Fluid Bikes

[procxi]

Hi all,

Sometime ago I read a great discussion about Fluid bikes in this forum.. However, the thread was old and I was also looking for little more details/experience about Fluid Method, Momentum and Ricochet bikes as I have set my mind on going for the Fluid brand after doing a bit of research.

I personally think they are alright bikes, specially from the price perspective (if they are on sales etc,). I know its Anaconda exclusive brand as well. For my general use I reckon they are good enough.

As of this writing the above models range from retail $600 to $1000 bucks. I'm thinking Momentum ($700) is a good bike for occasional trailing and to comfortably jump off a pavement and back on etc,. nothing hardcore.

I would appreciate if you can share your experiences here...

Thanks,

 

[boofy]

i personally would look in the sale section and get a better quality bike slightly used. my mates both recently purchased kona stinky's for $800-$900 (07 and 06 models) in excellent condition with nothing much more to do than start riding. one of them needed a lighter spring for the rear, and some new grips, but that was it. can go on pavement (he rides with his wife and 3 year old in a trailer buggy thing approx 25km nearly every weekend) plus it will also go on single track, fire roads, and jumps etc.

i have an 06 norco aline that i picked up second hand extremely cheap and have added to it with better rims, forks and rear shock plus better brakes. these bikes are way over engineered for what we do on them, but we know that they are built for huge jumps and downhill tracks (freeride and downhill) so they will take any abuse we can give them.

note that these bikes are heavier than some bikes ie. hardtails and cross country bikes etc, but extra strength has to come at a cost. looking at the fluid momentum, it weight's in at 15.4kg and is a hard tail bike. my norco is around 19-20kg as are my mates kona's. they are all duel suspension with triple clamp forks. we all have 8 inches of travel in the front and both kona's have 7 inches in the rear. my norco is set at 9 inches in the rear. i would take the extra 4 kg weight for that suspension any day.

before leaving the country another riding buddy of mine sold his giant anthem for around the same money. it was not that old and was quite a good bike for that sort of money. about 4 or 5 inches of travel.

also, consider the better quality parts on a used bike over a fluid. even if you only go for a anthem with less travel etc, you will still get avid brakes (hydraulic not mechanical like the fluid), probably rockshox forks of some sort, better wheels and hubs, better gear set and generally a better quality bike all round.

 

[ChopSticks]

please save yourself from fluid bikes.... (bring on any flame) like the above post, please just spend your money on a decent 2nd hand bike !!! it will save you alot of money, time and heartache down the line.

 

[PJS]

I wanted to buy new with my first bike. Didn't know what to look for 2nd hand. I just bought my girlfriend a mtb from cell. Was $800 with 10speed, and good specs. (xt derailleur, good brakes for the price...) A great thing was that it only weighs 12.5kg - same as my giant xtc when stock (now lighter with mods, all achievable on the cell too.)
Well worth looking at I think. The momentums a tank! Her Dad and sis have one each. Wouldn't bother.

 

[Trigger02]

I have a Cell 29er, It is awsome. just need to change a few thing. Stem, seat, pedals, wheelset and she is now very fast

 

[procxi]

Thanks for the replies guys...

Most of the time people who own Fluids say they are good bikes and others just say Fluids are bad... What are the reason for Fluids to be so bad? They give a life time warranty on the frame and if you go for a decent model you also get good components fitted (Shimano etc,.).

When I last did a comparison between similar category bikes in the same price bracket in a local bike shop and Fluids there wasn't any major difference in the specs. In fact for the price (specially when Fluids are on sale) it made lot more sense to go with a Fluid.

I generally think when anyone refers to Fluids you automatically think of lower end Fluids that sell at around $200 mark. Yes, these low end bikes are bad.

I do understand there are better brands out there. Its like someone saying go for Toyota land cruiser when you are trying to settle with a Toyota Yaris. As I mentioned, my requirements are minimum and I believe Fluids aren't bad as some say they are although I'm no way making any comparison with other known brands in the market.

I'm no bike expert... I just like to hear some real Fluid experience from a Fluid owner or anyone with good experience with Fluids

Thanks and Cheers !!

 

[knob scortcher]

u could get a good spec giant for not much more than some fluid bikes.

 

[PJS]

I think its mainly weight and components.
Look at the forks too. Not sure if the better fluid bikes use rock shox, but that cell bike has a recon gold fork. Great for the price. A lot of people bag rst or suntour shocks. Not sure of the exact reason.
I guess people look out for bikes with good components for the price, like you, but also how worth it is upgrading bits on it. Not worth changing the wheelset etc if the money spent on the wheelset wouldve bought you a much much better bike in the first place without modification.
If youre only using it to get your way to the train station, who cares. If you want the bike to last through the first couple of years if an obsession, look beyond just the series of rear derailleur (often throw on an xt and everything else us forgotten)
Ramble over

 

[Trigger02]

I owned a fluid for around six months, the fluid Riccochet and i had no complaints until I took it on the mountain x track in homebush, the forks bottom out quite easy on the track but besides that it is not a bad bike with decent frame for the money.

Spend a little extra $$$$$$ on a bike & you will be much happier though.

 

[Dh Rasta]

A lot of people bag rst or suntour shocks. Not sure of the exact reason.

It's because they peform like rubbish. My mate has some on his Giant, they were good for a few months and now they're lucky to reach 60mm of the 100mm travel that is offered.

I owned a fluid mayhem as my first proper mtb and thought it was brilliant until I really started getting some knowledge about the biking world. The rear wheel buckled until it was touching the frame, the drive side cranks/bb snapped off on the landing of a jump, the forks never came close to bottoming out and all in all, I could have got a much better bike if I had some knowledge.
Bottom line: Invest your money in a better bang for buck bike that is NOT a fluid.

