Submitted by
Wayne
a Cross Country Rider
from Cumbria, UK
Date Reviewed: September 24, 2009
Strengths: Adaptable, plenty of suspension adjustability, very forgiving. I ride this 10 miles to work on tarmac and I ride it xc and downhill too. It'll go anywhere. Quality components for the money.
Weaknesses: Clearance isn't great. My Rockshox psylo's died after 3 years and have needed a full rebuild, but are now perfect again after a £65 service.
Bottom Line:
Great go-anywhere bike. Good value, pretty reliable, fun and forgiving (I've hit a 10" tall flat fronted boulder on a downhill in the middle of nowhere at 30mph on this thing and it didn't kill me...) Was a step up for me and has improved my riding no end.
Bike Setup: Upgrades: Mavic X319 rims with 2.25 IRC Trailbear tyres, Bontrager race bars and bar ends and an SRAM chain. New Cane Creek headset.
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Submitted by
JD
a Weekend Warrior
from Queens, NYC, NY
Date Reviewed: May 1, 2009
Strengths: Craftmanship, fit and finish, styling, and handling.
Weaknesses: Weight.Parts range from ok (heavy SRAM cassette) to above average (Shimano LX front derailer)to high end (Shimano XT rear derailer) mixed bag.....should have come with lighter weight parts at the $2,100 retail price range.
Bottom Line:
Fantastic bike. I've had this bike for 6 yrs (since 2003) and only until just recently had to change the rear cassette and chain. I definitely would advise other owners to replace components with lighter weight parts, but only as the old parts wear out. I will probably upgrade the crank to s Shimano XT or XTR to cut back on the weight. The Botrager crank is holding up well so I think I'm going to wait until next season to upgrade. Great value if you can find one used. Very strong frame. The PSYLO fork is a little weak and heavy. I'm 6 1 and weigh 235lbs. The spring upgrade did help alot, but I think I'm going to upgrade to a better lighter fork after one more summer. The rear suspension is awesome, the ability to adjust is great. This bike was money well spent. I probably can ride this bike for at least another 6-10yrs with making gradual upgrades to worn parts before I even need to consider buying a new one!!
Bike Setup: 2.7 Maxxis minion downhill tires, tubless, 17", hayes 9 disk breaks, fox floater w/ talas, Rockshock front fork, bontrager everything!
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Submitted by
dae hyun kim
a Weekend Warrior
from suwon
Date Reviewed: November 19, 2007
Strengths: very plush 5" travel, super stiff, good geometry for all mountain(small jump, drop, gap)
Weaknesses: heavy, heavy, hard to ride long xc cource or onroad. low bb position(pedal and crank arm hits the obstacles.)
Bottom Line:
For true all mountain ride, my set up is too heavy, my bike is 16~17kg. But for local dh racing or 4 cross, it is a good bike. And relatively light bike. This bike can 3m drop, 10m gap jump.
This is a good bike for trail riding and that is about the only kind of riding that should be done with this bike. I was forced to do a few XC races with this thing, it is comfortable but the weight penalty for racing this bike can be felt over the distance of the race. But it is nice to decend the short steep sections a lot faster than the other people around you who are riding their brakes down the hill. The fork could stand to be upgraded to shed a little extra weight. I am thinking of getting a Manitou Minute 2 fork for this thing. Talking about weight this thing stock weighs 35 pounds. Don't get me wrong I knew it was heavier when I bought it but I didn't think it was going to weigh that much. IRC tires are crap knobs ripping off after < 100 miles on the bike.
Submitted by
mike m
a Cross Country Rider
from San Diego
Date Reviewed: January 12, 2006
Strengths: Mash over every thing that is in your path and be able to cimb very respectably. great parts pick for the money. cross-country geometry with downhill-fun
Weaknesses: if this bike had stable platform(newer ones do) it would be almost perfect. tall standover height(newer ones dont). I needed a stiffer spring i my phsylo fork.
Bottom Line:
this is the bike that got me hooked on mtn bikeing. the thing that i like about this bike the most is that it climbs better and better the more technical the situation. it can feel a little heavy when your goin up those long grindy fire roads with your hardtail buddies but if you are a stud it won't matter. i've seen dudes on liquids race sport class events and almost win. and this one guy on the super d had one and he one the whole thing. this bike just sucks up anything you put in front of it although with the fork i had, it did sometimes dive under hard steep braking, but i am also comparing this bike to $5000 bike that i have now so you can't get too picky. with that said the tall stance of this bike in the full travel mode(rear) was a little tall, and the low end(rear) was prone to low clearance, but i always rode it around the middle setting(just right). bottom line for the money you will not find a more fun trailbike.
Similar Products Used: titus moto-lite, santa cruz, super lite, stumpjumper, ect..
Bike Setup: stock
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Submitted by
Dennis vd Vlugt
a Cross Country Rider
from Wieringerwerf (Netherlands)
Date Reviewed: January 4, 2006
Strengths: All Round bike, Very nice braking, Nice rear shock with the geometry adjuster, You can juse the bike for rough XC to light Freeride whatever you want.
Weaknesses: Don't like the Bontrager wheel's, slappie sping in fork.
Bottom Line:
Very very nice alround bike, handles not only good on hilly tracks but is also very fast on more technical XC single tracks thanks to the variable geometry. It's a bit heavy for real XC but that's not where it's made for. With it's 14.5 kg you can get uphill pretty quick and downhill is just great fun. Especially when you use the rear schock adjustment for the geometry on the fly.
Submitted by
Matt
a Weekend Warrior
from Dallas, TX, USA
Date Reviewed: August 31, 2005
Strengths: Hayes hydraulic brakes, Fox rear shock, slick wheel set, pretty good components
Weaknesses: Nothing found yet. I like the front shock unlike most. I am 5'11 at 160 lbs. That might be why...not sure.
Bottom Line:
Great bike for hitting up single track, ripping down hills, or even some urban assult. The bike is comfortable to ride, good at climbing, and loves to go down hill. No more worrying about what line to take.
Submitted by
Glynn
a Cross Country Rider
from Colorado Springs, Co
Date Reviewed: July 21, 2005
Strengths: All-around great bike! Frame geometry and rear suspension are perfect for a little more aggressive downhilling than my NRS. Decent component package for the price (except the fork).
Weaknesses: Psylo XC. It pretty much sucks on this bike. Waaayy too soft and flexy.
Bottom Line:
Other than the stock Psylo XC fork (trust me, if you ride this bike like it's supposed to be ridden, just figure a new fork into the price), this is a really nice bike for a XC rider who wants to be more aggressive on the downhills and air. Fits nicely between XC and freeride. It weighs a couple pounds more, but to be honest, I hardly notice it, even on the climbs. I still ride with the same group and have actually moved up in the pack since I started riding the Liquid. The frame seems to run large. I'm 5'11" and run the 16.5" comfortably (although I did buy a longer seatpost). Only bad part since I put the new fork on is my lonely, dusty NRS Air.
Bike Setup: Fox Vanilla 125, Thomson 410mm seatpost, Thomson 120 stem, Monkelite Carbon low-rise, LX Hollowtech BB & Cranks.
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Submitted by
Jerry Shepherd
a Weekend Warrior
from Bowie, MD USA
Date Reviewed: June 15, 2005
Strengths: Robust frame, built strong, bearings are greatly oversized and work extremely well, came with a combination of brand and different type parts as do all off the shelf bikes (LX front Derailler, XT rear, SRAM Casette, Bontrager crank, Truitive BB, stem, seat post, seat, hubs, Hayes Discs) to cut price.
Weaknesses: weight but a slight weakness rides much lighter. RS Psylo XC orginal spring weight set up for riders between 50 - 100 pounds, original groupo combination guys stay with a groupo package componants are designed to work together SRAM - Bontrager - Shimano are not!
Bottom Line:
Love this bike, at first I was dissapointed with the weight (prior to riding on a real trail). If you can crain it off the bike rack you are in great shape, bike losses 20 pounds once you start peddeling. This thing is indistructable, just wish I was! Buy a size smaller than you normally do everything is adjustable, ride, travel, rebound, compression, and your ego and attitude once you start riding it! Would recommend this to everyone!
Bike Setup: I immediatly replaced numerous parts:XTR front Derailer, XTR rear, XT crank and BB, Hope M6 Ti Discs, Hope Hubs, Sella seat, XT trigger Shifters, Easton Monkey light XC bars, Raceface stem, Easton EC 70 post, Panracer Cinder 26 x 2.25, RS Pyslo Race w/spring upgrade, would estimate at $4,000.00 after
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Submitted by
dan
a Cross Country Rider
from westminster co usa
Date Reviewed: June 6, 2005
Strengths: little bob from pedaling, great response off road, and quick enough to use on the street. the adjustability is completly infinite, and not really to heavy for what you get out of the bike
Weaknesses: front shock almost completly useless to a guy my size ( 6'3" and 260 lbs) even with the shock upgraded to extra stiff, a lot better than at begining where i could stand in front of it and with just arm strength bottom it out also had a lot of noise out of rear end that took having the entire rear triangle rebuilt three times because they used the wrong type of loc tite in the joints i also bought this model because i was told that it would be great for a guy my size and i still can't get the rear shock hard enough for what i'd like somtimes but for any technical riding it still works well front fork i think just need to be replaced still the upgrade was enough to get me to keep it but for another few years of use i'll have to get rid of it also have drag that comes from front brake, but mine tends to rather consistant
Bottom Line:
aside from noted problems that really weren't all that bad in the long run, it really probably wasn't meant to handle a guy my size for hardcore riding, technical stuff yeah but i worry about hopping around and doing too much at speed except hopping curbs and some jumps at speed. if you are a big dude and you want something for climbing and a LITTLE downhill than this would be a great bike personnaly i wish i had gone with the x3
Similar Products Used: raliegh m80 y22 fuel 90 haro x3
Bike Setup: upgraded front spring, haro bmx pedals
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Submitted by
Brian Brodsky
a Weekend Warrior
from Newcastle
Date Reviewed: October 5, 2004
Strengths: This is to update my review from before: Stregths are that the bike does handle the bumbs and jumps great.
Weaknesses: Well in addition to the other weaknesses I metioned before. The swingarm behind the rear pedles broke in half. I was not riding too aggressivly at the time it broke and it just broke right in half. I took the bike to a local bike shop and Trek honered thier warrenty and is replacing the whole rear end of the bike. I would suggest inspecting the connection where the 2 parts of the tube on the rear swingarm connect for any cracks or wear because it might happen to you.
Bottom Line:
I would now suggest aginst buying this bike because it is prone to problems and now that it actually broke in half, it is a dangerous bike to ride.
Similar Products Used: Specialized Enduro, Kona Dawg, Turner 5 spot
Bike Setup: stock except bigger sping in front fork
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Submitted by
Mattman
a Weekend Warrior
from North OC, CA
Date Reviewed: June 1, 2004
Strengths: Good all round trail bike, lots of adjustability, sharp looks, Trek warranty, made in USA
Weaknesses: Psylo fork too soft even with the extra firm spring, it got scrapped quick. Noisey. Ghost shifting until longer shift cable housing was added. Brakes have been a constant pain the front one has needed to be adjusted constantly to remedy drag. Stock Trailbear tires were scarey when cornering fast on hardpack. Paint was pretty but had poor coverage in the areas where the shock mounts.
Bottom Line:
I like the bike overall, but I was really bummed to have to replace the fork right away, especially since I chose this bike specifically because my LBS said "it will be a great bike for a big guy like you" There were several little glitches that I had to work out over the first few months. The first time I took the bike back to the shop I had a punch list of about seven seperate issues. The Hayes brakes have definately caused me grief, but to be fair after talking to Hayes and doing some work on them myself they have been OK on the last few rides. Little by little I've manage to eliminate many of the noises the bike made at first.When I bought this bike it was intended to be my one do it all bike, for that it is well suited. I would not want to try to race it. It handles decents well, but not like a DH bike. It climbs well, but not like an XC bike. I would recommend this bike to a tall, but not too heavy rider who wanted one bike that he could ride all day and take into some pretty rough terrain.
Similar Products Used: This is my first FS bike though I've demoed or rented several others including Kona Bear/Dawg, Specialized Enduro, etc.
Bike Setup: Sram XO shifters and rear derailler, Panaracer Fire XC Pro tires, WTB Rocket Ti saddle, Marzocchi Z1-FR SL ECC fork. XT chainrings, Easton setback seatpost, Titec stem
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Submitted by
Aaron Weiss
a Racer
from Kamloops, BC Canada
Date Reviewed: June 1, 2004
Strengths: so much fun on downhills, the perfect all around bike
Weaknesses: a little heavy, but I am used to race bikes (around 23 lbs)
Bottom Line:
I can climb anything on this that I can on my race bike. It is so fast on the downhills and I am sure that I could huck it some more and it would take it. I love being able to change the front and rear travel and feel that this is the perfect bike for anyone. It's bombproof and will go anywhere. The only thing is that it will feel a little sluggish on uphills if you're really trying to motor. This is not bad just a fact. It'll get there though.
Had seals and service on the stock Rock Shox pyslo XC last Feb but starting to leak again. Looking at either 06 Manitou Minute 2 or the 06 R7. Good closeoust prices on both. I r Read More »
Had seals and service on the stock Rock Shox pyslo XC last Feb but starting to leak again. Looking at either 06 Manitou Minute 2 or the 06 R7. Good closeoust prices on both. I ride Read More »
I own a 2003 Trek Liquid 20.
It has Hayes HFX-9 XC Hydraulic Disc Brakes. They are absolutely horrible. The hydraulic system often fails and needs reflushed, they are very f Read More »
Hey guys, if this is an old thread Im sorry. Been riding for a while but I really want to upgrade the suspension on my bike but I am not sure how, what size shock do I get, do I n Read More »
