Review Your Full Suspension bike here. or HT

[2 smooth]

Frame Make Norco
Frame Model and year VPS A-Line 2003
Intended use Downhill, Freeride
Actual use Everything...comuting, hucking, jumping, freeriding, shore, everything, as i said.
Front fork & Travel 2001 Marzocchi Monster T, 7" travel
Rear shock & Travel Fox Vanilla RC, 2.8, 8" travel
Comment on the following...
Geometry Ahhh...yeh. not the shallowest angles, but it feels pretty stable at any speed. Iv got lower forks on it than stock, so it brought the head angle down a smidge.


Suspension Travel 7" front, 7.9" rear


Suspension design FSR four bar linkage.


Braking Bit of brake-jack...


Weight Stock, it weigh 51 pounds. Now its down to about 45.


Looks I recon it looks the shit persoanlly. White, black and red.


Durability issues Havn't had a problem with it since i got it january last year.


Driveline 9 spd, 32-11 cassette, 42t ring

Modifications done, or would like done to improve Ahhh...ok. Well, the only things that are stock are; Cranks, BB, Cassette, Chain guide, Shifter and front hub.


Final comments For the price...you cant beat it. I strongly recommend buying one.

 

[junior]

Frame Make avanti D8
Frame Model and year avanti D8 2003
Intended use dh, freeride
Actual use dh, freeride
Front fork & Travel boxxer race 8 inch
Rear shock & Travel fox vanilla RC 8 inch
Comment on the following...
Geometry :?


Suspension Travel good


Suspension design works well


Braking good. the stock brakes work well


Weight too much


Looks gooooood


Durability issues linakge comes loose easy and rear brake keeps coming loose :evil:


Driveline cool :?


Modifications done, or would like done to improve tyres, chainring, forks later.


Final commentsgood bike seeing how much i got it for

 

[MrPlow]

This is A mates bike I thought since I modded it, I would review it here too...
Frame Make Raceline
Frame Model and year EXT Sport 02
Intended use Light Cross Country
Actual use Downhill / Freeride Machine!
Front fork & Travel JnrT2's 03, 5" (were RST elastomer crappas)
Rear shock & Travel R/S Pro Deluxe 6" (was pissy air shock 4")
Comment on the following...
Geometry Really steep at first with high BB :shock: Caused by putting a 30mm longer Eye2eye shock in the rear. Took to the shock/seatstay with the angle grinder and drill and moved the shock up and forward a heap. S'all good now :wink:


Suspension Travel 5"F & 5"-6" rear


Suspension design 4 bar lankage, non horst single pivot style


Braking Crap! Updated from truly the worst brakes ever to hope M4's the other day, makes it soo much better. Rear suspension locks up noticably under brakes compared to my Raceline DH.


Weight Pretty Light due to XC Orientated frame


Looks Sweet. Pimpin' white with black bombers and rear triangle


Durability issues Probably... Waiting for some Crackage, Frame seems pretty tough tho, Rear end may cause troubles. Or shock mount. I don't think frame is worried by tripple clamps tho.


Driveline Deore and Truvative, shifts nice. 32/22/ bashy makes it a great allrounder with 11/32 rear. Keeps chain on quite well, runs outta gears on high speed.


Modifications done, or would like done to improve What hasn't been Modded! See above.
Maybe new linkage plates on the rear would be the go, it goes into falling rate at the moment cause of the longer shock :?


Final comments It is actually quite amazing how well this bike pedals and descends. Head angle and BB are very similar to DH and Frame seems not much lighter duty either.

 

[zac]

Frame Make Iron Horse
Frame Model and year 2002 G-Spot
Intended use Freeride
Actual use Everything, really
Front fork & Travel 2003 Marzocchi DJ1 4"
Rear shock & Travel 2002 Fox Vanilla R 2.25 stroke, 4/5" travel
Comment on the following...
Geometry nice to ride, seems a bit slow to steer sometimes


Suspension Travel very nice. it's a bit soft in the 5" setting, but the travel seems almost endless. 4" is pretty cool, but not quite as responsive


Suspension design FSR. i haven't ridden anything else so i can't compare it to anything.


