Submitted by
Charlie
a Weekend Warrior
from Cheshire UK Date Reviewed: August 23, 2003
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$900.00
Purchased At:
Second hand
Strengths:
Great steering/responsiveness Good amount of travel Nice components Easy maintainance Nice looks Good for UK DH
Weaknesses:
Squeaky handlebars and stem Have not found any others, great bike
Bike Setup:
D521's, hayes discs, standard handlebars and stem (cheap), chris king headset, X-vert R forks, Fox shock, XT throughout
Bottom Line:
I got this bike brand new (but second hand) in 99, its now 2003 and the bike has been ridden severely! Ive never had any problems with the bike except for one shock servicing. Still nice and ridgid, got a few scratches though Great for DH, good for XC (a little too heavy) great for play...a great bike And at £900 for me, an absolute bargain
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Captain Hotdog
a Downhiller
from UK Date Reviewed: March 8, 2003
Favorite Trail:
Aston Hill
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$2000.00
Purchased At:
Second Hand
Strengths:
Amazing Frame Strengh, looks real beefy, rides really smooth and clean
Weaknesses:
None Yet Found
Bike Setup:
99 Frame, Hope Pot 4, D521 Rims, Mr T's QR 20, Fox Shock, Hope Bulb Hubs, 24/7 cranks, MRP, XTR BB, DMR V12, 24/7 Bar and stem Combo, Sram 9.0 Shifter.
Bottom Line:
Briliant bike, lightweight but can still take a real hammering. I have used it for jumping and downhilling and absolutly no problem. the short wheel base means that it corners like a dream and is very responsive. well worth getting!!!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
scott
a Downhiller
from santa cruz,ca,usa Date Reviewed: October 8, 2002
Favorite Trail:
running over hippies at ucsc
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$2700.00
Purchased At:
family cycling center
Strengths:
lots of travel, handles big drops ok, the multiple shock mount positions allow for me to run a big fork and not have to lax of a head angle
Weaknesses:
the build kit that the bike came with sucked. advice for anyone with a wildcat: ditch the wtb wheelset, the jr.t, the square taper cranks, the triple chainrings, the 26 in rear, the wtb tires, the headset, and everything by ovation. the head tube has no gussets. the bike has a side to side wobble to it. marin is putting to much travel in the rear end, yeah ten inches is cool but whats the point if the tire hits the seat and seat tube. you can avoid the seat rub by raising your seat but as soon as you roll a drop big enough to use those 10 inches your nuts will bottom out on your seat before the rear shock bottoms out. single pivot should never have more than 8 inches of travel, but for the wildcat, the geometry of the bike in the 8 inch position sucks.
Similar Products Used:
super 8, joker, bullit
Bike Setup:
risse champ 8", front: 26"/3.0" gazzi on sun double wide 26" w/risse 120mm hub, rear: 24"/3.0" arrow on single track 24" shimano disc hub, dh tubes, azonic risers, intense lock on's, hayes 8" disc, race face north shore dh, mrp, ac 38t ring, xt cassete, shimano 600 derailer, avid roll-a-ma-jig,
Bottom Line:
don't go buying the biggest coolest bike you can find. do research on products and the companies that make them. make sure that if you buy a brand new bike it has all good componets on it, especialy on a dh bike. If it comes with poor quality componets they will all be broken in a month or two. here i am a year and a half after buying the bike and the only original part on it is the frame and the ammount of money i've spent replacing all those piece of s**t products it came weith could have bought me another bike to ride around when my wildcat was, is, and will be broken.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Ben Edwards
a Weekend Warrior
from Auckland, New Zealand Date Reviewed: June 5, 2002
Favorite Trail:
Rotorua
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Purchased At:
Penny Farthing Cycles
Strengths:
-Feels solid to ride -Takes a real bashing -Well spec'd out -Feels comfortable at both high and low speeds -Changes direction FAST! -Handles jumps well
Weaknesses:
-Too heavy for XC use. I purchase it as a dual purpose bike but absolutely hated using it XC.
Similar Products Used:
-GT LTS 2000 -Marin B-17
Bike Setup:
-Stock
Bottom Line:
Great for freeride use. Sucks XC.! Would recommend it for a good play/downhill machine.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jun Remodo
a Downhiller
from Port Hardy,B.C., Canada Date Reviewed: September 25, 2000
Favorite Trail:
anything big fast and nasty
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$4200.00
Purchased At:
forbidden bikes
Strengths:
beautiful frame, fits 3" on the rear, huge travel, the price is sweet
Weaknesses:
the chain comes off of the front derailler on big hits (get a chain tensioner)
Similar Products Used:
Kona King Kikapu, Santa Cruz Bullit, Marin Mount Vision, GT LTS, Kona Stinky
Bike Setup:
Hanebrink LT-8, sun double wide w/ 24" rear, intense 2.7 fr, arrow 2.7 x 24" r, tioga dh saddle
Bottom Line:
this bike rocks and kicks ass. it looks wicked and eats hits like nothing. i have nothong but good things to say about it. i just rode off a freight truck the other week and didn't even phase the bike. get one!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Nick Hunt
a Downhiller
from Dorset, England Date Reviewed: August 13, 2000
Favorite Trail:
Donhead
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Strengths:
The wildcat is a very easy bike to handle and you can put the power down very easily against a hardtail, even when you have the softest setting on the rear shock.
