Submitted by
rarero
a Weekend Warrior
from Woodinville, WA Date Reviewed: October 12, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Redmond Watershed
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$2900.00
Purchased At:
REI as part of the b
Strengths:
Attractive Looks, Straight Spokes
Weaknesses:
The ratchet failed in less than 8 months of riding. A loud smap was heard during a long steep hillclimb.
Similar Products Used:
Mavic rims on LX hubs
Bike Setup:
08' Marin Mount Vision
Bottom Line:
I do a lot of steep climbing in low gears and the rachet takes a lot of load. I am 165 pounds so I am not excessive heavy. This is the type of use I would expect well designed components to withstand.
They may work fine if the user avoids agressive climbing.
REI replaced the wheelset with Mavic rims laced onto XT hubs under waranty.
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Submitted by
frey
a Cross Country Rider
from Hobart, Tas, Australia Date Reviewed: September 20, 2008
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
They're light, look good, cheap to buy
Weaknesses:
Lateral flex is very bad
Bike Setup:
Marin Mount Vision
Bottom Line:
I was pretty pleased to get these wheels on my 08 Marin Mount Vision, given the reputation of Mavic's rims and the Cross Max wheels.
But after a couple of months riding I was getting paranoid that my rear suspension was coming loose, or that my rear tyre was going flat because the flex at the back was very noticable, especially going up kerbs, or over rocks and roots.
Turns out it was the cross rides flexing badly left and right, especially on the rear wheel. I had them tensioned up by my bike shop but the problem remained. You can literally hold the frame in one hand and move the rear rim left and right with the other. I've changed back to some old cheap wheels (deore hubs with Mavic 317 rims) which have 32 spokes and they're much much better.
Could be that lighter riders (I weigh 90kg) might get away with these wheels, but they seriously reduced the capability of my bike.
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Submitted by
evblazer
a Weekend Warrior
from Double Oak, TX Date Reviewed: September 19, 2008
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$200.00
Strengths:
Looks nice, fast, no broken spokes.
Weaknesses:
spokes pulled the rim apart after barely 2 months.
Similar Products Used:
32 spoke OEM wheels.
Bike Setup:
Avid BB7s, 26x1.6
Bottom Line:
Nice while they last. Looked at my rims last night and spoke had pulled the rim apart 1/8" and a few more were splitting on each side of the nipple.
LBS rider had the older model which was "bomb" proof for years without any issue. Guess the news ones aren't so much.
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Submitted by
eblemis
a Weekend Warrior
from Ankara, Turkey Date Reviewed: September 18, 2008
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$280.00
Purchased At:
http://www.erdoganla
Strengths:
Super smooth closed cartrige bearings, very low spining resistance, great looks, tough enough for me, service-free hubs, compatible with both presta and schradder valves, aero spokes... Did i mention they are a beauty?
Weaknesses:
Loud freehub but you'll get used to it. A little less weight would be great.
Similar Products Used:
Shimano Deore, XT, XTR hubs, Alex and DtSwiss rims..
Bike Setup:
Sedona SD771 frame, Sram X7 gearset and X5 shifters, Avid Juicy7 brakes, SR-Suntour Axon RLD fork, Michelin XC AT tires, Shimano Deore crankset(will be replaced with Truvativ Stylo soon)
Bottom Line:
These wheels are damn smooth. I experienced with all Shimano's top series hubs but none of them including XTR had a smooth spining as much as these wheels. When you lift your bike and hold it up, wheels slowly turn until your valves are in their lowest position. They turn only with the valves' weight and as you can imagine they're damn fast.
About strenght; guys, these are 24 spoke wheels! How can you expect them to have 36er's strenght? I weight about 61kgs and altough i mostly ride in city, i'm surely not so gentle. I ride downstairs like about 10 meters and have hard landings from 1.5-2 meters frequently and don't mind the holes or bumps on my way at all. I only tuned them after 1000km and they were almost excellent. With a heavier rider, they might not be able to withstand this tension, so you should consider this issue before buying them.
Some did say the spokes twist while tuning. It's true. But all spokes twist. The reason you don't see others twist is because they're not aero. You can prevent them from twisting just by holding them with your free hand. Not a big thing to bother with.
Freehub is a little loud but every Mavic freehub i've seen including Crossmax SLR's have the same loud noise. Anyway, you're getting used to it in time and yu even start to love that noise.
The wheels may be a little heavy but they're bottom of the Mavic line, so you can't expect an excellent wheel. And of course why give a damn about they're being heavier from XTRs while they roll much more smooth and fast?