Braking dice whiplash 7" f, 6"r.


Weight too bloody heavy for my liking.


Looks schveeet


Durability issues my mate cracked his at the shock mounting points, but he'd just stacked it coming down a near-vertical cliff face, so that probably had more to do with it than the actual frame design.


Driveline deore derailleurs f & r, deore r shifter and halfpipe front shifter, truvative isoflow cranks (22-32-bashring), dice pedals


Modifications done, or would like done to improve i built it up from scratch, so pretty much everything is a modification. i'd like to get the sram x.7 shifter and rear derailleur kit, stiffer spring for the shock, 5" kit for the forks, dice roulette rear hub, cranks/bb that are not bloody square taper and a new saddle


Final comments i love this bike! one of my mates bought an '04 sgs-fr on the basis of riding mine, so it can't be too bad.

 

[MrPlow]

Ok, I would like to bump this hopefully giving it Sticky status.
Hopefully this will leesen the "Which bike should I get" Posts.

 

[Wattsy]

Frame Make Balfa
Frame Model and year BB7 2004
Intended use Dh & Extreme FR
Actual use as above
Front fork & Travel Marzoochi 888rts, 200mm
Rear shock & Travel progressive suspention 5TH element, 230mm

Geometry
feels very slack, bit slow tostart, but when ur at speed, it just holds on and feels very comfortable

Suspension Travel
the way the suspention works on the balfa is amazing, the high pivot point really makes u notice it, and u dont even feel the 9 inches, unless in rough situations

Suspension design
the high pivot point makes the wheel move backwards instead of upwards more making sharp hits unnoticable

Braking
taken care of by hayes mags, front and rear, optional floater but u dont rear notice the brake jack with out it

Weight
mine came in at a total of 20.5 kg which is light (lotec was like 26ish (confirm?)) its dam light and easy to throw around

Looks
dam sexy, as anyone. silver frame and black forks, what more do i say?

Durability issues
i dont even know the meanin as i got a balfa

Driveline
sic, the chainline hardly changes thanks to the weird route

Modifications done, or would like done to improve
nothing

Final comments
this is probally the best investment i ever made, nearly didnt do it as iwas going to get a dh team, but slap myself out of it and got this, a bit more dough but so worth it

 

[Cave Dweller]

Frame Make Turner
Frame Model and year DHR 2004
Intended use Downhill
Actual use Downhill, urban, cross counrty, anything really
Front fork & Travel 2002 monster T
Rear shock & Travel Had a romic on there and it was ok but im using an avalanche now. The yare the shniz!!
Geometry Perfect for DH with a 7 inch fork
Suspension Travel With the romic it was nice but the avy is heaps better
Suspension design Single pivot with progress shock linkage
Braking It brakes well, i don't notice brake jack but have been riding single pivots for ages. Try not to use the brakes anyway.
Weight No idea, probably around 45 pounds
Looks Sweet, check it
http://www.farkin.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15891
Durability issues None, 03's had a few issues but its fixed now.
Driveline Good. 135mm rear hub, standard BB size, not too wide.
Modifications done, or would like done to improve
Final comments Sick as bike. Talk with bill from DH direct and get one ASAP!!

 

[Rexy]

mines only a frame, but as i havent seen any reviews on it ill put it up and suggest bits

Frame Make:da bomb

Frame Model and year:xlr8 2003

Intended use:slalom, 4x, urban

Actual use: slalom, dh, xc, urban, trials

suggested Front forksylo tullio sl, marzocchi z series, 5" travel best


Comment on the following...

Geometry: its designed for slalom and absolutely rules at it, good geo for urban too, ok for dh, bad seat adjustment though because of seat tube

Braking: quite stable when braking, suggest hydros

Weight:frame only i dont know exactly, but if youre not careful with part choice the bike will end up heavy

Looks: awesome paint, bendy seat tube makes it easy on the eyes


Durability:as long as you dont put on a dc fork, pretty damn good

suggested Driveline:sinlge front ring, 8 or 9 speed rear derauiler (note cannot put on a clamp on front derauiler because of seat tube

Final comments: great all round hardtail, i love mine, good price all up a great bike

 

[kiwi]

Frame Make GT
Frame Model and year DHi 2004
Intended use DH racing
Actual use DH racing
Front fork & Travel marzocchi 888R 200mm
Rear shock &amp; Travel Fox vanilla RC w/ pro pedal 9inch &lt;A TITLE="Click for more information about travel" STYLE="text-decoration: none; border-bottom: medium solid green;" HREF="http://search.targetwords.com/u.search?x=5977|1||||travel|AA1VDw">travel</A>
Comment on the following...
Geometry all the angles seem to be pretty sorted, it has an adjustable wheel base which is good but the angle is a bit slack with the 888r's, a set of low rider crowns would cure this but is expensive, the head angle is sweet with a set of boxxers

Suspension Travel Ample travel at both ends, neither end gives a harsh bottom out which is good


Suspension design I-drive BB type, this makes pedalling really nice with out really effecting the suspension travel. it makes the suspension a bit firmer but its not much.

Braking Hayes HFX9's, so far ive had no problems with them


Weight 40pounds, excellent weight for a DH bike, could be made a couple of pounds lighter without much change

Looks cool paint job, troy lee style


Durability issues the swing arms on the 2003 models cracked alot but this seems to have been fixed with a beefier swing arm.
and i cracked the 888r's

Driveline XTR cranks, derailer, BB and cassette. top quality shimano, works well. custom MRP guide for the i drive

Modifications done, or would like done to improveeither low rider crowns for the 888's, or a different set of forks.
maybe a sram drive train and stronger rims

Final commentswicked bike, wicked price

 

[sawtell]

Frame Make haro
Frame Model and year X2, 2001
Intended use aggresive trails?
Actual use free ride, dJ, XC, everything that can be done.
Front fork &amp; Travel manitou magnum 76mm travel
Rear shock &amp; Travel RST 22a, 116 mm (pretty sure)
Geometry
feels pretty nice to ride, once you get used to it, easy to manouvure whilist in the air, nice and steady when at high speeds, i do not know what else to say..could do with a shorter top tube maybe? to make it a bit easier to pull up, but it is all good

Suspension Travel
could do with a lot more, was great when i started out, but know i have progressed... does get a bit of bottoming out on the odd occasions..

Suspension design
single pivot, basic cheapeo desgin does the job..with a lot of bob through

Braking
i stop, brakes are not that great but are easy to maintain and adjust..

Weight
i was amazed when i first lifted it up, super light well i think it is..

Looks
does not look that bad, nice and tanky, with a bit of a santa cruie builit in there

Durability issues
so far all is good, for god sakes my tires are not even worn down yet after 8 months of constant rideing..

Driveline
it was smooth and crisp untill i played around with it and mangled my chain..now i have a new derliuer etc, it is super nice..

Modifications done, or would like done to improve

put azonic shorty stem on, would like get some new forks something lightish with a bit of travel..ah yeah and a new rear wheel

Final comments
fair decent bike for what i paid for it ($525 new).. does a good job absorbs the rocks, roots etc on the trails, takes the hits of the jumps..
i would recomend it to some one loking for a bike to see if they like the word of the boing!

