Submitted by
MTBCanuck
a Weekend Warrior
from Scottsdale, AZ
Date Reviewed: July 3, 2011
Strengths: Great geometry, bulletproof fork, acceptable tires
Weaknesses: Shimano mech brakes. Wish Kona had put some Hayes mechs on this rig like a GX2 seen on many other bikes in this range. Would be a significantly better mech but I'll deal with the shimanos.
Bottom Line:
Solid full suspension rig for XC and all mountain use. If you can find a used one in great shape (like I did) it's a great way to buy into the FS market on a budget.
Bike Setup: Stock with crankworks pedals and grips
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Submitted by
Logyboy
a Cross Country Rider
from Halifax, NS, Canada
Date Reviewed: September 27, 2010
Strengths: Good solid frame
Great bike to build on
Weaknesses: weak stock components
Bottom Line:
So far this bike has been rock solid. Brought this bike used and is a complete joy for XC riding. I've been through rock gardens and tree root laden trails and the bike just eats it up. The stock components are not the greatest, but gives you a great excuse to upgrade to better components.
I would not recommend this bike to someone who primary would use this bike for downhill racing or landing 4' drops/jumps as the bike is not built for this type of riding. But if you are a budget XC rider I would recommend getting this bike as the frame is solid and it is a great bike to build on.
Similar Products Used: Norco Katmandu, Rocky Mountain Fusion
Bike Setup: Hayes Sole Hydraulic disc brakes, Marzocchi EXR Comp forks, Fox Float rear shock, SLX Rear Derailleur, Deore front Derailleur, Specialized Enduro tires wrap around Sun-Rims Double Track Rims.
Strengths: Great frame to build on, solid and sturdy, low center of gravity, handles well with 4 inches of travel. Great for XC in 04 an still use it now after upgrading many parts.
Weaknesses: EXR forks only good for small drops up to 4 feet, little bit of flex, front hub,bars n stem flex too. poor tracking over rough stuff, roots etc.
Bottom Line:
A great frame to build on, only no longer used for single track and XC , more of an all mountain machine now. After 5 years nothing broke, just wore out,just changed parts to suit my riding. If you find this bike cheap now its still worth a good look.
Weaknesses: Compenents... but overall good for what you pay for, considering the frame
Bottom Line:
frame can take a bomb... I have had it for a solid 5 full seasons and with proper maintainence the bike has held up.
However, I will finally purchase a new ride next season.
(you can see my review from 4/5 years ago talking about this bike)
5 turds on value, because it took a heck of a beating... even flew off the roof of my car doing 65mph.
overall - a 3 because well, the base bike/compenets etc. are kinda crappy/ frame i great.
Similar Products Used: all of the old 4" to 4" travel bikes (apparently they are prehistoric now) its 5 and 5 or nothing
Bike Setup: odi lockons, full x-9, org. brakes (haha), manitou 2min (rebuilt), Manitou 3way rear (rebuilt), wtb seat, thompson stem/seat post, king headset, crossland rims, dts rubbers, crank brothers mallet c.
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Submitted by
geordie racer
a Weekend Warrior
from newcastle, england
Date Reviewed: May 29, 2008
Strengths: Reassuring frame feels steady as a rock - good ride position compared to my 04 marin rift zone which always felt twitchy but is heavier than the marin - single pivot back end better for big hits not as good for for rapid succesive hits like the marin quad link but overall i love it more dont ask why it just "feels right" and i feel i could hit almost anything on it and stay alive - never got that from the rift zone marin.
Weaknesses: components but there upgradable over time you pay for the frame and most componentry is ok for my style of riding - would mainly upgrade for weight saving purposes - fork is a bit crap both fork and shock could do with lockout for climbing/riding to the trails as it bobs like a bee-atch.
Bottom Line:
quality frame, confidence inspiring, most comfortable ride position i ever found - will suit me fine with better shock/fork.
Similar Products Used: rift zone marin, trek fuel 98 carbon, specialized epic.
Bike Setup: nokian gazzaloddi rear tyre, panaracer fire fr front tyre,hayes 200mm front rotor
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Submitted by
Sidney
a Weekend Warrior
from Corpus Christi, Texas
Date Reviewed: December 7, 2007
Strengths: Frame. It loves punishment. Very comfortable to ride for long periods of time in just about any terrain.
Weaknesses: EXR Comp fork. No setting seems to suit me.
Bottom Line:
Bike feels like a BMX big brother. Feels great on drops, jumps and cornering. Great for climbing too. A little heavier than most bikes but great all around. If I can only have one bike, this is it.
Similar Products Used: Cannondale Rush, Prophet and my old reliable Raleigh hardtail.
Bike Setup: Selle Italia seat replaced the stock Kona, and rear shock replaced with spring loaded fox float.
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Submitted by
Brad Lawder
a Cross Country Rider
from Lindsay, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: August 5, 2007
Strengths: i race it and i have no complants.
