Submitted by
v-sauce s
a Cross Country Rider
from portland OR Date Reviewed: October 1, 2007
Favorite Trail:
wet oregon singletrack
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$700.00
Purchased At:
bro
Strengths:
customer service. Climbing ability. very nice bike for the price. Swap out pedals and your set to climb.
Weaknesses:
because of the climbing power- the geometry isn't suited for down hill as much... take it easy basically. besides that, it is slightly on the beefy heavy side. But still, you can't beat the price and service.
Similar Products Used:
giants
Bottom Line:
i fell in the rain (big tree roots). Pretty fun crash. Bent my derailleur hanger. I emailed kinley and got a response in about 2 days-asking me my address. I gave it to benno and asked how much it would cost and how to pay. In a week i got a new hanger.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Dave
a Weekend Warrior
from Phoenix, AZ USA Date Reviewed: August 7, 2007
Favorite Trail:
SunSet - Mtn. Elden - Flagstaff
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Strengths:
Geometry, Climbs well, Best customer service I have ever had from a bike manufacturer.
Weaknesses:
If you use it for its intended purpose it has none that I have found
Bottom Line:
This was a replacement for a flawed SX frame. Benno set me up with a new FX COMP frame at $0 cost to me. That was way cool.
This bike has become my spare and light Trail bike. It works well for that purpose.
The best thing about Kinley is the Customer service. I have had this set up for a year and only put 500 miles on it. Today the derailleur hanger ended its life when a hamburger size rock got kicked up and caught the derailleur. Sent an email asking where I could go to get more and Benno no questions asked replied he would send a replacement. It's a good feeling when you get what you need when you need it from a company.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
David S
a Cross Country Rider
from Portland, Oregon Date Reviewed: June 13, 2007
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$799.00
Purchased At:
kinley.com
Strengths:
great bikes for trails and minor jumps. lots of good components for the price. brakes stops really well and the gears shifts perfectly after a year.
Weaknesses:
only problem i have is that the rear shock isn't adjustable. it works fine, but i will upgrade it very soon.
Similar Products Used:
kona dawg, giant trance, etc
Bike Setup:
stock
Bottom Line:
i love this bike, it rides perfectly since day one. the customer service is great. benno(kinley's owner), called to verified the purchase and made sure i got the correct product. i would buy from them again.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Sam Kuttler
a Weekend Warrior
from Provo, UT, United States Date Reviewed: June 5, 2007
Favorite Trail:
slickrock baby
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$679.00
Purchased At:
Ebay
Strengths:
Decent components at an INCREDIBLE price. Kinley must have given up on making money selling bikes and now he is selling them at a loss just because he's a nice guy like that. It is seriously rediculous how cheap his bikes are for the component level that is on them. If you pick it up on ebay you can save $100 off of kinleybikes.com. The bike frame has absolutely perfect geometry for cross country with 0 none nada cero pedal bob with the rear suspension pumped to 160 pounds (I weigh 190) and the front suspension locked out. The frame has a 4 bar rear suspension setup. the brakes are hydrolic unlike the $1200 bikes I saw at my bikeshop with similar components.
Weaknesses:
Frame cracked but I was probably riding some stuff I shouldn't have like a dummy with my seat way up and I weigh in at 190 pounds. My friend on a $3000 gary fischer rental broke his frame on the same stuff the difference is the kinley was still ridable after the frame cracked. Also kinley sent me a hole new bike to replace the one with a cracked frame instead of just a new frame. I cannot begin to describe my level of satisfaction with this manufacturer. The only gripe i have about the bike is the rear derailluer is a rapid rise lx. I feel that a regular lx would be a better option but after getting used to it it's actually kind of nice. Obviously the front suspension fork is not the greatest being a judy but if it breaks i'll just buy a rockshox tora and this bike would still be enourmously cheaper than anything in a bikeshop.
Similar Products Used:
$3000 dollar bike rentals in moab that bobbed like crazy but you could ride off a small cliff.
Bike Setup:
Rockshox Judy J2 with lockout, Deore LX components, hayes sole hydrolic, yes hydrolic, disk breaks, truvativ crank, reasonably comfy seat for my squishy ass, 9 speed cassette, and Alex rims cut for schraeder valves, none of that presta crap (presta is actually better).
Bottom Line:
Climbs like it's ass is on fire, takes 2-3 foot drops onto level ground without flinching, shifts with impressive precision, and it's warrantied if it breaks all for half the price of a bike you would buy at a shop that would bob like monica lewinsky. If you are a trail rider why have you not bought this bike yet? The BEST cross country rig you can buy within $500 of it's price.
If you plan on taking 4+ foot drops onto level ground, don't bother. This is more of a trail/cross country bike than a downhill bike.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Craig
a Cross Country Rider
from Tacoma, WA Date Reviewed: July 14, 2006
Favorite Trail:
n/a
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$900.00
Purchased At:
kinleybikes.com
Strengths:
top components in a moderate priced bike. look around and compare, you won't touch a bike like this for almost double the price.
Weaknesses:
none.
Similar Products Used:
trek, GF
Bike Setup:
stock setup, suspension tweaking for my riding style
Bottom Line:
compare all the rest to Kinley, you'll come to the same conclusion, Kinley's the best for the money period.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
What's New
»
BEST OF MTBR - Check out the highest rated bikes, parts, & gear!
»
LED BIKE LIGHT SHOOTOUT 3 - We test all the newest products and latest light and battery technology in this comprehensive guide»
$
Overall Rating:
