Submitted by
Jose pena
a Cross Country Rider
from Miami Fl USA Date Reviewed: August 7, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Markham
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$1800.00
Purchased At:
cicle world
Bottom Line:
10 to 10
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
todman
a Weekend Warrior
from SOUTH AFRICA Date Reviewed: July 1, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Giba Gorge
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$1800.00
Purchased At:
Cyclesphere
Weaknesses:
pedal bounce while standing up
Similar Products Used:
giant anthem, mongoose otero
Bike Setup:
Straight out of the box except slime tubes and downhill pedals
Bottom Line:
First mtb so im not real critic, but i have come from a bmx and moto x background. This bike is a lot of fun, brakes work well, susp is a lot of fun and has handled everything so far. Comfortable bike to ride and i cant seem to keep off it
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Whitey
a Racer
from Richmond, Tasmania, Australia Date Reviewed: June 18, 2009
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$2100.00
Purchased At:
McBains
Strengths:
strong, light, plenty of travle. bombing down hills, 29" wheels
Weaknesses:
time delay in gear changes.
Bike Setup:
stock standard
Bottom Line:
im only a beginner in tb but this bike has made me really confident. i couldn't think of a better bike to start competing with
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Natrone
a Downhiller
from Oceanside, CA Date Reviewed: June 2, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Karpiel-Northstar
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$1600.00
Purchased At:
LBC
Strengths:
Very light, very efficient peddler, great value
Weaknesses:
grips, chain,sticky forks, long stem
Similar Products Used:
Santa cruz nomad. bullit
Bike Setup:
stock except for shorter stem and lizard skin lock-ons
Bottom Line:
Great value for your money and with just a few changes, and excellent exercise/trailbike. Fox fork seems to stick in small ravines and holes which detracts a little confidence, but overall an excellent trailbike.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
kalipay
a Weekend Warrior
from san diego, ca Date Reviewed: May 5, 2009
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$1800.00
Purchased At:
lbs
Strengths:
solid yet light and really smooth. excellent combination of components
Weaknesses:
kenda nevegal tires grips well but roll resistance too much for my liking.
Similar Products Used:
intense and specialized fsr when a friend was introducing me to the sport. demo bikes from local dealers.
Bike Setup:
2009 factory setup.
Bottom Line:
it made me an avid and more aggressive cyclist instantly. probably logged 50 miles on the first week alone and already lost 10 unwanted pounds in exchange for some cuts and bruises or battle scars (yeah right!). i will upgrade the fork later to one with lock out to help me keep up with other riders on flat sections and climbs. one of the best investment i made in this time of recession.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Herbmiester
a Weekend Warrior
from Wellington New Zealand Date Reviewed: January 26, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Whitemans Valley
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$1500.00
Purchased At:
Vic Cycles NZ $3000
Strengths:
Build Quality, Rear suspension, What you get for the money.
Weaknesses:
Fox Forks F120r, 6 inch rotors on an Xl bike for a 115 kg rider are to small.
This is a graet trail bike but sometimes it does feel like a long travel XC bike. The rear suspension is great, The Maestro system really works and with 5 inches of travel it is very versatile. The standard kit is very goodlots of Race Face gear and mid range Shimao stuff, my only complaints are that as standard the Shimano 585 brakes are average stoopers but an 8 inch rotor upgrade has made a world of difference. The Fox F120r is good but it ramps up very quickly and does not like to use the last inch of travel and to be honest it's small bump sensitivty is not as good as either of my Marzocchi forks. Not a bad fork just not awesome. I also note that the geometry is more Xc and is a little bit twitchy down hill, not bad just noticeable, but it does turn very nicely on tight singletrack. The bike is also a great climber. Lack of lockout or adjustable propedal does not effect how it climbs due to the awesome Maestro setup, it is better than the Horstlink Specialized setup and that is a very good design. Overall it is a great bike, wel specced and is able to get up hills as well as bomb down them.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
MtnBikeNC
a Cross Country Rider
from Matthews, NC USA Date Reviewed: September 29, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Sherman Branch
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$1.00
Strengths:
Maestro suspension is very efficient (very little noticeable bob), Fox suspension front and rear, Nevegals hook-up well, the Race Face stuff seems decent, Crank Brothers pedals are great (already had EBs but find the larger surface of the candy pedal really stable in rough stuff), 15mm QR is the shiat! Shadow RD seems decent enough..
Weaknesses:
Hayes Stroker Ryde brakes. I've had a couple small issues (rubbing - had to let fluid out of the front and rear, levers self adjusting - had to do the whole locktight routine = PITA)- mine have been ok though considering some of the other issues I've read about. They do stop well. Drivetrain rear is noisier than I'd like (especially under load). It appears the cassette has a light wobble maybe due to the axle being a little less than straight. I checked a bunch of other new bikes and it seems they have the same issue (other brands).
Similar Products Used:
This is my first full-squish bike - hardtails include: 2002 Rockhopper, 1998 Fisher Kaitai, 1994 Bridgestone MB4, 1989 Schwinn Woodlands..
Bike Setup:
Everything is factory except lock-on ODI grips and BBG bash guard.
Bottom Line:
I know I talked trash about a couple things above but this is the best spec'd bike I found for under 2k and is ready to ride hard out the door. If you want a trail/heavy XC bike that you won't have to upgrade off the bat - this is it. I thought the bike would be slow climbing and cranking coming from a hardtail but I was wrong. This bike is very fast. Sure, It's not a XC race bike, but you can rail on this thing over rough stuff. I was dumbfounded by how stable it is in the rocks and roots. It really does climb like a freakin goat. I will definitely replace the wheelset with a faster/lighter setup in the next year or so. If you want to go fast, not take a beating from the rocks and roots, catch occasional air and hit some drops - get the X3 or one of the other Trance Xs!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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