Submitted by
Kentucky Trail Monster
a Racer
from Bowling Green, Ky Date Reviewed: March 17, 2010
Favorite Trail:
Hamilton Creek
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$2500.00
Purchased At:
howards cycling and
Strengths:
Climbs like a goat, Descends great, pretty strong frame. Weight is decent for its size.
Weaknesses:
Like the guy below me, i have also had the play in the rear shock too. But as long as you keep it torqued properly it will stay tight. My Rock Shox monarch 3.3 blew up, so they replaced it with a 4.2 at no cost within a week. other than that its a pretty stout bike.
Similar Products Used:
Trek Fuel, DB Response, GT Avalance
Bike Setup:
XT cranks, candy sl pedals, Stylo World cup bar, E-thirteen Bash Guard, RS Monarch 4.2 shock. Fox Fork, X9 Everything, Crank Bros Cobalt wheels. FSA post. Cane Creek headset
Bottom Line:
Has been a pretty good frame build. Not regretting the purchase at all, weight is decent, virtual link works good, and is a decent all around bike.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jes
a Weekend Warrior
from Norway Date Reviewed: February 16, 2010
Favorite Trail:
Hafjell
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$250.00
Purchased At:
Ebay
Strengths:
Whippy through corners on single track riding. Good climber. Fairly stable on descents as long as it's not full on downhill.
Pearl shock is solid and easy to setup. I've been very satisfied with the user friendliness of the pearl 3.1
Weaknesses:
Where the back shock fastens to the back triangle is not well thought out and is a major weakness. I am only 65 kg and don't ride it that hard. It has developed play on the back bolt of the pearl shock which looks like the back triangle is flexing from side to side way to much. I'm not happy about that!
Paint chips very easy.
Bike Setup:
Marzocchi 2008 160mm 55r forks. avid juicy 5's. rocket ron's 2.25. halo tornado on the back and a atomlab plite on the front.
raceface evolve crank.
Bottom Line:
I like the relaxed seat post which gives me a better sitting position over the back wheel. I find this bike nice through corners. I used wide tires 1 time on this bike for some more serious all mountain riding in the wet and developed this back triangle\shock problem. So this season I'm going to thrash it hard to see how bad it gets and then upgrade to a Nomad or COVE g-spot. It's been a good bike and has handled all the single track riding and xc but I would not take it serious freeriding or DH. Also it has been a bit unstable in the air but I have learned to handle it. Takes drops well enough and has been a fun bike. But the shock attachment to the back triangle is a huge problem.
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Submitted by
Pastor.Kevin
a Weekend Warrior
from Augusta, Maine Date Reviewed: November 30, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Bradbury Mtn Trails
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$150.00
Purchased At:
eBay
Strengths:
Weight-to-Travel Ratio is good; looks & feels good. Suspension works well, very good climber AND descender--has very broad range of applications for everyday riding. It is strong enough for our riding style.
Weaknesses:
Limited shock options. F-derailleur can be finicky and chain clearance needs to be checked between BB-housing and small-ring. Not fool-proof in those areas.
Similar Products Used:
GT-LTS, Turner 6-Pack, Ellsworth Joker, Santa Cruz Heckler.
I bought a 14" small Xeon for my 5th-grader. We built it up together and he's having a great time with it. We wanted a 6"-travel frame that was light enough for a 10-year old to handle and cheap enough--found this Xeon on eBay new for under $200! There is no problems at all with the frame, we've ridden it everywhere from local trails to the ski-lift parks and we're giving it a "thumbs-up!" Its limitations bothered me at first (see above) because I enjoy tinkering with shock & suspension setups. Nevertheless the bike does what it was designed to do and we're happy.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Tiger_Stu
a Weekend Warrior
from Orange County, NY Date Reviewed: January 12, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Ringwood State Park, NJ
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$1100.00
Purchased At:
Online
Strengths:
Looks great, good components, especially brakes and SRAM.
Weaknesses:
Truvativ Crankset is weak, I bent it within two rides. saddle is junk.
Similar Products Used:
Kona Cinder cone
Bike Setup:
Stock apart from WTB Velociraptor tires, Saddle, stem and RaceFace Crankset
Bottom Line:
I looked long and hard for a full suspension bike that I thought represented some decent value for money. Aside from this thing feeling absolutely huge (and heavy) comapred to my vintage Kona, it has been a blast. Looking forward to another good summer with it this year. for the MSRP (around 2k) I would have looked elsewhere, but for the money i think it was fairly untouchable.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
downhillsteve
a Weekend Warrior
from towson, md Date Reviewed: December 28, 2008
Favorite Trail:
loch raven loop
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$1000.00
Purchased At:
craigslist
Strengths:
weight, looks, fast up hill and bombs downhill. this bike does xc and then freerides. great all around bike
Weaknesses:
none so far.
Similar Products Used:
I have ridden them all. Very few bikes can rival this ride for true all-mountain performance
Built this bike from scratch. Started out with just the frame and bought the components I WANTED on the bike. I've heard plenty of good things about this frame but could not believe it had only 2 ratings on here before mine.
I use this bike for all types of riding - All mountain, light freeride, cross country, etc. The bike is smooth when you take it on climbs and descents. The RockShox Pearl 3.1 handles bumps and dips at high and low speeds like butter once you have the shock dialed in properly. The VL 160 suspension moves through its range of motion with no pedal bob, even when you are cranking hard on it. Definitely a good bike worth a look at and will sure hold its on against others in its price range and class.
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Submitted by
abarney
a Weekend Warrior
from Bellingham, WA, USA Date Reviewed: August 15, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Mt. Galbreth
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$950.00
Purchased At:
E-bay / Haro
Strengths:
Good bike for the weekend rider, great up hill very close to a hard tail.
Weaknesses:
If you don't ride to hard it's a good bike but one major flaw is the bottom suspension bracket has what I believe is a design flaw that allows for more movement side to side in the back suspension. It's still a good bike.
The front fork is really to soft, I plan on getting a spring kit or new shock.
Similar Products Used:
First full suspension
Bike Setup:
Stock
Bottom Line:
Good bike for under 1K if you don't plan on jumping or down hill.
Just make sure check all the bolts in the rear suspension.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
team510
a Weekend Warrior
from Hayward, CA USA Date Reviewed: June 14, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Oaks Greenbelt
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$1600.00
Purchased At:
Bicycles Pleasanton
Strengths:
Feels solid, suspension works great, brakes feel great. Shifts smooth. No pedal bob. set the sag like it recommends. and there is even the pedal damper that you can crank on to get so there is almost no movement, but even with it barely on i still dont have any problems with pedal bob. was scared about full suspension so i always ran a hardtail but i really like this bike.
Weaknesses:
seat post is a little short for me and im only 5'11' other than that i havent found any yet.
Similar Products Used:
Cannondale Gemini, Specialized Enduro
Bike Setup:
stock baby! except that i had my LBS switch out the clipless pedals for some kona JS platform pedals. so far they are sweet. cheap but seem solid.
Bottom Line:
Very happy. only a couple miles on it so far but im loving it. The bike looks amazing. my friends thought it looked really cool. it rides great. no probs. im really diggin it. big upgrade from my trek 4500. i ordered an x6 comp but haro was completely out of them so my LBS replaced it with the Xeon for the same price. (about a $500 upgrade for free)
$
Overall Rating:
