Great bike for my first full suspension. Love the versatility of the suspension settings. Shipped it to Tahoe for R&R. Handled the Rim trail(awesome) with ease. Handled well until the hanger bent. Glad I had a replacement.Now all is well. Have another set of road wheels with schwalbe marathons for city trail workouts. Button down the suspension & shorten the fork...works great!
All in all, a very well made bike that is highly versatile.Makes this athletic 59 year old ride like he's in his 40s.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
jwehmeyer
a Cross Country Rider
from Fairfax, VA Date Reviewed: June 22, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Fountainhead
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$1500.00
Purchased At:
Hudson Trail Outfitt
Strengths:
Frame, frame, frame.
Suspension components
Weaknesses:
Seatpost
Wheels
Shifter cables/housing
Similar Products Used:
Trek 4300
Bike Setup:
Thompson stem and seatpost
Easton EA 70 bars
Mavik Crossride wheels, Panaracer tires
Bottom Line:
This bike is perfect for anyone who rides cross-country or any technical mountain singletrack. The stock components are more beneficial for a true cross-country rider. If you plan on heavy technical single track riding, upgrade the stem and seatpost. This bike is made for climbing and decends equally well. Handles roots and rock gardens with ease.
One after-market purchase which is a MUST for this bike are Gore derailleur cables (low friction, sealed cables). This bike is prone to rear shifting issues (as is the case with many full suspension bikes that are subjected to mud and dirt), but the Gore system ($50) totally eliminates these problems. This is an awesome, tough, yet responsive bike. For this bike to live up to its potential you have to upgrade the cables to a sealed system.
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Submitted by
luke
a Weekend Warrior
from mount hope, wv Date Reviewed: May 24, 2008
Favorite Trail:
oather, porccupine rim
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$1800.00
Purchased At:
Marathon Bikes
Strengths:
Frame Fork Shock Design
Weaknesses:
Tires Stem, bars, Seatpost, shifters I was just hoping for a little more components wise on a $2400 (retail) bike
i love my bike. the review that MBA did on the ETSX 70 was spot on, i never adjust my rear suspension, but i always use the TALAS. the deore discs provide everything that i need & have truly been flawless. I lengthened the stem to slow down the steering & help with the climbing...perfect. Like i said before I would've like slightly better components but you're pretty much paying for the "hand-built" everything that you get from Rocky. & the shock & fork, which are flawless.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
TheMaster
a Weekend Warrior
from England Date Reviewed: May 19, 2008
*General spec is below par for the price bracket (then again, most experienced riders will upgrade bars/stem/post on any bike to get the position that suits best) *Deore brakes take a long time to bed in, and lack power which detracts from the confidence inspiring feel of the rest of the bike *NO MAPLE LEAVES on the '07 ;_;
Well, I bought this intending fully to upgrade it to the stars...
The problem is that I really mistrust Carbon.. I will not have it ANYWHERE on my bikes. This seemed like the ideal frame to built up, because I loved the way they ride, and the frame is a big part of the price - alot of the parts are way below par for the pricebracket, though they are functional for the most part - and would be more than useable should you not want to upgrade.
As a general rule, the spec isnt great, then again, you will only get the 07 as a clearout now (if youre lucky), so you wont be paying the full penny so the spec will be fair enough at the price.
Who should buy this?? Well, someone that likes to go up to come down - climbing is exceptional, but open it up on the descents and it really loves you for it. Ideal use - progressive XC, technical, mix of up and down, singletrack rocket
Who shouldnt buy it?? Freeriders. Its a frame designed to be light enough for XC, yet burly enough for AM - however, though 4-5 foot drops to tranny are possible, I wouldnt want to do that too often and no further than that...
Value - 4 - Fantastic frame, fantastic suspension components, let down by alot of the rest, but the frame does make up for it Overall - 5 - I hardly ride my poor hardtail at all anymore, Unfortunately for my friends (or me however you see it) I find myself looking at views from the tops and bottoms of the hills a bit, because my friends are faaar behind now. (Clone of my review for the same bike elsewhere on here)
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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