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Submitted by
marian miller
a Cross Country Rider
from boone, nc, usa
Date Reviewed: May 13, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | yancey's ride, dark mountain | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$800.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay | | Strengths: | Great price. Some good components (Avid mechanical disc brakes, WTB headset and saddle, Mavic rims, 6061 monocoque frame, Fox rear shock). Did I mention great price? Unusual. | | Weaknesses: | Some crappy components (Rock Shox Pilot fork, no name bottom bracket, derailluers, IRC mythos 1.95 tires, pedals), plain color, paint wears quickly. | | Similar Products Used: | First full suspension; Fisher Tassajara, Giant, and Haro hardtails. | | Bike Setup: | Stock except for Motoraptor 2.4 tires | | Bottom Line: | To all those guys who strutted around and told me I wouldn't find a good full suspension bike for under a grand, eat my dust. This bike retails for about $1500 and has basically the same frame as Marin's $4000 model. I bought it new for $800-closeout. It is sharp, snappy, agile and reliable. After tightening the bottom bracket, no troubles. Yeah, there are better frames and components out there if you have $2000-$4000 to drop, but I ride some pretty tough trails in Western NC and have no complaints thus far. I would put this bike up against many higher end FS bikes. I was concerned about its climbing ability compared to my hardtail, but have not found it to bob at all. In fact, it's unique design (John Whyte) seems to make the bike actually hug the ground and make climbing really steep stuff a bit easier.
I am light (125 lbs)and would imagine for a heavy rider it would feel somewhat loose/flexible. My biggest gripe is the front fork, but that's only because I have read such bad reviews of them. So far it has done fine for me with around 25 PSI. I did not like the stock IRC Mythos 1.95's at all and replaced them almost immediately. The WTB Speed V saddle is quite comfortable, as are the stock grips. The Avid brakes have functioned quite well and are getting better as they age a bit. I also replaced the pedals with some better ones, as I am old-school and use Powergrips instead of clipless.
I would recommend this bike to non-clydesdale types or anyone looking for a good entry level full suspension ride. You will not be disappointed! I am even thinking of selling my old hardtail! My other favorite thing is that in a day when everyone who is "cool" rides the same old thing, this bike is unusual both in looks and in how few of them you will see on the trail. (Check out the review of similar Marin in MTB Action, May 2004) It reminds me of a praying mantis moving backwards...I love it! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ben Martin
a Downhiller
from Santa Rosa CA USA
Date Reviewed: December 22, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | dirt | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$850.00 | | Purchased At: | Rincon Cyclery | | Strengths: | Frame has had no cracks so far. It is a good bike for cross country but can be used for harder rider | | Weaknesses: | NOTE-I have used this bike for free riding for over 1 year and these are the weaknesses/wear and tear I've found: whole drive train basically repleaced, crappy fork, shock has finally sort of broken...+ numerous amounts of wear and tear (I've ridden this bike really hard) | | Similar Products Used: | Gary fisher hardtails | | Bike Setup: | -shimano deore disk hubs
-Sun Rhyno Lite rims
-stainless steel spokes
-Rockshox Pilot Slalom fork
-Dia Comp Aheadset
-ODI lock on Ruffian grips
-new cables/housing
-Hayes mechanical disk brake (front only)
-Planet X platform pedals
-new Shimano 32 tooth front chainring
-Shimano Hyper glide 8sp casette
-2003 shimano Deore rear derailer
-Lizard Skins chainstay guard
-Panaracer Fire XC Pro 2.1 tire (rear)
-Panaracer Fire Freeride 2.4 tire (front)
-Kool Stop Rear brake pads
-steal alloy seatpost/clamp
-Bontrager FS 2000 gell seat with Ti rails | | Bottom Line: | A solid price and a good multi purpose bike. The rear shock has recently had a damping problem. It seizes up sometimes an will slowly decompress, it is also increasing having a crunchy fealing. The bike is fine never the less. The bike stock for its retail of $1250 by what you can get for today is a horrible price. However, that's by todays prices. Good bike for kickin' it. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ben Martin
a Downhiller
from Santa Rosa, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: September 29, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | All around Annadel | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Absorbs bumps very well and has a good price | | Weaknesses: | None yet | | Similar Products Used: | Gary Fishers | | Bike Setup: | Stock so far | | Bottom Line: | Great bike that absorbs bumps very well, is fairly light for a full suspension bike, and is at the right price. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rani Dekel
a Weekend Warrior
from Nofit, Israel
Date Reviewed: July 25, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$1300.00 | | Purchased At: | Rosen & Meents | | Strengths: | handling, no bobbing, the seat tube is fully adjustable so you can lower it when dropping from high places and stuff | | Weaknesses: | ugly color | | Similar Products Used: | first full suspension bike for me | | Bike Setup: | only added a speedometer | | Bottom Line: | My dad and I's are the european model with the Manitou Magnum. So far i've only ridden it three times plus some urban assault and drops and I can say it's much more fun than the KHS hardtail I used to own. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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