Submitted by
Emile Bureau
a Downhiller
from Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Date Reviewed: August 8, 2010
Strengths: Strong frame, very good brake(Hayes Nine)and i only have a probleme white the fork in 2 years
Weaknesses: The fork is to soft when the temperatur is hot and is to stiff when is cold and when i buy the bike the shocks was having a 600 coil and i nid a 450(I am 14 years old) The bike is a little heavey 38 pounds
Bottom Line:
Very good bike for the price it can do almost everithing you want whit it
Similar Products Used: none first full suspension bike
Bike Setup: almost stock, DMR V8 pedals and ODI Ruffian grip
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
John Sanderson
a Downhiller
from Innerleithen
Date Reviewed: May 14, 2007
Strengths: well specced for the price. Very strong frame.
Weaknesses: check all bolts etc are tight before you ride. After only about a month, my crank came right off while I was riding which could have been dangerous.
Bottom Line:
Great value for money but I've had quite a few faults with it.
Weaknesses: the bike is a little heavy for me because i ride all around town when I unfortunatley cant get a ride up the mountain.front shock is to stiff even at the softest setting. Rear shock is good for the money u pay for it, but the front and back suspension dont really seem to flow together, making the rear shock do all of the work. Bent the crap out of my brake handles,brakes are ok for the money.I brock the fork because i didnt have it tighted very good and it came loose and broke over and drop, giving me a mouthful of dirt. wasnt really mozo fault though.
Bottom Line:
good entry level freeride/downhill bike i have used mine for a year now and am selling it to get something with a little more travel and lighter maybe a coiler pretty good bike for learning. If you an average rider i wouldnt recomend this this is a follow up review had it for a year and i know more about it i can write a better review
Strengths: Drop-off comp is an awsome fork even if you are heavier becuase you can just put more air in. But the new 2005 have a manitou so I'm not sure what that's like.
Weaknesses: The rear shock gave me a bit of trouble. Before I even purchased the bike the shock had to be sent back. Once I finally got the bike the rear shock blew while I was up riding Sun Peaks. After I got that sent back on warranty I have had no problem since, so hopefully I won't have any more. The brakes have awsome stopping power, however my rotors are dishing in so I had to send those back on warranty and get a new caliper. And once I finally got all that sent back to me the new bloodly caliper was leaking so that had to be sent back and I'm still wating. Rear coil is way too stiff but then again I only weigh 115 lbs.
Bottom Line:
It's an awsome bike and I have an awsome time riding it! It's has just the right amount of plushness now for me so i can just rip er down the hill. It is a heavier bike so it is best suited for downhill/free-riding. It's a good bike to start out on if you are just getting into the sport because it does not have a crap-load of travel. It has just enough travel that it can tackle the tougher trails and can handle the smaller-medium size drops. It's got awsome handling and the tires are good in all conditions except in mud.
Similar Products Used: none really cause the other bikes I have ridden have been hard-tails and big downhill bikes. But then agin I only have a small frame.
Bike Setup: stock besides a truvativ chainguide, progressive coil(250-500) and axiom pedals.
Weaknesses: Fork, back shock, derailleur hanger p.o.f.s.
Bottom Line:
got the bike for 750 and in a few months spent around 500$ its not the bikes fault its mine i dont thing it wants to hold up to 20foot drops and 8 foot stair drops to flat but o well rebuilt the forks 3 times broken the perload 6 times lew the seals 3 times destroyed the back shock 4 times then specialized sent me the 05 x-fusion feels like a fox. gone through 13 rear derailleur hanger probaly because it doesnt like me and wants me to die. everything else has been nice and when u go up with the local pro xc'ers in a couple of weeks it looks like ur on a xc bike. cant wait for specailized to send me my new 05 demo9 o ya.
Strengths: This bike is a beautiful piece of work. It has a good fork, good rear suspension,rims,frame is unbreakable, headset is mint,and brakes work nicely. overall its a well balanced bike for whatever use you want it for.
Weaknesses: Some people say the tires have a tendancy to wear down, but i've only had my bike for about a month so i havent noticed any wearing down or balding and hopefully i dont see any!
Bottom Line:
The bottom line is that this is definitely a sweet bike. It takes whatever i through down with ease weather im downhill racing,northshoring,freeride urban assualt, anything, its great. I also use this bike for dirt jumping, i used to ride hardtail and loved to jump. with this bike i just needed to get used to the duel suspension and after a few jumps i've discovered im in love with my bike... so anyways, definitely consider this bike, its worth the money you pay for it.
Similar Products Used: kona stinky, norco vps drop, norco vps launch
Bike Setup: Im using the bike stock, i havent needed to change anything yet, i just put more air in the front fork.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Bryan Pearson
a Downhiller
from Mount Shasta California , USA
Date Reviewed: July 6, 2004
Strengths: THE FRAME, THE BRAKES, THE FRONT AND REAR SUSPENSIONALL REALLY GOOD.THE TIRES BASICALLY EVERYTHING THAT I DONT MENTION IN THE WEAKNESSES.