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Submitted by
William P
a Cross Country Rider
from Davie, FL , USA Date Reviewed: August 20, 2008
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$149.00
Purchased At:
jenson
Strengths:
Look great, reasonable price, advanced features
Weaknesses:
weakness is their weakness, and skewers weigh too much.
Similar Products Used:
Cane Creek Strados 700c,Sun Singletrack&XT, SunRhynolite&XT ,all disc brake wheels.
Bike Setup:
KHS Team Issue Softtail, SID fork,BB7 brakes, 180mm XT cranks
Bottom Line:
If you want a second set of wheels for fitness, bike path, or commuting (not urban assault)type riding these wheels would be a good choice. The 24- bladed 15g. straight pull spokes look great and cut down wind resistance, and save a little weight. The skewers are unforgiveably heavy though.Mine might be an older version than what they sell now. Mine have eyelets around the spokes, and say "Made In Romania" on the decal. If they were called CrossROADS I think there would be fewer complaints about them. I run 2" slicks on these and have had no problems running fire roads, paths, and streets.But for harder use I run Sun's.
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Submitted by
Seb
a Cross Country Rider
from England Date Reviewed: August 7, 2008
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$200.00
Strengths:
Strong Smooth
Weaknesses:
flat/bladed spokes twist when truing
Similar Products Used:
Xt's, DT Swiss
Bike Setup:
Scott Scale Carbon mostly standard, XTR
Bottom Line:
I dunno if the other people who have reviewed these can actually ride properly or just ride straight into/over everything without any level of skill or smoothness, but after abusing these wheels for a year ive only had only very minor tweeks on wheel true, maybe 2mm of adjustment, ive smaked them very hard on kerbs aswell as rocks and roots with not even a dent, Very good value for money
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Submitted by
tom swift
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver, Colorado Date Reviewed: July 16, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Dakota Ridge
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$180.00
Purchased At:
Performance Bicycle
Strengths:
Lightweight, Mavic name.
Weaknesses:
These rims are hands down weak. Maybe they would be better with regular spokes, but mine haven't been true since I bought them. I'm experienced with other bike maintenance but usually stay away from wheels so I didn't check and tension the wheels when I got them. If I did that, maybe they would have lasted longer. These went out of true on the first ride, nothing crazy no drops bigger than 2ft. I would consider my riding style aggressive cross-country, but these seem to go out of true just riding around on the street hoping a curb here and there. I've ridden maaaybe 10 rides on them and the rear wheel is pretty much done, it has a bad hop and pretty much all the spoke holes are stressed.
Unless you ride hard-pack dirt trails with veerrry limited technical sections, DO NOT BUY THESE! Even my crappy Alexrims held up way better. I'm moving on to Rhyno Lites or Azonic Outlaws, something I know will hold up.
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Submitted by
tom swift
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver, Colorado Date Reviewed: July 16, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Dakota Ridge
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$180.00
Purchased At:
Performance Bicycle
Strengths:
Lightweight, Mavic name.
Weaknesses:
These rims are hands down weak. Maybe they would be better with regular spokes, but mine haven't been true since I bought them. I'm experienced with other bike maintenance but usually stay away from wheels so I didn't check and tension the wheels when I got them. If I did that, maybe they would have lasted longer. These went out of true on the first ride, nothing crazy no drops bigger than 2ft. I would consider my riding style aggressive cross-country, but these seem to go out of true just riding around on the street hoping a curb here and there. I've ridden maaaybe 10 rides on them and the rear wheel is pretty much done, it has a bad hop and pretty much all the spoke holes are stressed.
Unless you ride hard-pack dirt trails with veerrry limited technical sections, DO NOT BUY THESE! Even my crappy Alexrims held up way better. I'm moving on to Rhyno Lites or Azonic Outlaws, something I know will hold up.
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Submitted by
05Willys
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver CO Date Reviewed: July 9, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Porcypine rim
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$200.00
Purchased At:
Wheatridge Cyclery
Strengths:
Cheap
Weaknesses:
Everything is weak
Bike Setup:
Yeti 575
Bottom Line:
Just not strong enough. The spokes loosen up every ride and now the wheel is out of round. I took the other reviews with a grain of salt because I signed up for the mp3 program so I could have them replaced if I break them, but they won't replace them for going out of true every ride and now out of round.
Get something else.
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Submitted by
Kfred
a Weekend Warrior
from Carrollton, TX, United States Date Reviewed: July 9, 2008
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$175.00
Purchased At:
Richardson Bike Mart
Strengths:
Beautiful wheels
Weaknesses:
Wheels are weak, failed with cracks around 2 spoke nipples
Bike Setup:
Old Raleigh M80 used for commuting
Bottom Line:
I used these wheels exclusively for commuting. They are light, and the reduction on rotational mass yielded a 1mph average increase which was much appreciated. At about the 9 month mark, the rear wheel lost it's true, and on inspection I noticed the wheel was giving (puckering out) at one of the spoke nipples, and had a crack on the wheel at a neighboring spoke nipple. I don't do anything rough on these wheels, so they must be horribly weak to have failed like this. The price was definitely too good to be true.
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Submitted by
matthewbanningsmith
a Cross Country Rider
from matt Date Reviewed: July 4, 2008
Favorite Trail:
any
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$230.00
Purchased At:
performance
Strengths:
light
Weaknesses:
weak entry level wheels that wont true after 3 rides
Similar Products Used:
lots
Bike Setup:
I won't brag
Bottom Line:
Mavic does not do warranty work and does not want to hear from you. Period. 3 Rides and the back rim is junk and my bike shop refuses to try and true it anymore. Mavic took 10 weeks after sending it to them to charge me $70 for a $109 wheel to rebuild the same crap wheel. I rode this wheel for 3 hours and it is garbage. It is actually worse than the stock crap that came on my bike. True, it's light, and if you ride tame, flat trails, you could actually get some use out of them, but just buy a quality wheelset that is durable man. Mavic has pissed me off to where I will never buy from them again. Imagine throwing a weeks pay in the trashcan after 3 hours of riding and having mavic tell you the rim "took a hit" (mountain biking...Duhhh) and wont warranty it. Really? Are the serious about that? Is that really what they are doing? YEP, so buy some BOMSHELLS and save yourself the crap I'm dealin with. UN-FREAKIN-BELIEAVIBLE!
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Submitted by
matt smith
a Cross Country Rider
from FAIRFAX, VA. Date Reviewed: July 4, 2008
Favorite Trail:
FOUNTAINHEAD
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$230.00
Purchased At:
HUDSON TRAIL
Strengths:
I CANT NAME ANY
Weaknesses:
Bent rear rim that will not true after 3 rides
Similar Products Used:
several
Bike Setup:
I won't brag here.
Bottom Line:
Mavic won't do warranty work. period. Their version of a warranty is you send the stuff back, then you pay top dollar for them to fix it. BUY A QUALITY WHEELSET, WHICH MEANS NO ENTRY LEVEL STUFF. this wheelset is probably O.K. for real tame riding on flat stuff, and the wheels are light. If you plan on riding anything other than straight tame trails, then buy good stuff. These wheels are actually worse than the crap that came stock on my bike, then Mavic wasted 10 weeks of my time at this point to charge me $70 (for a $110 wheel) to make it right. after 3 rides man. They have a real attitude too. Beleive me, they don't wan't to talk to you ...EVER. Don't waste your money, or your time. Mavic can straight kiss my ass. NEVER AGAIN.
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Submitted by
Bob
a Weekend Warrior
from Toronto Ontario Canada Date Reviewed: July 2, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Kelso Trail System
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$199.00
Purchased At:
Jenson USA
Strengths:
Great looks make them appear to be top of the line wheels
Weaknesses:
They are'nt
Similar Products Used:
Mavic Crossmax Disc
Shimano XT/Mavic Rim Wheelset
Bike Setup:
Jamis Dakota Elite 2006 Frame built up with XT components, Formula Brakes, Zocchi 600 Fork
Bottom Line:
I bought these wheels as a finishing touch for a Jamis Dakota Elite hardtail that I put together this winter in a futile attempt to beat the cabin fevor a lot of us suffered through in Toronto this year.
The goal was to keep the cost of the build below the $2000 mark and the CrossRides would do that with room to spare. I could not believe that Mavic could sell a set of disc wheels for less than $200. I have a set of CrossMax Discs on my Heckler and they are hands down the best wheels I have ever spun. Of course they cost $700+. There is a reason for that and it's called Quality! I should have known that a sub $200 set of wheels would be short on something, but I talked myself into the purchase. My thinking was that if they turned to crap I would only be out $200.
Well, I'm out $200! First things first. These wheels really are well endowed in the style department. They look great on your bike, what with the flat spokes and nice graphics. The one tell tale sticker on the wheels is the little bitty one that reads Made in China. OK, I'm not going on a Chinese rant here because not everything made in China is junk. My CrossMax wheels say Made in France. Does that in itself make them better? In this case the answer is yes.
The first negative that I noticed about these wheels is the lack of lateral rigidity. I went flying down a paved hill near my house and, when making the sweeping left turn at the bottom, the rear wheel felt like it was coming off. I stopped to make sure that I had the skewer closed properly and I did. Later runs down the same hill yielded the same feeling. It's like my old childhood fat tire bike felt when I had a friend riding on the back.
The next negative thing that happened was the rim strip coming loose on the rear wheel and shearing off the valve stem on the tube. When I removed the tire and tube the rim strip was wadded up at the stem hole. I made it home on a new tube and then replaced the rim strip. Two days later that rim strip wadded up and did the same thing. When changing that tube I noticed that 2 of the rear spokes were loose. What does this mean? It means that these wheels are off my bike for good. I put my old Shimano XT Hub/Mavic Rim wheelset on the bike.
I feel that Mavic has made a big marketing mistake in launching these "bargain basement" wheels. Did they really have a need to go to China in order to offer the mountain bike masses "more affordable" wheels. They should stick to what they do best and leave Wal Mart in charge of the "more affordable" sector.
Save your loose change for a few more months and step up to a higher pricepoint when shopping for wheels. My Shimano XT Hub/Mavic Rim wheels set me back $379 when I bought them 3 years ago and I have never had an issue with them. They don't look as sexy as the CrossRides but in this case the sex is overrated.
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Submitted by
lucyfek
a Cross Country Rider
from Lake County, IL Date Reviewed: June 12, 2008
Favorite Trail:
any trail/road
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$200.00
Purchased At:
jensenusa.com
Strengths:
price, looks (when clean, but who cares about dirt anyway), low friction sealed hubs (front spins better than the wheel on my road bike, smooth, maybe because of the mileage) that need no adjustment (what a change from from deore and even worse crap that had originally come with my bike}, 4000+ miles (i guess) and never even bothered to true them - i'm ~185lb + fully equipped bike (large frame) + (sometimes) in the "off-road commuter mode" a loaded, detachable cargo rack (i'd put the total for some 230, probably more), mostly cross country (few rocks here in IL but plenty of dirt trails) and roads, sidewalks, curbs, little jumps etc, all year round. i use/abuse them with no maintenance at all (chain, cassette, crank derailleurs, fork and brakes are more than enough). i like speed and these make you fly.
Weaknesses:
black rims/spokes shows dirt, disc only - lowers resale/reuse potential (silver - rim,/disc could be better choice, too late now), strong/loud freewheel mech (will scare birds/other animals before you'll stop to have a closer look), i don't know if this applies to any wheels or is this specific to crossrides, but after fording deep water there may be some water left in rims (found it when fixing flats, could be only an issue in the cold season when there is little chance for water to evaporate quickly), service may be a problem when the stuff brakes (especially spokes) but so far so good
Similar Products Used:
none of my old wheels had sealed bearings and flat spokes, have mavic cosmos on my road bike but hard to compare the two species. surely better than stock junk original to my giant yukon 2004 and deore 525 hubs i refitted original wheels with for 2006.
Bike Setup:
reached the end of the road for giant yukon 2004 - no point to upgrade it any more, nice ride that begun as a "disposable" try on mtb
Bottom Line:
low maintenance wheels that came at reasonable price (= low price), as long as they spin i see no reason for any upgrade/replacement.
no regrets whatsoever.
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Submitted by
Kevin Buddy
a Cross Country Rider
from San Bruno Date Reviewed: June 7, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Hidden Canyon
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
Strong wheels, they hold up with my kind of riding. Crashed really bad once, hit front wheel first and cracked my helmet after hitting my head. I expected the rim to be bent but it was only slightly out of true. It works. Taken dirt jumping, expected the rims to be bent but same thing happened. Taken on a downhill/freeride trail, still held up.
Weaknesses:
Kinda heavy but considering how much it costs, cant really *itch about it.
Similar Products Used:
Stock wheels on my 05Stumpy hardtail.
Bike Setup:
Stumpy frame, BB7, Fox 80RL, XT/LX components, Ritchey Rizer comp, WTB seat, and these wheels
Bottom Line:
You can't expect these wheels to stay true if you take it outside its intended purpose. I don't mind truing the wheels after a hard ride because it amazes me how this wheel holds up. It stays true on moderate to hard xc riding. As long as the rims dont get hops or bends while doing xc riding, i will not rant about how lame these wheels are.
