Submitted by
Will Bynum
a Cross Country Rider
from Norco, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: August 11, 2008
Strengths: Incredible value, durability
Weaknesses: Weight
Bottom Line:
This is a follow up review, more than 4 years after my first review. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see my previous review... and everything still holds true. I have beaten this bike up over the past 4 years and it still performs wonderfully. I've read many of the other reviews with people have durability issues and other probs. I have had none, and I ride this thing constantly. I'm still surprised at how well this has held up, and it truly performs as well as many bikes I've had at 2-3 times the price. Well worth the purchase.
Submitted by
Gerald Badoz
a Weekend Warrior
from Orlando, FL, USA
Date Reviewed: May 24, 2007
Strengths: Great bang for your buck!! Great beginner bike. Good looks!!
Weaknesses: Lower grade components, but they work fine if tuned properly; reliable. Heavy setup!!! Not for an experienced MTBer with $$$$ to spend.
Bottom Line:
Its a great beginners bike. Learn how to ride and decide whether MT biking is for you. Good value. Mine can stock with full Deore equipment; very decent. Once you grow out of it, get yourself a light-weight higher echelon bike. It is a little heavy compared to other bikes...
Similar Products Used: Department store bikes (never again).
Bike Setup: Factory setup is full Deore equipment, Tektro mechanical disks, Judy TT 100mm fork, spring shock, MAVIC wheels with generic hubs.
After a few years of owning it I've decided to upgrade all the components on it. XTR derailleurs, shifters, crank, BB, cassette, chain, Avid Carbon Juicys brakes, Truvativ Team Carbon handlebar, Cane Creek SOLOS headsset, Thomson X4 stem and seat post, SID rear shock, Judy TT fork, and V Race saddle. Need to upgrade wheels and hubs.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
DAvid
a Racer
from Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
Date Reviewed: April 2, 2007
Strengths: Rims could take a beating
Weaknesses: Frame and unfortuantly everything for me Broke the rear fork. Exploded Rear shock. Got lots of chain suck in the frame, the front shock is wimpy and gets lots of sag.
Bottom Line:
FOr a beginner its great but for someone like me it was horrible, i think i got a lemon because the frame pulled to the side when i peddaled and the frame snaped due to fatigue. raliegh sent me a brand new 3.0 and i would sugest that over this bike. Great value though
Similar Products Used: Ram 3.0 Giant Trance Giant anthem
Bike Setup: Stock
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Tony
a Weekend Warrior
from WI/NY/WA/AZ
Date Reviewed: March 27, 2007
Strengths: Affordable Price. Color is nice too.
Weaknesses: Poor engineering. Many weaknesses appearing after 500 miles
Bottom Line:
This was a nice tight bike in the beginning. Hit many tough trails with expected failures, however during maintenance, noted many engineering flaws. Basically, this bike is not made to last. Then again, what in this world is? Watch out for the rear shock attach points loosening causing wear in the swing arm and frame mount bores. Rear shock is leaking. noting some play in the fork to frame bearing. I better stay on the sidewalk! Too weak to modify, but what can you get for $450 bucks? Good beginner bike.
Submitted by
Quinn
a Weekend Warrior
from Dallas, TX USA
Date Reviewed: July 31, 2006
Strengths: Good rims, rear shock is good for being a no-name, sturdy frame
Weaknesses: Front forks get spongey pretty quick, front disc brakes get a little out of sync on a reg. basis.
Bottom Line:
A great bike for the price! Good components, decent ride. The rear shock is no-name but operates really well on anything from the road to steep downhills. The front forks pretty much suck after the first 6 months or so; they're adjustable, but mine are pretty much the same at any setting now. I traded out the pedals and put some Crank Bros. Candy-C's on it, but otherwise left it stock. I would seriously suggest upgrading the tires as well; they're kinda wimpy. I would definitely recommed this to anyone interested in getting a good bike for not a lot of money.
I bought this bike beginning of last summer. Rode at home around the woods and the only problem I had was a few flats from thorns. When I went back to school that fall, that’s when stuff started breaking. First the handlebars bent like a paper clip after I landed front heavy off a set of stairs. The rear shock busted after a few weeks of riding on campus. The rear derailleur cable gets caught on the seat post clamp when the rear shock is compressed and pulls it out of position. I get pinch flats almost every time I ride. Recently, I got a flat spot on the rear rim around the seam. Basically this bike sucks. Don't buy.
AFTER RIDING THE BIKE FOR A YEAR, I HAVE REPLACED THE RIMS REAR SHOCK AND NOW THE FRAM. THE REAR SWING ARM COULD NOT HANDLE HAND THE ABUSE. NOTE THEY LONGER MAKE THE RAM 1.0 AND REAR SWING ARM.
Submitted by
will
a Weekend Warrior
from pelham,N.Y., United States
Date Reviewed: December 4, 2005
Strengths: evrything. this is a great bike. it is not expensive at all either. you get alot mor ethen what you pay. it has full suspention,disk brakes, 24 speed.
Weaknesses: NONE
Bottom Line:
great bike for some one getting into mountain biking or even an advanced mountain biker. it is great!!!!!
Bike Setup: fox floatR MarzocchiBomberMX Pro 04 LX SHIFTERS XT rear de. avid fr brake levers, easton bars and neck ,Vbrakes sun rims and lizard skin to protect the frame and panaracer fireXCpro tires
i hate listing this, in the 6 months i've had it i've had both deriaullers screw up completely, rear is bent, both wheels needed extreme truing, spokes loosened up,pedals loosen after a week, crank gets loose after a month, pivot points loose after a couple weeks, disc brakes are pathetic, rear shock has horrible tracking performance, fork also has bad small bump sensitivity but has some adjustability, i have also blown up 3 tubes.
Submitted by
Marcos GB
a Weekend Warrior
from Green Bay, WI USA
Date Reviewed: August 25, 2005
Strengths: Great intermediate/beginner bike. What an awesome transition from my hard frame. Over the last six months I've ridden intense trails from Madison to Kewaunee, and had a blast. Given the low price, I think you can't beat this bike. In Blue Mounds (Madison) I hit the boulders hard with no issues. At Kewaunee I climb >40 degree winding slopes, and at Baird's Creek (GB) I cross ladders (bridges) and jump trees. This bike does it all.
Weaknesses: It's the least expensive full suspension bike available (for adults). Yes, the gears are not XT's, and the brakes tend to grind (tip for the front tire: when you put it one, tighten from the right end first to center the disc). I got the gears working well now, and the brakes also. Yes, it's heavy, but then pay a little more for better materials. Besides, weight is OK when you're out to get a workout and have fun.
Bottom Line:
This bike is a great value and can take a beating.
This is a follow up review. I posted last year, and I've recently read some very negative reviews. I thought it was worthy to update from my glowingly positive post from last year. I still feel the same way, and I am even more convinced of the quality of this bike. I compare it to several of my $$$ bikes, and this is an amazing value. I continue to ride difficult trails, and ride them hard, and I have had to put in very little maintenance on this bike at all. I'm sorry that some have had issues with this bike, but it has been nothing but incredible for me... and I have bikes with price tags around $5000. Best value I've ever seen, and great performance- even compared with "high priced" bikes.
Submitted by
Brian Hughes
a Cross Country Rider
from Albuquerque, NM, USA
Date Reviewed: August 5, 2005
Strengths: Tough bike frame--I've banged this bike around hard and it still keeps going. Inexpensive (especially if on sale like mine was). You get a lot of bike for the price. Adjustable back shock provide 3" or 4" travel, plus you can adjust the spring to the appropriate preload setting.
Weaknesses: Heavy--the spec sheets says 34.5 lbs, but mine weighs 38.5 lbs including pedals as configured with tire liners and slime. The brakes weren't great at first, but they got better once broken in and properly adjusted. Components are heavy and lower grade--as to be expected at this price. So although the components were functional, I had to do quite a bit of tweaking on the brakes and derailleurs to get everything working smoothly and how I liked it. Note, I'm probably more fussy than most and I like to do my own wrenching, so I'll tweak on anything that's not perfect. Manitou Six fork is too soft and springy for my taste. No lockout (but what bike would at this price?)