Weaknesses:
The compatability with chain devices are a bugger unless the swingarm was raised 1/4" the rollers would not then rub.
Similar Products Used:
Marin Team DH/B-17, Orange Patriot Pro, Santa Cruz super 8
Bike Setup:
Equipped with hope pro disc's,Manitou X-vert R's, full XTR group, IRC Kujo 2.35, MRP, Hope Ti-glide/Bulb hubs on D521 and more goodies.
Bottom Line:
Compaired to any other bike I've ridden up to $4000, the Wildcat Trail is the most comfortable and easiest DH bike to ride and 6.5" rear travel is perfect for UK courses. Throughout the 20 months of use, it has been a extremely reliable blke other than the topping out and adjuster seizing problems I had with the forks when it was new.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jamie Maguire
a Weekend Warrior
from Flintshire, UK Date Reviewed: March 2, 2000
Favorite Trail:
Llyn Crafnant
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
Single pivot suspension - no sloppy four bar linkages, mud clearance, Fox shock and you can raise and lower the seatpost not like the annoying split seat tube bikes. And grease ports on Manitou forks - cuts servicing time in half.
Weaknesses:
Hayes disks are not as good as the Hopes that come on the cheaper models.
Similar Products Used:
GT STS and LTS, Specialized FSR and loads of hardtails over the years.
Bike Setup:
Pretty much stock except for Tioga DH 2.1 tyres and Giro Fizik saddle.
Bottom Line:
This bike is designed by a Brit for Brits. Its the only mass produced bike that I know of that can offer exceptional suspension performance, adequate mud clearance and pivot bearings that dont go sloppy; squeaky or stiff when exposed to a wet climate. Its a bit heavy for cross country racing but for freeriding and easier downhill courses its ideal. Little maintenence and great performance - what more do you want? A fully deserved 5 burning witch fingers
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Kent Patterson
a Racer
from Vancouver, BC, Canada Date Reviewed: February 21, 2000
Favorite Trail:
Boogyman
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
Plush, solid, drives uphill the best (but stay seated), excellent frame geometeries and beautiful single bearing pivot action and I can adjust the rear from 6" - 9.25" (yah, no sh**!).
Weaknesses:
What? I am about the only set-back on the bike (but working on it).
Similar Products Used:
Santa Cruz Bullit & Heckler, Cover G-Spot, Kona Stinky De-lux, Aeon Joker, Norco VPS-2, Brodie Devo & Rocky RM6.
Bike Setup:
Manitou X-Vert DC (triple crown), Race Face HeadSet & BB, Kooka XC Cranks, Tiogo 2.3 DH, Easton Monkey Bar, Mavic D-321 rims, Hugi Hubs (F&R), Mosh Flats, Kooka Rock Guard, XT shifters and LX front derailer.
Bottom Line:
This is actually a Year2000 bike with some perks from the factory... "Happy as a pig in sh**." More rear travel than I wanted at first, but it sure doesn't feel that way riding uphill (yes, we bike uphill on the North Shore as well). The extra travel has prevailled as an excellent decision... the ride is plush throughout all my decents, drops (there is room to grow here)and so on. Try to find another bike weighing 34-35lbs with 8.5" in the rear and 5"-6" in the front... unheard of for the money. Recommendation: Try it out and see if it fits!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
MIKE S
a Downhiller
from KNOXVILLE ,TN Date Reviewed: February 7, 2000
Favorite Trail:
Sugar mtn
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
Great frame--very stable at speed--the 2000 has rear adjustment from 6.5" to 9.6" travel.--
Weaknesses:
Must use 24" wheels for 9.6" travel or the rubber hits the seat tube!!!
Similar Products Used:
Marin B-17
Bike Setup:
stock
Bottom Line:
Build a 24" rear wheel to use it's full travel potential... the shock is killer.Lots of adjustments for rear travel.Upgrade to a longer travel fork for serious DH riding
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Eric
a Racer
from MPLS. Date Reviewed: April 29, 1999
Favorite Trail:
Porcipine Rim
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
Long travel downhill monster, Bike climbs like a Mountain goat
Weaknesses:
To heavy for all around riding, too much travel for most of MN.
Similar Products Used:
I've tested Specialized, Mountain Cycle, Diamond Back
Bike Setup:
Everything is stock except wheels, saddle, and pedals.
Bottom Line:
I just got the 98 modelso no disc brakes but thats fine. The bike loves going downhill! It still climbs like a champ too! I can't help but be amazed by this 30 lbs. of loving goodness.
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Richard
a Downhiller
from England Date Reviewed: March 29, 1999
Duration Product Used:
tested or demo'ed only
Bottom Line:
I would like to say first of all, that the wildcat comes with HAYES DISC BRAKES, (The B-17 comes with Dia-Tech Discs). With that said, the bike is amazing and is worth 5 out of 5
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Andy Waring
a weekend warrior
from Worksop England Date Reviewed: January 5, 1999
Bottom Line:
Generally a good all round bike, Light enough to throw around on the rocky bits and behaves predictably on downhill monsters. My only gripe is the cable actuated Diatec disk breaks, after about 40 hours of riding they still squeal like a realy sqealy thing...... solutions?
Overall Rating:
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