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Submitted by
matt smith
a Cross Country Rider
from fairfax, va., u.s.a. Date Reviewed: May 30, 2008
Favorite Trail:
wakefield
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$230.00
Purchased At:
hudson trail
Strengths:
they looked cool new
Weaknesses:
rims won't true, stay true, or roll straight after a few rides and 8 times being trued.
Spend the cash on a real wheel set, not this entry level poop that any real rider will completely trash in no time at all. I got riped off and Mavic won't stand by their product. try contacting them about warranty work. They told me to send the wheel back to them at my expense and they would rebuild it for $150, which is $35 more than the wheel cost, which is their way of telling me to bend over, insert the wheel in my colon, and say good by to my hard earned money 1 month after buying this junk new. THE WHEEL HAS BEEN TRUED 8 TIMES IN ONE MONTH. my dealer wont even try to true it anymore and my $2,000 Bike now limps down the street with a freakin shimmy. Buy a real wheel set from a manufacturer that will warranty and stand behind their product.
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Submitted by
Steve
a Cross Country Rider
from Spokane, WA Date Reviewed: May 23, 2008
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$150.00
Purchased At:
REI
Strengths:
Good looks, inexpensive.
Weaknesses:
Spokes.
Bike Setup:
Gary Fisher Marlin, XT head to tail, Avid BB7's, looking for new wheels.
Bottom Line:
After years of abusing a set of Mavic Cosmos on my roadie without issues, I decided to go with Mavic to replace the crap Bone-tragers that came stock on my Fish. After only 500 miles of road commuting I lost a spoke on the rear wheel. It broke off at the nipple. NONE of the local shops carry the very cool looking black bladed spokes that come on these things. And with only 24 spokes in the first place, breaking that one put too much stress on the rest. Now with a total of 3 spokes somewhere on the roads around here, I'm taking advantage of REI's 100% satisfaction guarantee and returning them.
I suppose that my 230lbs of flesh and gear might have been too much for this wheel set, or I might have been the lucky one to get a bad spoke. Personally, I feel that mountain bike parts should be strong enough to be abused, and my wheel broke without trail riding abuse.
Bad flamin' chilis for the inconvenience.
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Submitted by
J D
a Cross Country Rider
from Gridley, CA Date Reviewed: May 19, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Potters Ravine
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$170.00
Purchased At:
Price point
Strengths:
Hubs and price
Weaknesses:
Tricky when truing
Bike Setup:
Zion 660 full xt
Bottom Line:
I'm doing this because some reviews talked about plastic paws in the free hub. I opened mine I didn't see any plastic parts. I saw a nice three sealed bearings and two steel paws. I'm a heavy rider and I've been taking this cross rides on very nasty single tracks and climbs with no problem. I'll recommend it 100%
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Submitted by
syaiful khaidell
a Weekend Warrior
from malaysia Date Reviewed: March 2, 2008
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$250.00
Purchased At:
Hiap Ho Bike
Strengths:
Able to handle my weight 220lb. Nice performance, good handling and I like the hubs. Help me in stearing in hills and look nice with my tire. Planning to upgrade but not at the moment.
Weaknesses:
not yet found
Similar Products Used:
XTR
Bike Setup:
Scott Racing Com,XTR groupo,Fox RLC
Bottom Line:
Will try to stick with the product since I need to look for my second bike.
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Submitted by
Adam Holmes
a Cross Country Rider
from UK Date Reviewed: February 28, 2008
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$235.00
Purchased At:
Somewhere in Essex
Strengths:
Looks trick, light (for the price), reasonable cost wheelset in a seemingly void price band (ie all other wheelsets are either cheap or mega expensive!!)
Weaknesses:
Not really found anything to grumble about, keep in mind the cost of these wheels.
Similar Products Used:
CrossRide 2002's
Bike Setup:
Kona Kula frame, Pace EvoIII forks, x-lite bars, XT drive train, Avid Juicy ultimate hydros.
Bottom Line:
Bottom line is that these Wheels are sweet for the price! several other reviews seem to forget that you're goning get what you pay for, there's a reason that superlight race/marathon/trail wheelsets are mega bucks and thats because they're far better made, lighter etc.
If you're buying these as a good quality nicely priced wheelset then they tick all the boxes for beginner/intermediate riding.
If you're buying at them at $200 and then compare them to a $600 wheelset then they're clearly not going to be as good!!!!! If you're planning on thrashing your wheels get more money out and buy better (DT Swiss or Hope etc).
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Submitted by
Shawn Hyde
a Cross Country Rider
from San Diego, CA Date Reviewed: January 11, 2008
$
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