|
|
|
| |
Submitted by
Billy M.
a Weekend Warrior
from Medora, ND
Date Reviewed: July 10, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Maah Daah Hey | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$700.00 | | Strengths: | Weight, frame, | | Bottom Line: | Great bike for the money, just had some problems with the rear deraileur, but that is it. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jason
a Weekend Warrior
from Urbana, IL
Date Reviewed: July 21, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Dirty | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$950.00 | | Purchased At: | Durst Cycle, Urbana | | Strengths: | Lightweight, packed with excellent features for the price range | | Weaknesses: | Matte finish has a tendency to scratch easily, and you have to slide the seat back a bit to stretch out your riding position (if needed). | | Similar Products Used: | Crappy K-Mart Bikes | | Bike Setup: | Stock, with Sette shoes, alloy bottle cages and a chainstay protector | | Bottom Line: | After about 10 years of wanting and waiting, I've finally gotten into cycling and mountain biking with this bike, and it has yet to disappoint me. Everything on this bike is light and smooth, except for me. :) No complaints as of yet, except for still trying to get my comfort and fit on the bike right. Not much mountainous terrain to test it on here in Central Illinois, but the riding that I have done for fitness is smooth sailing. The wheelset, shimano gearing, brakes and clipless pedals all perform excellently. Just make sure to lube the chain with a coat or two of good chain wax (White Lightning or other), and oil the clipless pedals a bit, and you'll have several smooth rides before you have to worry. As far as what's available for under $1000, this bike should easily be in the top three. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Heath Anderson
a Cross Country Rider
from Taipei, Taiwan
Date Reviewed: January 7, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Mean streets of Taipei | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$650.00 | | Purchased At: | Crappy little shop | | Strengths: | I love the stiff fast frame. I got a great price in Taiwan. | | Weaknesses: | Skareb fork broke in the first month. The Race Face Ride Crank keeps becoming loose. Every little allen bold on the thing is rusting, including on the Avid brakes. The tires are fast and light, but can't hold up. I averaged a flat a week. I just changed the rear to see if its the tires or the ride. | | Similar Products Used: | Trek 950 (old) Daimondback. | | Bike Setup: | Stock except for tire, fenders and lights | | Bottom Line: | I am finding poor parts on a good frame. It seems from reading the reviews that the group has hit the strenghts and weaknesses of this bike dead on. I have, however, been very unsatisfied with the response of the dealer on parts that are still under warranty. I am finding that Giant Bikes may be too big to to meet my needs. The next bike I buy will not be a Giant | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Lloyd
a Cross Country Rider
from Melbourne AUS
Date Reviewed: June 30, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Light weight, good value for money, looks great | | Weaknesses: | Rims, Brakes, Seatpost | | Bottom Line: | This has to be the best value for money bike ive ever seen. It has a great combo of LX/XT components you only find on much more expensive bikes. Not bad for $1900 AUD.
As everybody says the bike is very light and that is the best thing about it. The worst thing is the rims, they buckle too easily. The brakes require too much adjustment. The seatpost makes a lot of noise which can be fixed. Other than these small problems the bike is excellent. I have upgraded to next seasons model with Hayes Hydro disc brakes, but I would still recommend this bike to anyone. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Josh Kay
a Racer
from shell lake WI, 54871
Date Reviewed: June 14, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | xc-racing | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$750.00 | | Purchased At: | a friend | | Strengths: | lightweight, 24.5lbs., cool looking. great climber. No rattles no sqeeks. | | Weaknesses: | the manitou skareb fork that came with it never really worked right. | | Similar Products Used: | trek fuel 90. Gary Fisher Mt. Tam | | Bike Setup: | shimano xt cranks, s-works carbon handlebars, ec-70 post, xt/lx | | Bottom Line: | Great bike for the money. Sold my full suspension I needed lighter weight. Thats exactly what I got. Never had any problems. looks really cool. I recommend it to anyone looking for a light bike, or someone who's new to the sport. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
tom
a Racer
from mass
Date Reviewed: April 14, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | whistler mt bike park | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Purchased At: | pedal power | | Strengths: | it weighs 26 pounds 26 POUNDS!!!!! very very stiff for it's weight nice drivetrain (xt) fast, very, very fast, and sexy, this bike is a work of art. | | Weaknesses: | the part that clamps the seat post to the seat (i've broken it twice) but it was really all my fault a stronger one costs like 10$ no big deal. | | Similar Products Used: | gary fisher big sur | | Bike Setup: | stock | | Bottom Line: | this bike is light, reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeely light. people used to tell me how light it was, but u have to pick it up to know. it's very stiff too. as i said i am a racert and weigh about 170 and i did use this bike in a race a couple of times and screwed up the cranks, back wheel and fork. but keep in mind it is a cross country bike. racing is not what this bike was built for, well, the frame can take it, pretty much everything exept the wheels, cranks, and fork will take what you dish out, i replaced the fork (manitou skareb) with a Marzocc. dirt jumper 3, the back wheel with a rhyno lite, and got a race face prodigy freeride crankset, and i now use it for dirt jumping and as my back up bike in races. this is a sweet ride, butonly if you use it right-cross country. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Stephen Omilianowski
a Cross Country Rider
from Franklin, TN
Date Reviewed: April 5, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Chickasaw Trace | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Excellent value. Good entry level race. Holds up well. Love the frame. | | Weaknesses: | Stock seatpost and saddle. Mavic 221 wheelset not durable. | | Similar Products Used: | This is the best MTB I have owned. | | Bike Setup: | stock except for pedals, saddle, and seatpost switch. | | Bottom Line: | This bike is an excellent value. Feels very light and rides very fast. I am in my first year of XC racing and this bike isn't holding my back.
Excellent climber and is a bit jittery on the descents but that is only because this bike is so fast.
I was worried that the Skareb fork would not be that great but I have had 0 complaints so far.
I am only giving it 4 chilis because I have already spent $$ to swap out the saddle, seatpost, and am in the market for a new wheelset. I only weigh 150lbs and ride XC, but these wheels are not holding up very well.
Good overall value on a great bike. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
anthony burke
a Weekend Warrior
from melbourne vic australia
Date Reviewed: January 2, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | olinda, dandenongs | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1244.00 | | Purchased At: | the freedom machine | | Strengths: | light,excellent components,great value. | | Weaknesses: | tyres prone to flats, seat post too small for frame, flat bars uncomfortable. | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | standard setup, changed bars to easton riser,grips to oury,swapped rear brake cable to completely sealed and intend on changing tubes and tyres to something a bit more substantial. | | Bottom Line: | great value for money. i would change a few things, especially the open brake cables situation, as i found this gets clogged up on the first wet ride.im intending on fitting disc brakes at some point though(i went for the v-brake model-fool!)the handle bars i suffered for a month before changing, i guess its down to preference and what trails you ride.and finally, im afraid the one thing that made me think twice about buying the bike was what i consider an ugly, 80's style paint job and decals.chrome stickers? come on!.at least it seems to be wearing off pretty quickly...i do think though that this is a great bike for the money, probably the best on the market. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
peter
a Weekend Warrior
from perth, WA
Date Reviewed: December 30, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1.00 | | Purchased At: | Fleet cycles | | Strengths: | Mate, its light, fast, looks good, goes really well.
| | Weaknesses: | the bloody skareb fork. read my reviews to find out what happened. oh the seats a bit hard but i'll get over it. | | Similar Products Used: | raleigh rs 4000 (it broke) | | Bike Setup: | stock, 'cept mammoth rim, and black elite fork | | Bottom Line: | Mate, this bike is sick, i love it, apart from the probs i had with the orignial fork (took over 14 weeks to finally get sorted). This bike does everything i want including xc and urban riding (ie down stairs, off jumps (small <3-4ft) onto flat). its light and strong, and the components work fine. i would highly recommened to people who love just fanging around and going fast down (and up) various tracks. I even done an long epic on this bike. this bike is great fun. Oh it actually cost me 1700 Aussie dollars, you want it in US dollars you work it out. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andrew Arthur
a Racer
from Australia
Date Reviewed: December 17, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | temp crk | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$850.00 | | Purchased At: | bates bikes! | | Strengths: | Agile, light frame, geometry superb Duke XC is working great! Hayes HFX 9 do the job in wet and dry. | | Weaknesses: | Creaky seat tube woes.. seems to have stopped now (had the bike for 1 month, decals seem to get dirty relativley easy which is weird. | | Similar Products Used: | Apollo LsX 1.1 around $200US got me started! | | Bike Setup: | Stock......for now | | Bottom Line: | This is a fantastic bike for the weekend warrior making the transition into the racing ranks for a cross country rider this bike performs to most peoples delight. it handles well, its geometry seems to encourage speed, its ultra light for the price i paid.. the only problem i have is the smashing of the rear derilour against the frame in bumpy terrain which makes an alful frame smashing sound a chain guard might help (has already ripped trough my 1st one)....but as this is not giants problem it dosent matter, Anyone who is intrested in racing cross country should be looking at purchasing a giant in the XtC line as all of them seem to be of superb quality especially in 2004 (Aus bikes) | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chloe
a Racer
from Australia
Date Reviewed: December 14, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$850.00 | | Strengths: | Really light, sprints well and awesome value for money.
Great paint work...looks cool. Has good gear that runs well without much tuning. Good idea having hubs that can accommodate discs for that future upgrade.Easy to throw around in that technical stuff and really strong frame. | | Weaknesses: | A bit creaky and the paint wears off REAL easy, which sucks! | | Bike Setup: | XT rear, LX front, Skareb forks, Avid brakes... | | Bottom Line: | It is a bike affordable to the newborn racer... Prob the main reason that i bought it was coz of the good gear at a awesome price... anything else wit the same gear was about $500AU more expensive... and i'm a struggling student!! Probably as i get better i will need an upgrade to something with a bit more hard core racer in mind but for now, in the junior ranks, it is doin me just fine!!
Not recommended for the hard core racers but definetly recommended for the transition between weekend warrior and elite racer. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
mtbdirteater
a Cross Country Rider
from Colorado Front Range
Date Reviewed: December 1, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Lair O' the Bear | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Weaknesses: | Integrated headset, see below for fix | | Bottom Line: | This is a follow-up (frame) review to the one I posted below. I am again very happy with this frame, but due in no part to Giant. I was not pleased with the integrated headset, and now it is gone! I had a local frame builder skilled in the fine art of bicycle frame manufacturing machine me some aluminum adapter cups that he pressed into the frame's headtube to convert it to accept a standard 1-1/8" threadless headset. After the standard facing work, we installed a Chris King No-thread headset and it works flawlessly. Yes, Chris King now makes an Integrated replacement headset offerning which may or may not be able to be installed in your aluminum frame's headtube because of the required boring to install it, but these adapters required no boring of the frame. We apply a little JB Weld to the frame/adapters joint while pressing them in, but since this clean finely machined press fit is more contact area and deeper than the integrated cups (shouldered to fit down deeper into the headtube), it may not have been necessary, but certainly doesn't hurt. I have no plans to go back to an integrated headset, so as far as I am concerned, they are now part of the frame - and after facing them installed in the headtube, they look like it too. The small additional stack height of the lower headset cup between the fork and head tube have accordingly decreased the head tube angle slightly, which technically changed the bike's handling (just like changing say an 80mm fork to a 100mm fork or adjusting an adjustable travel fork), but this was negligable and barely noticable when riding it after this modification. This is now a standard headset frame, and this CK headset can be removed or replaced like any other with standard headset parts, so this means headset selection has gone from like only two (or three requiring boring out the frame's headtube) integrated choices to basically everything else out there now.
In short, very pleased, if interested in these parts and this modification/conversion, contact Devin Lenz at LenzSport, his email address is on his website: http:www//lenzsport.com, and check out his beautiful hand built (in Colorado!) XC, downhill, mountaincross and freeride bicycle frames!
Additional (and conditional) chillies for this frame for Devin Lenz being able to fix what Giant skimped with and failed on. I plan to keep riding it now that the front end isn't binding, grinding, creaking, rattling, loose or falling apart any more, there's nothing like a smoothe Chris King headset!
| Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
mtbdirteater
a Cross Country Rider
from Colorado Front Range
Date Reviewed: November 15, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | LOTB | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$890.00 | | Purchased At: | Westside | | Strengths: | Frame: Light, not too flexy, excellent geometry, superb handling, good top tube cable routing. Looks good before the paint chips. | | Weaknesses: | Frame: Integrated headset, worst engineering compromise you could possibly purchase, trashed stock FSA headset in five months, paint chips and rubs off easily, bike comes with an aluminum seat tube reduction shim to fit the little 27.2 post and squeeks like crazy, pull that stuff out and put a 31.6 post in immediately, Giant derailure hanger has caused me some B-screw alignment problems with Shimano rear derailures. Thinwall tubing dings easily, like down tube from rocks flying up at it, very minor, but makes me wonder what damage it might sustain if I ever actually hit something directly on a frame tube. I'm not gonna review the components since I pulled most of the stock stuff off immediately in the shop, but the price above was for the whole bike. | | Similar Products Used: | misc. steel and cro-molly hardtail frames | | Bike Setup: | Frame, some wheels, Fox Forx Float RLC 100, XTR, Easton, Thomson, Terry Fly Ti, lock-on grips, Salsa quick-release post clamp, SRAM chain, XT cassette, SPDs, Avid mechanicals... bike about 25.5lbs. with race wheels, and about 28lbs. with D321/600g Continentals/300g downhill tubes/Hope XC hubs (training wheelset). | | Bottom Line: | This is a frame review, have been riding it almost daily for near six months. Great lightweight alum XC race frame, snappy handling, good balance, the integrated headset design is inexcusable though and will not buy another because of it. Even with the sub-par paint, this frame would be a 5 chillie frame with a normal head tube on it, wake up Giant. I may replace it with a Santa Cruz Camellion that's a pound heavier, but nearly same geometry and can use a regular headset. Will miss the lighter weight. Low (fair) rating for integrated headset, have to replace it with another FSA (Orbit) or Cane Creek, nothing else available. Will probably sell this frame after new headset. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Donald
a Racer
from Sydney, NSW, AUSTRALIA
Date Reviewed: November 13, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Lake Parramatta | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$900.00 | | Purchased At: | Phantom Cycles | | Strengths: | Price (stock), handling, weight, frame geometry, components, color | | Weaknesses: | Headset tube creaks, wheels (stock), Avid SD 3 brakes & levers (stock). | | Similar Products Used: | 2002 Giant SE2, Giant ATX 860 | | Bike Setup: | Avid Ti V-brakes, XTR levers - ceramic pad inserts, LX shifters, 02 SID SL fork, FRM CU2 BB, Extralite Fish crankset, 02 Crossmax, Michelin UST Jet S, FSA Orbit Z, Selcof post, ITM Millennium stem (90 mm), IRD Pro carbon bar, XT (fr) XTR (rear) derailleurs | | Bottom Line: | This is an awsome XC bike for the weekend warrior on a budget. If you clean it, maintain it, true those bunky stock wheels, you should get many miles. The frame & geometry is the biggest strength and with quality part upgrades it is an excellent 9 - 9.5 kg XC race bike. Note, the frame (17") at 1470 g (inc. canti studs) is light but (arguably stronger) not in your Scandium/Magnesium alloy range at ~ 1250g, and is about 60 g heavier than the 02 SE model.
Giant slightly over machined the head set tubes compared with 02 models, however, the creaking head set can be fixed with regular regreasing or even loctite.
The bottom bracket is relatively low, so you need to be skilled in pedalling out of corners and over rocks, but it lowers centre of gravity. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark
a Cross Country Rider
from currently Taiwan
Date Reviewed: October 21, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$435.00 | | Purchased At: | Taiwan | | Strengths: | Price, Price, Price. Ride, handling, components, frame geometry.... | | Weaknesses: | Stock fork (2003 Judy TT), weight | | Similar Products Used: | Taiwan made Titanium frame with Deore LX | | Bike Setup: | Avid Mech discs, A3 levers, SRAM 7 shifters, cassettes, rear der., SR Suntour crank, Deore front der. and chain, Cane Creek HS, Alex rims, Taiwan made hubs, bars, stem, seatpost, saddle, spokes, Hutchinson Mosguito tires. | | Bottom Line: | These bikes are really a great deal in Taiwan, even before bargaining. I replaced the front fork with a Duke XC, see my review on that piece of sh&t. When the fork isn't off the bike being repaired, this bike is really nice. All the components are from the venders who make the "name brand" components, only without that name stamped on them. So far the SRAM components are working flawlessly. Much nicer than my Rapid Fire Deore LX. Faster, crisper, easier shifts. I originally thought about upgrading to 9.0esp. Butnow, why bother and waste the money. There is nothing I can add to what the reviewers say about the brakes, they're awesome. I questioned the crank, but have found it to be super stiff and all my shifts are quick and precise. Everything else is working perfectly. What more can I ask for. If you are a serious racer, you may find some faults. The seatpost did squeak. Nothing a little Phil Wood didn't take care of. I just use this bike to hit the trails for fun and to stay in shape. My titanium/Deore bike is now my city commuter with slicks. For a bike less than $500, I don't know of anything better. Even at twice the price, it's a great value. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tom
a Racer
from Sydney Australia
Date Reviewed: October 8, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1500.00 | | Strengths: | Weight, prize | | Weaknesses: | After riding this bike for more than one year I came to the conclusion that this is not a bike for professional riders and people that ride about 12-15.000km per year. Except the frame almost all parts that came with the bike are pretty much worn out. I just had to replace pretty much everything. Also the AVID breaks are the first breaks in my life where I have seen parts rusting. The Race Face crankset is crap as well, cause the chain seems not to fit perfectly on it (appears to be a bit loose on the teeth).
There are permanent cracking noises from the seatpost as well as the bottom bracket. I have put lithium grease on all these areas as this is usually best practise for such issues. Has helped on all my other bikes in the last 15 years - not for this one. After 1-2 weeks the cracking noise comes back. Only way to tackle that problem was with some teflon (plumbers) tape around the seatpost and the thread of the bottom bracket.
| | Bike Setup: | medium good handling | | Bottom Line: | If you are racing and rise several thousand km per year - don't buy this bike. This is a great bike for weekend riders and the medium serious rider that doesn't want to spend too much money and still have a great bike.
For the professionals I can recommend Trek Elite 9.8
I got one to ride for a weekend and this is a bike that feels perfect from the first hour. Light, stiff, strong, good suspension and excellent handling. But prize is obviously more than double from the Giant. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Gary Sin
a Weekend Warrior
from Melbourne, Australia
Date Reviewed: September 21, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Bikenow melbourne | | Strengths: | Looks cool, light, fast and strong | | Weaknesses: | None so far | | Similar Products Used: | GT avalance 0.0, giant boulder! | | Bike Setup: | Stock 2004 model. | | Bottom Line: | This is a great bike, I wasn't looking at getting anything this good but after I scored a great deal on the 2004 model bike I couldn't resist. Like Dave speculated, the 2004 is cheaper ($1799 AUS vs $1899 AUS) and has better components, so I guess its even better value now. The Duke XC u-turn shocks are pretty cool too. The gun-grey color is cool as well.
The bike climbs unbelievably well, I could't climb some hills on my old boulder but now its so easy. It goes fast on flats (for a mountain bike with FAT off-road tires). Brakes are good and easy to modulate or if you prefer discs you can now go the XTC 2 disc version for about AU$300 more.
