Forge Brakes

Ive got the sawback in charcoal, and mine has the bb5 on it. But if you have any questions i would call the customer service number on forges website. Ive had to call them before needing info, and they were super helpful. i love my bike too.

Well, look at that. You're right. The Charcoal one looks like it has Tektro Brakes. A buddy of mine has them. For entry level, they'll do fine. Even if they are Tekros or BB5's as you progress you'll most likely want to upgrade. So Regardless either one should be fine.

Just my opinion.

alright thanks, do you think there would be any sort of difference or should they work pretty much the same?

BB5's are quite better then the cable actuated Tektro's they have on entry level bikes................

The pic of the blue bike on their website is the original bike - 80mm fork and Hayes mx-2 brakes. I would guess they didn't change the pic. As mentioned, call to confirm.

They have never had tektro brakes. The levers are tektro - not the best, but good for that price point. The deore shifters and separate brake levers are much better than combo shifters that come on many inexpensive bikes.

alright good info guys i appreciate it. ill give them a call just to see what the company says about it to be sure. so do you think that the sawback is the right choice or is there another bike i should consider? im really looking for a good frame to build off of with some stock parts that can take some good abuse.

bryan24681 said:

... im really looking for a good frame to build off of with some stock parts that can take some good abuse.

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That pretty much sums up the forge. It's not really a fair comparison with the 400ht. Look at some of BD's better bikes to compare with it. The one thing that made me eliminate the BD bikes when I bought the forge is that the BD bikes come with road cassettes. If you plan on doing any climbing (which most of us do), you may want the lower gearing of a 32 or 34 tooth cassette. You may not need the lower gearing if you don't plan on riding mtn trails or if you are a strong rider. Also, the forge only comes in two sizes, which eliminates them if you need a larger size.

The best value in a bike purchase is finding a recent model used bike that's in good shape. It takes some patience, and some people don't live in areas where you can find one.

ok great info, thanks for the help guys i appreciate it!

I have over +5K miles on my Forge Sawback 5xx, still going and love it. I had the original with Hayes brakes, they all come with Avid BB5's, very nice upgrade. Still looks to be the best buy in the market. The blue and charcoal models are 19", the silver and red models are 17". Go to the Forge webiste for details:
http://www.forgebikes.com/saw5charcoal.asp

Also checkout the Forge thread on mtbr:
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=292931&page=32&highlight=sawback+silver

yea thats kind of what threw me off, because on the Forge website as well as target they pictured different brakes but described them as being the same. but im pretty set that some time today im gonna go ahead and order it finally, i cant wait any longer. what color do you all personally like better? im having a tough time deciding.