Bottom Line:
For the money, it's a great bike. I don't think there is a better value out there. The quality was better than I expected at this price. Once adjusted, it rides as well as bikes many times more expensive. I'm fortunate to live where there are world class mountain singletracks and their trailheads just a few feet from my house, so I've done a lot of hard riding which includes plenty of drops and hard hits. Never a problem with the Raleigh RAM. Unlike other reviews, I found this bike to be tougher and sturdier than other full suspension bikes that are many time more expensive. In my experience sometimes the real lightweight and expensive bikes don't hold up as well as heavier bikes on XC trails.
This bike is not a XC racing bike--it's just too heavy. But you can even use that to your advantage and train with it by riding uphills. Then when you grab other bike (your lightweight racing bike) it feels as light as a feather.
Similar Products Used: Cannondale, Motobecane Fantom Elite is my current other full suspension bike--it's a lot lighter and upgaded with expensive components so I save it for racing and use the Raleigh for beating around, training, and exploring new trails.
Bike Setup: Mostly Stock. Slime and liners in tires, installed SPD pedals as soon as I got it home (I think the plastic platform pedals that come with the bike are just there for test rides at the store--not to ever try to ride on the trail). Also replaced the back wheel with a WTB wheel after I did something stupid and ruined the rim (not the bike's fault--it was mine).
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Marco
a Weekend Warrior
from Massachusetts
Date Reviewed: July 5, 2005
Strengths: the color, the handlebars
Weaknesses: ok lets seeee....rims,dropouts,fork,wheels slide on anything,gears are screwy, BACK SHOCK SUCKS MAJOR SH*!,the saddle hurts after maybe 5 minutes of sitting on it and $@*! i go on 2 hours rides,the pedals suck, the crank sucks, the "disc" brakes are weaker than my old department store bike and are MUCH weaker than my dads frigin comfort bike...so u get the picture....everything sucks!
Bottom Line:
This is my second review. I'm so disappointed in this bike i think i'm gonna throw it off a F*CKING mountain. Nobody buy this bike. maybe for some 8 year olds who like bikes that have two shocks (ooo!) but then again the shocks completely suck. the back shock is so damn tight and absorbs almost nothing. the manitou six fork isn't smooth at all...has no small bump sensitivity,i dont think its really considered a shock, it just has 3 points throughout the shock which it can stay...its so screwed! it doesn't move smoothly throughout it...it just moves a half inch at a time...SO SCREWED.......i am extremely disappointed with this "bike" and think raleigh should give me my money back so i can get a mongoose Tyax Super........I HATE RALEIGH THIS IS A FREE COUNTRY THANK GOD I CAN SAY I HATE RALEIGH YOUR BIKES ARE HORRIBLE......I WILL NEVER BUY FROM YOU AGAIN AS LONG AS I LIVE
Bike Setup: stock from raleigh, which=COMPLETE CRAP!
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Marco
a Cross Country Rider
from andover,massachusetts,USA
Date Reviewed: June 7, 2005
Strengths: fork adjustability,cool looks,tires have good grip
Weaknesses: back shock is really tight,disc brakes are weak,crank and spokes loosen up easily,gears mess up in about 3 days after gettin fixed,chain keeps slapping against the frame
Bottom Line:
I guess its ok if you just go on smooth trails and town riding. But if this thing feels unsteady on a wheelie landing then i guess its not for me. It breaks pretty easily and i surely expected more from a raleigh. DO NOT go off even small jumps with this, everythin loosens up and will break on you. The chain is also annoying, over bumps and off curbs it smacks the frame and is scratching the crap out of th eframe
Is it a good bike for a beginner? It sounds pretty well equipped! It just seems kinda heavy. What is it intended for? What other bikes are in its price range with FS? Please help! Read More »
Help! I bought a 2004 Ram 1.0 .I love the bike but the rear shocks a little soft. Its the stock Tough Shock.I weigh 200#.Does anyone have a recommendation for an upgrade that wont Read More »