 

[Ruckus_boy]

Frame Make: ruckus hardtail
Frame Model and year: 2.0 2004
Intended use: all rounder
Actual use:dh/fr/street
Front fork &amp; Travel:marzocchi ms comp 100mm (orderd 05 boxxer team)
Rear shock &amp; Travel: N/A
Comment on the following...
Geometry good, when i get my boxxers in 3 weeks it will be


Suspension Travel: I need more thats why i got the boxxers




Braking: perfect put on some hydros on em

Weight: fine pretty lightweight


Looks: sweeet




Modifications done, or would like done to improve
forks,brakes,hubs,handlebars,(chainguide soon to be)

 

[Regan]

Frame Make YETI
Frame Model and year 2004 DJ
Intended use DJ/Street/4X
Actual useDJ/Street/4X
Front fork &amp; Travel 03 Psylo SL, 125mm. (5”)
Rear shock &amp; Travel none

Comment on the following...

Geometry perfect...Feels really good in the air and manuals awesome


Suspension Travel none


Suspension design none


Braking 04 XT w/ 180 front 160 rear BRAKING Wave rotor


Weight 14kg


Looks SWEEEEEET


Durability issues Well I haven’t snapped it yet


Driveline Single 42t front, 11-32 rear

Modifications done, or would like done to improve would like Yeti to make a 12mm TA dropouts for the rear


Final comments Super sweet ride... worth every penny

 

[roffle]

Frame Make Rocky Mountain
Frame Model and year Flow 03
Intended use "Freeride"
Actual use Mainly DJ, a spot of XC
Front fork &amp; Travel QR 20mm 04 Dirt Jumper IIs 6"
Rear shock &amp; Travel NA
Geometry The top tube is long, then again so are my legs. So I think it equals out..
Suspension Travel NA
Suspension design NA
Braking Shimano 525 Hydros, it stops me good.
Weight Fairly heavy due to spec, not sure of actual weight.
Looks Dandy, could use matching rims though.
Durability issues People say RMs snap, mine has held up fine so far..
Driveline Deore shifter rear + LX derailleur with Aireal DH guide on the front, the Aireal drops chains often. No problems shifting.
Modifications done, or would like done to improve Lighter forks and front rim. Probably end up going single track rim front and Blacks. Oh, and I'll get around to ordering a shorter stem sometime soon. And 2" protapers.
Final comments Not to many around, I feel special.

 

[x00mNorco]

Frame Make NORCO
Frame Model and year Atomik 2003
Intended use Light freeride
Actual use DH racing
Front fork &amp; Travel DNM USD 180s 7in (DJ3 standard)
Rear shock &amp; Travel Fox Vanilla 5.25
Comment on the following...
Geometry
Change from dj3 to dnms brought the front higher and sharpen the steering. Took time to get used to new geo.

Suspension Travel
5.25 inches. Gets quite choppy on rough dh courses, i run fairly hard spring, to counter bottoming out. Great for fr. 05 models has 7 inches.

Suspension design
Specialised design, not sure what its called.

Braking
hayes 8 rotors with dice hydros, not happy at the moment, not enough feel, need bleeding.

Weight
Weighted today 19.9kg, aint no lightweight

Looks
If it went like it looks, i would be wining local races. :wink:

Durability issues
None so far, nothing some locktight cant fix.

Driveline
Deore shifters f/r. Truaviv huselfellt.

Modifications done, or would like done to improve
dnm usd's 180, aireal dh hub, dice hydros, fsa bash guard, dh tires, i would like to get braking up to scratch and get long travel single crown insted of dnm's.

Final comments
Awesome bike for money, i paid mine 2g brand new (03 model in 04) and it worth every cent. Need to cut some wight so i can take it trail riding (lighter fork would solve that)

Cheers.

 

[Oddjob]

Frame Make Avanti D8
Frame Model and year D8 2002
Intended use Downhill, freeride and commuting
Actual use Find out when I finally finish having it assembled and sorted.
Front fork &amp; Travel DNM USD 180, 7 inch
Rear shock &amp; Travel Fox Vanilla RC, 2.75, 800lb, 8 inch
Comment on the following...
Geometry The 7 inch DNM's have altered the head angle a bit.

