Essentially what we have is a custom Racerx designed to run a 100mm fork up front so that the bike handles correctly. The rear travel has been bumped up to get 3.8" of travel. It will be using the 02 Racerx linkage design on our bikes which enables the use of a standard double eyelet shock, this also increases the stiffness of an already VERY stiff frame. The toptube has been sloped even more for increased standover. The bottom bracket height has been optimized for the perfect balance of clearance and handling, especially on those off camber tight switchbacks.
It also has a straight guage downtube with a gusset for additional stiffness and durability with a 100mm fork and the extra abuse the bike will encounter on the real trails! Also, the lowers are boxed meaning where the hollowed out yoke section is there are welded plates back over them for increased stiffness and durability.
This bike RAILS tight technical offcamber singletrack.
Submitted by
aggropa
a Cross Country Rider
from Philadelphia, PA
Date Reviewed: September 5, 2011
Strengths: EVERYTHING. Lightweight, stiff, durable, and beautiful frame. Tremendous handeling. etc. etc. etc.
Weaknesses: Bottom bracket is a little low, but I don't think it would be possible to make it higher and keep the same handeling.
Bottom Line:
The bottom line is that this is the best bike I have ever ridden. I didn't even know it existed until I found it for a steal on craigslist. It's a brand of titus in case you are not familiar. As other riders have stated, it rides like it's on rails. Simply goes where you point it, and does so quickly. Extremely efficient, amazing climber, and takes the abuse. Not a feather bike, but certainly reasonable for this bike (about 27 pounds built up). There are so many things to say about this bike. I am able to climb things that I could never climb before due to the efficiency, the ability of the suspension to absorb impact, and it's overall geometry. You can loft the front wheel over obstacles, and I find myself going up trails and over waterbars that I never could before. Descending is a joy as you can whip it wherever you want. I believe the difference from this bike and the racer X (as stated in the description) is that it has more gussets, a boxed rear end that increases stiffness, and slightly different geometry. It's hard to pinpoint why this bike is so good, but it just is. I also credit the fox shocks. My first time with fox on my bike, and they do an amazing job. The bottom bracket is lower than the insanely high bottom bracket of my previous Reign 2. The previous owner took off the 3rd chanring, and mounted a bash guard, which I originally thought was dumb, but seems to be working out really well. Not a fan of grip shift typically, but that is better than expected as well. If you are going up a really steep hill in gear 1 or 2 the front end tends to lift up a little too much also, but this happens rarely, and just requires a little pressure on the front wheel. I'm running about 70-80psi up front and 100psi in the rear, and I'm approx 185lbs at this point. I'm getting approx 1/4 of the travel in sag when seated, and using about 80% on the travel on a typical ride, which really seems to work. As I bought this bike new I don't know the year, but the guy said more like 2005 than 2002. Whatever it is, buy it if you can find it used. If not, save up and order it new. I seriously don't think I'll ever find a bike better than this, so I hope they are still making it when this bikes life is used up.
Similar Products Used: GT LTS2, Mountain Cycles San Andreas, Santa Cruz Nomad, Giant Reign 2
Bike Setup: Hammerhead 100X silver frame, Fox 100 RLC fork, Fox float R rear shock with increased sleeve diameter and propedal, XT disc brakes, XTR front derailleur, XT cranks, Grip shift with X7 rear derailleur.
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Submitted by
rsmarg
a Cross Country Rider
from Santa Barbara, CA
Date Reviewed: March 30, 2005
Strengths: Great climber, clean welds, great variability (takes rapid small bumps and sucks up drops), ultra-responsive in tight spots, unique, Titus service/parts available
Weaknesses: All personal: BB higher than used to, dimensions feel bigger than quoted, squeaky pivots.
Bottom Line:
I am 5'10", 168 lbs. Bottom line: trust the bike, its smarter than you. Rode my C-dale hardtail for 8 years before switching to the Hammerhead in September 2003. It took me a looong time to get used to the way it handles, but I do not blame the bike. I've waited to post a review of it until I felt totally in tune with it, which I do now.
