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Submitted by
Ed Merkel
a Cross Country Rider
from Germany
Date Reviewed: June 7, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Any | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$275.00 | | Purchased At: | Ebay.com | | Strengths: | Light,very light on 19" frame(Kinesis superlight)about 5.3lbs. ,Looks,finishings,welds,well cared on any details,Handmade. | | Weaknesses: | They don't make it anymore. | | Similar Products Used: | Gt's,salsa,giant. | | Bike Setup: | Sram XO rear and shifts,xt fron Der and crankset,Dt swiss wheelset(tubeless)Ti skewers,Skareb fork and DT swiss rear shock. | | Bottom Line: | I wanted to buy a GT team but I found this new old stock on the web W/o rear shock.The first impressions is the light the frame is,and when I finished all the set up in weighed 24lbs.The GT team and this one has the same geometry and this is lighter than Team. I was looking a titanium frame too,but my first concern was about the weight.Yeah!,titanium looks great,exotic and expensive,but it's heavy compared with this one and probably will not last what the Ti,but I create a race machine.(Any grams count)
It climbs like a hungry tiger(14 degress road inclination at 8 MPH) ,no bob,not hesitate on the road and It decends like meteor,very stable at high speed (45 Mph)on rocky and rooty road.This is one of the best Cross coutry bike I have tested and owned. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rob Wilson
a Weekend Warrior
from Lakewood WA, USA
Date Reviewed: June 8, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | skookum flats | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$1899.00 | | Purchased At: | supergo | | Strengths: | I-drive technology
stock bike weight (26 lbs)
very agile due to frame geometry | | Weaknesses: | came with V-brakes in order to minimize weight as it us a XC racer (but in the Pacfic NW, disc brakes are a must) | | Similar Products Used: | tested: Kona/King Kickapoo Deluxe, Giant/VT2,
Ironhorse/Hollowpoint Expert, Cannondale/Jeckle 800 | | Bike Setup: | Deore front derailleur (I upgraded to XT),XT rear derailleur, Rock Shox Duke XC fork, Fox Float Rear shock, LX crank, Ritchey SPD type pedals, Deore V-brakes (I upgraded to Avid mech. discs), Tioga Factory XC SL tires on
Syncros XC rims (I upgraded to Sun rynolite rims because stock rims wouldnt accomodate disc brakes) | | Bottom Line: | "this bike slices through technical singletrack like butter".
I tested many of the better XC/freeride bikes and found that none of them matched the feel of the I-drive expert. This is a recommended purchase for someone who wants full suspension but doesn't want to give up the lighter weight, pedaling efficiency, or agility usually associated with a hardtail. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
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