More Information
 On: 2007-08-18
WOW! Reading the reviews below Id swear they all had a different bike. Ive had the bike for 11 months and used it hard all winter and summer as a downhill mountain bike and road bike. Living in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies we have hundreds of trails and Ive thrashed this bike to bits - and it hasnt missed a beat (although Ive suffered my fair share of spills!).
You assemble the bike yourself, and unless youre a bike mechanic you arent going to be able to perfectly set up the gearing yourself. Any problem with the gears/chain (as per 2 of the reviews) etc. will be due to the shimano equipment and how its adjusted - many bike use these excellent gearsets and problems such as this will not be specific to this bike.
The brakes are superb and give great control and confidence - just be careful when you oil components after cleaning the bike, because if any gets on the pads they become pretty useless (despite bathing in brake cleaner!). Gearing is fast and smooth (if adjusted properly) and a properly tensioned chain means mine has never popped off.
The bike is still in great condition (minus a few scrapes where Ive come off) and is a bargain in my opinion. The frame is light (aluminum), the suspension is very capable (and adjustable) and the wires for brakes and gears are positioned very well and out of harms way (not under the frame).
The negatives: The bearings in my pedals have gone, the seat angle adjuster is prone to working loose, not enough spacers to adjust handlebar height, self assembly and specialist setup required.
Other: Tires are very chunky off road ones and if youre considering this bike for road use you might want to figure in the cost of a more suitable set.
 On: 2007-07-30
Sure, the bike is cheap, and the disc brakes are great. But I started having trouble almost from day 1. I rode it to work (on roads) 5 days a week, 8 miles total a day. The front shifter was tough to shift within the first week of use, and broke completely within 2 months. I had the chain fall off and get jammed between the pedal and bearing and had to use pliers to pull it out - no on the road fix. Before I sent it back, the pedal bearings had begun to make that squeaking noise indicating future trouble. Not worth it!
On: 2007-07-24
Got this bike in December to ride in local city park on dirt trails. I rode bike pretty much every day for the first three months before the problems began. Firstly the rear wheel bearing gave out. For warranty you have to use your LBS (local bike store) to call the given number. Anyway my LBS got a rear wheel through the warranty but unfortunately it was the wrong style and wouldnt fit the bike. Using my dollars the LBS fixed the rear wheel so I could ride again but within a week the bottom bearing went bad. This time LBS found the bottom bearing had been cross threaded on one side on installation and could not be loosened or taken off the frame. This time complete bike was replaced under warranty but for a different make and model bike that was far superior. I wouldnt recommend this bike for anything but riding on the road.
 On: 2007-06-12
I bought this bike from Amazon in Fall 2006. I knew I had to assamble some parts, but there were several parts poorly assembled from factory. Its bottom braket broke down just a few weeks after.
In short, if you want a bike for short rides, this one may be just good. If you want to get longer rides (say 40+ miles), consider getting another one.
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