Submitted by
Baderass
a Cross Country Rider
from Phx, AZ
Date Reviewed: December 3, 2011
Strengths: Light weight for a metal frame. Same weight as carbon! WOW. Lively like steel frames, but compliant in the rear. ie, wont hurt your arse
Weaknesses: Headtube diameter. Can NOT use a zero stack or semi-integrated headset. Front gusset could've been a bit bigger
Bottom Line:
I can never get over how light this frame is. I was a little scared of it at first, cuz I thought I would destroy it. I ride aggresive XC... Well, I ride outside the envelope of everything I swing a leg over. So far the frame has held up beautifuly. No brake squeel from the seatstay, and oh yeah... ITS INCREDIBLY LIGHT WEIGHT!!! 22 lbs as spec'd. A little flex in the rear, so it doesn't beat the crap out your butt.
Yes this frame does have a little lateral flex. VERY little, not enough to speak of really, but I'm a stickler for the truth.
Only thing I don't like is the head tube size. Only good for traditional headset. No integrated or semi-integrated. Oh well.
Bike Setup: PZ raceing riserbars,sraightline stem,nuke carbonfork,Sram XO redwin shifters,Avid bb7,203,mm hope roters,FSA,K force carboncranks,Hope ceramic bottom bracket,Hope ceramic headset,SDG,I Fly Saddle,Kore I beam post,Hope clamp,Vuelta XRP,Teamlite wheels,Maxxis 1.5 Xenlth tyres,Sram XO redwin deuiraler,Sram pg970 cassette,9 speed....
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Submitted by
ian malcolm
a Cross Country Rider
from ireland
Date Reviewed: October 3, 2009
Strengths: lightweight.
Weaknesses: the back of the frame wont stop vibrating loudly since i put avid juicy fives on it 3 months ago, it didnt do this when i had xt disc brakes?????
Bottom Line:
why is the frame vibrating so loudly??? can anyone help me with this issue as this is very annoying since i paid alot of money for it.its come to the point where i wont use the rear brakes,cause the vibrating is so loud??
Submitted by
migs647
a Cross Country Rider
from Oregon
Date Reviewed: May 22, 2009
Strengths: Light as hell, stronger than you can imagine. If I didn't know any better I'd say this was carbon fiber... that's how light this frame is. The first time I picked it up I started laughing.
Weaknesses: NONE
Bottom Line:
If you can find this frame... I am telling you to jump on it. Don't even think about it. If you have the money get it. Even if you have a complete bike and see this frame, get it. You won't regret it.
..... a little birdy tells me this frame might be coming back to the market.... keep your eyes open.
Bike Setup: Azonic AZ-7, Chris King Headset, Azonic Nitro FR Crank, RockShox Tora 100mm Air, SRAM x.9 derailuers, SRAM x.0 shifters, bb7 brakes, Azonic Magnesium Peddles, Mavic XC wheels, Azonic Barretta Stem, Sunline v2 bars
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Submitted by
stsdroog
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver
Date Reviewed: February 25, 2009
Strengths: Super light! Super Stiff!
Weaknesses: none so far
Bottom Line:
I was a bit nervous to get this frame with the limited amount of information about it online. I found it on ebay for 200 with 20 shipping and jumped on it. Man am I ever glad that i did! This frame is worth well beyond what i paid for it! I still can't figure out why there isn't very much info on this frame out here on the web or why more people aren't building this up as a light weight XC bike. Final weight on my build is just at 20 lbs.
Strengths: Light, 2.92 on my scale(18.5). Stiff, real stiff. Unbelievable power transfer and acceleration. Flat anodizing looks killer and eliminates the need to face the HT and BB before installation.
Weaknesses: If your not a racer this may be too stiff for you. I found a burr in side the seat tube below where I could feel with my fingers so, I wrecked the first seat post I used. good thing i didn't install a carbon post first. Some filing took care of it.
Bottom Line:
I was looking for a new bike to race for the 09' season and pulled the trigger on the AZ-7. This frame is all business and business is good! no fender or rack eyelets or even V-brake studs on this rocket so it wont be mistaken for a big brand all in one frame. I've pounded this bike through rock gardens that I do on DH rigs and gotten it up to 42mph on gnarly shale downhills and its not the least bit twitchy. Its so much stiffer and lighter than any AL frame I have ridden. As stiff as carbon but still has that lively feel of a metal frame. However, I cant help but wonder, would be less harsh if it had s-bend seat stays? I was blown away at how fast it gets up to speed. The geometry is just right for racing and does great climbing. I've tried both 80 and 100mm settings on a u-turn reba and the 100mm seems to give it the best angles. This is the only XC bike I have considered upgrading to a 7inch front rotor which tells me I must be carrying much more speed than on other bikes. Very flick-able, it rolls over in turns nicely though lately I've been wanting a larger front tire to keep from pushing but thats probably the tire and not the frame. You simply cant beat this frame and no other XC frames out there look as bad ass, I mean, its got a skull on the HT!