Weaknesses: shimano deore rear derailler i broke the aluminum arm on it and it went it to my spokes
Bottom Line:
its for people that like a bit of all worlds its good on the road, fast single track, fast dubble track, farly tequnical sections,over logs, and it doesnt ming going over the odd drop or jump it's a great all around bike and i love it.............by the way Mavic 117disc rims are not the best for the way i ride ive bent the rear one like 3 times
Bike Setup: Maxxi swamp things, Mavic 117disc rims, lizard skin kallroy 400mm seat post.
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Submitted by
konarider
a Weekend Warrior
from ottawa
Date Reviewed: July 9, 2007
Strengths: Just gota love that frame, handle well and can take masive hits (well it's still holding) great for climbing(Could be better..)
Weaknesses: Total front end was change the original suspention was realy crappy and the total thing was wabelly
Bottom Line:
For what i payd for this bike it just worth it i guess. Didn't like the main composant on the bike but if you dont really care if you demolish it in the woods well will be fine for you, the angle are just perfect for me you sit realy confortable ider for climbing or downhill, even drops, just dont exagerate. if your staring or not this bike is for you..
Submitted by
Andy Garner
a Cross Country Rider
from Nashville, TN USA
Date Reviewed: November 10, 2005
Strengths: Super bike - especially for the price. Fork & rear shock are really forgiving. I ride all kids of terrain, from fast singletrack to technical & the Dawg Matic performs very well. I just switched to full suspension & have noticed my bike handling skills have improved dramatically. It handles logs, ledges, etc. particularly well.
Weaknesses: The front wheel is a little difficult to line up in the disk brake. Sometimes it rubs - even after I've made adjustments.
Bottom Line:
If you're looking for a full suspension under $1500, I'd highly recommend at least test riding one of these before you purchase. It's a sweet ride.
Similar Products Used: Specialized FSRxc, Trek Fuel 70, Trek Fuel 80, Litespeed full suspension
Bike Setup: Stock
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Submitted by
corey
a Weekend Warrior
from raleigh, nc, usa
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2005
Strengths: tough frame and welds. for 2.1, the tire treds really grip the trails. strong gears. nice handle grips that come standard.
Weaknesses: a little heavy. wish the handlebar stem as longer and a had a taller headset. Brake pads worn out fairly quick. wish you could put bigger tires on it.
Bottom Line:
Love the bike! It really climbs! Gives me great balance and control for variable terrain. Tires are holding up nicely. If you ride trails with roots, log rolls, elevation and descents, this is a great bike. The weight might keep you from getting the air you want if you are into the big jumps. But the bike is great, recommend it for any hitting the trails who want a bike that will take it lumps and keep going.
Bike Setup: easy is standard, except I added platform pedals.
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Submitted by
alex
a Weekend Warrior
from Toronto, On, Canada
Date Reviewed: April 24, 2005
Strengths: Beefy Frame Decent stock components (for the price) Handles well on the trail Nice Looks
Weaknesses: Rather Heavy Takes a bit to get used to the steering
Bottom Line:
I purchased this bike at the Toronto Bike show in March. It was an amazing price for a full suspension (that was a factor in purchasing it). It handles very well on the trail, climbs well for its weight, combines freeride & XC qualities so you can use it to race and punish on drops/jumps (don't go to crazy though). It also handles quite nicely on the pavement. It took me a while to get used to the steering but otherwise an all around decent trail bike.
Submitted by
J cro
a Weekend Warrior
from nyc, ny, usa
Date Reviewed: September 1, 2004
Strengths: frame, surprisingly good brakes
Weaknesses: front end (stem, headset, bars, shock), tires, pedals, seatpost.
Bottom Line:
solid frame will keep for at least 4 years. perfect for aggresive xc riding/endurance riding. ive given this bike a serious beating and its still riding new... well despite all the upgrades i threw in, but its a hobby.
the exr comp drove me nuts so i had to get rid of it, and i opted to do the front end over... if your gunna do it do it right, and i think i did it alright.
the bike wieghs in at a beefy 34.x lbs, (17"), with the up grades i did so far its probably teetering on breaking 30 lbs... HUGE DIFFERENCE... good frame, thats the bottom line
Similar Products Used: nrs 1, kona bear, gary fisher cake 3.5 dlx, jamis xlt 2.0
Bike Setup: Upgrades:crankbros mallet C, manitou minute 2, thompson stem/seatpost, azonic doublewall riser bars, chris king head, michelin hot s 2.1 tires with stans notubes.
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Submitted by
Alex Foster
a Cross Country Rider
from Macomb, Illinois, USA
Date Reviewed: August 7, 2004
Strengths: Awesome bike! Nice rear shock and Marzocchi fork, Brakes, Rims, Solid Frame, Good all round bike for still being able to climb hills for Xc as well to play around on some jumps and drop offs.
Weaknesses: Components, handlebar/stem. Those are the only things really.........haven't really had it any longer to find anymore.
Bottom Line:
Sweet bike for the money. The components are a little week but thats what you get for that amount of money. I would definetly get different components and new handle bar/stem. Overall it's pretty dang sweet!
Just finished up a ride on my Dawg Matic when the 4x4 marking on the seat tube sparked the part of my brain that has not been damaged by beer...
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I recently picked up an 04 Kona Dawg Matic. Used it for abou Read More »