This bike doesn't want to be steered, just guided. It knows where to go. Trust it and you'll feel that it doesn't necessarily pick the tightest line, but is designed, built, and capable of holding the one it wants by sucking up little bumps and big hits.
Climbing shows very slight though acceptable bob, tracks well, and doesn't suck energy. Geometry feels longer than factory specs. Climbing has me a little hunched over more than would prefer, and descending has me a bit too extended to get the weight back. This is resolvable with shorter stem.
In addition to the sort-of-long cockpit, the bottom bracket feels a bit higher than other bikes in this category. This helps in the technical stuff and singletrack descents as it allows you to easily rock/lean the bike side to side, and is good for climbing. However, it does raise your center of gravity on descents.
The full geometry (cockpit, BB, angles) is conducive to fast, swoopy, twisty singletrack descents, but tends to cause a feeling of drift on fireroad descents. Again, this may be resolved with different componentry (shorter stem, longer cranks, different tires).
The frame itself feels solidly built. No jarring or rattling and has taken some big digs and come out unscathed. The welds are clean and look strong and the rear triangle is beefy.
The 4" rear shock is great, too. It really responds well to normal trail conditions and reacts exactly the way you want it to on big drops and unexpected big hits.
The pivots are starting to squeak on climbs and washboard descents, but this is true with so many full suspensions.
Overall its a wonderful bike for a cross-country rider who will be doing a lot of climbing followed by long descents on singletrack and technical terrain.
The biggest thing is to really trust the bike. I think this is true with any bike, but once you trust this one you'll see that it does EXACTLY what it was designed to do.
Bike Setup: Stem: Thomson Elite 1-1/8 x 5 deg x 120 x 25.4 (a little bit long). Bars: 7 deg rise, 1" sweep, 630mm. Seatpost: Thomson Elite 410mm x 31.6. Cranks: Truvativ Stylo Team 175mm. Front fork: '02 Marzocchi MSR 105mm, 4". Rear shock: Fox Float R. Rims: Tioga Factory XC. Tires: Front-Conti Survival 2.3, rear-Conti Vertical 2.1
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Submitted by
DirtFetish
a Cross Country Rider
from Tyler, Texas
Date Reviewed: December 23, 2004
Strengths: Ultimate agility. CUSTOMER SERVICE.
Weaknesses: I don't have a different color for each day of the week.
Bottom Line:
This bike is phenomenal. The Hammerhead is equally proficient at dropping/climbing the ledges of City Park, or whipping through the trees at Erwin Park, or climbing the steepest gnarliest ascent.
Equally as impressive is Charles Coker at Hammerhead bikes. To say that "Charles has bent over backwards to keep me riding," would be a colossal understatement. Upon hearing of my desperate circumstances, Charles has always offered his resources before I could request them. The man loves to ride. And his efforts show that he understands his customers' need to ride. Yes, the Hammerhead 100X is a "product." But if you get to ride one or talk to Charles, you will understand that it is a product of passion. I know that this reads like some serious butt-kissing. However, if Charles helps his other customers half as much as he helps me, he deserves it!
Back to the bike: 2-1/2 years ago I posted a thread on DORBA. Basically it read that I was a clydesdale rider looking for a bike that was built like a downhill rig but made to shred singletrack. I mentioned that I was looking at Turner, Ellsworth and Ventana. Someone steered me to Hammerhead and it has been all everyone else posts and more. You cannot go wrong with the Hammerhead as a trail bike. It would probably even be a above average racer for the person that can only have one bike and would like to race too. My 24.25" frame Hammerhead weighs about 26 lbs. and if you look at how I spec'd out the bike, you will notice that I went with strenght over light weight parts.
Again, you can't go wrong buying a Hammerhead 100X or buying a bike from Charles.
