Weaknesses: Poor adjustability - small range of movement.
Small allen bolts round off very easily, even when using new, high quality allen keys.
Clamp has fallen apart several times during use.
"Hook" part of clamp snaped in half. No I didn't crash. I was removing the post from the frame, wiggling it from side to side with the saddle because it was slightly stiff, and the damn thing just sheared off.
Overall: Not good really. Don't be fooled by the fact that it is light, sexy, and slightly cheaper than other posh seatposts. Get something else.
Strengths: Hard. After 6 months use, almost no sign of wear. Normally I'd be well on my way to killing a ring by this point.
Tough. Its been smacked into logs and rocks with no damage.
Looks pretty in gold. Says Syncros on it. Nice sharp CNC'ing.
Weaknesses: None that I can think of. Dylan may be right about the shifting being inferior to Shimano, but my front mech isn't set up well enough to tell :-D.
Overall: Couldn't ask much more really. £15 from chainreaction while stocks last.
Fairly durable - usually lasts about a year before the noises start...
Seems to be well sealed/finished for the (very low) price.
Weaknesses: Plastic thingy. Never had a problem with these till a few weeks back, when it broke on removal, mucho pain in the ass.
Heavier than more expensive models ( as you might expect)
Overall: I think, provided instalation and removal are done carefully, that this is all most people need.
Having said that, I've just bought my first ever XT BB, for the simple reason of the full metal construcion. Given that it was only a fiver more, I think the XT is a better option.
The bearings are smooth but not loose - no play or annoying rattle.
Weaknesses: Long axle - feet quite far apart.
For all the wondrous mud-shedding abilities of the pedal, the cleat can still get clogged up.
But neither of the above has proved a major problem.
Overall: They work as I have always imagined clipless pedals should, but in the past never have. There is nothing amazing about them other than the fact that they work almost faultlessly.
'Performance of a Ferrari, durability of a ice cream'
Strengths: Fit and comfort - Spesh BG really is good. No blisters or much sweat.
Still smell OK after 6 months without a wash.
Weaknesses: The full length thumbs had big holes in within a two months.
Overall: Great stuff. Comfortable, well vented, good pretection, etc, etc.
The big niggle is the full length thumbs. As I said above, they wear out in no time, and dis dont be pleasin me. The gloves are stiil perfecty useable and, indeed, very comfortable, its just a shame they cant be perfect.
Strengths: Weight. Is there a significantly lighter rim available on the open market?
Strength. Yes I'm light - 10.5 stone, but I've done some fairly big (3-4ft) droppoffs, hit roots and rocks at high speed with tyres that were rather too soft, and (yesterday) had blow-outs doing 35mph down tracks littered with large flints. None of the above have resulted in a buckeled wheel.
Price - at £20 a peice, is replacing them after 12-18 months really such a big deal?
Weaknesses: They do, quite undeniably, wear out quicker than, say, 618s. They have thinner sidewalls so its enevitalbe. But then 618s are 60g heavier and £8 more expensive. Thats around 40% increase in price.
Overall: Over the last year and a half I've had 4 517 rims and I've been perfectly happy with them.
Performance is everything I could ask for and durability is really not too bad given the low price.
In terms of VFM, again quite acceptable. The fact that they are cheep is ballanced by the fairly short lifespan.
Front end manoeuvrability - when compared to a sus fork, the bike feels more agile, due to the decrease in weight and lack of sag.
Strong enough for what they're designed for - mine cope with trail riding, decent sized drop-offs and small jumps.
Weaknesses: As rigid forks go, there are none. Of course there are some inherent disadvantages, as mentioned in previous reveiws.
A tad pricey - some shops will try and charge charge you up to £90. However I got mine from sunsetmtb.co.uk who delivered them next day for £50 all in.
The only big downer is the lack of a disk mount.
Overall: As far as I'm concerned, rigid steel forks are, in crude terms at least, rigid steel forks.
You wont notice the difference between a £70 rigid fork and a £20 rigid fork as much as you would the difference between a £250 sus fork and a £150 model.
What makes the P2 so great is the fact that every aspect of the design has been refined.
It could never claim to be in another league from the competition, just one rung up the ladder.
It looses one mark for performance due to lack of a disk mount. I have had no issues relating to reliability dureing the 5 months I've had them. I will mark value on the basis of what I Paid for mine. Which was a very reasonalble price.
