Submitted by
Katana
a Weekend Warrior
from Oakland, CA USA
Date Reviewed: August 17, 2009
Strengths: Lateral stiffness, pedal-ability, travel, big hit compliance, geometery
Weaknesses: clunking from shock amplified through monocoque front end, small bump sensitivity
Bottom Line:
The bike is much better than the 2003 version. The cockpit is much more refined, easier to pedal, better to descend. The frame will amplify anything that makes noise, but it does not bother me, so if you are looking for a quiet ride, look elsewhere. The linkage is more refined, and it is much stiffer than the '03. The 100% floating brake is amazing, truly it is. The small stuff is still felt, but I don't have any issues with that because when it gets hairy, that is when I am at the most confident levels. It is hard to find a better DH worthy, pedal-able bike that is hand made in the US. Expensive, but worth it.
Weaknesses: Your face will severly hurt because you will smile too much.
Bottom Line:
This bike is absolutely amazing. If you want a do-everything bike that will turn heads and blast single-track, then this is it. If equipped with a single crown fork and a front derailer, it is your perfect pedal-friendly FR bike. If you put on a dual crown fork and some heavy tires, it can hang with the best on any downhill course. I have yet to find a single bad thing to say about this bike.
Similar Products Used: 2005 Foes Fly w/ Curnutt XTD shock and 06 Fox 40
Bike Setup: 2008 Foes Fly w/ Curnutt Air, 07 Fox 40 w/ Go-Ride crowns, Atomlab/Hadley wheelset, Chris King Devolution headset, Gamut chainguide, Gravity Lite cranks, Sram X0 shift/der, DuraAce cassette, Kenda Nevegal tires Sunline bars and seat, Thompson seatpost, Wellgo MG-1 pedals
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
foes455
a Downhiller
from san diego cailifornia
Date Reviewed: November 21, 2008
Strengths: it pedals really good
Weaknesses: not really a down hill bike and you eather love the currnet or hate it i hate it. floating brake is pointless it has to be run stiff to not bottom out really loud not a dh bike i bent the bolt that ataches the shock
Bottom Line:
it has very great components but the bike is not a 2500 $ bike it does not preform how it should and the rear shock is not worth the money it is a poorly made bike i only way 100 lbs and i bent the bolt that attaches the shock it is not a good choice of bike if your going to spend that much on a bike i would not suggest this bike
Favorite Trail: ted williams pila maxi avalanche woodward fontana
Duration Product Used: 3 months
Price Paid:
$2000.00
Purchased At: pro built wheels
Similar Products Used: cross country bikes
Bike Setup: 888 rc2x spinergy faltline wheels currnet coil
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
giddyupandover
a Weekend Warrior
from Victoria, B.C. Canada
Date Reviewed: October 9, 2008
Strengths: Firm,Ridgid,No Flex,Balance,Cable Routing, XTD Air Shock,Graphics,ETC. ETC.
Weaknesses: None....Period
Bottom Line:
Do not know if there is much out there that is better,haven't had it long so a better review will come later. A beautiful machine that begs for the outdoors!!!If people have the coin this is one shag wagon worth going for.
Similar Products Used: Giant Reign 1, Intense 6.6, Oryx
Bike Setup: 2009 (new design)....Race Face crank, Sram shifters and der.,Sunline bar,729 rims,Hops b.b., King 1.5 headset,Avid Elixir CR brakes, 340 hubs,Masterpiece seatpost, Thompson x4 stem,Ruffian lock ons,Chromag Lynx saddle,990 cassette,991 cross step chain,Kenda Nevagal front,Kenda Excavator rear. Nice RED in color and she weighs 37.3 lbs.
Strengths: Floating disc brake, long wheel base, great geometry.
Weaknesses: narrow rear trianlge doesnt accept tires larger than an intense 909 2.5, other than that, nothing.
Bottom Line:
ive been riding DH for about 5 years and i think i finally have a bike that fits me perfectly. the fly seems to cover all my other dislikes that i had with previous DH rigs. i have a single 32T chainring and 11-32 in the back and it can actually climb with very little suspension bob. bike handles pretty much every type of trail ive ridden from seriously steep to huge drops and all the socal urban DH i can find.
Similar Products Used: santa cruz VP free, super 8, v10, most intense DH FR rigs, mountain cycle
Bike Setup: 888, curnutt, diabolus cranks, HFX 9, saint, azonic parts here and there.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
PJ Leeds
a Weekend Warrior
from North Shore
Date Reviewed: August 9, 2006
Strengths: Quality, fit and finish, welds, frame straightness, travel, stiffness, pedalling ease and front derailleur
Weaknesses: That will be the day, I hope not.
Bottom Line:
Owned a 2003 Fly for 3 years and bought an 06. Was worth the wait. The bike is more plush (with the same springrate), ramps up, tracks strong and true and is even better on the small stuff, something some Curnutt users find a weakness. But on mid to large hits, it is the best. Very easy to pedal, throw around and maneouver in tight switchbacks. Perfect North Shore ride. Quality is unbelievable. My frame, with all the welds, is dead arrow straight. You can tell too when it rides on level pavement. Floating brake is awesome, and the only drawback is perhaps I cannot have the seatpost as long as I did, but oh well. Rating cannot do the bike justice, especially being able to compare it to its predecessor.
Strengths: Awesome handling, amazing shock, astounding pedalling efficiency for such a big bike
Weaknesses: Virtually none(other than the breaking thing)
Bottom Line:
This bike is one of the wickedest rides ive ever had, but I have had 3 now. The first two were the old model with the monococque shock tunnel ,which collapsed both times. The 2005 model just broke after about a year, above the swing link, the metal sheared completely. On the good side the importer here in NZ has looked after me every time(thanks Al), but I have to say I'm gonna have to trade it for something else. If you are less than 90kg, BUY this bike, it is way cool, if you are near the ton, look elsewhere.
Submitted by
alain canaan
a Downhiller
from lasalle, Qc, Canada
Date Reviewed: January 12, 2006
Strengths: Super strong, curnutt shock, floating brake, built quality
Weaknesses: rear tire clearence, price.
Bottom Line:
Great bike. With the curnutt you can actually pedal without to much effort. very plush and bottomless feel. Never had any problem with the bike. Very good service from Foes. Great for freeride and some DH. The quality is unbeliveable. I would have liked to see through axel for the rear wheel(now on 2005 model but mine is a 2004). Don't understand all the problems of the add just below. These bike are great and never had any problems. Only problem is with the rear tire clearence.
Bike Setup: shiver, curnutt, floating, hayes (goodridge), saint, thompson...
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Neil
a Weekend Warrior
from Regina, Sask. Canada
Date Reviewed: October 29, 2005
Strengths: While not in the shop the bike functioned as stated by Foes Ltd.
Weaknesses: Frame Shock Derailler hanger Floating brake Main pivot bolts
Bottom Line:
I would nomally not trash anyones product but with the difficultly I had with Foes I have to tell this story. Before I begin if anyone wants to email me for additional information I would be glad to help out. First frame: 2003 Lrg Foes Fly with carnutt shock, ti spring and floating brake. Within first month of owning it main pivot bolts would not stay tight. Removed bolts to find shavings of metal in threads and had to have bolt machined to be put back in. Also to the recommendation of Foes locked them in with "Lock Tight" and was fine. 3 months after riding noticed rub in shock bowl from Carnutt shock. Contacted Foes and they determined it was a design flaw and decided to replace frame with a 2004 model. 4 MONTH LATER RECEIVED FRAME Second Frame: Same setup as above. Within 2 months noticed crack in rear stay close to wear the main pivot area is. Foes again replaced this part. 5 week down time approx. Road bike for balance of 2004 which would have consisted of approx 20-25 rides. Early year 2005 (April I believe). Shock bowl collapsed entirely. Sent back to Foes for analyzing. They could not determine if it was a manufacturers problem or if I caused the damage. They also advised me that I had 4 or 5 cracks in the rear triangle and that the Carnutt shock needed overhauling and I was late on my service by 3 months. Funny that they had the bike back twice already and just looked at the shock. I want to mention that I was within the limits of all of the settings that were recommended by the manufacturer. They also told me that the spring rate was incorrect for me. This was the spring that they originally recommended for me in the first place. Conclusion: They replaced the above frame with a 2005 frame. Again another 6 week wait and because they could not determine why the frame and shock failed charged me $1200.00 to send the replacement one. BUYER BEWARE.....It's only my story. I would never say don't buy a Foes. I of course sold my 2005 model because they failed to mention that the geometry totally changed from the 2004. I also did not want to take my chances again with another frame and be without a bike for the summer.
Strengths: The best pedaling long travel bike I have ever ridden, it rivals my 5.5 inch travel trail bike on climbing prowes and sprints almost like a road bike on hardpack. For a 9 inch travel bike with a 150mm thru-axel and a floating brake it is extremley light. The guys at foes are a bunch of dirty liars about weight they clain 9.5 lbs for the small frame with Ti. spring mine came in at 9.4 as a large!
Weaknesses: Comming from a four bar linkage with a fox shock the currnutt takes some getting used to at first but after 5 miles I had it wired, also everything I knew about setting up my shock whent out the window. That's not too negative now is it?
Bottom Line:
If your stricktly racing DH go for the DHS but for the ultimate in versatility do it all rig the FLY blows everything straight out of the water, full USA made for the same price as some of the Taiwan stuff out there. I might pick up one of the new 66sl forks when they come out for a little more trailriding ability, but the frame works flawlessly!!
Similar Products Used: Every DH and free-ride bike with more than 7 inches of travel on the planet.
Bike Setup: 2005 Fly in red, Currnutt Ti. shock, Hadley-Bombshell-DT swiss revolution wheels, 888 with low crowns, sram x-9 groupo, Magura Brakes, SDG I-fly c i-beam saddle
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Evan
a Weekend Warrior
from Edmonton, AB, Canada
Date Reviewed: August 29, 2005
Strengths: THE BEST bike i have ever used. it may be heavy, but it makes up for that in everything else.
Weaknesses: the size small is comparable to my old large heckler! and a bit heavy (mine is 46 pounds) but not really weakness cause i ride it everywhere and barely notice the weight except on long uphills.oh ya, fu*kin expensive(8500)
Bottom Line:
Like it says at the top, its the best bike ive ever tried to date. the ONLY things im having a problem with is the shock make an engagement click after a while of inactivity thats moderatly loud.and i think thats just cause it needs to be overhauled (cause im ultra hard on my stuff), and how weak the fu*king deraileur hanger is!! its a 12gram forged pice of sh*t! i snapped it in 2 pieces while riding! im getting one cnc'd as this is getting written. hopefully it is not going to snap. for these problems, im going to give minimum 3.5 turds and max 4.5 turds.
Favorite Trail: Superstar @ silverstar near vernon
Duration Product Used: 3 months
Price Paid:
$300.00
Purchased At: traded my heckler +300
Similar Products Used: closest thing ive tried is a v-10 and i like the fly better!
Bike Setup: 04 black fly frame w/ti spring,mavic 321 wheels on cannondale hubs, 03 monster t2, 05 holzfeller cranks, etc.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Speedster
a Downhiller
from Helena, MT, USA
Date Reviewed: June 11, 2005
Strengths: Superior strength to weight ratio, bottomless travel, effecient pedaling.
Weaknesses: None so far.
Bottom Line:
Mine is an '04. Phenominal bike. I have mine at about 41lbs in a large, with high end, but not light equipment. Could get it under 40lbs if I went to a lighter seat and tires, but pedals really well regardless. I can ride this for most XC rides and be fine. It is super plush, yet progressive so it handles any drop I can do. I can't wait to get it to Whistler this year. I will get the Foes chainguide for it before then though. I can't imagine anything better, although I must admit that the Giant Faith does pedal and feel similar for half the price. It is a great machine, you can ride it XC if you have the energy and strength, and you can race it DH against anything else.
Similar Products Used: Rocky mountian rmx, santa cruz bullit
Bike Setup: 04 super T, Curnutt, Hayes Disc, XT
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
J_B
a Weekend Warrior
from Sacramento, CA
Date Reviewed: May 28, 2004
Strengths: Foes quality, Curnutt, travel, esy to pedl and get up to speed.
Weaknesses: None...except not available with the 1.5 headtube to run a Sherman Breakout Plus.
Bottom Line:
Great bike. I ride the bike in the 8" mode in the rear with the 888R up front, this bike rocks. I can pedal it up the 2-3 mile climb and rip the downhill. The shock is easy to set up. When ordering the bike, get the right ti spring, put in the recommended air pressure, set the sag and go. The bike is bad ass. The only thing I can wish for in this bike is a 1.5 headtube so I can run a Sherman Breakout Plus.
Similar Products Used: RM6, Bullit, Foes DHS Mono,
Bike Setup: White '04 Fly, Ti Sprung Curnutt rear shock, 888R, X9,XO, Truvativ Holzfeller cranks & bars, 38t w/E13 SRS, Hadley w/Singletracks, Kenda Blue Groove 2.5(f) and Kenda Nevegal 2.3(r). Hayes MAg Dh w/8" rotors, Goodridge brake hoses, Thompson seatpost, WTB Lazer V and Chris King Headset.
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