Strengths: good features, e.g. gear shifters, and is CHEAP!
Weaknesses: Unreliable, rubbish forks.
Bottom Line:
it has broke every couple of weeks, rear meck has snapped three times, brakes twice. Is a nightmare to own, if you want a mountain bike try spend that little bit more to get a better bike for your money, will save lots of hassel and MONEY!!
Similar Products Used: Any mountain bike sub, £200
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Submitted by
arkiebiker
a Weekend Warrior
from Little Rock, AR
Date Reviewed: June 23, 2008
Strengths: Strong frame, takes lots of abuse well, rides like a more expensive bike than it is.
Weaknesses: paint chips, rusts easily, grip shifter needs improving, brakes not the best
Bottom Line:
This is an awesome bike for a beginner. if your used to walmart bikes that are heavy and hard to ride this bike rides like a dream. i rode it to work and back (20 miles round trip) every day in Chicago one summer and i loved it. I still ride it often, but im ready for an upgrade.
Similar Products Used: ive had this bike for 8 years, before that i rode crappy walmart bikes.
Bike Setup: Stock
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Submitted by
Michael P.
a Weekend Warrior
from Baltimore
Date Reviewed: January 22, 2008
Strengths: Frame
Weaknesses: Everything else. Back tire, shifter, sprockets especially i bent mine on a log and then pushed it back in place
Bottom Line:
The bike is good for a beginner. It determines whether or not you like mountain biking. If serious then get a different bike. Ive broken damn near everything it seems like
Bike Setup: Aluminum rims,21 speed, Shimano Brakes, Grip shifer, Shimano derailers front and back, and 100% HIGH Tensil steel frame.
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Submitted by
Quentin Gentry
a Weekend Warrior
from Powell River, BC, Canada
Date Reviewed: June 24, 2007
Strengths: Solid frame, comfortable, fun for beginners, feels like a quality bike
Weaknesses: Rear wheel comes out of true easy, derailleur way out of tune, sloppy shifting
Bottom Line:
A great bike for a beginner, or someone that isn't doing alot of bashing. I have owned mine for about 3-4 weeks, and I already can't wait to upgrade, yet a great bike for someone thats not hitting the jumps, I am practicing front wheel hops on mine and whatnot, and it holds up good, yet I wince when the back tire hits, you will need to upgrade if you plan on keeping it for a while.
Similar Products Used: Kent GMC yukon roadbike, numerous walmart bikes
Bike Setup: Completely stock, stripped of all reflectors, kick stand etc.
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Submitted by
keith
a Cross Country Rider
from stain john n.b. canada
Date Reviewed: July 6, 2006
Strengths: almost every thing this thing is tough as hell
Weaknesses: needs stronger rims mines got a small wobble from daily jumps
Bottom Line:
i beat the hell out of this thing it takes every bit of it good bike solid light as afeather i dropp off some big drops it just keeps going buy this bike
this bike has been to hell and back and the worst damage was chipped paint it is hard as nails and you couldent get any better for your money, i was stunned when i got it for 95 dollars canadian... BUY IT
Bike Setup: axiom road gap pedals 2 peice cranks shimano freewheel ect
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Submitted by
douglas lemon
a Cross Country Rider
from roanoke,va usa
Date Reviewed: June 15, 2005
Strengths: i love the frame, its rigid and works very well in aggressive manuevers and has pretty standard sizing for uprades, tires are great but narrow
Weaknesses: every thing but the frame id say i bent the handlebars, bottom bracket fell apart, stem sucks,drivetrain outdated and isnt reliable -nothing ever seems to stay in tune-
Bottom Line:
bought the bike as a platform to build a bike when i couldnt afford a full-on bad ass bike so after changing every major component over 2 years the frame is awesome i even use the bike for urban freeriding on flat concrete lands up to five feet no worries in the frame its also an excellent climber once you get the shifting tuned(used to shift at the worst moment before a steep uphill) handles well though start to finish good bike for the price regardless what other non-GT riders say i ride mine 5-miles a day every day plus XC riding, and some downhill buy the bike
Bike Setup: panaracer fire trailxc-pro tires, rock shox judyxc air, XT brakes, front derailuer,LX rear sram x9 shifters shimano bottom bracket, raceface riserbar/stem you get the picture changed it all
Strengths: Strong frame, extremely rigid and surpising light for cro-mo. Good brakes.
