Submitted by
Sabreth
a Cross Country Rider
from Gresham, Or
Date Reviewed: July 23, 2008
Strengths: Durable, Stands up to severe abuse. Rear shock is nice. Huge, durable tires.
Weaknesses: The front forks are ok for beginner, light use. Non adjustability severely limits style. Brakes are also a weaker point, they handle well for general XC, but All Mountain/Down hill they don't work all that well.
Bottom Line:
I bought this bike about 6 months after release as a beginner wanting to lose some fat (dropped to 225lbs from 265). I absolutly love this bike due to it being a beefy, durable bike that can and will stand up to huge amounts of abuse. Now that I am crossing over to All Mountain riding I am upgrading the brakes and the forks. This is an awesome introductory bike, as are most of the Haro Xn class bikes, with a few tweaks or upgrades the bike can be a contender everywhere just short of going Pro.
Submitted by
Joe
a Weekend Warrior
from Reno, Nevada
Date Reviewed: November 19, 2006
Strengths: Nice frame, geometry is well placed, tires are great
Weaknesses: front fork and brakes
Bottom Line:
I absolutly love this bike. As my first FS i couldn't be more please. I have a tendancy the bottum out the fork and i'm only 120 pounds, but the plus side is it soaks up all the small bumbs. After riding it for two years, I think I would upgrade to hydraulics, but the brakes on it and still good. If your looking into a nice FS for beginers i don't any see any better choice for the price
Submitted by
j c
a Weekend Warrior
from california US
Date Reviewed: July 13, 2006
Strengths: brakes work good for mechanicles rear shock is awesome and handlebars are a tank and the tires get really good traction. easy to do wheelies on
Weaknesses: rims suck cranks suck front fork is borderline but bottoms out way to easy
Bottom Line:
its a good bike if your going to be doing smaller stuff but completley sucks for anything over like 18 feet. the fox vanilla r is amazing. i would recommend this bike to a beginer
Strengths: All around bike, Super strong frame, good enough components to get you started
Weaknesses: Jack of all trades master of none. A bit heavy for XC, not enough front suspension for downhill. Front fork is inadequate for the potential of the frame. I toasted the bottom bracket within a month. Rear triangle a bit narrow for a 2.35" tire.
Bottom Line:
This bike has been awesome for starting out mountain biking. I bought it up in Maine and started out as a beginner, which means that I fell.... a lot... Short of the occasional bent derailleur hanger the bike was bulletproof. As I got more confident on the bike and started riding faster and more technical terrain the bike kept up. The weakest link on the bike is the front fork which bobs a lot while standing and doesn't have much travel or adjustment. Recently I've gotten into a bit of downhill for which the fork is completely insufficient.
All in all the bike has been amazing starter, I haven't taken it easy on the bike and it still works fine. I'm now getting to a point in my riding where I want to get more style-specific bikes (Turner DHR!!) but I can't forsee getting rid of this bike for just all around riding. If you're looking to get into mountain biking on a budget and you don't know exactly what you want to get into, buy this bike! When you can outride this bike you'll know exactly what you want from your ride and then you can spend more money. Enjoy!
Bike Setup: New BB, borrowed Hayes Juicy 7 front brake, clipless pedals, lots of tires and hangers.....
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Brandon
a Weekend Warrior
from New York
Date Reviewed: June 26, 2006
Strengths: Rides tight, jumps balanced, pedals great, fairly light for a 5/6 inch rig.
Weaknesses: sizes run a bit big
Bottom Line:
This bike is good for all mountain and freeride. Its strong and handles very nicely. The five inch mode is a lot stiffer and makes djs and pedaling very easy.
Strengths: (05 frame only)Adujstable travel, light weight, can be used for almost anything, super stif rear end even tho qr, single pivot you have got to love em o ye and sweet paint job.
Weaknesses: All sizes bigger than should be, pedal bob.
Bottom Line:
This frame is awesome it can handle anything you throw at it there is a 16ft drop at my local dh course which i regulary do and the frame has held up great, rear shox spring comes at 700 to start which usually needs changing i put a 450 on mine and its super plush and feels bottomless even tho if only got 7" out back an easy fix at a cheap price and god i love the colour but if your under 5,7 there isnt a frame size to fit you i have a medium and im 5,9 its still a bit big but this is because of stupid haro sizes.
Strengths: Burly strong frame, 'ok' rear shock on the '04 (Fox Vanilla R). IMO no other FS bike in the $600 price range can touch it (unless you go used). Haro makes quality bikes & is underrated in the mtb world. Adjustable 5"~6" rear travel. 8" front rotor is nice.
Weaknesses: Weight. Stock the weight is about 37 lbs = sluggish uphill, but I could stand to get stronger & lose weight myself so it's not that big a deal. Front fork needs to go ASAP. Wheels could be upgraded, but mine have held up well considering I weigh 220 lb & am hard on the bike. Brakes are ok at best. Haro's run big in size, so even the small has a high standover & I'm 5'10". Generally low resale value.
Bottom Line:
Good entry level freeride/all mountain trail bike. For the price it's hard to beat espescially if you want a strong bike for heavy abuse. W/ a few changes (i.e. fork, rear shock, wheelset) the bike could be stellar. Pretty versatile bike too, I've seen a couple X2's running Jr T's, Shermans, Pikes etc. I really like the way this bike handles rocky, loose descent's...really soaks up the bumps. Overall I'm really happy with this bike.
Submitted by
Dylan Smith
a Weekend Warrior
from poway, California U.S.A.
Date Reviewed: March 4, 2006
Strengths: I ride an'05 Haro x2 and it can go through a beating, i've cased the crap out of it a couple times and i rolled away fine. it's frame is real nice and rear shock is tough too, the brakes are decent for being cable operated but who needs brakes anyway. iv'e pushed the bike past its limits and i can still jump any time i want without having to put it back together each time. It holds up real nice.
Weaknesses: The forks are allright, im sure that they would work great if the seals would hold some pressure, i blew them out on every landing, and after i endoed on a 15 foot jump they got a little tweaked but they are still usable. the rims could be a little nicer i seemed to have a problem with them bending alot. the derailleur hanger sucks....haro designed it to snap so that you would have to pay 12 fregin bucks to replace it, but other than that its great.
Bottom Line:
A nice freeride bike, i guess it would be a nice trail bike......but i dont fart around on trails.......thats for old peple. its a great bike at a nice price. it'll go through as much as you can, but i've graduated to the downhill class and im going to wirk towards a stab supreeme or a demo 9
Strengths: rear shock is nice, frame is pretty strong, lots of fun to ride and takes lots of abuse. im not sure if there is anyone that has put this bike through the same things as i have.
Weaknesses: stock bb sux, cracked it in 2 places in about a month, fork is weak snapped that at the crown, wheels aren't the strongest. the frame is not designed for doing 20 foot drops. i cracked the headtube, but haro is great with their warranty on their products so they gave me an x3 frame for free.
Bottom Line:
bike is awesome for aggresive xc riding and all mountain riding. drops around 20 feet not recommended. great starter bike and holds up to lots of abuse
Similar Products Used: first full suspension bike. my other bikes r a gary fisher mamba converted to single speed. and a specialized p2 for urban and dirtjumping
Bike Setup: marzocchi 66 rc, xt derailers, hayes hydro brakes, everything else is pretty much stock
Strengths: strong frame vanilla shock hussefelt bar hayes mech. disc brakes (easy to use, no mess)
Weaknesses: exr fork has no rebound adjustment stock grips spin on bar kenda tires are wide... very little mud clearence
Bottom Line:
GET THIS BIKE! The X2 is a great bike for aggressive trail riding. I recomend this bike, or any Haro Extreme, to anyone who wants a tuff bike that can take abuse and dosn't cost a crapload. It may weight alot (38lbs) but it makes up for it in strenght. And you don't have to change everything, like I did, to enjoy this bike. just make a few minor changes... 1) get lock on grips! the stock grips spin on the bar, and nothing you do will stop this. 2) trim the bar; if you cant help wacking trees with the ends of the bar, remove a few cm. 3) use a six inch rotor up front; too much flex while turning causes the eight inch rotor to rub the pads. 4) get the shop to slow the fork's rebound; this will keep you from getting bucked off. 5) change the shock spring; if youre a lightweight, get a softer spring in the rear, otherwise its like a hardtail.
Strengths: strong frame, decent stock rear shock, bashguard, hayes discs are good once u get them adjusted, even better with a 20mm axle, decent stock pedals and grips
Weaknesses: the stupid stock marzocchi fork
Bottom Line:
This has to be the most versitile bike that i have ever seen, i first started doing single track, and light urban and freeriding with it, then i became more downhill oriented so i bought a marzocchi junior t, that fork matched with that shock has to be the best cheap setup ever, the bike soaks up every bump but still has alot of bottem out resistance. The first thing that should be replaced is the stock EXR pro, It sucks, its not even worth doing anything to like changing the oil, changing the springs or getting air assist top caps, your just wasting your money!!! You can get a cheap dc fork for like 150 bucks at jenson usa (stance kingpin...they suck by the way) but if you have the cash go for a marzocchi junior t or any other quality fork, it will make a huge difference in the way the bike feels, my bike doesnt seem raked out at all. I give this bike an overall 3 becuause of the stock fork
Similar Products Used: haro x1, haro x3, giant warp ds2
Bike Setup: haro x2, fox vanilla r rear shock, e13 srs chain guide, 04 marzocchi jr. t, sun rims mammoth rear rim, sun rims MTX s type front rim, michellin DH tubes, intense ODI lockon grips, xt rear derailuer
Strengths: Very strong, descends well, well balanced suspension
Weaknesses: Significant amount of cable rub, stock Marzoochi EXR fork
Bottom Line:
This bike is great. It descends like a downhill bike, sprints as well as some top of the line hardtales, and climbs like an oversized mountain goat. The stock Marzocchi fork was too soft, which is easily remedied by buying a better fork. The Truvativ oversized bars add confidence on the descents. This a truly a great bike for the money.
Similar Products Used: Ellsworth Momment, Santa Cruz Bullit, Kona Coiler
Bike Setup: Maxxis Highroller tires, Marzocchi Z1 III fork, Sun rims, Fox Vanilla R shock, Truvativ cockpit, Shimano drivetrain
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
J-Mizzle
a Weekend Warrior
from Nevada
Date Reviewed: September 19, 2005
Strengths: Hydroformed frame, 6 inch travel, price
Weaknesses: Fork is not good, discs are weak
Bottom Line:
Straight a lot of you are probably like me and don't have 2 grand to drop on a bike. I bought it for 750 and upgraded parts over time and I couldn't be happier. The last thing I have to upgrade is the rear shock to something with more adjustability. Really it's a great bike once components are upgraded and don't hesitate to buy it because the frame is bombproof. I have worked my way up too 12 footers to tranny and it seems stiff. I weigh 220 w/ gear. WIth about another 700 hundred put in over time I don't think there is another bike i would get for $1500.
Similar Products Used: Giant reign, and vt3. Schwinn DS2, Cannondale Gemini, Cannondale Prophet, Kona Coiler
Bike Setup: Junior-t, Avid juicy 7's, Mavic ex729 rims w/ xt rear and Marzocchi 20mm front hub. The rest is stock.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Joshua
a Weekend Warrior
from Phoenix, AZ
Date Reviewed: June 18, 2005
Strengths: Super strong frame, Adjustable travel, good component group for the money.
Weaknesses: The stock fork sucked, so I changed it.
Bottom Line:
I am hell on bikes. I case landings, smack my drivetrain on rocks, and I dropped this bike off a small cliff once, oops. Still, the frame holds together. After cracking the LX derailer on a rock, then cracking a new XT derailer on another cased landing, I decided to use shimano saint components. Hopefully this drivetrain will handle the abuse like the frame. Still after all of the upgrades, I have a super bike for less than other bike brands with similar components.
I replaced the stock fork with a Marzocchi All Mountain SL. This fork is pretty much transformed this bike from good to great. The stock zokie was not a good compliment to the fox vanilla rear shock. It is adequate for agressive trail riding, but even 2 foot flat landing drops will take its toll after some time. Anything bigger and seals will go. Really that is the only problem with the bike when it is still stock. If you can replace the fork, the bike is pretty amazing.
Still, if you are looking for a good bike that will handle agressive trail riding, this is the best deal for the money. With all of my upgrades, this is easily a 5 on both scales.
Similar Products Used: A variety of hardtails(not really similar at all)
Bike Setup: Mostly Shimano Saint components, Marzocchi All Mountain SL fork.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Greg
a Downhiller
from Winter Park, Florida, USA
Date Reviewed: May 31, 2005
Strengths: the price, the cheapest bike in its class I would say
Weaknesses: XC rims and fork...what were they thinking? can only use Zero stack headset
Bottom Line:
Its a great deal, but they've got it set up as an all mountain bike, so if you want to do the big stuff you have to spend more money which winds up costing as much or more than one of the more expensive bikes. Its got potential so I'll give it a few...
