Submitted by
P Jay
a Weekend Warrior
from Cardiff, South Wales, UK
Date Reviewed: 4/2/2008 7:33:33 AM
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| FavoriteTrail: |
Plenny |
| Duration Product Used: |
3 months |
| Price Paid: |
$3100 |
| Purchased At: |
Sunset Cycles |
| Strengths: |
Plushest ride you could ever imagine. Feels like you can hit anything at any speed on it, just eats up terrain. Build Quality is outstanding. Orange Paint is Awesome. Very Neutral and gives bags of confidence if your pretty new to DH like me. Got virtually mobbed by other riders wanting to look at it when I first took it out. |
| Weaknesses: |
Not the easiest bike to get into the air.
It's nice to have a Maxle I guess, but needs keeping an eye on as it can come loose, given it's not really a bike you'd maintain on the trail can't see the point of it.
Not exactly a srinking violet. People will notice it, and will expect you to be "of a level" LOL.
Costs fourtunes. S
Seat needs carefull placement to avoid buzzing the back wheel.
But these are just very minor things. |
| Similar Products Tried: |
Norco A-line. |
| Bike Setup: |
'08 888 RC3 WC. Avid Code, 729's on Pro II's. Raceface finishing kit. X9 shortcage and shifter. |
| Bottom Line: |
Stunning. I'm loving it. Can't wait to take it to the Alps in a few months.
Wish Cove had some more presence in the UK. There were NO built bikes in any shop I could find to sit no, never mind have a test ride £1900 is a hell of a leap of faith on a bike you don't even know will be comfortable for you. But trust me on this, it's worth it.
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Submitted by
Miguel
a Downhiller
from North Vancouver
Date Reviewed: 3/28/2008 12:36:29 PM
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| FavoriteTrail: |
its all good |
| Duration Product Used: |
2 Years |
| Price Paid: |
$3000 |
| Purchased At: |
Cove Bikes |
| Strengths: |
Solid build. Great looks. |
| Weaknesses: |
Maxle comes loose, that's about it. May be expensive but this is a quality product. |
| Bike Setup: |
888rc2x, Diabolus, Sram. |
| Bottom Line: |
Fun ride, nice feel, nice flow, stable, leaves you wanting more. Though DH specific, it is quite versatile and will definitely take you to the next level. On the Shore, look for the steeps. At the park, let off the brakes it rails like no other - of course the trade off here is a low BB, which can make things a little tricky on tech terrain, but nothing you don't get used to. All in all awesome bike! |
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Submitted by
zark
a Downhiller
from Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: 1/7/2008 1:39:50 PM
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| FavoriteTrail: |
Cold Springs |
| Duration Product Used: |
1 Year |
| Price Paid: |
$2000 |
| Purchased At: |
Bicycle Bobs |
| Strengths: |
Solid feel, low maintenance, lively ride, great pedaling. Very neutral braking. The bike just loves steep terrain, it just rolls over anything that can't be jumped. |
| Weaknesses: |
Its heavy, 12.5lb frame. Its pricey, and even more so with the current U.S.-CA exchange rate. The paint on my silver one is thin and easily marred, all the other shockers I've seen have had better paint than mine though. |
| Similar Products Tried: |
Intense M1, Giant DH Team, Santa Cruz V10, Specialized Big Hit DH, Demo 8, Demo 9, Sunday |
| Bike Setup: |
05 888 RC, Saint cranks, Hadley Hubs |
| Bottom Line: |
This bike is great. It feels great in a wide range of terrain. I've ridden it all over Cali and up in Whistler. It has been a rock solid, fun as hell performer. This is a bike that likes to jump off anything in the trail. You can plow the rough or finesse through the rocks, it bottoms smoothly too. I've had a full year on it and I'm keeping it for next season....and the one after that! |
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Submitted by
Ellis Freedman Freedman
a Downhiller
from Portland, OR
Date Reviewed: 11/19/2007 9:25:12 PM
