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Reviews 1 - 4 (4 Reviews Total)
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Submitted by
alex carrell
a Cross Country Rider
from sussex ukDate Reviewed: January 22, 2005
Strengths: Old style steel frame. Hard to come by. Long length.
perfect upgrading bike. reasonably light, hard to damage. and then can be welded back together, Fast to ride, great to steer.
ideal for XC and road commute(about 600 miles so far)
Weaknesses: the paint job.... dear me. it chips. it comes off as put the wheels on.gently knock it with a tool, it chips.hmmm.Bottom Line: I big and tall 6'2' 15 1/2 stone. these old steel frames are robust to handle anything. curb jumping. potholes. treeroots, bunny hops. trees and crashes. They can be welded back up.
This frame replaces a 1995 univega 505 alpina, when the weld job was just too big. welded back up 3 times in 8 years and it was a tough bike.
The length, it lets you get low down and duck into streamlined shapes on long down hills. Up shot is i can slipstream easily, cane it down hills due to little drag. The aerodynamic position on down hills, just means you pull ahead of modern compact bikes that leave you too upright.
This old style frame design is great to steer. point and shoot. Allowing you shift your weight up and down its length. leaning in and out corners.
Over bumpy terrain the length allows you to simply stand op on the bike and roll over the terrain. keeping your rythm up. modern compact frames that aren't FSR dissappear into dips it seems to me.
Don't really mind about the paint job, the base paint layer doesn't seem to budge, only shiny top coat. The frame is covered in mud most the time, so a bike that is shiny just says you don't use it. so paint job is not important.
my set up makes the bike pretty light.
On rocky down hills- the lack of fsr is a pain. so this isn't for that. i have a FSR stumpjumper for that that. however on up hills, cross country this frame will eat FSR bikes. Unless its very broken ground or bumpy and rocky.
why no disk brakes? low maintenance, all those i talk to spend far too much making sure disks work....hassle. ceramic: went and rain works. Plus i commute, city grime is a killer on discs. Plus UK winter mud just gets everywhere. this is not a down hill/freeride bike where brakes are your best friend. but an XC cruiser.
admittadly my component set up makes me like this frame more.
lastly, its just very fast. need 4 extra teeth on front ring. On many down hills, i am going too fast for the shimano XTR rings to offer any power.
so if you are in the market for a bike that handles tarmac, Chalk downlands, scottish moorland, heath land, fire trails, french valleys, think about this kind of frame.
Favorite Trail: uk, any
Duration Product Used: 6 months
Price Paid:
$350.00
Purchased At: rock n'road southampton
Similar Products Used: univega 505 alpina 1995
Bike Setup: breaks :avid arch rivals, ceramic rear rim. and front when that rim goes.
hope mini hubs, light and tough.
front shock 2004 rock-shock Sid team. pop lock.
drive train/cassete XTR, shimano hollowtech up front.
gears lx, reliable and cheap to fix when they snap each year, like-wise rapid shifters.
cane creek head set
antique bars from univega 505, plus bar ends
time z platform pedals
tyres either panracer winter xc for uk mud. or vredstein s-slick for commute
mud guards!
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Mike
a Racer
from UnionvilleDate Reviewed: November 19, 2003
Strengths: Its a great race frame really rigid very strong wont break even on the heaviest rider because of the renyolds 853 steel has a sleek sexy lookWeaknesses: i have not found one to this pointBottom Line: I think this is definitly one of the best values for a great cross country race bike it can handle what ever you give it, this bike is the same quality of any us or canadian made bike the welds are great its just eye candy. If your looking for a great value and wanna start racing this bike is an awesome frame to get hooked up with. I love this and i think if you ride this bike once you will fall in love with it just like i have
Favorite Trail: pats peak
Duration Product Used: 6 months
Price Paid:
$250.00
Purchased At: Ptown bikes
Similar Products Used: i have a debarnardi road bike, and a gary fisher sugar 4 (neither can compete for the love that i have for my salsa)
Bike Setup: i have xtr derailers and xt crank and xt shifters avid ti brake handles avid mechanical disc brakes thomopson stem and seat post race face bars and grease guard head set and duke race rock shox mavic 317 rims with shimano deore hubs and hutchinson mosquito tires with a selle italia seat
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Submitted by
HellMuttCracker
a Cross Country Rider
from HoustonDate Reviewed: November 4, 2003
Strengths: 853 steel, nice geometry, bright red paint jobWeaknesses: the cable stops on the down tube limit what types of forks you can use...in my case the Fox ShoxBottom Line: I got this frame as a replacement for my cracked bike. My thoughts were I will just buy a nice steel frame and swap my XTR/ChrisKing/Mavic/Fox Shox parts on it. WRONG!! after amost building the bike up completely I looked down and the crown of the fork was hitting the cable stops. This could permanently damage the frame's cable stops if I were to crash and the handle bars swing around.
Bottom line: if you buy this frame don't plan on using a fox shock on it
5 for value cause it is the best deal out there for what you get
3 overall because it isn't compatible with all suspension products available----->Fox Float nocks the cable stops which is a uncommon problem in most bikes produced
Duration Product Used: Tested or demo'ed only
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Art Doyle's Spokes and Pedals mechanic
a Racer
from hudson, wi, usaDate Reviewed: April 8, 2003
Strengths: we just built up one of these bikes and they are slick. the parts were good....but it sure suprised me when the xt bike weighed in at just under 21 lbs. Of course i took it for the ussual "test ride" and it handles nice... dead on stearing. for any one who doubts this taiwanese rocket..... do you like bianchi?? same factory.Weaknesses: people think it is junk because of the priceBottom Line: one of the best deals out there for the money.
Duration Product Used: Less than 1 month
Purchased At: Art Doyle's Spokes and Pedals
Similar Products Used: gunnar, salsa steel, trek, fish, croll, the works
Bike Setup: xt/sid/old mavics/salsa
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Reviews 1 - 4 (4 Reviews Total)
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