! I blew all my friends off on my first ride and just kept going when they all headed back to Lucky 13 for beer. The balance, suppleness, responsiveness, of the frame are great. It's super-quick and responsive, laterally as stiff as a D9 Cat, and climbs like crazy; I was cleaning steeps like nobody's business. The bike almost 'knows' what I want to do next and requires little rider input to execute line changes etc. What a ride!!!!
Submitted by
Billy
a Cross Country Rider
from Boise
Date Reviewed: December 29, 2001
Strengths: Customer Service, craftmanship, handling, unique appearance, finish, the ride...
Weaknesses: None, IMHO.
Bottom Line:
The bottom line is you cannot own a more unique hardtail that feels so dadgum 'right' and looks so good, period! I was fortunate enough to twice demo a buddy's Boh FX and that was all it took for me to decide to use this frame as the base for my dream hardtail (which will see some racing service, but mostly epic XC rides). I demo'd some sweet bikes: Kestrel, Fuel 90, Sugar 1, RM Element Race, STP. All had at least one feature that called attention to itself while riding. However, when I rode the Mrazek it became 'transparent' beneath me, it was just there when I needed it, but never got in my way. It's an excellent single-tracker, very nimble and responsive, almost intuitive, yet stable at speed, despite what some of the rags' reviews have said about its fire road surefootedness. It climbs like a banshee, thanks to the elevated chainstays and super-stiff frame; the downtube and top-tube employ some trick ovalization to firm up an already-tight frame. The slack seat-tube angle creates a comfy cockpit for riders with longer torsos. Being 6'1", 160lbs I was concerned that an aluminum hardtail would be too rough a ride for me, but my fears were unfounded for the bike is smoother over the stutter-bumps than my old chromoly hard tail is. There's definately compliance at work with the elevated chainstays. Some might say that its heavy at 4.3lbs, I was somewhat concerned of that as well. I have estimated that I'll be able to build the bike between 23-25lbs without spending tons of cash to do so, weight will not be an issue. Last of all, Jeff Burnard at Mrazek is an absolute pleasure to buy a bike from! Between numerous e-mails and an hour-long phone call he patiently answered all of my questions, some silly, and laid to rest all of my pre-buy concerns, all while he was in the middle of preparing to move to Japan! (Don't worry, he's still with the company and can be contacted via e-mail). He personally saw to it that my frame made it to me before the Christmas rush, and has not forgotten me just because he made the sale. He genuinely wants me to stay in touch to let him know how the ride turns out; he's a great guy and I hope I get the pleasure of riding with him some day. It's a good feeling to know that the bike company you bought your frame from knows you by name and will take care of you regardless. Buy this frame if you want a fun (that's what it's all about anyhow right), unique, durable, competent hardtail.
Similar Products Used: The only elevated chainstay straight-gauge aluminum Czech hard-tail on the market that I'm aware of...
Bike Setup: It's a frame right now, when finished a sweet blend of King, Thomson, Marzocchi, Avid, SRAM, Koobi, etc.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Todd Cates
a Weekend Warrior
from Baytown, Tx
Date Reviewed: December 17, 2001
Strengths: Great shape. Endless "jealous" factor. Stiff and climbs great.
Weaknesses: 28.6mm seat post, but who cares.
Bottom Line:
Haven't had the bike together long enough for a fair assessment but I'm riding between rain storms. Not any complaints yet. The frame is a '95 Unity HT and it is identical to the brand new ones except for the seat tube size on the inside, it's 28.6. I'll post an update when I get a few hundred miles on it.
Similar Products Used: Schwinn (Home Grown, Moab and Mesa), several other aluminium hard tails.
Bike Setup: SX-R, Thompson seat post and stem, 517's (citron) and the rest is XT 739.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Jamie Owens
a Weekend Warrior
from Portage Ind. USA
Date Reviewed: June 21, 2001
Strengths: stout frame-long top tube Cool looking tubing
Weaknesses: No disc Brake tabs on rear
Bottom Line:
The best present my wife bought for me (yet).Rides Great I love the way it Climbs only limited by the size of the leg power?But i want Disc brakes next???
Similar Products Used: Ysl 300 Gaint 980 all for sale email me?
Bike Setup: Bontrager Stem/seat post Race face cranksand handel bar Spin Wheels gold rims blue/purple frame Looks BAD????
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Robert Merrill
a Cross Country Rider
from Lakewood, CO
Date Reviewed: March 2, 2001
Strengths: weight, style, engineering
Weaknesses: color???
Bottom Line:
In a word, this frame is sculpted. Maybe I'm crazy but I think this is the sexiest frame available, bar none! Am hoping to get a second frame and have a custom paintjob done to it. Its light, climbs like a goat, handles technical sections like...like.. well like Hans Rey. After I bought it had two friends (one is the prez of Primal Wear) wanting to buy one also. Its a great frame.
Bike Setup: BOH frameset, Easton carbon bar & seatpost, shimano 9spd xt componants, marzocchi bomber, canecreek wheels & headset, fizik seat, easton stem.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Joe
a Cross Country Rider
from New York
Date Reviewed: January 15, 2001
Strengths: Looks, finish.
Weaknesses: Weight.
Bottom Line:
Well, if you pushed on the saddle as hard as you could you wouldn't be able to budge this frame a bit. I find it hard to believe that it has an inch or inch and a half of vertical compliance. Also, those extra long chainstays are welded to the seattube, so it isn't apparent why they have to originate at the downtube. They certainly can't flex from the downtube, so why make them so long? Finally, the chainstays are taller than they are wide, which would make them more prone to flexing horizontally than vertically-exactly the opposite of the Ibis Silkti's chainstays. Having said that, it did ride smoother than a typical aluminum hardtail-I was able to stay seated a bit longer on climbs, and I could also rest a bit on the saddle on long descents. I suspect that this has as much to do with a long carbon seatpost at a very slack angle as the frame itself. If you don't mind a 4 1/2 pound straight gauge aluminum hardtail then this frame's for you. It will ride a bit better than other aluminum frames, but not as well as scandium or ti. Just don't try to build it under 22 pounds.
Submitted by
Sean
a Cross Country Rider
from Singapore
Date Reviewed: January 11, 2001
Strengths: Climbs like a monkey!!! Looks super cool... Strong frame... only one who has it in my neighbourhood...yippee
Weaknesses: NOthing
Bottom Line:
Super good get it and understand what i mean by that... look they havn't changed their design in 10 years, so it must be good or else they would have died in this competitive market..
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