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| FavoriteTrail: |
D1 - Whistler |
| Duration Product Used: |
6 months |
| Price Paid: |
$5000 |
| Purchased At: |
RIDE - THIS |
| Strengths: |
Very very solid feel. I know by now its cliche, but this bike slays dh courses and rails corners. The wheel base is long making me feel secure when almost vertical. The looks are savage. Before purchasing i didn't expect the attention i got while at freeride/downhill areas, people thought is was ridiculously good looking at proportional. The bike is great to control in the air, whips come effortlessly. Much better to handle then my previous demo 9. Hah, this bike pones that bike now that i think of it in every aspect. It is simply fantastic. |
| Weaknesses: |
Non so far... the Cove company is a little lazy in getting this to the shop. They say they shipped it three different times and were bull sh*ting the entire time. It finally arrived two months over due. I don't know what their deal is. |
| Similar Products Tried: |
Turner DHR, Demo 9, Giant Glory, Yeti 303 |
| Bike Setup: |
White Cove frame, 823 hadley, boxxer world cup, juicy 7, 5.0 titanium coil, Thompson elite, full x9 carbon short cage... |
| Bottom Line: |
I always thought Cove needed an update in their bike lineup and when this beauty came out i knew it was game over. The bike is savage. |
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Submitted by
Kyle
a Downhiller
from Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada
Date Reviewed: 7/18/2007 10:51:13 PM
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| FavoriteTrail: |
Chute'n Range |
| Duration Product Used: |
3 months |
| Price Paid: |
$2800 |
| Purchased At: |
Mud, Sweat, and Gears |
| Strengths: |
Geo's SPOT on, I've yet to actually break it, seemingley bottomless travel, RAILS corners, If you want it to do something, it does it and comes back begging for more... It's suggested as a DH bike, but she won't back down from a huck or two, thats for sure. Pedals VERY well, definetly better than the VP-Free I rode, and not to mention its gotta be one of the best looking DH bikes out there. And the name. That's pretty sweet too. |
| Weaknesses: |
Weight, but its still respectable. And I seem to go though alot of seats. You need to take the spring off the shock, and cycle the bike through its travel to make sure you don't end up buzzing the seat once you start using travel, but that's it. |
| Similar Products Tried: |
VP-Free, Norco Team DH |
| Bike Setup: |
White Bros DH 2.0 Forks, Hope Moto Brakes, 729 wheelset, Saint cranks, Diablous Headset, Atlas bars, and Mobster Rubber. |
| Bottom Line: |
KILLER bike. The orange color is one of the best looking orange's ever, as there are flakes of gold in the paint. It will RAIL any berm, suck up any bump, stutter bump, or huck, absolutely NO Brake jack, and hand made in canada. How can you go wrong? I'll be riding this bike untill there's nothing left of it, and then probably buy another one. |
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Submitted by
Sam
a Downhiller
from UK
Date Reviewed: 3/13/2007 7:43:53 PM
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| FavoriteTrail: |
Crans-Montana |
| Duration Product Used: |
3 months |
| Price Paid: |
$2000 |
| Purchased At: |
cove bikes |
| Strengths: |
Hasn't broken yet. Nice supple, progressive suspension. Laterally faily stiff despite all the links, nice paint, reasonable angles. |
| Weaknesses: |
Maxle, whats wrong with a bolt? Its just not a very exciting ride, it works well but it just feels abit dead. |
| Similar Products Tried: |
Turner DHR, Tomac 204, VP-free etc etc |
| Bike Setup: |
Boxxers, saint stuff, usual dhr gear. |
| Bottom Line: |
This bike can be built up pretty light, its got effective suspenion and so far appears to be fairly tough. But it just doesn't excite me I enjoyed riding my DHR much more but that kept snapping. The damn maxle comes loose periodically. Its cheapish and the guys at voe seem nice enough.