BTW: Charles built my King/Velocity wheels 2 years ago. It took a year for me to trash the rear wheel from jumping stuff. The front wheel has not budged, not even needed to be trued after 2 years, four 24 hour races, two 12 hour races, several trips to City Park(nasty wicked gnarly sick climbs, drops, and rocks), North Shore, and the 60 mile Ouachita Challenge. Rock-solid build.
Favorite Trail: City Park, Erwin Park, Cameron Park
Duration Product Used: 2 Years
Purchased At: Hammerhead Bikes
Similar Products Used: Can't compare this to anything I've ridden/owned.
Bike Setup: 24.25" Anodized Grey, XO, Avid: Ultimates/160-180 Ball Bearing Disc Brakes, Fox Float 100RLC, Manitou Swinger, Chris King: Hubs/Headset, Velocity Rims, Kenda Blue Groove, Stan's NoTubes, Shimano: XT Crankset/Front Derailleur/959 Pedals, Thomson Stem, Titus Seatpost, Easton Carbon Monkey Riser,ODI Yeti Grips(cut-down) WTB Speed-V Ti Saddle
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Submitted by
Eron Flory
a Cross Country Rider
from Austin, Texas
Date Reviewed: December 14, 2004
Strengths: Light yet very rigid. Great climbing ability on rock technical trails and almost perfect manners in corners.
Weaknesses: The bottom bracket is a little lower than on the Heckler it replaced so I bash the pedals occasionally on rocky trails but that is the only thing I can think of. I could probably help this by running more pressure in the suspension but that would compromise the plush suspension which allows me to take the same rocky trails faster than I used to. Long wait once ordered.
Bottom Line:
The bottom line is I didn't want to spend as much as I ended up spending on this bike but it was worth it. This bike does everything well and is the most fun to ride hard of any bike I have ever ridden. I could go into more detail but most of it has already been said in previous reviews. I would recommend this bike to anyone for cross county racing or riding.
I have done one race on this bike so far and found that I was less beat up than on either of the bikes I raced on the same course last season while placing higher.
This bike has been relatively problem free as well. The only trail side repair I have done is replacing a derailer I bent by bashing it into a rock. The bike was supplied with a spare derailer hanger so after a 2 minute trail side repair I was on my way.
Similar Products Used: Santa Cruz Hecker, Santa Cruz Superlight, Fisher Supercaliber
Bike Setup: Fox RLT 100 fork Magura wheels Magure Marta disc bracks SRAM X9 shifters and rear derailer Kenda Blue Groove tires Mostly the standard HH 100 disc spec. parts.
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Submitted by
Mark
a Cross Country Rider
from SW Idaho
Date Reviewed: November 19, 2004
Strengths: Great balance between the front and rear tires, amazingly stiff light frame, beautiful welds, tight tolerances, and fits me like it's custom made.
Weaknesses: hmmmmmm.....can't think of any.
Bottom Line:
This is the third Titus frame I've owned (have a 2001 Quasi) and I'm a fan of their products. Charles Coker has tweaked the Hammerhead to make it less of a racer and more of a trailbike....works for me. Appreciate the higher BB over the Racer X (and 100RX). This is a design that doesn't need a platform shock to climb well. I'm running a two year old Float that bobs so little I'm debating whether I need the platform feature from PUSH. My bike bunnyhops so well I would hate to lose some of that ability with platform in a rear or front shock....
For 90% of the riding I do....which is xc singletrack(I love technical trails...we just don't have many in SW Idaho)this is the perfect frame.
Similar Products Used: Owned a medium 1998 Racer X for 3 1/2 years....loved it but it was a little small (23" top tube) and it handled best with an 80 mm fork.
Bike Setup: 23.5" 2003 blue ano Hammerhead, Chris King Iso disk hubs & HS, Sram XO rder & shifters, Fox Float 100RLC fork, Magura Marta SLs, Thomson sp & stem, Time xs cabon pedals, XT crank, bb, & fder, Kenda 2.1 BG tires, Easton carbon riser, Flite gel, Odi lockons....
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Submitted by
stripes
a Cross Country Rider
from California
Date Reviewed: November 18, 2004
Strengths: Incredibly well-built bike. Charles at Hammerhead Bikes talked to me constantly to make sure I was getting exactly what I wanted and made sure it fit. Bike is extremely well-balanced and rides extremely well.
Weaknesses: I bug my husband more about going riding and that probably annoys him :)
Product itself, none. Maybe wait time and cost, but you know the cost going into it so it's not like it's a surprise or anything. Also, when you get exactly what you want, it's worth the wait.
Bottom Line:
I have a very difficult time finding bike that fit me. Even though I'm female, most of the top tubes on the WSD bikes still didn't feel right. When I bought the Sugar, it was a great bike, except I was too stretched out (even on a WSD!!), and got wrist pains.
I got tired of buying new bikes all the time because none of them seem to fit just right (other than my old Trek hardtail). This is the first bike that actually fits me right.. but it gets better!
Not only does this bike fit me right, it's also balanced right. I have a significantly easier time with switchbacks riding it (even though they're still difficult), and this bike just screams downhill. I also don't feel like I lose anything on the climbs.
As an XC rider, I'm not interesting in doing big drops, but I was looking for a lighter bike that fit me right. This bike is the ultimate XC bike, and I really feel as though I can grow into a little more. Every time I ride, this bike keeps surprising me on what it can handle. I can't wait until I get better at climbing and can really take advantage of it.
5 chilis for value, as I knew everything on it, and the build Charles did was awesome, not to mention the customer service
Similar Products Used: Lessee, Gary Fisher Sugar 3+ Genesisters, Trek Y-22, Specialized Enduro Pro FSR, but none of them are necessarily similiar in the way the HH100X is. It's a completely different class.
Bike Setup: Similar to my Sugar: XTR/XT drivetrain, XT cranks, Fox Float 100 RLT, flat bars, bar ends, Kendra BGs, and Terry saddle :) After the Kendras wear out, I may go back to the XC Pros, and I might go back to RF cranks.
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Submitted by
Al
a Cross Country Rider
from Houston, Tx, USA
Date Reviewed: October 17, 2004
Strengths: Great design. Super intuitive handling. Very fast and efficient. Very progressive at the limit means you can chuck it around like a BMX. Nice detailing (e.g. clevis-style pivots at the dropouts). High quality workmanship.
Weaknesses: The wait to get hold of one! Some detail stuff: Mud clearance a little tight (guess they don't have mud in Arizona). Rear end is disc only but main triangle has no disc hose guides, only split guides for cables. Seat tube gap (for tightening seatpin) has no stress relieving circle cut at the end. Only 2 year warranty.
Bottom Line:
After 3 years riding my first full suspension bike (k2) I was after something with a bit more travel to cope better with the kind of riding I was doing. A lot of research led me to the Hammerhead, which seemed to have just the features I wanted: 100mm travel, light, 4-bar linkage suspension, and designed with real trail riding in mind. After a loooonnng wait for my frame to be built, anodised, and shipped, I got it built up and within the first couple of rides knew I had made the right choice. The amount of grip this bike has is much higher than anything else I've tried - the front just goes exactly where you want and the rear follows faithfully. At the limit, it is incredibly progressive. It will ease into a gentle, easily controllable slide without ever feeling as tough it's going to lose traction completely. Compared to single-pivot bikes, the 4-bar linkage isolates the braking force from the suspension much better. This allows the bike to be ridden very fast into corners, knowing that the suspension will keep working and keep the back wheel on the ground even under heavy braking. To summarise, the best thing about this bike is that you never really have to *think* about riding it - it has a very natural feel which means you can just get on enjoying the trails knowing that the bike will do what you ask of it.
Submitted by
Scott
a Cross Country Rider
from Oklahoma
Date Reviewed: July 16, 2004
Strengths: Quality construction, zero flex, fully active travel, very efficient rear end, telepathic handling, fits perfect.
