The hard-tail that all others are measured by. When you're ready to graduate from that first rig you bought - the one they told you was capable of being ridden off-road, but which was really ready for campus cruising - the Avalanche is without question the bike you want. More than just a bike which you can ride about town, the Avalanche is also equipped for gnarly trails and sublime single track. With lightweight, triple-triangle aluminum frames, trail-ready component specs, and front suspension, the Avalanche is chomping at the bit to earn its wings. Are you?
Submitted by
pruslee
a All Mountain Rider
from london UK
Date Reviewed: March 29, 2012
Strengths: indestructible frame, fork that actually works, brakes that do stop you, great spec for the money, proper wide bar, bike feels a lot lighter then it is-my mate got giant xtc same size, same weight and it feels like a tank; great all-rounder
Weaknesses: wtb wheels-good for light xc and not a lot more; pedals ware rubbish-changed them for dmr v8's, cranks and BB-square taper should be long gone and forgotten. changed it for hollowtech 2.
Bottom Line:
you wouldn't believe what I threw at this bike. OK, It's not a freeride machine so i had to replace a few things that broke along the way but i don't expect a 450 pound bike to withstand 30 mph crashes or 10 feet drop-offs. the bike really came to life after swapping 120 mm stem for a short 50 mm. the only disappointment was the square taper bb axle and cranks. after a few heavy landings it started squeaking horribly. this system should not be fitted to ANY todays' bikes when octalink, powerspline and ISIS systems are available and not much more expensive. it took me a while to learn how to set up the rear mech (xt shadow) but once done it rarely needs adjusting. tektro brakes work nicely. the only problem with these is the way the handle is constructed-cut the long story short- it's one piece of aluminium pressed into another and when hitting a tree head on the handle fell apart. Very basic fork but when you hit a treeroot or land a jump it does it's job perfectly. the bike feels very light and nimble. When you ride you should forget that the bike is there-and that's what the Avalanche does. it's a great fun to ride it-and that's all that matters.
Similar Products Used: plenty other hardtail xc bikes
Bike Setup: 100 mm fork, hollowtech 2 cranks, xt shadow rear deore front, deore shifters, dmr v8 pedals, had front wheel changed to alexrims td17 on sram x9 hub after a 30 mph crash, 50 mm stem, kenda kinetics tires 2.35 front 2.1 rear, tektro auriga comp 160 mm front/rear.