My 2c.

 

[procxi]

I owned a fluid mayhem as my first proper mtb

Thanks for your input, but again Fluid mayhem is not a fair comparison with other big brand or better bikes.

 

[procxi]

triggadsdon@gmail.com and PJS - thanks for your input !!!

 

[shakes]

http://www.anaconda.com.au/Product/Bikes-and-Accessories/Bikes/Mens/Mens-2012-Method-Bike

this one?

If your doing any more riding than once a month along paved bike paths on a sunny sunday arvo... then you will VERY quickly outgrow it.

At $599 you will find almost any bike shop will have better brands with a better spec for the same price. You also cant put a price on after sales service... does the shop offer 12 months servicing or similar? a few little niggly issues can add up to alot and fast. Can your local anaconda replace the bottom bracket? remove the shifter and send it to shimano on warranty? There is far more to purchasing a bike than simply the level of Rear derailuer. Will the grips/seat/tires/pedals/bottom bracket/etc flog out within 3 months?

 

[cameron_15]

It seems like you're already convinced on the Fluid...

As one who works in a bike shop, I'd suggest visiting your local bike shop and seeing what they have on offer.

There's a lot of brands out there that have very good entry level bikes for the price. A bike I've been quite impressed with this year is the 2012 Apollo Volatile. It retails at $699 and comes with a proper rock shox fork, hydraulic disk brakes, 27 speed shimano alivio/acera gearing (including crankset) and a nice alex rims wheelset.

I'm sure most bike shops would have similar bikes in that price range, I'd go and have a look and see what they can do for you as the after sales service will almost certainly be better...

 

[PJS]

Sorry, the $800 cell bike doesnt have the recon, but the base level rockshox like above. Confused myself since a mate has the next level up of cell mtb, which has the recon gold. Either way I'd be looking at the quality of the fork on whatever bike you're thinking of. My XTC has a more aggressive head angle and all the other geometry compared to the gf's bike. That's a good thing for her because she's not hugely confident and a more upright postion suits her better. I'm fairly new to mtb but knew where I wanted to be in the nearish future (hence biting the bullet on clipless from day one too - but that's another story!)
Good luck!

 

[D_Nine]

Mmmm maybe just old , tired or just cynical you don't work for Fluid or Anaconda by any chance ? Reading between the lines sounds very much like an "infommercial " ? Ah what happens when you need warranty or your bike serviced ? Can these guys do it ?

 

[Burrito_Boy]

Mmmm maybe just old , tired or just cynical you don't work for Fluid or Anaconda by any chance ?

Was thinking the same thing...

On another note though...

I owned and raced 2007 fluid rhythm and nitro frames for 4x for a season and a bit. Great bikes and couldn't fault them. As a cheap xc frame, it handled well above it's design spec. These frames though had way different geometry to what any of the range now have, and much better build quality. Great fun bikes.
From what I've seen the newer bikes are quite strange geo, look like trash, have terrible colour schemes and the build kit is pretty average for what you are paying.
But i guess that is what you get when your bikes are solely made to make money, not deliver an inspiring ride...

 

[hach_bee]

At $599 you will find almost any bike shop will have better brands with a better spec for the same price. You also cant put a price on after sales service... does the shop offer 12 months servicing or similar? a few little niggly issues can add up to alot and fast. Can your local anaconda replace the bottom bracket? remove the shifter and send it to shimano on warranty? There is far more to purchasing a bike than simply the level of Rear derailuer. Will the grips/seat/tires/pedals/bottom bracket/etc flog out within 3 months?

Usually first service free, yes, yes, and yes. They do have excellent workshop set ups and despite the fact you might see your average 15 year olds manning the counter on a weekend, most (that I knew off, not sure who's still around in them) of the staff who managed the bikes mechanically, really knew their stuff. I learned alot when I worked there years back and our store was the highest ranked in customer service in the company...

That said, I'd consider comparison of similar spec'ed bikes and prices, but if I'm not mistaken don't fluid still come with a lifetime frame warranty (correct me if I'm wrong?) P.s how are you going to flog a seat in 12 months?!

 

[Fisher]

My mate made the mistake of buying a Fluid Mayhem. Worst geometry ever and it fell apart on multiple occasions.
If you're looking at that method for 600 bucks you've got to be joking, biggest rip off around from the look of it. You can get a much better bikes for the price.
Look at the equivalent models in things like GT Avalanche, Fuji Nevada, Mongoose Tyax, etc etc (They're the main brands we stock at my work anyways). If you're in QLD or Vic possibly look at Flight bikes, they're a Goldcross brand bike but the Flight Trail range isn't too bad for value for money. $650 gets you Deore level with Mech discs.

Anaconda isn't a bike shop.

Edit: http://www.flightbikes.com.au/mtb-bikes/trail-1.aspx
That's that flight, lifetime warranty 700 bucks, 90% of the time they're cheaper than that though if you tried you'd get it for low 600's.
So much better than the Fluid Method or Momentum.

 

[kiwiinmelb]

I just brought my first bike , i just wanted an entry level hard tail , around the 5-6 hundred dollar mark ,and thought if i get right into it, ill pay a lot more and get a full suspension bike down the track.

Did look at the fluid bikes, didnt like the look , and had to sit on the 22 inch bike to feel comfortable and Im 5 foot 10 and a half, short top tubes ,

Went for a Giant Talon 2, got it for $550 , maybe there is better out there for the buck , not sure, but im happy enough.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-au/bikes/model/talon.2.black.green/10451/52900/