Very agile, but maybe a bit rigid if you're used to riding Aluminium frames.
Weaknesses: Poor Forks, drivetrain, wheelset. All essential upgrades.
Bottom Line:
A good buy, with a quality frame and excellent handling. The price point obviously means compnents are going to be lower quality, and this won't be cheap to upgrade. Luckilly, I killed my old Kona frame so managed to upgrade the GT with all the good bits. Now it's a serious street ride.
Submitted by
Duc
a Weekend Warrior
from Chapel Hill, NC USA
Date Reviewed: July 30, 2004
Strengths: The brakes are nice and strong and the transmission works fine for me. It's definetly a comfortable ride.
Weaknesses: The back wheel falls out of true, possibly due to me jumping curbs constantly multiple times daily.
Bottom Line:
This is a great bike period. For the money you can't beat it. The wheels were probably meant for off roading too much, because they're single well and machine built. They fall out of true (my back one). The bike has taken a beating, I've ridden it everyday to school, I ride to the gym, I take long bike rides with groups (road bikes) and I ride for exercise. I've put on hundreds if not a thousand miles on this baby and it still works great. People who want to get into biking recreationally or commuting would enjoy this bike, it's comfortable.
Strengths: good frame, grip shift is pretty good, shocks are a little soft, handlebars, Tioga tires.
Weaknesses: drive train is horrible, if you want to use this bike and have fun with it you need to upgrade to at least a Shimano Deore LX system.
Bottom Line:
Good bike for the price, but a few things need to be replaced like the whole drivetrain system and rims. The rims cant take anything, they're too weak. Very good overall.
Similar Products Used: 2 specialized bikes and 1 Mongoose
Bike Setup: stock except drive train upgrade from Shimano Acera to Shimano Deore LX
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Submitted by
ricky ohara
a Cross Country Rider
from DHS,CA,USA
Date Reviewed: June 25, 2004
Strengths: Frame
Weaknesses: shifters and back hub
Bottom Line:
The frame is very strong. tires and brakes are good. everything else is garbage. I went to k mart and found parts on there bikes that are on mine. I broke the back hub within two months. this is a good bike if you only ride on ocation. other wise it could cost you lots of money.
Submitted by
zakh
a Cross Country Rider
from Moscow, Russia
Date Reviewed: April 22, 2004
Strengths: reliable cro-mo frame and low price
Weaknesses: everything mounted on the frame esp. rear wheel and the carriage
Bottom Line:
It is cheep. That's it. If you ride not often and do it ocasionaly - it's your choice. If it's your first bike and you want to get into the world of MTB and you're good with machinery - it's also your choice. Otherwise try something more expensive like GT avalanche for instance. I'm riding cross-city with occasional jumps, so the bike is not good for me due to the bad equipment and heavy weight. Now i'm looking for Specialized Hardrock with Disc breaks. But still it was fun as it is my first bike! I am so excited about MTB, that i even rode in winter - thanx to spiked tires bougth for 100 USD (pair). Biking is good!
Similar Products Used: russian brands with leg breaks and no gear shifting. Broke a couple of them!
Bike Setup: Stock except for: rear wheel (deore hub, alex rim, schwalbe blackjack tire), new chain-wheels front and rear, new chain.
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Submitted by
Gabriel Medeiros
a Cross Country Rider
from Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Date Reviewed: January 5, 2004
Strengths: The frame is very rigid and the geometry works well in every conditions, including downhills. The tires are also very efficient.
Weaknesses: I don't like the grip shift sytem, and the transmission is too simple.
Bottom Line:
This is a good bike for bikers who want a strong frame and versatility to make good uphills and cool downhills spending few money. I recomend some upgrades in transmission, fork and pedals.
Bike Setup: I had the transmisson changed to deore/deore xt, plataform pedals, Rst Aerosa Tl Fork (63~106mm), scott seat, maxxis 2.35 tires and calypso freeride handlebar.
