Submitted by
SonicJ
a Cross Country Rider
from San Antonio, TX
Date Reviewed: September 3, 2009
Strengths: Frame Frame Frame!!! I have the 2009. As good or better than and Trek of Specialized. Brakes are great once broken in!! Same with the rear derail. Once the cables stretch and are adjusted it shifts like butter. I beat the sh*t out of this bike 3 times a week and it has yet to let me down. Wish my gf was this good to me!
Weaknesses: Bottom end fork with no lockout. I don't really miss the lockout feature at all though. This fork is also better than any Rockshox Dart with or w/o lockout. Crank could be better. But with a frame like this its worth the upgrade. I bend the seat but I was being stupid and going down drop off that I should have been. Pedals are sh*t as with all bikes but as well as the factory grips. Both of these are very cheap upgrades.
Bottom Line:
Don't buy anything but this bike. Be sure to upgrade the grips to locking ones at the time of purchase cause the factory's will slip off on your first ride. "F" Trek and "f" Specialized, go with Marin. The frame are the best thing out there right now (plus they look the f-ing great too!).
Bike Setup: Factory except: Lockin grips, Shimano M540 clipless pedals, carbonfiber chain guard, WTB Pure saddle.
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Submitted by
Francisco Polo
a Cross Country Rider
from Bogota - Colombia
Date Reviewed: May 26, 2006
Strengths: Nice built bicycle, frame is good for the money, handles Gronholm-like in tight corners. Breakes: really excellent, and rear acer derailleur is very good. Paint Job beautyfull.
Weaknesses: Suspension is cheap, but last. Grip shifters are not the best to operate. Boing 747 Noisy. Pedals could have more grip. Crank "feels" loose some times but mechanic says it has no problems. It works, so... if it is no broken, don't fix it.
Bottom Line:
It is a nice bike that will do the job well to entry level to mid people (like me) who like to go out on xc rides and do fast descends. When I buy it (1997 or 98) I went out riding not so often, about once every two months with no problems. I quit riding it for five years because I went out of the country, no rust on it when I came back. Since then I go fast every weekend to 25 to 40 km rides , with LOTS of mud, hard hillclimbing and fast decends with some jumps and the bike had never gave me problems (as for exapmle some friends with new specialized or trek 4500 with rear derailleur problems). Breakes are superb, don't remember the brand, something with cool... This bike has more or less 450 miles on it and i have never changed anything but the seat (last was hard rock painfull). I send it to maintenance every time I go out so the bike looks good and is in great shape. It's not a Armstrong climber, I feel it lack another pair of gears or I need another lung, Specialized bikers climb like motorbikes. I'm not a bike expert, but I can say I had had never serious problems with this bike (which I think it is call reliable). I like to go down fast and the bike handles well (again suspension is not the best but i can't really tell how others behave) with very confident brakes. Shame the bike don't fit me anymore -I have it since I was 19 and stays me a litlle small- and I am thinking of buying a new one, don't now yet wich one. I don't think I will sell it, first i will recive only about 100 USD, and second it is really a nice bike wich i want to keep, give it to a nephew because I am sure it will still last a long time. Nice bike for good money, lots of fun together.
Similar Products Used: GT. Carrefur bike in 220 km Camino de Santiago: Ponferrada-Santiago de Compostela / Spain, it broke the next day I came back to Barcelona). Specialized Rockhoper once for short ride
Bike Setup: Stock
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Submitted by
aled humphreys
a Weekend Warrior
from llanffestiniog
Date Reviewed: May 29, 2002
Strengths: not good at all weakest frame money can buy waste of your dosh go buy some chocolate very good on 1mm drop offs
Similar Products Used: gt outpost trail raleigh max carrrera cracen
Bike Setup: baboon racer
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Submitted by
Jeff
a Cross Country Rider
from Nashville, TN
Date Reviewed: October 27, 2000
Strengths: Light, super quick bike. Love the brushed aluminum frame, and look of the bike. This is a fast bike! Very light ovation frame, has an excellent feel in the woods or on the road. Fun to jump, and easy to maneuver in the tight spots. Can't chip the paint, there is none!
Weaknesses: Brakes levers, Sync suspension and pedal/crank setup are below par for the frame. Needs two finger brake levers, Judy forks, and a geeked sprocket/crank/pedal setup to hit light speed. Aluminum framewill rattle a kidney loose after a breakneck run at Hamilton creek. Bike had grip shift SRAM 6.0's on it, but I made the shop swap that crap for some rapid fires. Stem (110mm) is a little long, and will have to be shortened to alleviate some hand numbness.
Bottom Line:
My friends are jealous, and can't figure out why I blow their asses away. This is a mysteriously fast bike, and handles perfectly. I may need to put a seatpost suspension on it if my kidneys persist in their whining, but I think I'll live. Wish the bike had some better components, but with some slight (and hopefully inexpensive)modifications, I will have my dream bike. I plan on holding onto this one for a long, long time.
Favorite Trail: Hamilton Creek, Sewanee Mont Eagle
Duration Product Used: 6 months
Price Paid:
$440.00
Purchased At: Allanti Cycle Shop, Brentwood, TN
Similar Products Used: Gary Fisher Tassajara, Giant Rincon, Kona Hahanna, Schwinn Mesa GS, GT aggressor, Peewee Herman's bike
Bike Setup: Ovation Comp frame, Sync 328 grind front shocks, alivo Alivo rapid fires, v brakes (no name), WTB saddle, Alex rims, Mythos 1.95 tires.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Ben McCarthy
a cross-country rider
from Cambridgeshire, U.K
Date Reviewed: July 6, 1998
Bottom Line:
This bike is light, resilient, a good handler and fast. The components are good but with a few mods, e.g handlebars, Pedal, stem, chainset , this could be a very worthwhile purchase that will never fail to satisfy in every department. Hardcore riders will probably need to upgrade current Front_Shock. All in all a superb bike and takes anything you through at it and handles like a dream.
