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Submitted by
Willy
a
from Nebraska
Date Reviewed: April 20, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$945.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike Pedalers | | Strengths: | Durable, good value for the price. | | Weaknesses: | The Indy SL needed help (which I gave it). | | Similar Products Used: | Too many to name. | | Bike Setup: | Standard 1998 setup, but with just a few mods:
Dirtworks progressive spring kit in the Indy SL tubes and a USE XCR seatpost. | | Bottom Line: | I've ridden this M800 for 5 years, and aside from normal wear and tear parts replacements (tires, tubes, brake pads), I haven't had to replace any parts after over 7,000 miles on this bike. I take good care of it, keep things properly adjusted, lubed, and tight. Solid as a rock, day or night (with a TurboCat S32 light), this was money well-spent. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Travis
a Cross Country Rider
from Va
Date Reviewed: June 24, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Pony Pasture | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Excellent components, climbs beautifully, accelerates quickly, handles well, etc... | | Weaknesses: | NONE | | Similar Products Used: | Trek 6000 | | Bike Setup: | stock | | Bottom Line: | i got this bike for 50% off. it cost me $500 for a $1000 dollar bike. i got an excellent bike for the price of a low quality entry level mountain bike. i love this bike. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
marco allstar
a cross-country rider
from Wi
Date Reviewed: February 4, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
M 80 is much better I got the 98 m400 is like a tank. Stay away from M 400 it s a seaspool same with the 800 M 80 rules. My M 80 is aluminum far better value than the m8oo and 400 | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike Nelson
a cross-country rider
from Tucson, AZ
Date Reviewed: June 5, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I just traded my '97 Raleigh M400 for a '98 M800. My LBS was gracious enough to let me upgrade the Indy SL to a Judy SL for a mere $100 if you can believe that. The frame is the same this year on the M400, M600 & M800 - straight gauge 7005 Aluminum. I was a little hesitant about not having a butted frame at this price; however, I was very happy with the feel of my M400 and decided that the 0.30 lbs. saved by the butted aluminum tubing wasn't really an issue. This machine is, by far, the best bargain out there considering the parts spec. The Gripshift ESP works exceptionally well. (I'm a Rapidfire convert.) The wheelset is light and rugged and looks good too. The paint is flawless. The welds are works of art. The only complaint I have is with the suppository sized racing saddle - just switched it out today and we'll see what happens. The Judy SL is a vast improvement over the Indy but I realize not all bikeshops will treat you like mine did. The brakes work excellent and I really like the new ESP levers - light, strong and function flawlessly. If you're shopping for a great hardtail without spending a fortune, the M800 is definitely worth a serious look. See Bicycling Magazine's Buyers guide and the review in Mountain Biking's May '98 issue.Happy trails! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kevin Sweeney
a cross-country rider
from Girdwood, Alaska
Date Reviewed: May 4, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Just bought mine about a month ago and I love it.Like most of the people here I agree that you aren't going to find anything that touches the 7005 aluminum frame and LX component group for this price. I got mine for under $800. I would advise others to challenge dealers to give them a good price. If I can get it this cheap in Alaska, then you guys in the lower 48 should have no problem finding one for around $800.One great thing about this bike is that the bottom bracket sits almost an inch higher than most bikes giving it more ground clearance and a different feel then most other bikes. I am 6'6, and the higher center of gravity fits me fine on a 22 frame. It takes getting used to, but in the long run I think it makes this bike even better than it already is. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric Grumstrup
a cross-country rider
from Marshalltown, Iowa
Date Reviewed: April 30, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I got my new Raleigh M-800 about 3 months ago and can't stop ridding it. The bike is a dream and climbs like no other. If you're looking for a hardtail around a 1000 bucks, you have got to test this bike!!! The only thing I would recommend replacing is the headset. Happy ridding! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Willy
a weekend warrior
from Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
Date Reviewed: April 8, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I picked up a ’98 M800 for USD$945 (There is only 1 Raleigh dealer here, so you might find it cheaper if you live in a can take advantage of price competition). I’m not complaining about the price, mind you; I don’t sweat 50 bucks one way or the other (it is only about a 5% swing at this price point). I’ll always pay a little more and avoid mail order on a toy like this. Bike Pedalers (www.bikeped.com) is a fine little LBS, anyway. This hardtail is phenomenal. I recommend at least taking a test-ride! This thing is the proverbial butter, let me tell you! This is my first mountain bike (I’m an old roadie), and I didn’t want to go too cheap, because I always wind up being disappointed when I chintz on my toys. You know, I think I can drop 500 bucks…maybe 750…what the hell, a grand isn’t gonna to kill me.I had ridden a few of my buddies’ MTB’s, some pricier than the M800, and some cheaper. I knew I didn’t want the flex I’d felt in some of the steel frames I’d ridden. I’m 140 on a good day, so weight was a major concern, as was being rust-free here in the humid summer hell we know as Nebraska. I didn’t want to drop the cash it takes to buy a good full-floater, so I decided to grab a decent hardtail.The frame is a work of art, keeping the price in mind. The SRAM ESP 9.0 rear shifts as true as a sniper rifle shoots, and the IRC Mythos XC sneakers on Syncros XLT rims grab the planet like they were hanging onto money (but I haven’t tried them in heavy mud yet). I haven’t seen any of the problems I heard about from the older SRAM ders, I think they fixed them. The ESP 9.0 gripshifts work flawlessly with both the 9.0 rear and the LX front; they shift like a Swiss watch, which (unexpectedly, might I say) impressed the hell out of me. I’d only ridden rapidfires before, and was hesitant about buying gripshift, but I think I made the right choice.The LX V-brakes are superb, though I haven’t seen how long the pads will last. A few bucks here and there, who cares, really; If you want cheap, sit on the couch and rot. When they burn out, I’ll experiment around a bit. The frame is stiff as hell, but I just grabbed a ’98 USE XCR suspension seatpost (with a green spring/elastomer kit) to stop this thing from treating me like a new cell-mate. I’ll see if it will spare my bony ass some pain.
The Indy SL is my first suspension fork, so I’m no forkin’ judge, but it seems to be treating me right. One of the reasons I wanted this fork (as a minimum) was that I wanted to avoid steel (rust-able) tubes, and besides, that makes it pretty light, to boot. I’m lean, so I didn’t want to tie an anchor to my front wheel. No complaints, so far.
No complaints about anything so far! Perhaps because M800 is more bike than I am rider, but I don’t think I could have made a better buy for the price. As a bonus, Raleigh isn’t the coolest MTB out there, by a long shot, but I like something that less people want to steal. 5 super-hot chilies for this under-priced hardtail!!!
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Submitted by
Steve
a cross-country rider
from Colorado Springs
Date Reviewed: March 18, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I can't believe this bike! $899 for a sweet 7005 alum frame, 98 indy sl, esp 9.0 setup, lx v-brakes, mythos xc kevlar tires, LX front der, cranks and hubs with Synchros rims and get this-- 24.25 lbs out of the box! Handles great and climbs like all get-out. Acceleration is second to none, oh, and the frame is beautiful. The welds are works of art. You owe it to yourself to try this bike if you are searching in the $1000 range. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ryun Pavlicek
a racer
from VA
Date Reviewed: January 31, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Just got my new 1998 Raliegh M-800 and it rocks. ESP shifters and rear der for under a grand
with pedals. Where else are you going to get all that on a 7005 aluminum frame? Also looks
great. Only been on a few rides but it is sweet and light. Only warning: replace the bottom
bracket with something decent and you'll make the bike about .5 lighter | Overall Rating: |
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