Geometry diagram here, http://www.farkin.net/forums/album_pic.php?pic_id=12303]

Suspension Travel 7 inches at the front and 8 inches at the rear. This should be more than enough suspension travel for me as I'm too much of a soft serve to do HUGE drops.


Suspension design There seems to be some debate about this. Some say single pivot with rising rate activation others say four bar linkage. Can't really comment on how well it works yet, as the bike was only assembled for half an hour before discovering rear shock was blown. Grrrr!

Braking Navigator 6 pots 170mm front disk, 150mm rear disk. I've said this a few times on the forums but just in case, these are the shizzers my nizzers. They perform flawlessly, immense power, never lock, ok feel and they don't squeal too much. Did I mention that they look pimping as well?


Weight Don't know yet but she is going to be heavy, I'm expecting around 20kg. I bought the frame second hand and have chosen parts for the bike based on toughness. Thus the frame is cro-moly as is the crank and BB. The USD's are tough, but weigh almost 4 kilos by themselves.


Looks It looks deceptively simple and almost elegant with its lack of clutter. The orange after market paint job on the frame seems to contrast well with the black suspension etc.

This is a pretty bad picture from my phone but it gives you some idea. http://www.farkin.net/forums/album_pic.php?pic_id=12302]

Durability issues Well did I mention that the rear shock was blown? No biggie though I got the frame for a good price and it probably was due for a service anyway. I would have liked to have known that the shock needed a service so I could send it off while getting the bike assembled (ahem No Skid Marks), instead of getting it assembled then having to wait another week. :roll:

I've built the bike up so that it will be bomb proof. The frame is cro-moly. The 2002 frame has extra bracing compared to the 2001. The cranks and BB are Odyssey 41 Thermal, which means they are cro-moly and have a life time warranty. The DNM's are heavy but nigh indestructible, I'm just worried about scratching the stanchions.


Driveline
Odyssey 41 Thermal cro-moly cranks and BB, Aerial bash plate, DMR V8 pedals, Deore everything else.

Modifications done, or would like done to improve
Frame was built up from the ground.

Rear wheel (Mavic D321) is a little bit bent so I plan to replace it with the same set up as the front (Dirtbag rim, a2z hub), when I completely screw it.

Modified chain guides to accept bash plate.

Plan to upgrade disks to 203mm front and rear for bling bling factor. Hehe watch me bend my frame with a single finger. :twisted:

Final comments
One of kids at Bike Addiction reckoned the frame I bought won a National title or something. Not sure if that's true, but it wouldn't surprise me. The bike has a very low centre of gravity, turns well and has excellent balance. Can't wait to get it back and give it a proper thrashing.

 

[NightRider]

Frame Make KONA Coiler Deelux
Frame Model and year 2004
Intended use All-mountain (freeride)
Actual use XC, Freeride and a bit of lightweight DH.
Front fork &amp; Travel Marzocchi Z1 FR (quickrelease)
Rear shock &amp; Travel Fox Vanilla RC (Propedal) - 5'
Comment on the following...
Geometry A well balanced bike. Head tube angle is just right - not too slack and not too twitchy. Feals great in singletrack and downhill. My only complaint is it sits quite high at the front (good 'ol Marzocchi forks) which is nice for hucking, but sucks for going up hill. The ETA (reduces travel to 3cm) is awesome for going up long hills and fixes up the angle issues, but it is a pain to put on and only worth it for really long grinds.

Suspension Travel 5' and 5'. Travel is good for light freeride, bashing around the bush and generally having a good time. It doesn't bob too much, but I am not entirely convinced that it is as good as a 5th Element. Still it climbs well for a bike of its type and weight.

The suspension doesn't seem to absorb the small bumbs as much as some other bikes I have ridden (new Santa Cruz Heckler with Fox up the front and 5th Element) and it doesn't feel like it has a whole lot of suspension. However it is there when you need it and constantly suprises me by eating up bigger hits.