Weaknesses: THE FRONT DISC BRAKE SEEMS TO BE RUBBING, HOPING SINCE ITS SO NEW IT WILL STOP IN A LIL BIT. dOSNT COME WITH A BASH GUARD THATS THE FIRST THING IM GOING TO DO IS PUT ONE ON. aND THE SEAT IS NOT TO GREAT TENDS TO RIDE UP IN YOUR CROTCH A LIL BIT WHICH MAKES RIDING A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE SO IMM GOING TO UPGRADE THAT BUT BESIDES THOSE THIS IS A GREAT BIKE.
Bottom Line:
THIS IS A REALLY SOLID,GOOD ENTRY BIKE FOR DOWNHILLING IT HAS A WIDE RANGE ALL THE WAY UP TO A LITTLE BETTER THAN A MEDIUM GOOD BIKER. THE FRAME IS BULLET PROOF, WELL ACTALLY THE PULL BRAKE CABLE IS LOL ITS MADE OF KEVLAR. I HAVE NEVER BOTTOMED OUT ON MY SHOX YET THEYRE REALLY REALLY PLUSH. I BOUGHT THIS BIKE FOR DOWNHILLING AND TO RIDE AROUND TOWN. iTS IS A BIT HEAVY BUT NOT TO BAD FOR RIDING AROUND TOWN BUT STILL TOUGH ENOUGH TO DOWNHILL THIS BIKE CAN DO ALOT MORE THAN RIDE AROUND TOWN MAKING IT LOOK LIKE YOU OWN THE PLACE FOR SURE.I AM 165 LBS. NEVER BOTTOMED OUT ON THE SHOX. THIS THING IS A BEAST. YOU SHOULDNT BUY THIS BIKE IF YOU ARE JUST LOOKING FOR A COMMUTER BIKE, BUT IF YOU WANT SOMETHING THAT IS BULLET PROOF BUT CAN STILL RIDE XC AND DOWNHILL WITH STILL BEING ABLE TO PEDDLE TO UR FRIENDS THIS IS THE BIKE FOR YOU.
Submitted by
Move Somethin'
a Weekend Warrior
from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Date Reviewed: May 22, 2004
Strengths: Price is in canadian funds.
-DJ3's have been great to me. Never bottomed them out and haven't had any problems. -Hayes HFX-9 Hydros really do stop ya quick. I've had the bike since August of last year and I'm only now getting them blead for the first time. 8 inch rotors heat up and will move on ya, but aren't nearly as bad as the horror stories I hear about the 6 inchers. -Vanilla R as opposed to X-fusion, wtf is an "x-fusion" doing on a Specialized bike anyways? -Cranks, headset, bb, etc, they're all huckable. -Tires are decent and work well on a variety of terrain. But I hated using them for street or Urban.
Weaknesses: -Not sure if this bike actually has a full 5 inches of rear travel with my 400 pound fox spring. -For some reason my b/n Deore rear derailleur shifts better than my LX. The LX in the back is fine though, especially when I could just break it on a table of kicker tomorrow and have to spend money on something else. Therefore not worth upgrading the derailleurs. -Frame chips easily. I was riding benches out at some community league and bailed off when I lost my balance one time. For some reason there are little chips on the swingarm, I assume it was the concrete the bike fell onto. -Heavy. Mine weighs in at 39.5 pounds. But weight means strength. -Doesn't climb well, but it will if you make 'er. And when you get to the top you don't feel like you've accomplished much, especially with those XC weanies zipping up and down around you. -Tires wear out, not quickly, but it seemed like faster then other Specialized xc tires I've used. -Pedals are too low to the ground, even for djing. I'm always scraping them and chipping up the cranks.
Bottom Line:
I love using this bike for djing, technical downhills, jumping off of stuff around the neighborhood, and even some medium xc trail riding. (Although not for too long). The way that it's set up makes you feel comfortable - Same sort of feeling as a bmx. The wheelbase is appropriat for dirt jumping, and the bike responds well to a variety of abuse and terrain. I haven't ridden this thing abusively, but I do ride hard and basically every day.
I would invest more money into an RM7/9 or a a V series, or even a Specialized Big Hit of more caliber, if I were more of a DH rider. But I'm not, and I like hitting the jumps, jumping off stairs and riding home for lunch. Otherwise, Edmonton doesn't offer too much dh as it is.
I recently bought a 2004 p.2 and am now using it for urban, which is what I'm really getting into. Somehow the Big Hit Sport lead me there.
Buy the Sport if you need a tank to ride anywhere on. It's not quick on xc trailrides, but it'll get you there and back and will let you take some big drops and staircases along the way.
As for the people before me who claim this beast has mech disk brakes, an x-fusion rear shock, along with mozo front suspension: those are components of the Big Hit, not Big Hit Sport. It's not a complicated system. Review your bike under the title of the bike.
Similar Products Used: Tested this year's Grom, as well as this year's Big Hit Sport.
Bike Setup: Stock, with the exception of an envy outer plate (bashguard), a front fender, stiffer rear spring and ODI lock-on grips.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
david hatmaker
a Downhiller
from POWAY california ,us
Date Reviewed: April 24, 2004
Strengths: idk about the stengths the first day i got it i had to go buy a grip of lil nick nacks but i do like the low travel of it even though its a tank i can still street ride around and hope up on benches and tables
Weaknesses: the weak points in the bike is the swingarm and fork i have had it rebuilt once and it almost is ready for another rebuild also the fact that the only guide you can get on it is a mini me sux
Bottom Line:
the bike is great for going freeriding at my local trail and racing the local tracks but the bike falls short of anything close to a dh rig the bike was great until the forks broke although i had them replaced i would recomend buying new ones such as jr t's also replace the rear shock i blew out the stock x fusion in a matter of hours i bought the bike because im cheap and cant afford a million dollar dh rig but it works great i go big on it anyway im used to riding crapy bikes so that helps also when you jump the bike and go big you have to land sort of similar to a bmx bike or hardtail because the lack of good plush rear wheel travel but other than that the bottom line is the bike is great for beginner's beginner freeriders or dh racers because i do both on them .
Bike Setup: mozo (p.o.s) triple clamp mavic 521's stock mechanical brakes fox rc with custom made bushing kit azonic double wide bars maxxis 2.7 mobster tires and mrp boomerang other parts of guid wouldnt fit
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Submitted by
Chris P
a Weekend Warrior
from San Luis Obispo
Date Reviewed: April 2, 2004
Strengths: Component spec for the money, great first bike to get you into fr, but you'll move up to a new steed soon enough
Weaknesses: Frame is heavy for only 5.5" travel, fork doesn't help the weight much plus i blew the seals after like 2 rides, chainguide is nearly impossible to install.
Bottom Line:
I think the reason they changed the swingarm and included a chainguide on the 2004 SPEC was because of all the damn emails and calls I sent them. It took alot of time and grinding to make a MRP Slalom fit on the bike. The fork wasn't toooooo bad, but it definitely wasn't great. Adding a Jr T made it a whole new bike, so much more fun. For some reason i kept breaking rear derailler housing at the entrance to the derailler on mine, making cable tension and consequently, shifting, non-existant. Putting the 24" rear wheel on made me drag pedals alllllllot, but that was my fault. I cracked my frame and specialized sent me a brand new frame AND rear shock, so thats cool. Great bike to begin FR on, but not worth upgrading more than what i did. Only worth selling and getting a FSR BigHit (which is what i'm doing). If your rear end is too soft, go to your local specialized dealer and have them make specialized send them new coils. They sent me linear 550 and 650lb springs, completely free of charge. So, bottom line, get it if you're beginning, not worth it if you're a seasoned fr rider, even if you're on a budget. It's enough to get you in the door and started on mild fr stuff(great value for a beginner), but it's not that techno-savy. It's a simple design and is limited in travel and the quality of that travel.
Bike Setup: Jr.T, MRP chainguide, atom labs 24" rear end, hayes 8" dh brakes
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Dylan Morrow
a Downhiller
from Stratford, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: March 2, 2004
Strengths: It comes with Hayes hydrolic 8" brakes (very nice) Good bike for the serious rider that just cant afford a 5000 DH bike.
Weaknesses: Its comes with very very light spring in back , and i could get my new spring for 6 mounths!!
Bottom Line:
This bike is a great first nice freeride bike for the hardcore rider thats out there every day! good Price , and easy to upgrade to make into freeride machine! I Loved this bike but it is time to move on to something bigger for me. -DYLAN
Weaknesses: chain slap(fixable), some pedal kickback. coil not stiff enough.
Bottom Line:
this is a great beginner bike for someone who wants to get into freeriding more without spending too much. great spec, great frame. never experienced flex, no wonder considering the beefy single pivot asymetrical swing arm and reinforced bb casing. pedal kick back most noticable on drop offs. probably want to upgrade to a stiffer spring for the shock if you are over 130 lbs. i am 180 lbs and i got a 720 lb spring and it is much better. cut down the seat post if you are only using it for hucking, and shorten the chain as much as possible to decrease chain slap. other than that no upgrades are needed.
Similar Products Used: none, my first freeride bike
Bike Setup: dj 3 130mm, fox vanilla r, hussafelt cranks+bb+stem, lx derailier. hays 8" hydros.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Mike Alger
a Weekend Warrior
from Victoria, B.C. , Canada
Date Reviewed: September 28, 2003
Strengths: strong frame, suspension is awesome, 8" hydros wil stop ya quick, will take big drops and jumps all day
Weaknesses: Excessive chain slap on washboard trails, and will probably up grade to a different spring on the Vanilla (from a 350-600 to a 600-2.30)
Bottom Line:
Great bike for the price. This bike can play with the big boys all day and not get tired. This bike is great for novice or the advanced rider who just can't afford a $5000 wonder bike.
Bike Setup: DJ 3's up front with 5" of travel, Fox Vanilla R in rear, Hayes 8" HFX 9 hydros, sun rim Ditch Witch fr & rr, Hussefelt cranks. The bike is stock with the exception of Maxxis tires, a maxxpro blingbling in back and a slow reezaay Minion Dh up front. I currently have a large front chain ring on but it is being replaced with a bash guard and a shorter chain to help reduce the chain slap.