Overall, I'd recomend this bike without hesitation. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David
a
from Sydney Australia
Date Reviewed: August 21, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Purchased At: | Blackman Parramatta | | Strengths: | Light, strong, fast and looks great. Quality components and a super frame for the price. | | Weaknesses: | None serious enough to be considered weaknesses. | | Similar Products Used: | Assorted GTs, Felts and Treks. | | Bike Setup: | Stock, but I did add street tires for road use. | | Bottom Line: | I was looking to spend about half this amount when I started looking to upgrade my old steel framed Trek, but this one just stood out from the pack for quality and price. The reviews on this site helped make up my mind, as did the guys at Blackman. I'm going heaps faster on my trips to work and it's also great fun on the trails. I just wanna ride it more and that tells me I've made a good choice. My only regret is that I didn't wait another 3 months for the 2004 stock as the Aussie $ has gone up and this bike is likely to drop in price. Highly recommended for anyone seeking a speedy hardtail for street or trail, especially considering the price. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
DAVID
a Cross Country Rider
from CAIRNS QUEENSLAND AUSTRAILA
Date Reviewed: August 17, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Smithfield cross country loops | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Purchased At: | Bicycle centre | | Strengths: | Frame, Its super light and damm strong too. | | Weaknesses: | non apart from the Spd pedals that it comes with (thats just personal preference though) | | Similar Products Used: | Giant NRS 2 2002 | | Bike Setup: | Xtc2 frame complete xt running gear Easton carbon flat bar, easton aluminium seat post, max flight transam seat, eggbeater pedals, Dt swiss onyx hubs dt swiss revolution spokes with Mavic 517 rims. Avid sd5 brake levers, wipperman 904 chain. | | Bottom Line: | I traded my Nrs for the xtc so I could get more compeditive. I love it it sprints well climbs well and handles so smoothly. It is great value for money and is ready to race standard. I highly recomend it to any one I speak with. Bottom line buy it you wont be disapointed. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Whipper
a Cross Country Rider
from Broomfield,Co,USA
Date Reviewed: August 6, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Horsethief (Fruita) | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$900.00 | | Purchased At: | Performancecrappo | | Strengths: | Frame is rigid and light. Great saddle. | | Weaknesses: | Pedals, tires, brakes, handlebars. | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized Rockhopper FSR and Gary Fisher KaiTai | | Bike Setup: | Avid brakes, Hutchinson Python, Skareb Comp, Crappy shimano pedals, etc..... | | Bottom Line: | Performance didnt perform. When I got the bike home a couple of weeks ago I gave it a re-tune as soon as I got it. Brakes needed to be re-adjusted. My directional tires were on backwards. It supposedly went through there inspection first but didnt pass mine. I actually enjoy the saddle. It makes me feel all nice and fresh. I recommend this bike strictly because of the weight. Will be replacing the fork with a Black and replacing the pedals with SPD's. Dont buy at Performance. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Seth Elliott
a Weekend Warrior
from Wheaton, Illinois, United States
Date Reviewed: August 1, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Single Track | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$860.00 | | Purchased At: | Performance Bike in Naperville, Illinois | | Strengths: | The XTC 2 is really light, looks great, accelerates quicly, and is easy to climb on. The component spec is really great for the money (especially on clearance). The Skareb fork is really great for lighter riders and the adjustment works well and really makes a difference in how you ride. Awesome for lighter riders who are looking for a great deal on a hardtail. | | Weaknesses: | The sweet looking stealth black frame scratches easily because of the matte fininsh and the lack of a clear coat protective finish. | | Similar Products Used: | Giant Iguana | | Bike Setup: | Stock until something breaks or wears out. Upgrades when that happens. | | Bottom Line: | Great bike. If you live around Naperville, Illinois, get one of these bikes at Performance while they are still on clearance. The service is great and at $230 dollars off it is a great deal ($1100 reduced to $860). Team Performance is sweet. This bike looks great and has an incredible spec for the money | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
roger asderot
a Cross Country Rider
from barcelona,spain
Date Reviewed: July 28, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1200.00 | | Purchased At: | bike world | | Strengths: | weight,frame
| | Weaknesses: | mph3 disc brakes a bit weak and hard to adjust | | Similar Products Used: | giant nrs 2 | | Bike Setup: | serie except crossmax xl with scorpion tubeless front and python tubeless rear | | Bottom Line: | switch from a giant nrs2 bike,xtc2 is a lot faster,i am really impressed with this bike,awesome,best bike in this range of price for a lonnnnnnnnnnnng shot. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Francisco Cruz
a Weekend Warrior
from El Paso
Date Reviewed: July 24, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Any | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$950.00 | | Purchased At: | Crazy Cat Cyclery | | Strengths: | Weight, components, looks, +speed, +climbing, +price, +quality, +frame strenght.... | | Weaknesses: | Was not crazy about the ionized finish, hard to keep clean and easy to scratch. A bottle of Super Glaze Wax Shop and tons! of elbow grease fix the fault. Delicate decals are easy to damage. Original tires sucked! Can you spell FLATS. Spoke with the great guys at my bike shop (Crazy Cat) and they replaced them with a set of awesome IRC Mythos XC. Also, didn't have a good riding position and AGAIN my shop went out of their way and fixed me up with an awesome set of Easton EA50 and EA30 steam/bar set for FREE!!! No dents yet, but frame feels thin ( heck is about 3 lbs) be careful. | | Similar Products Used: | Anithing in it price range of $$$$. I checked out Gary Fisher, Trek, Canondale, Jamis, GT, and the closest in similar price and equipment the Specialized Stumpjumper. Hands down the Giant took the cake. | | Bike Setup: | Light as heck (3.2 lbs) Manitou Skareb fork, Easton stem/bar, Diore XT rear derr, Diore Shifters and hubs, RaceFace XC cranks, IRC Mythos tires, Titec seatpost. SLAluxx light frame (about 3 lbs stripped), Mavic 221 wheels. | | Bottom Line: | You cannot and will not find a better deal,in a bad a** climber, fast as hell bike in the market. If you are lucky, you will also find an awesome shop like I did (Crazy Cat in El Paso) Giant dealers are everywhere, check their web site and see for yourself. Listen and learn! I was not held back on money when I went shopping, so I shopped for the best deal, specially if you have cash on hand. The Giant XTC2 was the best by a long shot. Hell, I was so happy with the bike that the following month I went back to my shop, after reading many reviews, I bought TWO!!! of the best priced road bikes (TCR 2) in the market and at (16.5 lbs SH 105 equip.) there is no better deal. One was for me and the other for my awesome Girl!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jason Shipley
a Weekend Warrior
from Wauconda,IL,USA