Suspension design 4 bar linkage......or is it?


Braking Hayes Mag 6'. I am pretty happy with these brakes. Bleeding is a little painful but gets easier every time I do it. They do seem a little temperamental sometimes though. Enough stopping power for me.

Weight Haven't weighed it, but it ain't that light (heavier than a Heckler - that is for sure). Not nearly as heavy as a DH beasty though.

Looks Black, black and black. I think it looks mint - especially with my dark grey V12's and leapard skin seat.


Durability issues Its a Kona.


Driveline LX front and XT rear derailler, with a Blackspire SuperGod bashguard instead of the big ring (not standard). Driveline works sweet, altough I run out of gears on the really fast stuff. I have considered putting a single ring at the front, but I use granny too often.

Modifications done, or would like done to improve Much of the parts that come on Konas are pretty crap. I have made the following changes: Blackspire RingGod bashguard; SGS BelAir leopard skin seat; Answer Protaper handle bars (thankyou very much AMB mag); Oury locker grips; DMR V12 pedels. Richey Omegabite Rear tyre.

Am pretty happy the setup now, except for the front tyre.


Final comments Very happy with this bike (with the modifications). Suits someone that wants to mess around on the trail annd generally have a good time. It is not designed for huge hucks, but can climb a hill, conquer a XC track and handle a bit of Northshore type actions (huge drops excepted). A great bike and you know it is not going to break on you. Complaints: Bad Kona for putting Nokian tyres on this bike - they really really suck. Change em quick.

 

[Mahoney_007]

Frame Make Kona
Frame Model and year Stuff 2003
Intended use Out Of Bounds HT (whatever the fuck that means)
Actual use Its my only bike, does everything.
Front fork &amp; Travel Marzocchi EXR comp
Rear shock &amp; Travel N/A
Comment on the following...
Geometry
Pretty ace actually, its in between everything Steepish head angle shortish stays, great for general playing around stands up on its rear nicely and handles trails well, little short to be sitting and climbing.

Suspension Travel 4" on the front


Suspension design Umm its a fork its got oil and springs :wink:


Braking Shimano mechanicals with Avid levers. Not bad for the first time rider, gave me heaps pf stopping power off the shelf, the pads have worn now, very easy to adjust any gimp with a 5mm allen key can do it.


Weight
13kg to 15kg (I think)

Looks Awesome, army green, they looked hot in this colour ( biased opinion I know)


Durability issues Frame zero zip zilch, fork Ive just found a crack in it (16 months old) Ive smashed derailiuers, done spokes broken freewheels and axles and buckled the rear rim.


Driveline Shimano Deore rear DR Alivio front DR, was giving me the shits till I discovered twisted link in the chain Pretty standard stuff fine for the average rider.


Modifications done, or would like done to improve Well I'm getting into street/trials, so I do wish the frame had rim brake lugs fitted so I could fit a set of rimmies to her. Fork, rear wheel and hub has to be changed, cranks and pedals will have to go soon and new driveline.

Final commentsI fucking love my bike, its taken me to places Ive never seen and I'm now riding in a way I never thought possible, I'm not hucking 10 foot drops or road gapping over 20 foot, but it can handle anything up to 6foot down with ease and as I said she loves to be stood on the rear end.

 

[toodles]

Frame Make Turner
Frame Model and year DHR '04 model
Intended use DH racing, practising and mucking around
Actual use Ditto. Excpet for some long road kilometres.
Front fork &amp; Travel '04 Boxxer Race fitted with Mojo damper kit. 7" travel
Rear shock &amp; Travel Romic TwinTube. 8.5" rear wheel travel

Geometry The head angle on the 04 model is 67 degrees and I initially noticed the sharpness compared to my slacker angler Craftworks but now it's a non-issue. The BB is 14.6" high which is pretty average but it feels lower due to the low centre of gravity the bike has.


