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Submitted by
Nate
a Cross Country Rider
from Lancaster, PA
Date Reviewed: February 8, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Gretna, Camp Mack | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$650.00 | | Strengths: | Reynolds 853 steel.
Great welds and killer paint-job.
Lots of mud clearance.
Homegrown in Hershey, PA. | | Weaknesses: | None so far. | | Bike Setup: | XTR drivetrain, Raceface stem, Thomson post, Mavic 519 rims, Avid Ultimate brakes | | Bottom Line: | This bike can't be beat. At $650, you can't go wrong. I got mine direct from Chris at Smorgasbord - great service and attention to detail.
Very light setup with super-smooth, very forgiving ride. I've always ridden Cannondale, but after getting my Smorgasbord hardtail I can truly understand why they say that "Steel is Real". | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve
a Cross Country Rider
from the East
Date Reviewed: April 27, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | hmmm..... | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | the oh so sweet ride of 853
locally built by hand in Hershey PA
great geometry and fit for me | | Weaknesses: | just me (the loose nut in the saddle) | | Similar Products Used: | Trek aluminum hardtail, Fisher Joshua | | Bike Setup: | no-nonsense stuff that works well | | Bottom Line: | If you're like me, you like to keep things simple. There's nothing that's simpler, or more fun, than riding singletrack on a hardtail.
The 853 steel rides so, so nice. It's much more forgiving than my aluminum hardtail was. The frame has a nice design - moderately long top tube, short chain stays, and a sloping top tube. This works for me. The bike climbs very well, much better than I can. And it loves East Coast singletrack, which means rocks and roots, and climbing short steep hills over rocks and roots. It also descends rocky, rooty hills very well.
If you're looking for a good steel bike, you should look at this one for sure. I got mine for $650 on '99 closeout factory direct, not bad at all for a handbuilt bike from a small builder. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Colin
a cross-country rider
from Maryland
Date Reviewed: December 8, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
This is for their hardtail frame. It has a 853 mainframe and a blend for the rear triangle and BB. It has a wishbone seatstay, gusseted downtube and breezin dropouts. Well built and the welds are sweet. They cost 800$. That is cheaper than an IF and has better features. It weighs in at 3.8 pds. Have had mine for 6-8 months. A very forgiving ride. It is fairly flexy but I think that is a good thing. Had a cad3 before this and lost half my teeth whenever I rode. It took some riding to get used to it but now that I have learned it rides better than a fat chick at a frat party. They dont have a web site but you can see the bike at the speedgoat web site. Later. | | Overall Rating: |
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