Date Reviewed: July 1, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$820.00 | | Purchased At: | Performance Bike Shop Northbrook IL | | Strengths: | Light strong frame. Very good components for price range. | | Weaknesses: | While the sales person at Performance was very knowlegable and I feel helped me pick the perfect bike. I feel the store as a whole let me down. I didn't receive all the owners manuals the night I purchased the bike, I called the next day and they said to just stop by and them up. After driving 45 min. to get there and waiting for another half hour at the shop I was told that they did't have the manuals that I needed. My sales person took the time to make shure I understood the fork and pedal adjustmets but he could have done that over the phone. I also feel that the assembly was sub-par. | | Similar Products Used: | I looked at Gary Fisher, Cannodale, and Trek | | Bike Setup: | Stock | | Bottom Line: | Wow what a great bike. Light sharp handling and very strong frame. This is a great bike for anyone looking for a good value in a X-country. After shopping around I found that this was a better bike than some bikes costing $600 more. I feel like I bought a Toyota not the coolest(the bike is cool but Giant is literally a giant Tiwanees company) thing on the market but definetly the best quality and performance for the money. If your willing to spend the money you can get an american made "cool" brand bike that performs as well but $600 buys alot of trail passes and gas to get there. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ko Hermans
a Weekend Warrior
from The Netherlands
Date Reviewed: June 30, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1600.00 | | Purchased At: | Wim Jansen | | Strengths: | Light bike, nice disc brakes, drives very good | | Weaknesses: | Frame kracks, don't know why, first time the bike was sent back to giant and got a new bike...however this bike also kracks. Does not seems to be a problem with the frame, but I really got no idea what to do about it... anybody got an idea?? | | Similar Products Used: | none-first bike | | Bike Setup: | Standard setup, with BBB barends, Sigma 1600 BC wireless computer and shimano PD-M324 pedals | | Bottom Line: | Great bike! Drives perfect (accept for that annoying cracking)! I don't see any reason why I should upgrade any of the components on this bike, it al works fine for me. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris Block
a Weekend Warrior
from Copenhagen
Date Reviewed: June 22, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$1400.00 | | Purchased At: | Store in Copenhagen | | Strengths: | Very light and Firm frame, Prize, pretty good fork. | | Weaknesses: | The Handles on the MPH3 Diskbreakes locks up from time to time with dirt - Not very easy to clean... | | Similar Products Used: | Giant 850 ATX anno 2000, and self made Bike on a cheap ALu frame. Kona SexToo anno 1998 | | Bike Setup: | Like when i bought it, but with Shimano 465 pedals. | | Bottom Line: | Very nice Harttail, especialy consitering the prize. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for at firm, fast and joyful ride. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
ian strawford
a Weekend Warrior
from United Kingdom
Date Reviewed: June 13, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Exmoor | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1200.00 | | Purchased At: | Bicycle Chain | | Strengths: | I'm new to the sport have ridden a steel frame Marin for 10 yrs,getting on this bike was incredible.It was like getting a PORSCHE 911!.
It is incredibly light fast acceralating. As a first time front suspension hardtail I've struck lucky and my riding ability has increased very quickly.I am now able to enter XC races with confidence.
I would recomend this bike is worth paying the extra from the usual newcomers bike.I am grateful for the advice from my local shop for this encouragement | | Weaknesses: | None that I am aware of although I am new to the sport. | | Similar Products Used: | I tried the Marin Nail trail and Trek 4900 disc but was less impressed. | | Bike Setup: | Stock,UK spec bike comes with GIANT hydrolic discs which are excellent.I am planning to change the flat bar though. | | Bottom Line: | FANTASTIC value for money.INCREDIBLE performance for a newcomer to XC racing. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Terry
a Weekend Warrior
from Ogden, UT
Date Reviewed: June 12, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Slickrock | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Purchased At: | Bingham Cyclery | | Strengths: | Light weight and agility,The response is outstanding | | Weaknesses: | none, really wish it had better off road tires and LX shifters | | Similar Products Used: | Trek Y3 | | Bike Setup: | Stock, although I put easton handle bars and a carbon fiber seat post with a better seat. | | Bottom Line: | I'm still faily new at riding, but compared to my Y3 which was full susp. this bike is incredible I want to thank the bike shop where I bought it. They talked me out of a stumpjumper. Every time I get on this thing my confidence soars and that helps, especially when riding Moab UT. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
AMD
a Cross Country Rider
from Halifax, NS, Canada
Date Reviewed: June 12, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Long Lake Park | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$950.00 | | Purchased At: | Bicycles Plus (Bedford, NS) | | Strengths: | Extremely light at 24.5 lbs! Excellent group of components for the price. Climbs easily. Shifters work well with no problems thus far despite poor reviews from deore shifter users. Crankset is very good, and the deralleurs are precise. | | Weaknesses: | The hubs are average XC hubs, but for 6 - 10 hrs per week of riding, they're fine. Mavic X221 have bad reputation, though I've had no problems with these rims; wheelset in general is adequate for most XC. May upgrade to velocity rims and hope or WTC hubs next summer.
Fork (Manitou Skareb Comp OEM) is oil not compressed air based, though it's worked well so far - even after I crashed once with most of the impact on the fork. | | Bike Setup: | Stock | | Bottom Line: | An excellent bike for intro or experinced riders. Great acceleration, pretty smooth ride, component set-up. I've heard complaints about the fork, wheelset, and seatpost, but I've not experinced any problems.
Overall an excellent buy. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Keener
a Cross Country Rider
from Calgary
Date Reviewed: June 10, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | single track | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$375.00 | | Purchased At: | Pedalhead | | Strengths: | light, strong, agile, nimble, and of course, inexpensive! | | Weaknesses: | my lizzard skin chain stay guard doesn't fit :( | | Similar Products Used: | Various GT hardtails, Giant ATX. | | Bike Setup: | '03 XTC frameset, XT Drive Train, Race Face cockpit, Mavic X517 rims, Maxxis MoFo tires. | | Bottom Line: | I'd been riding my 8 year old GT Ricochet frame with recently upgrade XT/Race Face components for a year until I decided to get a new frame. The XTC frames had been sold out but a very friendly LBS was willing to strip down a stock XTC SE 2 and sell me the frame.
After a weeks worth of riding, I can joyfully say that I share in the praise of this frame. It is all the good things that people have been saying about it. The only concern I have is a bit of creeking coming from the front end, but I suspect that might be my stem. Otherwise, this is the sveltest frame I've ever ridden. I used to climb well, now my bike and I eat hills for breakfast.
I'm a weight weenie, hardcore XC, hardtail holdout. If your description is the same, this is the frame for you!