Suspension Travel The 8.5" rear and 7" front have been more than capable of everything I've thrown it at so far. I wouldn't go any less as I'm not particularly smooth but I don't really need any more. Doesn't mean I won't try some 8" Boxxers at some stage for real rock eating travel.


Suspension design Ok, I'll start with the forks first. If you have Boxxer Races or Teams and you can afford it - get a Mojo kit. It takes a run or two to see how they work as they're a strange fork in the carpark test, but when you get them into rocks they're so consistent and plush it's amazing. More forks should feel like this. Plus they weigh in under 6.5lbs (I checked).

The rear is a linkage activated single pivot. The linkage only affects the shock progression, it doesn't reduce brake effect on the suspension. The single pivot is noticably stiffer than several of the linkage designs I've ridden but not entirely flex free. I'm using reducers to space the 20mm through axle rear end down to a 12mm. No doubt the 20mm would also stiffen up an already tight swingarm.

Braking As with any single pivot there's interference when the rear brake is applied. It sounds weird but I'm not fazed by this. Two benefits I've noticed is that it encourages me to stop dragging the rear brake as well as a slight acceleration out of berms when I let go of the brake. This helps alleviate my bad habit of over-braking into corners.


Weight Built up the bike weighs 18.6kg or about 41 lbs. This weight was provided by a trade calibrated set of scales BTW.


Looks It's purdy - check it out here - http://www.farkin.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=21520&amp;start=0


Durability issues Err... only had it for four or five weeks. The main pivot was creaking a bit after Coffs but it was a simple fix.


Driveline XT cranks with an MRP Slalom System2, Wipperman chain, XT cassette, SRAM X-9 mech, X-7 shifter


Modifications done, or would like done to improve The 1.5 steerer reduces the turning circle on pre-'05 Boxxers as the crowns foul on the frame. Would like to modify the top crown a bit to remedy this.


Final comments Honestly, it's a great bike and for racer-heads I'd recommend it. Worth investigating by anyone in the market for a race bike.

 

[missilemtb]

frame make: 2005 model specialized p2

Intended use: hard nut hart ail

Actual use: fr DJ and everything in between

Fork: Mischa dirt jam pro

Brakes: Hayes Machs wave rotors

Wheels: sun ditch whitch

Chainguide/crank/bashguard: truvativ hussefelt with boxguide and bashuard.

Review: The dirt jam bottoms easy but is stong as f%%k im happy with them.Frame looks sexy and is strong as, the brakes are excellent for mechs and the ditch with rims are strong as aswell. The whole drivetrain is bombproof with he hussefelt crank, box guide chain device, and bash guard. Truvativ also supply the stem on the 2005 model and its got perfect reach. Tires are great.

All together the bike is the best buy for its purpose, hardnut hardtail.

10/10 8)

 

[marklar]

Frame Make Gary Fisher
Frame Model and year HooKooEKoo (1996)
Intended use XC race
Actual use try-hard trials, pretend freeride, urban epics
Front fork &amp; Travel RS Quadra 21R 63mm
Rear shock &amp; Travel N/A
Comment on the following...
Geometry 18" size. Probably has ideal geo for XC, but even though i've grown a bit since i got it it's still irritatingly long in the cockpit for anything but steep climbs. It doesn't help that the stock stem is quite long too, but the short rear end makes fitting a short stem feel like i'm falling off the back of the bike. Steering also gets a bit, erm, interesting without the extra leverage of the long stem. The sloping top tube is great for descending/trials-y seat positions, making the bike feel smaller than it is.

Suspension Travel Those 63mm really do fly by on the big drops but the short travel wouldn't be so bad were it not that my forks compensate for lack of vertical movement with a good centimetre or so of horizontal motion. Love those non-servicable bushings.


