Submitted by
kikkomon
a Cross Country Rider
from kapaa , hawaii
Date Reviewed: September 26, 2008
Strengths: a bike is a bike ...
Weaknesses: N/A
Bottom Line:
my first mountain bike and i love it .paid $700.00 and $150 for new chain sprockets and cassettes and now a new rear shock from fox another $250 still i think its worth it. im making this bike the way i want it for a lil extra.
but i ride everyday at least 10 miles .
Bike Setup: pretty much stock except for my new rear shock from fox going on in a few weeks.
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Submitted by
Drew Vandergriend
a Downhiller
from bellingham WA< united states
Date Reviewed: July 9, 2007
Strengths: i would the products strengths are the frame and the backshock
Weaknesses: i would say the the derailer and the headset
Bottom Line:
i love this bike it rides smooth with an upgraded fork and have hit 13 foot drops and has held up fine, i love to use it fro slopestyle and just getting air.
Similar Products Used: kona stinky, ibex zone, kona stuff
Bike Setup: double 66, Mavic rims
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Submitted by
dustin bagwell
a Downhiller
from landrum sc
Date Reviewed: April 14, 2007
Strengths: this is a pretty stout bike i haven't had to replace anything but a tube everything has held up when i done a 7 foot drop on to a hill and 6 foot drop onto flat ground
Weaknesses: paint chips easy tubes are easy to bust
Bottom Line:
it's a great bike for what i paid for it and nothing has broke except a tube which is easy to replace so i do recommend this bike to anyone
Bike Setup: monitou splice front forks hv rear shock hayes sole brakes kenda blue groove tire in front and nevagable in back both 2.5
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Submitted by
A P
a Downhiller
from Castro Valley, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: March 27, 2007
Strengths: Reletively lightweight,handles great at any speed, high quality frame and components. Extremely stiff on large drops, will not let you down. Eats small and large bumps for lunch, then 7 ft+ drops for dinner. Takes any beating in its stride. Great trailbike, ok XC, medium DH/FR. My first non- Wal Mart bike, but i highly reccomend it to any non- XCer on a budget.
Weaknesses: No Maestro! Rear derailer hanger broke soon after purchase (factory defect?), but replaced it for $6.99. Never had a problem since. Could have come with a better fork than Manitou's Splice.
Bike Setup: Stock (Truvative cockpit, Alex DP20 rims, Hayes Sole hydros, Kenda tires).
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Submitted by
Michael
a
from sydney, nsw, australia
Date Reviewed: January 23, 2007
Strengths: 05 AC- Everything! Well almost everything, shock is great, brakes better than brick wall, bang for your buck. This is my first real bike and i'm loving it.
Weaknesses: Rear f**king derailer has fallen out on me twice, without much reason (each time takes about 3 weeks to repair). Stock seat post no good if your over 80kg and ride hard. Standard tyres very standard unless you downhill 100% of the time.
Bottom Line:
Very good alrounder for your dollar. Don't do anything wild and you should be sweet; drop 10ft, go 100km/h down a down hill track eg.
Similar Products Used: My first bike, but riden mates glory (awsome 8.8" travel). Sorry just got into downhilling.
Bike Setup: Stock, apart from seat post.
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Submitted by
josh
a Weekend Warrior
from sydney, NSW ,Australia
Date Reviewed: July 16, 2006
Strengths: i am writing about the 2005 ac- i thought most of the spec was good. the forks are plush and i did a 6 foot drop to flat with it set on the 5.3" setting and it didn't bottom out(i am 15 and weigh 64kg)the cranks are sturdy and the bars are good. i did a 150km Polaris challenge ride on it over two days with dh tyres and the suspension set on 6.6" so it pedals relatively well.I AM SICK OF PEOPLE SAYING THIS BIKE IS BAD, IT IS EXTREMELY GOOD VALUE FOR THE PRICE.
Weaknesses: i think the sram x7 rear derailer is pretty unreliable and the tyres are too heavy unless you are doing dh, for which they are great. the bottom bracket is a bit unreliable too as are the hayes sole breaks but all these things can be fixed with a little maintanence.
Bottom Line:
its a great bike for the price if you are on alow budget and want to dabble in everything. however, i would opt for a slightly more expensive bike if you are planning on doing some enduro/xc style peddaling. cheers
Strengths: One hell of ride and probably the most plush bike for six inches of travel. I might be thirteen but that doesn't mean I can't ride. I have done downhill, XC, and skate parks on it she still holds together. 6 footers and stairs are no problem. When landing and doing downhill this bike is like a sofa on wheels becuase of its high quality componets. I realy like the fork and the frame.
Weaknesses: Even though I love this bike I have had some problems with the rotors, derualir hanger, rear shox, rear tire poped for no good reason and it is starting to make noises like a b@2#h. This bike has pissed me of real bad when the rear shox bottomed out and stuck, I had to wait for 3 weeks to get it back. The rear tire popped beacuse it was made in France so I wasn't to happy about that. I still have the stock front Hutchison tire and it is so loud on paved roads that I can't even hear my self talk. Otherwise its a nice ride.
Bottom Line:
If you want to multitask and ride any way (even works as good road bike practice) you shuld get this bike But I warn you Do not get the new 2005 AC only get the 2003 and the 2004 models becuase they kick ass. Good luck whoever buyes this bike I highly recommend.
Strengths: No bike I have ever seen or ridden is this all-round. Hucking is fun cause you can throw bike around easliy.
Weaknesses: Rear end gets a bit beat up when going FAST over rough terrain. Worry about frame over long term if hammering on all the time...
Bottom Line:
Wicked all-round bike...mind blowing actually! Ridden in 24hrs a few times...people looked at me funny...til I blew by doing downhill... Taken 8+ drops with it (good tranny's)...no problem..can't say enough about how this bike works in the whistler park...major air and fun...just make SURE tranny is good. Bang for buck...wild!!
Bike Setup: 03 dirt jumper 2 (5"), 4-way, north shore DH cranks..x.9 rear, 2.6 Kenda's on I-have-no-idea-but-they-were-built strong rims...
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Reilly
a Downhiller
from Palmer Lake, Colorado
Date Reviewed: July 16, 2005
Strengths: manitou Swinger 4-way is the sh*t with spv volume and pressure adjust . Hayes hydro 8" rotors provide awesome stoping power. great component specs including race-face north shore dh crank, xt derailliers, and titec all 'round. the crank also comes with a chainguide and a bash guard that you can switch out. i love how the suspension is setup with the rocker bars and pro-pedal design. this is my second bike from giant. their customer servise is the best around.
Weaknesses: hutchison octipus's leak like no other, wish there was more travel in front maybe a double crown fork. dont like the clipless pedals, put some platforms on it if you ride dh or fr. brakes squeak a little.
Bottom Line:
if you get a chance to buy this bike for the price i did then do it. msrp is 3000, and it shows. the specs on this bike go on forever. cant stop talkin bout the swinger 4-way, one of the most adjustable shocks around. you may hear that the swing arm looks frail and cant withstand drops of 4-6 feet, that is not true. color is alright, too. the ac1 is one of the lightest fr/dh bikes out there. my friends dh50 comes out to bout 50 lbs while im @ 30-35.
a few words of advise, dont get the 05 ac if u can get ur hands on something like this. the 05 ac is crap compared to the other years.
every rider from cross country to downhill will love this bike. just test ride one, you'll see what i mean.
by the way, doesn't it seem like most of the people who wrote a review for this bike live in colorado?
Bike Setup: stock except race-face bash gaurd and stomp platforms
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Submitted by
Alan
a Weekend Warrior
from Bozeman, MT, USA
Date Reviewed: May 17, 2005
Strengths: burly frame, solid components spec.
Weaknesses: 27.2 titec seatpost
Bottom Line:
bought in early spring of 2005 from my local bike shop. wimpy 27.2 shimmed titec seatpost bent after 3 rides. having seat tube reamed for full-sized 31.8mm post. no pinhole leak problems after adding 2 units of stan's notubes. wimpy cables ruined after 1 long wet muddy epic - upgraded to fully sealed $30 flac jacket cables. great tire clearance. pedals nice in middle chainring or when seated, decent otherwise. great for technical climbs especially with z150 lockdown feature. 5.3" rear travel setting makes bike much more xc - increased springrate and damping. all in all, after a few key upgrades, this bike is solid - like the mtb version of a fresh toyote 4x4. perfect for long rides in gnarly terrain by strong riders.
Similar Products Used: '00 straight eight with triple rings
Bike Setup: stock except: z150 fork; tubeless 2.3 hutchinson tires (or were these stock?); xtr shifters; 550lb spring; flac jacket cables.
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Submitted by
Dan
a Weekend Warrior
from Olympia, WA USA
Date Reviewed: January 20, 2005
Strengths: This bike has a little bit of it all. It pedals well up hills, and it drops like your mom's panties. Takes hits well, although I haven’t done anything nuclear on it. All the components have held up, haven’t had to replace anything.
Weaknesses: Paint chips like no joke. Get rid of those freaking tubeless Hutchinson. Takes a while to get all the suspension lined up. Integrated headsets aren’t sealed well, and got tons of mud/dirt in them and blew out in a short while. Kind of heavy and is a pain to pedal for long distances.
Bottom Line:
If you’re looking for a bike that’s got a bit of everything check this out. I ride it quite frequently and have no troubling complaints. I am going to turn this bike into a full free riding bike, and purchase a dedicated xc bike. It really doesn’t handle bad on the accenting terrain, but I would like something more efficient. For what I paid for it I love it. Does everything I need. Not disappointed.
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