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rob
a Cross Country Rider
from St Louis, MO
Date Reviewed: June 1, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Castlewood StatePark | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1300.00 | | Purchased At: | Alpine Shop | | Strengths: | Great bike. Accelerates awesome and handles better than I expected. | | Weaknesses: | The stock Manitou fork is not sufficient for a rider over the 200lb mark. It flexed on the test ride so I had it swapped for a Rock shox instead. | | Similar Products Used: | GT Psyclone, Dirt Research Kasia, and GT I-drive team bike | | Bike Setup: | Swapped fork to Duke XC U-turn, XT shifters, XT cranks and bottom bracket. Otherwise it is stock for NOW. | | Bottom Line: | I have raced some greatr bikes in the past and just sold a GT that was worth over $4k. I must say I liked the way the Giant handled better than the soft tail GT I sold over the winter and it was full XTR. The frame is stiff yet it was still pretty forgiving. I looked at the Specialized Stump Jumper which was te same price and spec'd a bit better but was not impressed with it at all. Since this was only my first ride on the bike will write again in a few weeks when I have had some more saddle time. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
susko
a Weekend Warrior
from newjerzzz
Date Reviewed: May 30, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | alamuchy (only decent one around) | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$750.00 | | Purchased At: | CYCLE WORKS IN STANHOPE SUCKS | | Strengths: | literally, everything... i have ridden everything from oldddd huffys to a real nice tricked out 8000 but NOTHING compares to the VALUE you get for under a grand with this bike... use it for everything, race, training, XC OMFG THIS BIKE IS HOT.. im not lying this is the BEST hardtail for under a grand | | Weaknesses: | hmmmm tough one... i hate seeing deore parts on any bike but they r pretty decent, no disc brakes r a weakness but disc brake ready rims IS A STRENGTH! | | Similar Products Used: | gt, GF, trek, huffy and mongoose (lol), sugars, ds1, haro escape 8.2 & 3 (sweet bikes), cannond, last but not least the SPECIALIZZZED.. nice bikes | | Bike Setup: | only had it for 3 weeks, rode about 100km already, love it so much, putting discs on and new stem, eggbeaters, and some nice aerospace 5 spokes :) | | Bottom Line: | A+, for the price, ($800-$1000), you CANNOT find a better deal, this bike will truly outperform bikes in the $2-3k range, and ofcourse nice paintjob :)... GET THIS | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark
a Cross Country Rider
from SF, CA
Date Reviewed: May 26, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Strengths: | value, well-thought-out design details, and upgradeability. | | Weaknesses: | stock Hutchinson Python Air Light tires, which I've read (and the guys in the bike shop confirmed) are somewhat prone to getting flats. Out of all the stock components the brakes seem the weakest to me. | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized Rockhopper/Stumpjumper | | Bike Setup: | stock except changed tires for Serfas "hybrid" type (much better for road, still enough tread for trails), traded stock pedals for ones with toeclips, and they seem to have given me the leather/titanium saddle that usually comes with the more expensive XTC1 model. | | Bottom Line: | I found nothing else in this price range that compared for weight/quality/price ratio. Fitted with more appropriate tires, it's great for someone wanting a mountain bike that is also a nice ride on pavement. Quality of the frame is worthy of upgrades when you're ready for them. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve
a Weekend Warrior
from Brisbane, Australia
Date Reviewed: May 24, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | 1000 | | Strengths: | Only just started giving this bike a proper run. It's greatest strength is weight. For this price nothing beats it. It is extremly nimble on tight single track and climbs like a goat. The Scarab is good so far - again most bikes in this price range do not have a fork of this quality. | | Weaknesses: | Shifters - I upgraded mine straight away to LX
Brakes - Avid 3's are crap. The bonce in the fork made the breaks hit the rim every time I am standing in the pedals going up hill. Put on digit 7's and no problem.
Frame noise - I'm hoping that will go away with more use | | Similar Products Used: | Avanti Montari, Specialized Rockhopper, GT something | | Bike Setup: | Stock except for LX shifters, Avid digit 7 brakes and eggbeaters | | Bottom Line: | For the price this bike is awesome. With a few small upgrades it is ready to race. Giant don't have the best finish so it pays to check stuff like brake alignment, BB greasing etc. The xtc1 is light, fast and handles well. Not the greatest decender but what can you expect for and xc hartail? You will not be unhappy if you get this bike | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kyle McKendree
a Cross Country Rider
from Essexville, MI, USA
Date Reviewed: May 19, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Fort Custer | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$550.00 | | Purchased At: | Bells Cycle And Fitness | | Strengths: | Weight, price value, color, componets group, tires, awosome handling, great climber nimble decender | | Weaknesses: | seat post shim | | Similar Products Used: | Bianche wannabee | | Bike Setup: | stock, soon to have cane creek wheelset and thompson elite seat post | | Bottom Line: | Awsome bike for the money, great weight, handling. one 3 races already this yr on it, great entry level race bike. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
erick
a Cross Country Rider
from Olympia
Date Reviewed: May 14, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Sun Top | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$975.00 | | Purchased At: | BikeTech | | Strengths: | Great bike, quick geometry but not twitchy, fast, fast, fast, coooool color setup too. | | Weaknesses: | Frame started cracking this week at the weld for rear disc brake mount. Frame warranty will cover this transgression. Downtime is a drag though. Wish rear frame had allowances for wider downhill tires for those of us who mount the fatties needed for those occasional blast as fast as you can runs. 2.35" is the max tire width I've discovered after returning a 2.5" to the local shop. | | Similar Products Used: | 2000 XTC SE2 | | Bike Setup: | IRC kujo 2.35" downhill tires complete the setup for my liking. Also changed fork to the Manitou Black Comp for more reliability and added the "fat guy" spring kit. Works great. | | Bottom Line: | Still an excellent value | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nicola Tantra
a Cross Country Rider
from Canberra, Australia
Date Reviewed: May 12, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Trek Elite 9.8 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1200.00 | | Purchased At: | The Bike Shed | | Strengths: | Light
Good control
Speedy | | Weaknesses: | Have not found any yet ....
Could improve a lot if you add disc brakes | | Bike Setup: | Factory set up. Add the Titec carbon bar-end. Perhaps add disc brakes in future. | | Bottom Line: | For a price for this bike, it is awesome!
If you are a hard tail person and want something speedy and light with good control, go for this one. If you have some more money to spend add disc brakes or maybe go for the XTC1!!