Weaknesses: I don't have another one to use only on race day
Bottom Line:
Coming most recently from a Blur I couldn't be more happy with the Hammerhead! It doesn't have the flaws of the Blur (pedals smashing on rocks, sluggish sprinting/climbing, frame flex, brake chatter, S curve suspension path you can "feel") The rear suspension is super efficient (swinger shock is awesome), if feels like a hardtail pedaling, is a super fast sprinter, and climbs like a mt. goat. The rear end does a fantastic job of soaking up all the roots/rocks w/o you even noticing or "feeling" the suspension working,is a just smooth/quiet/plush. It is a very cool feeling. The fit and handling are perfect. I actually built the bike up Sat. rode it to make sure everything was dialed and then raced it on Sunday. It felt like I had owned the bike a year. Every other bike I have owned has taken a little getting used to. If you are looking for an efficient yet plush rear end (which you can adjust how efficient or how plush), telepathic handling, superior frame stiffness, beautiful welds and frame tubes then this is your bike! Actually who isn't looking for those things in a bike :) ??? One last thing: Charles knows his stuff and will do a great job making sure you are happy with your dream bike.
Similar Products Used: Blur w/5th Element Air, 10+ other FS bikes.
Bike Setup: Mostly XT, Avid Mechanicals, DT 240 Disc Hubs, 317 rims, thomson stem/seatpost, maxm carbon bar. Fox RLT coming for the front, running a Marathon 105mm now. Swinger 3 way in the rear
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Submitted by
Jay
a Cross Country Rider
from Maine
Date Reviewed: July 7, 2004
Strengths: Everything! Stiff and plush in one bike. Fits like an old baseball glove.
Weaknesses: None. Seriously.
Bottom Line:
This bike redefines comfort. The fit is 100% perfect for me. I feel perfectly balanced and ready for anything when I ride. The bike never ceases to amaze me. Just when I've pushed myself a little too far and I feel an impending crash, the bike just tracks through it all and all is well. I can't say enough about the Manitou Swinger 4-Way. Very nice complement to the stiff rear on this bike. Set-up correctly the bike feels like a light hardtail on smooth trails and climbs. Once the swinger is activated the bike turns into a plush rock and root eater. The WTB Laser saddle is fantastic and compared to my buddies rides is significantly more comfortable. Adjustable travel on the Talas is a plus. I actually use it frequently. On long, steep climbs I dial down to 85mm and for everything else 105mm seems like the sweet spot. If you're looking for a happy medium between x-country and an all mountain you won't be dissapointed. This is my dream bike... Worth every penny.
Similar Products Used: Specialized Epic, Santa Cruz Blur.
Bike Setup: Magura Marta brakes, Fox Talas RL up front, Manitou Swinger 4-Way in rear, XT, etc, etc.
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Submitted by
Gnarly
from USA
Date Reviewed: June 25, 2004
Strengths: Low center of gravity, laterally stiff, balance of trailbike/race geometry (also a tradeoff, IMO), fairly light, pedals efficiently.
Weaknesses: Expensive, a bit too steep in the head angle, not available direct from manufacturer, may be hard pressed to outperform a hardtail or softail on marathon rides. Not enough affordable plush shock options.
Bottom Line:
Not a bad bike, but tradeoffs if you're into marathon rides. This is mainly one of the more pedaling efficient bikes for those that want 4" travel, not necessarily a be all, end all, for XC, alpine trail, epic routes, where you want to cover lots of ground in little time. The steep head angle may get you into trouble on long rides, where you get tired and need a bit more stability. In short, what I'm saying, is that you can't really come out with one bike, that does both XC race, and trailriding well, just because it has a steep head angle, and a BB with a fair amount of clearance. Something like this with a half degree slacker head angle would make more sense, rather than expecting customers to use an adjustable travel fork, that weighs a half pound more, and only use about a half inch of it's range.
Similar Products Used: Tested old style Racer-X (pre swing link) with X Fly 100.
Bike Setup: Race Face (don't let Charles tell you it's crap), XO, Thomson, King, Fox, etc.