Bottom line is I dont plan on keeping this bike longer than a year, when I get rid of it it wont be replaced with a cove. |
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Submitted by
Jason G
a Downhiller
from NJ
Date Reviewed: 10/24/2006 1:25:18 PM
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| FavoriteTrail: |
Diablo Freeride Park |
| Duration Product Used: |
3 months |
| Price Paid: |
$2100 |
| Purchased At: |
RIDE-THIS |
| Strengths: |
Everything.... linkaging is great, so plush and perfect for rocks, and stiff and strong for jumps and drops, best bike i have ever ridden, so smooth, easy to control in the air. just an all around great bike |
| Weaknesses: |
none |
| Similar Products Tried: |
none |
| Bike Setup: |
Cove Shocker Dh, 888rc2x, Deemax wheels, bones mrp cranks...... |
| Bottom Line: |
All around amazing bike for anyone. Id suggest it to anyone. Lives up to Coves standard of seemingly indestructible bikes! |
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Submitted by
Jim Montgomery
a Downhiller
from Boise, ID, USA
Date Reviewed: 9/8/2006 10:32:52 AM
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| FavoriteTrail: |
Legalize It - Nelson, BC |
| Duration Product Used: |
Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: |
$4300 |
| Purchased At: |
Ride-This |
| Strengths: |
Suspension works perfectly. Geometry of bike is spot-on. Quality is excellent. Works wonderfully on wide variety of terrain from high-speed flowy downhill to super-tech, steep gnar, to stunts and skinnies |
| Weaknesses: |
Not too much fun to pedal uphill......but it's a downhill bike for chrisakes! |
| Similar Products Tried: |
Santa Cruz VP-Free |
| Bike Setup: |
Frame was $2100 from Ride-This. I am 5'9" and got a medium....perfect fit. '05 888RC, Atomlab Pimp/Hadley hub wheels, DHX5.0, X-9 rear derailer, E-13 SRS chainguide, Saint cranks, SRG I-beam FRD seat, Juicy 7 brakes |
| Bottom Line: |
This is an absolutely fantastic bike. I have had this thing for a month now and took it to Nelson, BC for a week for it's first ride. I also have a Santa Cruz VP-Free that I have been riding for a year now and was a bit nervous about taking a brand new bike to Nelson for it's first ride. To make a long story short, I rode trails I've never been on, on a bike I'd never ridden, and felt more comfortable in the first 5 minutes of my ride on this thing than I have ever felt on any bike I have ever owned.....the thing is just perfect. Compared to the VP-Free, the Shocker is obviously more difficult to pedal uphill but it is more solid/stable going down anything and is a lot easier for me to move around in the air and on stunts. Biggest thing that amazed me is how well it handles terrain variety. Anyone who has ridden Nelson knows they have everything up there and the Shocker was just amazing on all of it. If you are looking for a solid DH bike, you will not be dissappointed with the Shocker. If you want something you can pedal up, wait a bit and Cove is coming out with a freeride version. As a side note, the people at Cove rock.....took me a while to get my frame but they were great and even made sure I got the latest iteration of the frame design....can't say enough good things about them |
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Submitted by
John P.
a Downhiller
from Freeport, Maine USA
Date Reviewed: 8/9/2006 8:57:19 AM
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| FavoriteTrail: |
Whistler - Joyride |
| Duration Product Used: |
3 months |
| Price Paid: |
$2800 |
| Purchased At: |
Deep Cove Bike Shop |
| Strengths: |
Build quality is superior to any bike I've ridden in a long time. The attention to detail is amazing, and the welds are perfect. All pivots, bearings, and axles were put together beautifully, and the finish on the frame is top-notch.
The ride is fantastic, too. The BB is nice and low without being TOO low, allowing the bike to corner very well and maneuver through tight sections. Pedaling is much better than most DH bikes, and bump absorption is top notch.
Cove didn't skimp on anything with this bike, and it shows in the final product. |
| Weaknesses: |
None really. It was expensive, but not any more than anything else of this caliber. I absolutely love this bike! |
| Similar Products Tried: |
Iron Horse Sunday World Cup, Tuner DHR, Karpiel, Santa Cruz V10, Kona Stab, etc. |
| Bike Setup: |
888, Sram XO drivetrain, Saint Cranks, Hayes Mags, Easton bars, SDG Post/Seat, Mavic/Hugi Wheels, etc. |
| Bottom Line: |
The best DH bike I've ever ridden, and I've been DHing for 8 years. Pedals great, corners great, and sucks up all the bumps. Cove's also a great company to deal with, and they put their hearts into everything they do. I wish I could rate this frame 10 chilis, but 5 will have to do. |
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