Overall, I would not want to get any other bike for this sort of price range. Glad on buying XTC2
:) | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matthew Bottlea
a Weekend Warrior
from Sydney, Australia
Date Reviewed: May 8, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1700.00 | | Purchased At: | Ashfield cycles | | Strengths: | Awesome value, you get the same frame as the xtc1, its light and has great specs for the price. What more could u want? | | Weaknesses: | The bottom bracket cam loose after about a week, but that was easily fixed. The tires are also pretty ordinary, easpecially for dry conditions | | Similar Products Used: | Avanti Comp | | Bike Setup: | Stock | | Bottom Line: | Great value!! Buy it | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark
a Cross Country Rider
from Hobart TAS ,AUS
Date Reviewed: April 30, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | s 57 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Purchased At: | Mc Bain | | Strengths: | Very light weight,race geometery,skareb forks and the price was amazing | | Weaknesses: | NONE | | Similar Products Used: | Giant yucon 2001,giant rainer | | Bike Setup: | Stock except for michelin XL S and Front S, Full XT and geting lockout soon on forks | | Bottom Line: | Buy this bike, i have never seen or heard of a bike that is as good value as the XTC 2.
out on the trail it is wonderful, it just hammers the downhills and flys up the clinbs, this bike is so light !!!
i give it five out of five | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Scott Taylor
a Weekend Warrior
from Port Robinson ON. Canada
Date Reviewed: April 29, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Shorthills | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$800.00 | | Purchased At: | Peddlers Cycle | | Strengths: | Incredibly light,awesome acceleration, very comfortable ride for race designed geometry, ride it to the store or race it on the weekend . Giant's engineers put together one kick ass ride for the money , awesome handling up, down or flat allows even a novice rider to take it up a notch. looks leave most bike buffs breathless.
| | Weaknesses: | Nothing really worth mentioning , changed tires from Python to Mosquito wanted slightly more agressive tread. | | Similar Products Used: | GT aggressor , Trek 6700 | | Bike Setup: | factory stock , will add disc brakes even though the Avid 3s work very well. | | Bottom Line: | For a bike under 1000.00 it will perform with most bikes twice the price . I liked the disc ready hubs allowing those who wish them to choose there own disc's, while Giant spent the money on better essentials. This ride will turn alot of heads , as you blow passed them! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Warren
a Cross Country Rider
from Manitoba, Canada
Date Reviewed: April 11, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Purchased At: | Time-Out Sports | | Strengths: | Wicked fast acceleration/same frame as xtc 1/ handles great/just an all around awesome bike | | Weaknesses: | I replaced the front fork after a week, not 'cause it sucked...just wanted a duke like it had last year | | Similar Products Used: | 2002 Giant XTC SE2...2001 Giant ATX 870 | | Bike Setup: | Duke XC U-Turn/Mavic x221 rims/Deore disc hubs/XT rear/Avid v's/Titec cockpit | | Bottom Line: | I raced last years version and loved it...hoping to win on this year's too...for the money you sure can't go wrong. I put over 3000 road km's last year, plus weekend XC rides, and it stood up great. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Philip M
a Weekend Warrior
from Fremantle, WA, Australia
Date Reviewed: March 26, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Jarrahdale | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Purchased At: | Fleet Cycles | | Strengths: | Super light and stiff frame, great paintwork/graphics, Skareb fork, excellent V brakes, rims and hubs, Ti railed seat. Above all, price. | | Weaknesses: | Creaks from the frame. It appears Giant don't put enough grease on the seatpost or headset, which because of the Superlight frame sends the noise reverberating through the top and seat tube. The tyres are fast but not especially grippy in dry, dusty conditions. And there's a lot of that in Western Australia. These things are easily and cheaply fixed though. Might be worthwhile getting the shop to have a look over the seatpost etc, to save the hassle later. | | Similar Products Used: | Giant Iguana, Giant NRS2. | | Bike Setup: | Stock | | Bottom Line: | All the other reviewers have said it, but this bike is incredible value for money. I ride it every day to work (on road) and on the weekend take it cross country. The frame, whilst being a bit creaky, is fantastically light and stiff. Acceleration is nothing short of amazing, particularly up hill - certainly compared to the NRS I used to own - and the handling is pin sharp. The ride is still pretty comfortable though, and the fork is accurate, stiff and sucks up bumps seamlessly. The brakes are more than enough for all but really stupid, supersonic downhills, which the bike wasn't really designed for anyway. I rode a Cannondale when I was buying this bike and its hard to see what you get for the extra thousand bucks or so - its only when you get to the F1000 (which costs twice as much) that you start to notice an improvement in weight. Its a really well thought out and specced bike, and for the money, as everyone else has said, there's nothing to touch it. If you're even remotely interested in riding cross country, buy one - you won't be disappointed. Thanks to the guys at Fleet, who steered me into buying it in the first place - great service too. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Donald Rowe
a Racer
from Sydne, NSW, Australia
Date Reviewed: March 13, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Mt Kiera - Bulli | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$800.00 | | Purchased At: | Phantom Cycles | | Strengths: | lightweight frame, value for money, finish, light weight titec parts and avid levers. Solid cranks and XT rear deraileur. | | Weaknesses: | Avid V-brakes (cheap spring), Cheap Deore/X221 wheels | | Similar Products Used: | giant axt 840 | | Bike Setup: | Stock with Mavic Crossmax UST, XTR ceramic pad inserts and cassette. | | Bottom Line: | Replace the wheels (eg., Crossmax) and you have a race ready and fast hard tail, potentially lighter (22-23 lbs)than the SE1 and cheaper. V brakes need frequent tweaking with spring and centering. Skareb fork works surprisingly well for XC given average weight rider. Creaking stearer fixed with regrease. Excellent hill climber and fine on technical decents. Go for smaller rather than larger frame (ie., compact). | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nick
a Weekend Warrior
from Melbourne, Australia
Date Reviewed: February 20, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Purchased At: | Cycle Works | | Strengths: | As everyone has said before the bike is light and fast and there's nothing much wrong with the standard components although I added Hayes Disk brakes. | | Weaknesses: | None yet. | | Similar Products Used: | Looked around a lot and read plenty of reviews. | | Bike Setup: | This is no different from any bike - buy it from a good dealer and set it up in the shop then go and ride it for a while and then talk to the dealer, advice and tweak it as needed. | | Bottom Line: | Couldn't be happier taking everything into account. The bike looks good performs really well at a price that says there probably isn't better value out there. When you buy one you see a lot of people riding the same bike (none I've met have put disks on) and everyone I meet haas the same good experiences. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kyle
a Racer
from Canada
Date Reviewed: February 11, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Gears | | Strengths: | Its looks HOT! Weight...weight , weight, weight. Its super light for a bike in this price range, and at 24 pounds it would take another $2000 to make a drastic change from that. The new manitou skareb feels great. Love the geometry, and the parts are sick for the price......Did I mention it looks amazing. | | Weaknesses: | None yet. | | Bike Setup: | Right from the shop | | Bottom Line: | Want to race a great bike without clearing out the Bank. This is the bike.