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Submitted by
Greg Rosenberg
a Cross Country Rider
from New Jersey
Date Reviewed: June 13, 2004
Strengths: Handling, Build Quality, and ride.
Weaknesses: Not enough time to ride it.
Bottom Line:
When you are going to spend this much money on a bike the selection and options are practically endless. Blur, 5.5, X-5, Turner and Hammerhead were all in the running. I did an endless amount of research online, for a long time, before I made my decison. I was very hesistant about ordering a bike without ever seeing one in person much less riding it (there is only one Hammerhead dealer in the world). The deciding factors were the passionate responses I got from other Hammerhead owners and the stellar rating of 5.0 on MTBR.com.
I made the right decision. I was able to build the bike up exactly as I wanted it, no B.S. parts from a mass produced manufacturer that is trying to save some money.
The bike came and it was the finest build that I have ever gotten on a bike before. All of the cables and hoses look like they grew on the bike, everything was adjusted perfectly. It took minutes to finish the assembly from Hammerhead.
I have ridden this bike for about three months now and all I can say is WOW! It just goes where I want it too. Sometimes when I am riding Singletrack, and really pushing myself, a tight turn, switchback, or nasty rock garden will just pop up out of no where and after I burn through it I wonder how my bike actuallly made the turn. You have to ride a Hammerhead to really understand the reviewers that call the bikes handling "telepathic".
I ride Northern New Jersey rocky, technical trails and beleive me that the almost four inches of rear wheel travel is plenty. This bike had the smallest rear wheel travel of all of the bikes that I was considering but it more than fits the bill.
Bike Setup: Fox Float RLC, Manitou 3-way, Marta's, Cris King hubs and headset, Monkeylite bar, Thompson post and stem, Sram shifters, XTR rear dearailler, XT cranks and bottom bracket, Time pedals, and Prolink saddle.
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Submitted by
Barry
a Cross Country Rider
from Minneapolis, MN, USA
Weaknesses: None frame related, maybe a little heavy but not an issue
Bottom Line:
I searched for over a year to find the right bike for my interests. The bike is a supplement to a Moots YBB race bike that has been converted to a singlespeed. My intentions are to use the bike for general trail riding, 100 mile races, 12 and 24 hour races when the terrain is too rough for the YBB (comfort over weight). With full disks, the bike is in the 25 to 26 lb range while the Moots is 23 geared and 21 singlespeed. Weights are with Eggbeater pedals.
The frame responds similarly to my YBB in that is has the difficult to describe telepathic handling - to sum it up, the bike seems to know where to go just by tiny adjustments by me. It is not a big hit bike but does handle pretty much anything I tend to throw at it - 4 foot drops, big rocks and log crossings at speed, etc.
Charles at Hammerhead was good to deal with and his advice on the bike and components is to be trusted.
I love this bike! I think it’s the best of its kind on the market. All of the previous reviews are true…it’s that good. It’s well balanced and handles great. The bike is stiff and tracks extremely well. It's super responsive, too. The ride is smooth and firm with 4 inches of travel on the front and rear. It’s very efficient and the acceleration is amazing. It rails corners, climbs like a goat on steroids, negotiates rock gardens and off camber trails with no problem. Basically, it will do whatever you ask of it. Your skill is the limit.
I’m 6’ and weight about 195 lbs. I ride a lot and tend to damage stuff, so I assume my riding style is somewhat aggressive or at least abusive. I’m addicted to this sport so I don’t like down time and reliability was a big consideration in my purchase. The bike has been maintenance free.
Living in the Austin area has afforded me the opportunity to meet and ride with other HH owners. I have found that these folks are excited about the Hammerhead’s performance and durability. Their stories are consistent with the reviews about the bike and the shop.
Another benefit that comes with the HH is customer service. I’ve had some time to meet and get to know Charles. This guy knows bikes and does a lot of product testing. He will give you good feedback. Charles is interested in what fits the customer and will take whatever time necessary to find the right bike for your particular riding style, even if it’s not a Hammerhead. I’ve never felt pressured to purchase a thing. Decent, honest people with superior products are the winning combination here, and Hammerhead Bikes has got it down.
So, whether you’re doing epic rides, technical-rocky single track or XC racing, this bike will do it all. I currently own a Blur and a Superlight, and they’ve been gathering dust ever since I bought the HH. I can honestly say the HH 100X out performs these bikes hands down.
Similar Products Used: Santa Cruz Superlight & Blur.
Bike Setup: Fox Float 100RL, Fox Propedal, Chris King Hubs & Headset, DT Swiss Rims, MaXm Seat Post & Bars, Avid Mechanical disc, XTR shifters, XT Drive Train, Thompson Stem.
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Submitted by
Lee Cain
a Cross Country Rider
from Athens, GA, USA
Date Reviewed: November 3, 2003
Strengths: Bike's handling is superb! Climbs fantastic - no bob, rear wheel stays stuck to ground and steers telepathically. Rails corners. Descends anything very fast and very confidently. Fit is perfect. Construction is beautiful, stiff and rock solid, no lateral play or flex. Very balanced and comfortable. Superior build by Hammerhead. XTR disk very sweet, Fox fork and rear shock smooth, quiet and troublee free. Tubeless gets my vote. This is THE bike! Hammerhead Bikes a real top notch outfit - they know their stuff and take care of customer.
Weaknesses: Couldn't find any if you paid me too. Just an awesome machine - second to none.
Bottom Line:
I am a very analytical type and I poured over all the specs and weighed all the options for every bike before settling on the Hammerhead 100x. I was very nervous shelling out 4200 for a bike I had never riden or seen, yet somehow I had a strong gut feeling that this was the bike for me. I couldn't be happier with this bike!
I tested the Blurr but was not impressed with the build quality and thought there was an unsubstantiated feeding frenzy. I test rode the Titus Racer X and liked it alot, but wanted more travel than their 80 mm fork. A call to Titus then revealed the Hammerhead project. After a couple of phone conversations with Charles Coker (pres, hammerheadbikes.com) I could tell he knew his stuff. Coker sought first to understand what kind of bike I needed (style, terrain, weight, size, measurements, experience, etc) then recommended the 100x. He can sell most top of the line bikes, but for me the 100x was the one.
I took delivery of the bike in Crested Butte and spent 10 days putting the bike through the paces. Each day, 6 to 8 hours of very hard riding up and down the tallest and steepest mountains. The bike exceeded my every expectation - it climbs better than any hardtail because it doesn't bob and the rear wheel stays planted over bumps so you have great traction and the steering at slow speed is telepathic. The bike is very balanced and responds very well to body english meaning when you are in technical situations you usually can just ride right through them with ease. The bike flies through corners - it steers at speed just awesomely. It motors and sprints on flats, and on descents it handles with total control and eats up the big hits so smoothly. Because the bike handles so well and is so comfortable, you can rider longer and harder! This is the ultimate trail bike, cross country bike and endurance bike. Mine weighs 25 lbs and handles like it weighs less.
One look at the construction and you know this bike will last. It is rock solid and has no flex, nor any side to side in the rear that many FS bikes do. The welds are beautiful, the annonization is deep, shiny and rich, and Hammerhead's recommendation for parts and build-up leaves you with the perfect bike, bar none. And Hammerhead can stretch the dollar.
Ask anyone who owns a Hammerhead or read all the reviews. This is THE bike and it will not dissapoint. All the reviews are true!!
Similar Products Used: Trek Fuel, Specialized Epic, Titus Racer X, Fisher Sugar, Santa Cruz Blurr and Superlight, Maverick, Klein, etc.
Bike Setup: Full all new XTR components with disk brakes, Fox 100 RLC fork, new Fox Float R rear shock with Pro-Pedal platform, Mavic Crossmax SLs (tubeless), Conti Explorer Pro tires, thompson post and stem, WTB Laser Stealth saddle, Raceface Good and Evil grips.
