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Submitted by
KK Cheng
a Weekend Warrior
from Singapore
Date Reviewed: October 30, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Straight road and easy climbing slope | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$64.00 | | Purchased At: | Singapore store - used Raleigh m200 orginal condition, aluminium frame and wheel | | Strengths: | Light and easy change of gear, easy slope climbing | | Weaknesses: | Down hill running too fast , slow down before turn corner | | Similar Products Used: | China make Nexxi MTB , heavy and slow | | Bike Setup: | Not require | | Bottom Line: | Cheap and brand old model bicycle. I have search the web and Raleigh M200 is a not bad model. I understand it has been obseleted | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Reece Stratford
a Cross Country Rider
from New Zealand
Date Reviewed: March 6, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Rimutaka incline | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$500.00 | | Purchased At: | Advanti | | Strengths: | Great to ride easy going for up hill or down hill especially strong frame and can take alot. | | Weaknesses: | head set in the bike needs replacing, Ive been through 3 break cables and now on to a new front derrailier cable, Ive had the rear derrailier replaced due to the fact that it got caught in my spoke.The bearings in my crank are now starting to go and may need relacing plus my pedals broke on the second day and what i was most surprised with was that none of this except the pedals came under warranty.
| | Bottom Line: | The Bottom Line of the whole thing is that im not realy satisfied with the product i heard was one of the best
and the fact that none of this came under warranty!!!! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brendon Denny
a Weekend Warrior
from Anchorage, AK, USA
Date Reviewed: February 27, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Rover's Run, Campbell Creek | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Purchased At: | Raleigh bikes | | Strengths: | This bike can take a beating, and it's built strong and light. I havn't customized it much, but it still is a worthy bike. It lasts a long time without a tune-up and the deraileurs are very durable. | | Weaknesses: | The only thing wrong is that I dont have shocks and my handlebars are bent. | | Similar Products Used: | Raleigh M-20 through M-80's | | Bike Setup: | No customization, just the same as i got it. | | Bottom Line: | This bike was a good buy. It has lasted me this long and never lets me down. The strength and durability are great, and it is definately worth the miles. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris
a Weekend Warrior
from Rochester, MN, USA
Date Reviewed: April 17, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$450.00 | | Purchased At: | Bicycle Sports | | Strengths: | The frame can really take a beating, and it's light-weight and rides well for a hard tail. Both derailuers and crank take a pretty good beating too with out any trouble. | | Weaknesses: | Original head stem was worthless. I keep bending the rear rim too. It'll have to do though til I eventually buy a new one. Not a personal fan of the grip-shift shifters. | | Similar Products Used: | Raleigh M80, Schwinn Predator Pro | | Bike Setup: | Manitou SX-R fork, STX derailuers and crank, Avid linear pull brakes, Controltech head stem, Ritchey pro comp pedals | | Bottom Line: | Overall the bike is pretty good. But with a few mods it's a real dirt slinger. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jim
a Weekend Warrior
from Redondo Beach
Date Reviewed: September 11, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Carbon Canyon | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$425.00 | | Purchased At: | Dads Bike Barn, Redondo Bch, CA | | Strengths: | I have to say I've been pleased with this bike. Good bike for the weekend warrior like myself. Relatively light, good feel, shifts well and gets me up some steep uphill and downhill. I abuse the hell out of it. Mudwamps, beach sand and saltwater, and the normal | | Weaknesses: | Bent a rim once. And bike originally came with no suspension. | | Similar Products Used: | Owned a Univega "cross" bike before this and although I did ride it offroad, not really fair to compare. | | Bike Setup: | Rock Shox Jett C front suspension, compression seat post, raised handlebar stem, Michelin offroad tires, gel seat and recently had to replace the (forget what it's called - it's the bearing inside the pedal casing -maybe the crank?) Also replaced the chain and brake pads. | | Bottom Line: | This bike obviously gets 5 chilis in the pluck for your buck catagory, perfect for the weekend warrior like myself. I will continue to hold onto this bike and upgrade it. I can't see dishing out a grand in one lump sum, when I can do another couple of $200.00 upgrades and still have a decent bike. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Oliver
a Weekend Warrior
from Austria
Date Reviewed: November 4, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | as steep as possible | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$440.00 | | Purchased At: | Boston Ski Market | | Strengths: | Cheap, no mayor problem along 8000 km.
| | Weaknesses: | Well, if you're not fast enough uphill, you have to argue about the exact way you want to go with your bike. | | Similar Products Used: | Bianchi SX250 | | Bike Setup: | Upgraded w/ RockShox Judy T2 | | Bottom Line: | It's got steel and aluminium glued together. I wonder when it will break and kill me. But, I must believe in engineers, since I'm one myself... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
roofgoat
a Weekend Warrior
from chicago
Date Reviewed: September 2, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | one with few bikes and hikers | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$450.00 | | Strengths: | light frame, good components. bike has taken some decent abuse. | | Weaknesses: | i've read that the rims are cheap but i've had no problems. i've hit logs and jumps pretty hard and been ok. may replace in near future for something lighter. stock brakes were avg so i changed out to avids. | | Bike Setup: | marz z2 bomber, avid sd 25 brakes. trying out power grips before i decide to go clipless. | | Bottom Line: | had bike for 5 years, only complaint was brakes, otherwise a great bike, light frame. Plus i hate riding something every other jamoche has. friends have high end cannons and treks, ridden and see no difference other than perceived quality. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Trey
a Cross-Country Rider
from Valrico, FL
Date Reviewed: May 19, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
2 Years | | Strengths: |
Good Frame, Good components, Great price value | | Weaknesses: |
Stock wheels bite but this is the first thing to spend your money on anyhow | | Bike Setup: |
manitou SXR | | Bottom Line: | Sounds like we could start a club with this bike. Mine came with STX-RC components and 7.0 Gripshifters. If all values were this good in mountain biking it would be a much cheaper sport. Switch out the wheelset and you've got a really good bike. It's a lot of fun to run down S-Works with my $700 including upgrades (fork, clipless pedals, wheelset etc.). | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jim Cim
a cross-country rider
from Rochester, N.Y.
Date Reviewed: March 3, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
This is an update of my previous review from March '98. In the past year I have crashed hard twice, once on pavement, hard enough to damn near total this bike. I bent the rear dropout, which I repaired myself using a T-square and 2 crescent wrenches, and it has shifted perfectly since. Prior to owning this bike I mangled 3 Specialized bikes, and this one has held up great. I couldn't care less what the MTB elitist geeks say about Raleigh. I believe in this product. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
J. Falkenburg
a cross-country rider
from Newark, De
Date Reviewed: September 16, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Awesome entry level bike. I bought mine for $450 and felt it was one of the best on the market under $550 and the lightest for under $900. I later sold it to a friend who has loved it ever since. I now ride a '98 fisher paragon, which is the absolute best bike for under a $1000. I give the 200 five chili's for being the best bang for the buck under $550. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Scott
a weekend warrior
from Atlanta, GA
Date Reviewed: June 23, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
For anyone wanting to start out in the sport of mountain biking or anyone just wanting to buy a quality aluminum framed bike, the M200 is definately something to consider. I bought mine in '96 and haven't had the first regret. When I first bought the bike I rode it pretty hard and pretty often. Yet even after taking the abuse of my 200lbs, the bike kept performing. Since then, I have added clipless pedals, which should be everyones' first upgrade, a King headset, a Marzocchi Bomber Z2, which is sweet, and a riser bar. I still have a lot of plans for this bike as soon as I get some cash. I love my M200 and i would never get rid of it. Sure there are other well built bikes out there that I'd be just as happy with. But for the money you pay, you get one hell of a bike with in many cases better components than many competitors' bikes come with. Like everyone else has said, these bikes would be well served if they came with replacable dropouts and better rims. But other than that these are tough, well-built bikes that are worth every penny and in the case of this review, every chili! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
mark
a weekend warrior
from michigan
Date Reviewed: June 6, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I just got into mountain biking last year and did alot of research before buying this bike. I talked to alot of people and reviewed sites like this one before buying. The m200 is alot of bike for the money, as are all the raleigh bikes I looked at. It seems to be a pretty good frame and good welds. I originally got mine with a rockshock quad5, but I soon upgraded to a manitou fsti stroker. The quad5 was ok at first but as I got better at riding I began pushing its limits, and even more importantly with experience, recognizing it's limits. I also upgraded to clipless pedals. If you don't have clipless yet, get them. I also upgraded to xt rear drlr and cassette with bontrager mustang rims and conti tires. Lx V-brakes to top it off. The final product still cost me under $900 for a nice alum frame bike. Raleigh is also very helpful with tech support via phone and will easily answer any of your questions. My next step is a full suspension bike but I dont think I will get rid of this one. I have done reviews on all the upgrades I did also, so go check them out.
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jim Cim
a cross-country rider
from Rochester, N.Y.
Date Reviewed: March 5, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Raleigh mountain bikes have been pegged as cheap, cheesy, and substandard by the supposed expert riders in this sport due to their reasonable price, but over the past 1 1/2 years I've found the M200 to be reliable and fun to ride. It has a very neutral feel, not too steep or slack, and rides great in technical singletrack. I do, however, wish for a replaceable rear dropout (every aluminum frame should have one!!). These are great bikes. Why pay for marketing hype? | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jay
a cross-country rider
from Balt. MD
Date Reviewed: February 16, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I got my M200 back in 96, and have been riding it since then. THe frame has held up wonderfully, and it has been relatively inexpensive to upgrade. I have xt front & rear deraillures, quadra 21r shocks with Englund total air cartidge upgrades (a major plus) lx v-brakes....and much more. But, when I ride I ride pretty hard, and never had a problem with the bike. My friends who ride Cannondales, and Diamondbacks think they got screwed when they ride my bike and hear how much it costs. One thing on thje bike to replace would be the rims, in the past 2 years I managed to bend the rims to the point where the spokes broke. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John Danek
a cross-country rider
from New Jersey
Date Reviewed: February 12, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I wanted to update my review of the M200. I have now have over 2k miles on the bike. I have upgraded the RIMs to Mavic 217 w/XT hubs, added a Indy XC, installed Avid 2.0 w/3.0 levers,and the drivetrain to LX/XT. I love this bike and it has become a great XC bike and weights in well under 25 lbs. I upgraded, when things broke or just wore out. I like the fact that I was able to pick the equipment, not the product manager.This was my first good bike, and we have both grown better while riding together. If you are looking for a great starter bike give Raleigh a look. By the New for 1998, the M200 is now the M80.
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andres
a weekend warrior
from Tampa, Fl.
Date Reviewed: February 12, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I decided to get a bike towards the beginning of last year. I didn't have that much money, so I decided to buy an M200. It has all of the same components as some of the more expensive bikes, at a fraction of the cost. I ride extremely hard (I hit about 5 to 6 feet of air on many jumps, and I wreck very hard very often), and the bike holds up fine. The rims are a little cheap, but the rest of the bike holds up great. Definitely upgrade the rims if you're gonna ride hard, and shimano 636 pedals are a good upgrade too. Even though the rims aren't that great, I am gonna give this bike 5 chilis. I figure with the money you save, you can go out and buy some descent rims. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jason
a weekend warrior
from TX
Date Reviewed: February 11, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I've got a 97 M200 frame with mostly M80 components (which are the same as the M200). I've upgraded the front and rear der to XT and it has an Indy XC. It seems to be a great bike so far. I like the stiff feel of the Al frame. It seems to have more control and a better feel that the few Cr-Mo bikes I've been on. It would be nice if it had replaceable dropouts, but other than that no complaints. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John Danek
a cross-country rider
from Mercerville, NJ USA
Date Reviewed: December 4, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
I have been very happy with the my selection of the '96 Raleigh M 200. I am new to Mountain Biking and wanted a good first bike ($500-$800). I looked at few other bikes, GT's Backwoods, Specialize's Rockhopper and Fisher's Mamba.With the M 200's price($499.00), its feel, and components, the Raleigh was the best deal going. I have put over 400 miles on the bike since mid-Sept and love the bike! It has performed without any complaints.It comes without hype or clever marketing, and it will not turn any heads, so if you want a status bike, you'll need to spend more on something else. But if you want a good ride, own a bike thats worth upgrading when you are ready, check out a Raleigh.I wanted to thank Bernie's Bike Shop in Mercerville, NJ for pointing out the Raleigh brand to me.
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