Fast, light, good components, and BEAUTIFUL! Can't wait to race it in the summer. Way to go Giant, this is why I love you! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Paul Berry
a Cross Country Rider
from Australia
Date Reviewed: February 9, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Manly Dam | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$980.00 | | Purchased At: | Cranks, North Sydney | | Strengths: | real light, and very forgiving of (occasional) bad downhill form. Lots of bike for the price. pretty quick when running on roads with slicks. | | Weaknesses: | creaking headset - mostly fixed by dismantling and greasing the spacer rings. | | Similar Products Used: | cannondale | | Bike Setup: | I had some parts upgraded (for free). went for LX shifters (better than the deore ones) and put my fave saddle on it as the stock one is a bit hard. Have since upgraded the tyres to panaracer for the loose offroad i ride | | Bottom Line: | very pleased with it. My favourite bike to date. Components are good, and as such hasnt required any upgrades (yet)
I ride offroad every week, and its great on the trails.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
J
a Weekend Warrior
from Chitown, IL
Date Reviewed: January 12, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Purchased At: | BikesPlus | | Strengths: | Excellent frame fit for my size 5'10" 165. Braking rocks, downhill control rocks, climbing rocks, even with the hard dirt stock tires. The bike just handles.. | | Weaknesses: | -Insert cliche here-
Havent found any yet | | Similar Products Used: | GT Aggressor line | | Bike Setup: | Stock | | Bottom Line: | For a grand, its the way to go. NO competition that Ive found.. Compared to my last two GTs, Im extremly happy | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Craig
a Cross Country Rider
from Perth, WA, Australia
Date Reviewed: December 9, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | $1000 | | Strengths: | Awesome V Brakes, better than most discs in the same price range and easier to maintain. Light as a feather. Awesome rims - builds up alot of speed on a roll. | | Weaknesses: | Needed to fit a set of riser bars as seeing i'm 6'3" the stoop to the standard bar was a bit far. | | Similar Products Used: | trek's, canondales and a GT | | Bike Setup: | Standard except for the riser bar. | | Bottom Line: | This is an amazing piece of equipment. It is so light I can lift it easily over my head with one arm. Very fast, can roll faster than my pedalling mates going downhill. I use the bike around the city each day during the week and off road on weekends. Its great for jumping curbs and going down stairs. The shocks work great even though I weigh 93 kilos. The only thing I want to change is the tires. The standard ones are great but more for hard dirt tracks. I want some chunky michelins or something (after all isn't the look half of it). The bike looks fantastic in the matt black, much better than alot of other bikes out there that look like they have been attacked by a bunch of crayons.
Bottom line - Buy it, i looked at about every different bike on the market around the same price, including duelies, and the XTC2 leaves them for dead. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Neil
a Weekend Warrior
from Bolton, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: November 18, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Tight and Twisty-Hardwood Hills | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Strengths: | Extremely Light, Lighting Fast | | Weaknesses: | None yet | | Similar Products Used: | None. Bought it based on the amazing reviews read here. | | Bike Setup: | Stock for now until I find a reason to change something | | Bottom Line: | This bike a blast to ride. Although I am just getting used to it having ridden the same bike for almost ten years, it's a pleasure to ride. The component group on this bike is second to none for the price.
This bike is very quick in downhills, not to mention singletrack. It also climbs exceptionally, when you cables are tuned properly (mine need tightening). I must say I am also very impressed with the brakes. This thing will slow down very quickly when required.
I was contemplating a full suspension set-up when I was looking for a new bike and my local bike shop suggested it really wasn't necessary for the type of riding I do. That being the case, this is a great bike for anyone who does not what to mortgage their house to buy a bike. There is always the opportunity to upgrade the components down the road. Overall, a fantastic ride for a reasonable price. Can't wait to race it next summer. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Peter Logan
a Weekend Warrior
from Brooklyn, NY, USA
Date Reviewed: November 9, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$999.00 | | Strengths: | SUPER SUPER LIGHT. aprox. 24-25 lbss. The only way you are going to a lighter mountain bike is to spend 2 - 3K.
Rides really fast and, I give road bikes a run for the money.
Comes with great component. And the new Minatou skareb fork ROCKS. | | Weaknesses: | NONE. | | Similar Products Used: | I have tried all other brands. trek, specialized, gary fisher etc. GIANT all the way. | | Bike Setup: | Stock, No mods needed. | | Bottom Line: | BEST BIKE FOR THE MONEY.
There are absolutely NO bike in this price range that can compete. This bike was rated the best last year and still is the best.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andrew
a Cross Country Rider
from Melbourne, Oz
Date Reviewed: November 8, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$960.00 | | Purchased At: | CBDcycles | | Strengths: | Light 24/25lb's, Excellent value for money. Manitou Skareb comp forks are awesome. Beautiful frame, Superb platform to upgrade from. | | Weaknesses: | None so far. (don't you hate it when people say that) but seriously I can't find any. I know I'd probably want to upgrade the shifters and front Derailleur eventually but the few deore components are perfectly functional. | | Similar Products Used: | Saracen limited edition 90
Specialized Rockhopper A1FS 02 | | Bike Setup: | Standard | | Bottom Line: | There is no bike that can compare in terms of quality and value in this price bracket. The Skareb forks are amazing (well amazing compared to the Six comp forks on my old Specialized). Finally Manitou seem to have got the springs just right (I weigh 80kilos). They are so plush it's like riding rigid forks yet as soon as you hit an obstacle they seamlessly cushion the impact and keep you in complete control, even multiple impacts at speed(there is very little bob when powering out of the saddle). I simply cannot get these forks to top or bottom out (un like my old ones)Although I'm sure a 2m drop might do it, not that I want to write my bike off.
Oh and did I forget to mention this is one of the best looking bikes I've ever seen (again I hate when people say this, but it has to said). I used to think Specialized stumpies and the old Klien Attitude's/Adoit's had the crown for clean lined hardtail racing geometry. But this Giant really gives them a run. Ignore the photo check it out at your local store, it really is up there with the best. None of that gimmicky riser bar shenanigans, just plane, simple efficient XC racing heaven (in stealth black). If you're looking in the $1000 zone don't look any further than this bike.
5 flamin beauties all round, I could pay $3000 on a bike and still be no where near as happy as I am with this one.
Keep up the good work Giant.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
| |
|
Photo Caption Contest
(sponsored by Maxxis)
|
Enter here
|
|
|
$ 1100.00
