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Submitted by
chris
a Cross Country Rider
from ellicott city MD
Date Reviewed: August 1, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | old rangers trail | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$169.00 | | Purchased At: | performance bikes | | Strengths: | cheap light good welds awsome paint job great geo for climbing race ready | | Weaknesses: | none found yet | | Similar Products Used: | gary fishers treks fujis titus | | Bike Setup: | xcl frame, ea50 bars, bontrager stem, thompsone elite seatpost, WTB speed v gel saddle, lx dual controls, xt front and rear der, sram pc991 chain, xt cassette 11-34, carbon bottle cage and headset spacers, cane creek s-3 headset, answer R7 elite fork 100mm, forte terramax disc wheelset, avid bb7 disc (160mm) brakes, lx hollowteck II crank, | | Bottom Line: | great value ride performance comparable to frames on bikes costing 3 grand | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Cameron Gallaway
a Cross Country Rider
from Lafayette, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: March 23, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Bottom Line: | Terrible Customer Service!!!! I ordered a 2002 K2 bike online two weeks ago. I called twice and both times cutomer service said they would get back to me --never did. I got through on the third time and they advised they did not have the bike. I asked for another one comparable and they did not give me the time of day. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
George
a
from Dublin, CA
Date Reviewed: December 24, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | any trail | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$199.00 | | Purchased At: | Supergo | | Strengths: | This is the 2003 18" Weyless Ultra. The frame has held up well, great welds, looks great, only comes in black, uses Easton Ultra lite main tubes, can easily use 8" disc brakes, great ride, long top tube, replaceable derailleur hanger, very light 3.5 lbs, frame, easy to build up, great Supergo customer service (now owned by Performance mail order). | | Weaknesses: | Absolutely none on the 2003 Weyless Ultra model. | | Similar Products Used: | most aluminum and steel hardtails and suspensio bikes. | | Bike Setup: | 2003 Weyless Ultra 18" with Rock Shox Judy SL, Avid 8" mechanical disc brakes, mostly Shimano components. | | Bottom Line: | This is a follow-up to my 7/03 review on the 2003 model. No problems with this frame and still impressed with the quality of the frame and the price. I don't care if the frame says Weyless as long as I enjoy the ride. I don't know if Supergo will produce a 2004 Weyless Ultra model but for $199 it's a steal. Supergo appears to be sold out of the 2003 models (except for the 22" frame). | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Damon Ladson
a Weekend Warrior
from Rockville, Maryland USA
Date Reviewed: September 11, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | for this post it does not matter | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$199.00 | | Purchased At: | Supergo | | Strengths: | None - apparently the frames are prone to snapping in half - luckily the two I bulilt did not. But the recall experience with Supergo is a nightmare. | | Weaknesses: | The original SUPERGO Weyless Ultra frames have been recalled because they apparently have been breaking in two under less than stressful circumstances. | | Similar Products Used: | Closest of my bikes would be a VooDoo aluminum bike that I converted to a single speed. | | Bike Setup: | I built two bikes based on the recalled frames. One for a friend. Both had top-notch components. Mine has Easton carbon EC90 bar, Chris King Ti headset, X-Lite Metal Matrix post and skewer, Selle SLR saddle, Sram XO shifters and rear derailleur, Shimano XT front der., Paul Component levers, XTR bakes, custom Bontranger Valiant rims, DT spokes, Chris King Classic hubs built by a good small outfit that cares about customer service: www.webcyclery.com (Mean Todd built them), Rock Shox SID SL, Salsa TI skewers, Panaracer Fire XC tires, etc. | | Bottom Line: | I have ordered two bikes, two frames and many components from Supergo. They started off by offering to take the completed bikes back and rebuild them. Then they suggested that I strip them down a bit. Due to work contraints I finally (after numerous calls from Supergo who seemed to be extremely anxious to get their defective and dangerous frames back) was able to completely strip the bikes down except for the bottom brackets and headsets (I had paid locally to have the frames machined). I sent them back to Supergo with a simple request that they machine the new frames and install the BBs and headsets from the existing, defective, dangerous frames. After weeks and weeks I have only received a bare, unmachined replacement frame ( I am half afraid to ride it, given Supergo's previous frame performance ) with the Chris King headset from my bike and the Shimano otalink BB from the other bike in a bag. My frame was mis-delivered and I have yet to get a response from Supergo (I called UPS - SUpergo must call them to get a "Call Tag") on its whereabouts. So I do hope to someday get the frame and my high quality parts back. But who knows? The worse part is that Supergo recently sent me a simple e-mail response to "get an estimate on the facing work from a local shop." I replied that their solution is unacceptable - particulary given how far they had backed away from their original "send the complete bike back" offer. Their response was that they considered the matter "solved." How is that for customer service (thought they continue to expand into a thoughtless chain, which translates into less real customer attention. Most of the shops in may area have disappeared. Luckily we have no Supergo, but we do have a big chain.
Anyway, I would appreciate hearing about experiences with Supergo from anyone who owned or owns a recalled Weyless Ultra frame. Further, I would suggest that anyone who has the recalled frame in their possession hold on to it. Before sending it in, I would get a firm written committment from Supergo on exactly what they will do to make you whole again.
In the meantime, though ultimately Supergo may burn me, not every need be burned. The good part about competition (especially for those buying online) is that we have more choices than we can sift through. Supergo has lots of stuff, middling pricing and - in my experience - very poor customer service. For convenience here are some outfits that I have had good or very good experiences with and who often have better pricing than Supergo.
www.webcyclery.com - small outfit in Bend,OR, but the brothers who run it will talk to or e-mail you directly and are great; small but sometimes they wil match a volume guys price
www.jensonusa.com - never had a problem with them; for parts I have sought out where Supergo had the same item, Jenson had the better price
www.pricepoint.com - I recall when they were sort of new and had good prices on what they carried, but many items they did not carry; that seems to have changed and I have snagged some great deals on parts
www.cambriabike.com - if there is a special part I want but decide not to get because of price, I wait for it to be discontinued and put on sale by Cambria - almost free!
There are many other online places and my "local" (he's abut 30 miles away) guy is a small shop (Matt at All American Bikes in Damascus, MD), but he will do right by anyone in the area.
I will do another posting as my Supergo situation evolves. Moreover, for anyone having any trouble with these types of matters (Supergo or anyone else) I will also post urls for the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Online BBB, FTC, etc. where one can complain about bad consumer treatment. I do not like to write such reviews or spend time on this type of matter. However, when I am spending half of my free time trying to get back what was originally mine and lost due to someone's sale of a defective and dangerous product, perhaps if it helps me and others it is not a waste of that time. I'm going to run off to type in, "Supergo sucks" and other such phrases to determine whether I am alone in this. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
George
a Cross Country Rider
from Dublin,CA
Date Reviewed: July 24, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Any Trail | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$199.00 | | Purchased At: | Supergo | | Strengths: | 2003 Weyless 18" Ultra,great price, well thought out design, nothing weird, great welds, very light, disc ready, black, S-bend stays, long top tube, no complaints, great Supergo service. | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | Most aluminum and steel hardtails, lots of suspension bikes. | | Bike Setup: | 18" black Ultra, mostly Shimano and Avid mechanical disc brakes, Rock Shox Judy 80mm SL. | | Bottom Line: | This is the 2003 Weyless Ultra and I love this bike, it's very light at 3.4 lbs, handles like a good MTB should, it's black (my favorite MTB color) and that's the only color it comes in, Supergo did their homework on this one, I like it a little better than my Supergo Access XCL just because it is more race oriented, easy to build with no complications, I like the slightly longer than normal top tube, Supergo covered all the bases on this one. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
rocketman
a Cross Country Rider
from Illinois, USA
Date Reviewed: May 11, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$99.00 | | Purchased At: | eBay Auction | | Strengths: | (I'm reviewing the redesigned 2003 model) Light weight (3.4 lbs), plenty stiff, long top tube, balanced handling, excellent build quality. Disc tabs were aligned perfectly. Looks great, too. | | Weaknesses: | The extruded seatstay brace is ugly, IMO; but it appears well engineered. | | Similar Products Used: | Klein Attitude Race, Specialized M2 Stumpy, Voodoo Bizango, Merlin, Kona Hei Hei, Giant CFM1, many more... | | Bike Setup: | RaceFace cranks, Manitou Mars Super, XTR/XT/LX geartrain, RockShox susp. post, WTB SST-K Ti saddle, WTB SpeedMaster wheelset, Hutch Python Gold tires. | | Bottom Line: | Great frame...especially if you can score a 2003 warranty replacement like I did: brand new, still in the original wrapping for $99 on eBay! SuperGo says they collaborated with Easton engineers to make the 2003 Weyless Ultra stronger and stiffer. I've never ridden the 2002 model; but there is almost no BB deflection on this frame. My 2001 Klein Attitude is flexier than the Weyless at the BB (same RaceFace cranks, same CrMo BB). Sure, the Klein is half a pound lighter; but it's also nearly 3x the price (retail, that is). For $299, you can't go wrong; though truthfully, I'd probably buy the Weyless Elite for $179 and spend the other $130 on wheels. But that's just me. One extra note: I won't be doing any bomb drops off of loading docks on this frame - not after seeing photos of the 2002 model snapped in half. Yikes! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Paul Elkins
a Racer
from Aliso Viejo
Date Reviewed: February 17, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | San Juan | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$269.00 | | Purchased At: | SuperGo | | Strengths: | 2003 review. I purchased the 2002 and had it recalled. This review is on the 2003. Still light although 3.3lbs now instead of the 3.1. Due to the larger, stronger tubes and the paint. Better graphics. No ugly feather. No nead for the disc brake support anymore. Feels a little less flexy. | | Weaknesses: | None. | | Similar Products Used: | GT Zaskar | | Bike Setup: | Rolf wheelset, Manitou Six deluxe, XTR FRNT/RR DR, AVID SD7 brakes, Truvativ Stylo ISIS cranks, American Classic ISIS BB, Pork Rinds grips, Selle Italia Flite, Hutchison Python Airlights, STAN's notubes. 21.5lbs. | | Bottom Line: | Still a pretty light frame, and now I have more confidence it isn't going to break in half. SuperGo handled the recall very well. I bought the frame only and I figured I would need to tear it down and exchange it. I called Supergo when I recieved the recall letter and they said they would perform all the labor. They got the frames in on Saturday and I was racing my new frame on Sunday. The build up was perfect. Nothing needed tightening.
I miss the anodized finish but I can't complain about the new frame. It is still a great deal at $299 for the 2003 model. If you are looking for a good racing steed and you are on a budget I highly recommend this frame. Just make sure you get the 2003 ;). | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve R
a Weekend Warrior
from Irvine, CA
Date Reviewed: February 3, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Aliso Woods | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$229.00 | | Purchased At: | super-g | | Strengths: | This is an update on my previous review. Supergo has now officially recalled this frame - they've had 4 of these things snap in the middle of the top & down tube. | | Weaknesses: | fyi - told you it would break before, now I'm backed up w/ an official recall.
Here's the 'recall hotline' from the letter they sent to me:
800-954-4245
| | Bottom Line: | broken -> recalled. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark Stewart
a Cross Country Rider
from LosAngeles
Date Reviewed: December 15, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Mission Viejo | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$299.00 | | Purchased At: | Supergo | | Strengths: | Good looks, strength, lateral stiffness, light weight and price. Flawless welds and craftmanship. | | Weaknesses: | The feather sticker?? | | Similar Products Used: | Schwinn Homegrown | | Bike Setup: | Bomber, XT and XTR combo, Raceface Cranks | | Bottom Line: | This bike works just then same if not better than my Schwinn Homegrown. It has the S-bend seat stays for smoother rides and rides really light. It seems to float over bumps and rocks but is also stiff enough to do some serious climbing. This is a good frame for serious racing, or just riding on your favorite trail. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve R
a Weekend Warrior
from Irvine, CA
Date Reviewed: August 2, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Aliso Woods | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$229.00 | | Purchased At: | Supergo | | Strengths: | Light, looks nice, feels stiff. | | Weaknesses: | Snaps in half for no apparent reason.
Here's the description pulled from my picture in the photo gallery:
This is my new Weyless Ultra hardtail I got from Supergo - dont buy this thing. Was going on my normal after-work trail (go about twice a week here), and there's a creek bed with approx 1 1/2 - 2ft. drop into it. Its a slow part of the trail, bumpy and downwards above the 2ft drop, so you have to go slow not to kill yourself (If you've been to Whiting Ranch in So Cal, its towards the end of the trail). I did this the same as I always do (and I've done probably 5/6 times with this frame), and it snapped right under me (nice flat landing, didn't go front or back first). I'm not tiny, but not huge either - only 185. Time to go get my money back at supergo! I'm glad I only got some cuts and bruises, and not impaled.. | | Similar Products Used: | cheaper gt hardtail, gary fisher hardtail, demo'd various high end hardtails | | Bike Setup: | Weyless ultra frame (was), XT drive train, avid arch rivals, manitou mars | | Bottom Line: | http://gallery.consumerreview.com/mtbr/gallery/files/foldingbike2.asp
A frame should not snap in two on a <2ft drop. I will definitely not buy a weyless frame again.
The guys at supergo treated me well, disassembled and reassembled my bike in 24 with a new (different) frame so I wouldn't miss a weekend trip. They believe it's a manufacturing defect and not a general frame issue, but I don't really want to test that theory out. Maybe I'll post an update when they finish with their analysis of the frame.
I'm definitely not buying anything with easton ultralite alum again - the walls of the tubes were approx 1mm thick at the fracture points - it looks like i was riding a soda can. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Charles Lehr
a Cross Country Rider
from Trabuco Canyon
Date Reviewed: June 25, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Cleveland National Forest | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$299.00 | | Purchased At: | Super GO | | Strengths: | 20" Easton 7005 frame weighes 3.4 Lbs, extremely responsive off road conditions, easy climbing | | Weaknesses: | Lose rear traction when climbing and peddling off of the saddle. I have to constantly shift my weight and focus on my balance between the front and rear wheels. If my weight shifts slightly forward I immediately loose rear wheel traction. I did not have to focus as much on my diamond apex. | | Similar Products Used: | Diamondback Apex 20" chromoly frame, DX components, USE XCR seat post, Specialized FS Air/oil front shock | | Bike Setup: | 20" Easton 7005 frame, XT (crank, ES70BB , front derailleur, 11-34 cassette, hubs), XTR (rear derailleur, shifters, brakes), USE XCR seat post, Specialized FS Air/Oil front shock, X517 Mavic tube wheels, Terry fly saddle, Quil stem, Easton Carbon EC70 handlebar, bike weighs 23.5lbs | | Bottom Line: | Very light, responsive shifting and braking work extremely well. Last weekend rode 16 miles off road round trip from south end of the Cleveland National Forest through and to the entrance of Casper Wilderness Park entrance. My personal opinion is the hard tail out performed the full suspension bike in this rough rolling,hard packed to soft sand, quick decents, and sharp angle acents fire trail terrain. I could care less regarding the Weyless emblem, when you are in the wilderness no human notices the emblems except for the wildlife. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Cliff
a Racer
from Gainesville
Date Reviewed: June 20, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Razorback, Tsali, Fontana | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$300.00 | | Purchased At: | Supergo, where else? | | Strengths: | #1 price. #2Light. Also, nice welds, nice anodized finish, stiff, Easton 7005 tubing, 20" frame really does weigh only 3lbs as advertised. The asymmetric chainstay design practically eliminates chain-slap and chain suck. | | Weaknesses: | Ugly Weyless sticker. I'm planning to have a custom paint job done if I still like the bike after putting it through some tests. | | Similar Products Used: | Giant XTC-SE1, Santa Cruz Superlight | | Bike Setup: | Chris King, xt cranks w/ E70 bb, xt rd, xtr fd, thompson sp, Koobi (makes the best saddles) enduro, cross-max tubeless, 2000 bomber Z1, time atac, xtr levers/shifters, avid Ti brakes, ritchey comp stem, answer hyperlite carbon bar, Oury grips. | | Bottom Line: | So far I am very pleased. I went on a road ride this AM and the bike felt very solid, stable and fast. Shifting is perfect! With this setup the bike weighs in at 23 lbs which is amazing considering the beefy fork. It could be lighter with a sid sl fork.
You can build up a pretty nice bike cheap if you shop around for all your components on-line. I paid $16 to have the King headset installed at the local bike shop.
The 20" frame really does weigh 3 lbs as advertised- no bull.
I'll be updating this review after I ride this for a few weeks and race it at the AMBC race at Cheaha Mt. in Alabama. I hope this frame does break on me 'cuz I'll sue.