Similar Products Used: Any 6000 or 7000 series AL frames and Carbon frames.
Bike Setup: Reba team 100mm, Avid Jucy7, Sram 9.0/x.0 Drive train. Truvative stylo cranks, American Classic disc hubs 3x to Ritchey OCR rims taped for tubeless maxxis ignitors. Easton monkey lite lowrise bars and EC70 seat post, Oval stem.
This frame is extremely light and extremely tough and strong!!!!! i absolutely love this frame.i would definately buy this frame again, its worth every penny and so much more!
Strengths: as light as carbon,cheap,strong,good geometry.can you ask for more ?
Weaknesses: lack of availability in Europe.
Bottom Line:
it's just the best deal out there,i won't replace it for anything.Is's carbon light and if you crash it it won't break like carbon in the worst case scenario it will dent but not break.
Strengths: Awsome frame for the bucks. Light - the 18.5 was only slightly heavier than the advertised price (weighing it on my works postal/shipping scales).
Weaknesses: None so far
Bottom Line:
I really like this frame - I'm 5'8 with a 31 inseam and the 18.5 frame fits me great. I use a 100mm Reba on it and the geometry makes for a great fun single track bike. I've been really impressed with this frame and I've put it through a pounding including stuff that I should only be doing on my dually. It just feels really responsive, fast, controllable, comfortable - not really sure to sum it up - but I'm spending more time on this bike than any of my others. I'm very glad I choose this frame for my build! If I ever manage to break it doing the stupid stuff I'm doing on it, I would not hesitate to buy another one - for the fun I've already had on it - worth every cent!
Submitted by
Ricardo Vasquez
a Cross Country Rider
from Quito, Ecuador
Date Reviewed: March 14, 2008
Strengths: Light, looks great, rigid
Weaknesses: none yet
Bottom Line:
First ride, i bought the frame and got it today, couldnt wait to setting my bike up, first impressions:
its very light but not 2.1 pounds as they claim, I weighted it: 2.82 pounds for the 16.5" frame, yet very light.
Didnt like the fact that there´s no paint job but azonic stickers and that it didnt come with the seatpost clamp.
Also, the seat post clamp and front derrailleur clamp is 31.8 mm !!! I almost buy a 28.6 mm xt front derrailleur. Azonic´s web page has wrong information.
I would give it 5 flamin´chilis ´cause its light and wont hurt your pocket, but i just HATE IT when the information is not correct, and in a XC frame there´s no joking about weight, lost some confidence about azonic being a serious brand!
The price of this frame is very attractive, compared with corbon or other light frames. I never used corbon frames so I can not compare with them but I can easily say that the rigidity of az-7 frame is better than my old aliminium 4 pound weighted frame.
Bike Setup: tektro brakes shiamano xt components maxxis 310 tires
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Submitted by
Herb Bastin
a Weekend Warrior
from Decatur, GA, USA
Date Reviewed: November 13, 2007
Strengths: Extremely lightweight. 3 lbs with seatpost collar.
Weaknesses: Wish it had V-brake bosses
Bottom Line:
A wicked riding bike. 1 pound lighter than my Stumpjumper! I wish I had the time to get into racing - I would love racing with this bike. As it is, I'm moving on to a heavier full suspension bike setup.
Similar Products Used: Stumpjumper, Rockhopper, Giant ATX-980, Jamis Coda (upgraded)
Bike Setup: SID fork, XT components
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Submitted by
Adam George
a Cross Country Rider
from Grass Valley, California, USA
Date Reviewed: May 31, 2007
Bottom Line:
Looks good so far.. 3.025 Lbs (1372g) on my postal scale for a 18.5" with replaceable hanger and plastic hose guide clips. (close enough to the claimed 2.9 I guess) It has just enough tire clearance to clear a Continental Diesel 2.5 (measuring 2.4" wide on a Sun Single Track rim)
Submitted by
Brian
a Cross Country Rider
from San Rafael, CA
Date Reviewed: March 21, 2007
Strengths: SUPER light!, strong, cool look
Weaknesses: only 2 sizes
Bottom Line:
This is a friggen amazing bike! its a prototype, but we bought it from azonic, and i LOVE it! it weighs around 23-24 lbs, and accelerates like a rocket! the first race i had, i was on my old bike, and i got 22nd place, and then the second race, i had this and i got 7th place! this bike is the best xc bike ive ever had! get it
Submitted by
Corey Long
a Weekend Warrior
from Martinez, GA, USA
Date Reviewed: February 3, 2007
Strengths: Very light, stiff, handles great, cheap for lightweight.
Weaknesses: comes only in a 16.5 and 18.5 size frame :(
Bottom Line:
Frickin...awesome...FRAME :) :)...anyone looking to tear up the woods and freestyle slopes at 30 MPH should definately grab this frame before it's gone. its as light as a carbon frame, but u dont get that omg this bikes about to break feeling. plus its a hardtail so when those uphill's come there are no worries of extra work
