I've been mountain biking since 1985 and have owned several bikes. This is by far the worst bike I've owned. It is a total lemon. I've owned it for just slightly over a year and would consider it totally junked out already. I would consider the shop I purchased the bike from as poor, so a lot of the issues are probably do to that. I would not recommend buying a bike from Foothills Ski & Bike.
After only ten rides, most of the allen bolts fell apart. The noises and creaks were unbearable after only a few rides. The bike was poorly assembled and everything should have been lock tighted. The oro hydraulic brakes are a piece of crap and require adjustment not only before every ride but also during every ride. They flat suck.
The cross ride rims and hub are puny and weak. Second ride the back wheel ended up with a flat spot in it. Front rim after about twenty rides pulled a spoke through the rim. The wheels are always needing truing. The flat spokes always losen and cost about 9 bucks a piece to replace one. What a !@#$% money pit. I'm now looking at dropping a grand to replace the lame wheel sets and the sucky brakes.
After very minimal miles, I needed to replace the tires and the brake pads. A bike that costs 3000 should give you a massage and get you beers after every ride.
Several special tools needed to tighten pivot points too. I would recommend getting a YETI 575 instead. I bought this bike thinking I was getting a Canadian bike and it turns out they assemble them in Taiwan. Very, very, very displeased!!!
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Submitted by
Rafael Chaves
a Cross Country Rider
from Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, USA Date Reviewed: October 21, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Chollah
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$1300.00
Strengths:
Great climber, nimble, designed by Canadians with higher crank clearance.
Weaknesses:
Weighs 26.5 llbs, no carbon fiber rear arm
Similar Products Used:
Santa Cruz Superlight
Bike Setup:
Full Shimano XTR, Mavic Crossmax, FOX Talas, FOX RP3 Float, Monkey Lite, R2Magnesium grips, Michelin Comps Light
Bottom Line:
Great double pivot climbing bike, no need to suppress rear suspension at all, most beautiful looking bike frame I've ever owned (including road frames).
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Submitted by
nikstar101
a Cross Country Rider
from London Date Reviewed: October 10, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Ruislip
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$4000.00
Purchased At:
Grafham Cycling
Strengths:
Relatively light weight for a full sus. Great attention to detail (frame quality), looks stunning (paint job is truely beautilful). Little or no pedal bob
Weaknesses:
Expensive if you compare it component wise to other bikes.
Similar Products Used:
Trek 4300
Bike Setup:
Standard exceppt for Specialized saddle
Bottom Line:
I have the 2007 ETSX 50, whihc is very similar to the 2008 (just a slight tweek of components). It is a truely go anywhere bike. Now by that i don't mean falling off a cliff type of riding, but it will happily go up as well as down, with very little comprise. It happiest on single tracks and it feels like it would roll up hill!
The bike has very little pedal bob (if any at all) and i have found that you might as well leave the rear travel at 5". The fork travel upfront is much more influential in climbing effort. The advantage of the ETSX 50 is the RP23 rear shock, with its Pro-Pedal setting. Although there is little pedal bob, this feature is great to extreme climbs or if you are cycling on road to get to your trail.
Like i mentioned above, this bike is expensive compared to its big rival the Stumpy FSR Expert. But what you get here is a hand crafted beauty. I think of it as an Aston Martin (in car terms). Yes for the same price you could buy a Ferrari which probably quicker round a track, but the ETSX comes with an attention to detail and quality that justifies its extra cost.
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Submitted by
bikermanjme50
a Weekend Warrior
from Indianapolis Date Reviewed: September 19, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Amasa Back Moab
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$2900.00
Purchased At:
Roll, dayton OH
Strengths:
This is an incredible bike! The cockpit has a very comfortable feel. The adjustable rear suspension is nice to have. The price is pretty good. Stock, it has a pretty good line up of componenets.
Weaknesses:
This is not the lightest bike out there. Has sram trigger shifters, which has taken soem getting use to from my shimano rapid fire. The Crank Bros pedals that come with it are crap!
Similar Products Used:
Schwinn S-96 - with lots of upgrades
Bike Setup:
Stock
Bottom Line:
I love this bike! I feel my skills have improved since getting this bike, maybe because at $2900 I am more motivated to get out and use it. If you have been riding an ok bike and looking to upgrade, consider this one.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Lurk Lurker
a Cross Country Rider
from Jackson, WY Date Reviewed: July 21, 2008
Favorite Trail:
single track
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$2100.00
Purchased At:
The Edge Sports
Strengths:
Up hill, down hill, single track
Weaknesses:
Tires, pedals, paint job
Similar Products Used:
Kona Bear, Kona Stinky
Bike Setup:
Stock: LT/XT, Oro Brakes, Mavic wheelset, IBMRO Marathon tires, eggbeaters, race face everything else pretty much
Bottom Line:
I love this bike. Like a lot of other reviewers, I have to say that this bike makes me a better climber, better and faster on the down, and faster on the flats. The unique rear-triangle (quadrangle, really) and super-high bottom bracket allow me to climb stuff I never would have thought about climbing before, and go over stuff that ate up chain-rings on other bikes. The rear tires sticks to stuff I still can't believe. The eggbeater pedals are light but suck, and the Marathon tires wear out really fast, but other that that this bike rocks. Oh, wait, you really have to like the color RED and maple leafs, or don't mind putting up with a bunch of Canadian jokes because of the garish paint job, but other than that...it is awesome. It's really to bad the dollar is so weak because this bike used to be almost affordable, but with the CAD and the USD at parity, it's expensive. Worth it though, the hand built frame is bomber and guarenteed.
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