Suspension design Probably the lightest you could get in '96 with the magnesium bits in the R-spec. Great ride when new. No possibility to open the bastard up and fix it might have shaved off the grams but certainly increased the shortgevity of its performance though. The fork boots do double duty as seals and (of course) can't be replaced so once they went hard and shrunk (after a few months of mistakenly putting judy butter on the stanchion outers, thanks for the "tip" Maroubra Cycles!) i gained a buttload of extra friction damping. This was ok, because the MCUs (remember them?) had started to decompose and i replaced them with '98 judy springs. The forx now have one 2000 judy/jett spring and a bit of MCU in one leg, one '98 judy spring and the remaining MCUs in the other, broken preload topcaps, 2 dimensional travel and require continuous care, but still seem to hold the front wheel on well enough.

Braking cantilever brakes were ok, but the '97 model year was when v-brakes took off, so this bike was always a bit down on stopping capacity. That said the cantis were strong enough for club XC and had very comfy levers. They never gave me trouble but when i started getting into trials (sorta) and my inability to lock them up reliably led to Magura hs33s. Overkill perhaps, but after the pre-requisite 2 weeks of fiddling to get them set up they've been changing go to whoa for 4 years and all on the original pads. Yes, the brakes can flex the frame and the fork, but only if you pull the lever hard enough, actual riding doesn't require such heavy braking (the wheel locks from any speed before flex begins).

Weight This is the lightest (mountain) bike i've ever lifted, bar a 5000 euro porsche "marathon" bike, even though it's cromo. Nowadays it's a bit heavier though, due to mods.


Looks The green with gold tinge paint looks the shizzit, but it's hard to look past the "mutton cast as lamb" look the maguras, V8s, bashring, riser + bar caps combined with the Quadras, narrow-as rims and absolutely-not-reinforced frame give it. Also looks a bit lamer ever since i went through my "stickers" phase and put everything adhesive i could find (even the foxtel channel guide) on any patch of frame that would fit it (not much).


Durability issues What? even though i got it for XC and years (and a few extra kgs of rider) later ('99-2000) started trying to huck it, trials it and generally do anything that would've voided the warranty were it new the one and only time it cacked it was the second week i had it when i knocked the rear mech into the spokes in a race and it bent the hanger (not the spokes tho). new mech, hanger bent back, no problems since. Things that have broken: MCUs in shock degrading (circa 1999-present), bottom bracket spindle cracked (late 2002), crank arm sheared off (early '03), rear cluster wore out (2001), OEM [bigS] chain broke during race in '96, fixed it with two rocks and it held 'till 2001. Wheels etc. no probs, frame flexes a bit under big torque, but no cracks or creaks.


Driveline the bits that wear out do, of course, but the mechs keep shifting, hubs keep spinning and the shifters (gripshifts) have never faltered once.


Modifications done, or would like done to improve New/revised and constantly tweaked shock internals as described above: bouncy, but keep the bottoming at bay. MRP bashring instead of the 42 which i "retired" after knocking a thumb-sized chunk out of the anzac bridge with it. Maguras to lessen the pain of keeping wheels locked, make naz jealous and help me flip the bike when i get on straight after riding a bmx. DMR V8s because those asymmetric stock pedals were giving me the shits. A friend's old riser bars and some bar caps to keep the grips on after i pissed off the barends for that "freeride" look. Better (ie softer) saddle: keith bontrager must think butt callouses are cool. lots of pez stickers. I'd probably like to swap the fork for a better 'un (more suited to my riding + not rooted as much), but likely wont since i'm poor and unemployed and poor.


Final comments Definitely the most long-suffering bike i know of. I am continually amazed I haven't busted more bits or the frame/fork entirely, considering its age and inappropriateness for the riding I do. With a 4" (or even 5" with sag) fork it'd still be quite rideable and probably a great trail/allmountain/mild-urban-freeride bike. I'd love to build up a dually and let the Fisher have a rest and maybe use it how it was intended instead of thrashing it, but i know it'll probably get more hard work before that happens.