Send me email if you have any questions.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kam
a Weekend Warrior
from Los Angeles, CA
Date Reviewed: June 18, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$300.00 | | Purchased At: | supergo, where else? | | Strengths: | Light, my 19" frame weighed in at 3.4lbs with disc brace
Nice workmanship
Assym chainstays
Nice chainstay yoke and drop-outs
Black ano finish
The price is right! | | Weaknesses: | cheesy decals, but they are removeable with accetone(nail polish remover). | | Similar Products Used: | Schwinn Homegrown | | Bike Setup: | mm, lets see. first with 9sp XTR, and V-brakes, then single speed with disc brakes and a zoke Z2 atom 80. now rigid single speed and V-brakes!!! | | Bottom Line: | this is a great frame if you're a person on a budget that wants a race quality frame. i'm amazed of how it feels like my old homegrown. it's springy, not really stiff like those other alum. frames out there. it's makes climbs really easier since it's so light and offers excellent power transfer and also because of the long top tube. i bought this frame buy just checking it out at supergo, i really like the features on the frame. it's made in taiwan, but the workmanship is great!!! i've set the frame up a few different ways, and it's rigid now, and it does hurt, but hey, it's light, fast and fun! it's my back up now for my main ride-a steel Dean SS, but i'll keep this frame if i ever need a back up. this frame is tough, light , fast and great looking and it is relatively cheap. the only other frame out there i'd recommend that is just as nice and cheap is the khs alite 4000. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian Ranniger
a Cross Country Rider
from SLC, UT
Date Reviewed: April 1, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | any | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$299.00 | | Purchased At: | supergo | | Strengths: | Very, very light. Durable finish. Good tubing. Good looking. | | Weaknesses: | None yet | | Bike Setup: | Pslyo Race fork, XTR/XT, Bontrager wheelset, carbon riser and carbon seatpost. 22" frame, weighs in at 24.5 lbs. | | Bottom Line: | It could be about 2 lbs lighter w/ straight carbon bar, SID fork and lighter pedals (PD 515's on mine). I love it...coming from a Fisher Sugar 3+ XL at 28-29 lbs. It is also very easy to ride, wheelie, bunny hop etc. Total investment less than $1000 for a $1700 or $1800 bike. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jim Hill
a Weekend Warrior
from Mallden
Date Reviewed: March 27, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | any with a start! | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$300.00 | | Purchased At: | Supergo | | Strengths: | Great welds and the shot ppeened anodized finish are very sweet!The Asymetrical chainstays are a unique site, A true super light hard tail made with the best pipe EASTON ULTRALITE! | | Weaknesses: | I love the flat black anodized peened surface but the cheesy yellow and white Weyless feather logo on the down tube had to go so a little acetone and elbow grease took care of it the acetone will not hurt the black anodized surface, now it just has EASTON ULTRA on the top tube and a small Weyless emblem on the head tube, which is really nice, people that have seen it in the bike shops I have been in and always gather to see my bike and ask many questions. | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized Hard Rock | | Bike Setup: | Easton CT2 bar and post, FSA headset,FSA ISIS V DRIVE Cranks, Selle Octavia seat, SID SL fork, Easton MG60 stem, Avid Arch Rivals w/flack jackets, Sram 9.0 shorty/derailleur (XO soooon!)Mavic517/XTR hub, Conti TWISTER PRO SPECIAL WERKS kev. 18"@ 20.6lbs not bad huh? | | Bottom Line: | Very happy over all with this frame, it is well made similar to Schwinn but better,,,much! I orderd it at 18" and it showed up closer to 19" my leg is 31"inseam and I wish I would have ordered the 16" which is probably closer to a 17",,,overall a great deal for a truly Ultralight frame!I had it in mind to build a sub 20lb. MTB Hardtail as inexpensive as I could,,,,more than I wanted to spend 6 months later I am as close as a 1/2 lb over,,,I am happy its quite a hardtail! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Danny Garzarettie
a Cross Country Rider
from ventura,california
Date Reviewed: March 18, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | any singletack | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$299.00 | | Purchased At: | supergo | | Strengths: | extremely light, very responsive, cool paint job,excellent climber, great frame at a great price.disc brake compatible, | | Weaknesses: | decals are cheap, | | Bike Setup: | fork bomber z3light, all xt components, | | Bottom Line: | If your looking for a hard tail that has that custom feel of xc race frames priced at $1000+ for $299 this is a great price. With a good fork this bike rocks climbs so easily and steadily. Descends very well too handling is quick and responsive. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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