Strengths: Fabulously made, solid as a rock, good clearance, agile, stiff, loves being ridden fast & aggressively, looks bad ass.
Weaknesses: Logo not lacquered over.
Overall: I replaced my Klein Adept Pro with this frame. I got it in Slver Ano with a black logo, had a Fox RP3 fitted (I didn't like the DT Swiss shock) and built it up with the following: Fox Talas RLC forks, King headset, Easton bars, Shimano XTR Chainset, SRAM X0 mechs, Avid Juicy Carbon brakes and a Thompson seatpost. Wheels are Mavic rims with Hope hubs.
I love the bike; I really do. It's just a dream to ride. I'm far from a pro, but it just seemed to feel "right" from the outset. I've ridden it around Epping forest but also Mount Tam and a couple of other places in Northern California and it just seems at home anywhere. Rocks, mud, loam, leaves, roots, snow - The suspension sucks up pretty much anything I throw at it with no hassle - In fact, I never even think about what it's doing, which is the best compliment I could pay it. Part of this must be the RP3 but the shock and bike seem so well matched. It's very stiff and agile - You just put the power down and away it goes. Pretty amazing.
The faster I go and the harder I ride, the more the Helius appears to respond. It's nice to feel a real pay off from your bike when you do something a bit more ballsy than you normally would, or push the envelope a bit. It's given me a lot of confidence and more to the point, it's bags of fun.
Being German and hand made it is flawless. The anodized silver finish is a bit of a pain to clean (needs a brush) but it's hardly fair to call that a down side. The only issue I would have is that the logo is just stuck on, so it can come off easily. Apparently you usually end up replacing it once a year at a cost of about a tenner. That's pretty poor for a bike of this quality but then I bought it to ride, not look at and I'm really scraping the bottom of the barrel to come up with that one......
It's going to be a long time before I consider another frame, and when I do swap it will probably be for another Nicolai. Theyre not cheap, but quality costs money and I'd rather cough £1500 for a hand made German frame, than £999 for one that has been knocked up in a Taiwanese factory by a guy who has no interest in whether the frame's owner is going to enjoy it or not.
I can't urge you enough to get one of these out on a test and put it through it's paces; It's a great bit of kit. For a cynical git like me it's rare to have nothing bad to say about something, but having owned the bike since November and ridden the buggery out of it since then, I couldn't be happier.
Strengths: Excellent design, incredibly smooth, great performance.
Weaknesses: Chainrings are soft as cheese, finish comes off within the 1st/2nd ride.
Overall: I've owned XTR for a while. I had the original one which put up with all sorts of stuff. This new Hollowtech II model (I have the 4 Arm model with 175mm crank arms) one is a beautiful and strong design, yet is very light too. Out of the box you can feel the quality and the finish is class. That is, it is class until you use the Crankset. Within the first ride expect the finish to wear off. By the time your 3rd and 4th rides are done it won't even say XTR on it any more. OK - So that's just to do with cosmetics, but when you're spending this amount of bread that simply isn't acceptable.
The other thing that is a problem for me is how ridiculously soft the chainrings appear to be. I got this new in November, and after 2/3 rides a week through an Epping Forest winter I had to replace the worn middle ring in mid January. That too is pretty awful. Epping Forest is a particularly harsh environment since the clay, sandy mud and general crud level makes for a destructive grinding paste but I'd expect better. The bike gets a full clean & lube immediately after every ride so it's pretty well looked after.
Apparently Middleburn make replacement rings which last a lot longer so I'll try them next time. The chainring bolts are really soft too; Even if you're careful you can easily damage them.
These niggles aside, it was a joy to fit (the BB design is fabulous) and it shifts beautifully. I have SRAM everywhere else on the bike, and the SRAM X0 rear mech, chain and my XTR Chainset appear to be very happy together.
If I had to replace this I'd probably try another brand, maybe just because the whole finish thing irritates me, but then I'm sure Race face etc. have their problems too. I bought it to ride, not to look at, but you can't help but find stuff like that annoying when you've coughed up over £200.00
If it weren't for the chainring replacement I'd have put the value at 5, but as it is I'm feeling grumbly and I've given it 3 instead.
Strengths: Snug fit, neat little tab to pull them on with, plenty of padding.
Weaknesses: Unfortunately mine have split at the seam on their first ride. I got the L size which seemed to be quite snug but not overy tight. In addition the padding is rutting up in the middle of my left palm leaving me with a real sore spot. I guess this could just be a rogue glove but you don't expect to pay 20 Quid for a pair of gloves and have them go tits up on the first go, which in my case was a pretty pedestrian 1 hour mid week forest night ride (hence I never saw them splitting).
Overall: I guess I'll have to wait and see what the next pair are like although it's highly likely I'll just go for another brand. My old Alturas were half the price and have gone on for years......
Strengths: Amazingly easy to clip in and out of, absolutely nowhere for the mud to cling to, simple design with easy servicing and what appears to be a great company behind them (Crank Bros - NOT Raleigh!). I got these, fitted them and within minutes they felt right - First time ont he bike they were making me grin continuously. Oh and I think they look cool. Not sure about other shoes but my old Rockhoppers gave me no problem at all and they're plenty chunky.
Weaknesses: None that I can see so far. Will have to wait and see if the cleats get mashed up too quickly though.... I have read other reviews on here with all sorts of gripes but some of them seem petty. I just can't understand someone complaining about the price of something like this. I mean, these cost the same as a couple of heavy nights out and will do much more good......... If it's too much for you then don't buy it! I found these good value since they do exactly what they say and work so much better than my beloved 808's.
Overall: What a great design! So blindingly simple that it's a wonder someone never thought of it years ago. Full marks to Crank Bros for a great product and cool packaging too!
Strengths: Good quality, smooth with excellent adjustability. Love the travel "switch" and rebound adjust features. Looks very nice too. Reverse arch seems to keep them very rigid.
Weaknesses: Those damn logos. I remember when I first saw a review of these (I had just ordered them) and it was pretty poor - Logos were mentioned. I called the UK distributor who assured me that the review forks had been around for a while on a number of reviews and tests and that the logos on the production ones never came off. Needless to say that was rubbish - Seems mine and almost everyone else's have started to peel very quickly. The finish on mina lso got a strange streaky pattern to it after a while, even with frequent (after every ride) washing, drying and looking after. The other thing to consider with Manitou is that if you don't service your forks yourself then finding a local store who can do it for you is not so easy. Everyone does Rock Shox but not so many will do Maniotu. ALthough I do like the travel switch, having it at the bottom of the fork is a bit of a pain.
Overall: I am pretty happy with these forks for now but I'd not buy Manitou again. I've got my eye on some Rock Shox SIDs which appear to be a well respected fork so we shall have to see........
Strengths: Light, very strong, looks cool, perform well. Shifting is incredibly buttery with this chainset.
Weaknesses: I suppose you could say that the price is a weakness as is the way the arms scratch so easily but are we talking about looking at these or actually using them? Generally if you buy these then no point moaning about the price afterwards - Just don't buy them in the first place if they are too much money for you.
Overall: I specced them on my new Klein Adept Pro 18 months ago and since then they have been totally trouble free. No nasty noises, nothing. It seems that with XTRyou either have a great experience or a downright terrible one. I feel sorry for the guys who have had bother with this chainset since they have been denied the opportunity of enjoying a great chainset. THese are obviously designed for Pro's (which I am not) so I suppose that for someone who makes a living from riding will consider regular chain ring replacement part of the territory. In the end I would assume that it's the performance that matters to them.
