Submitted by
Chris Nel
a Cross Country Rider
from New Zealand Date Reviewed: March 21, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Hunuas, Woodhill
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$3500.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
The spec/price/weight balance is superb; This bike absolutely eats singletrack and always feels poised, fast and confident. Climbs well, corners well; In fact, for a race bike, it's surprisingly forgiving and easy to ride fast or slow.
Best features are probably the X-forks which run perfect once they're setup, the xtr brakes which always feel strong, and the (DT swiss?) 1540 rims which are light and strong.
For reference, I am 80kg
Another strength I feel, is the shimano warranty - front deraileur broke and replaced no quibbles.
Saddle - the fizik wing-flex is amazing; race weight that keeps you happy when you're doing all-day rides; will probably put one on my road bike too.
Weaknesses:
Brakes can be finnicky, best to stick to Shimano pads and make sure the shims are exact or the brakes stick and outer pad wears out faster, also recommend change the screws on the brake for the cheaper splitpin which works better.
Stay out of mud; the i-drive clogs up (keeps working but carries a lot of mud) and there is not sufficient clearance for it; this is not a mud bike
Creaky / clicky saddle / saddle post
For this price level, I wish they had used a top level stem (Easton EA30 looks out of place with the 'rest') but that just a silly gripe, no practical benefit
Final weakness: when you own one of these, you feel like you have to go fast (even when you can't :-)
Similar Products Used:
None really, this is the best bike I've owned;
I compared Specialized, Scott, GT, Giant, Ellsworth before buying this. Was swayed by price and availability or I might have bought the Scott instead; Happy with my choice though.
Bike Setup:
Standard (if you can call it that)
Bottom Line:
Yeah, get one if you're interested in going fast on XC circuits, marathons or singletrack. If it's muddy where you ride, give this one a miss and look for frame clearance instead.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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