Strengths: Bearings that last longer than industry fashions. Loadsa colours. Truly fit and forget.
Weaknesses: None
Overall: You pay for quality. Two years down the line and the bearing are still spot on, once the bike had water inside the headtube that came out when I dropped the forks out. Problem? nope, a year later still as silky with nothing more than a wipe down.
Overall: First pair of SPDs I got when I started MTBing in 2004, and I threw them away a month ago after they finally disintegrated. They had seen year round riding practically every weekend for nearly 4 years and I used to wear them to uni when I rode in, so they had been walked about in a fair bit as well.
They did let in water a lot towards the end of their life, to be exepcted though! I have a mate that has had his a similar length of time and he only wears them on the bike and they are still going strong.
The sole was stiff and they suited my feet. For £35 off wiggle I cannot complain at all.
Overall: Was foolish enough to buy ISIS cranks and within 3 months this bb had gone very rough, and just under a year after I bought it, the bearings collapsed and so it had to be warranty replaced. Within exactly the same time frame the same happened to the new one. It wasn't even cheap in the first place!
I will not be buying any more raceface bearings of any kind!
Overall: I got this bike (mine is actually a 2008 model, identical bar tyres, and Shimano stop/go parts) as my first real DH bike after upgrading from an Ellsworth Joker that was starting to hold me back in terms of how I could ride real DH courses.
Firstly the Fox shocks have plenty of adjustability so they can be dialled in using external adjustments with no need to send them off to Mojo or Flooksy. Another thing to mention is the confidence gained from a pair of 40mm stantions in front of you! Bit of a bother fiddling with the shock as the rock guard has to come off for a fiddle, but once this is done - no issues.
The ride is fantastic, the bike feels like it is sucking itself onto the ground through big nasty rock sections and the e13 glances off any trouble that you get yourself into. Being jumped its stable and predictable and with the steerer chopped down with no stacks the steering feels brilliant.
Minor drawbacks are the cable routing, with stops on the seatstay that seem only to exist to allow crap into the otherwise continuous outer (??). Also the headset is of low quality, with poorly sealed loose bearings in the bottom that went minging after only a few rides. But considering this, the frame and forks cost ~2400 retail, and then building the rest of the bike for £900 just won't happen! I can get over this in that case....... The weight may be an issue to smaller types, but its not insane at 46lbs stock.
Overall, the qualities of the bike totally outshine the very very small issues, and you cannot get past the fact it is stonking value for the full bike....
Strengths: Cheap as chips. Really well thought out geometry. UK friendly mud clearance. Good company to deal with. Great ride feel.
Weaknesses: Paint quality isn't great. Could do with gutter mounts for the brakes rather than the hoops provided.
Overall: I have ridden this bike with both an XC build and an 'AM' type build on it as well. In XC mode it had MX Comps and 160mm brakes and in AM mode it had 150mm Zocchi Z150s with 8" DH rotors and a short stem (they where what was spare!!). In both applications it behaved rather well!
As a more XC orientated bike it behaved rather well, with the steel taking a good bit of buzz out of the trail and happily picking through technical stuff, but getting a little bit squirrely towards the bottom of the travel as is to be expected on a 100mm fork!
But with a 150mm fork and the seat down the bike comes alive, encouraging you to plough into things and off drops. The bike is a bit long to properly pop off things and to jump at the slightest oppurtunity, but then it is stable enough to climb with no undue comfort. Saying that, once the saddle is down it will deal with sets of doubles with a bit of concentration!
If I was to condense my bike fleet down to one then this would get a e13 DRS and I'd do everything on it, DH included!! As it is, with a spare DH wheelset I keep toying with the idea of doing a Megavalanche on it.....
A really fun bike to ride, does anything you want it to really, just spec up and hang on!
I can't think of any reason why not to give it full marks for everything, especially as I got mine dead cheap due to a cock up in the warehouse.
'VERY WELL VENTED AND CONVENIENT, BUT STILL SLIP!'
Strengths: Really comfy, very effective to take off quickly with snap lock thingys.
Weaknesses: Still slip in crashes!
Overall: You don't get at all sweaty or feel constricted in these whilst riding, be it XC or DH, the straps are non intrusive and secure.
The problem is though when you do crash they slip off your knee, where you need the most protection. I have some pretty deep scars on my one kneecap as a result of these not staying in place and having an encounter with a rather pointy bit of geology, which is rather disappointing considering how much these cost!
Problem is now solved with some 661 knee socks, but its just not good enough to have to buy these to make something do what it should in the first place. This also negates their useful ability to be put on and taken off easily....
Pretty arse for a product that is at the top of the market!
Though I will still use them for XC type riding if I think there is a need as they are really comfy.
Overall: Got these on my Z150s, and they're rubbish. With all the adjusting and fiddling that is necessary to have them done up properly I would much rather just use a series of 5mm allen bolts a la the current big travel forks.
This is a throwback to before a sensible system for a QR for the front wheel was thought up.
Roll on the acceptance of the maxle as an industry standard!
'EXACTLY WHAT YOU EXPECT OF MARZOCCHI - IMPECCABLE BUT FAT!'
Strengths: Zocchi plushness and simplicity ETA Beefy as anything!
Weaknesses: Zocchi weight! QR20, well, isn't
Overall: I got these OEM models for a bit over 200 quid so I think they were great value for me, and they haven't had any trouble with what I've done to them.
They're on my heavily built Ellsworth Joker that I primarily use for DH / FR, but I do take it around XC trails when the XC bike is out of action. As such the forks have been given a proper working over in all environments from the Alps to Wales to what few hills the Midlands has to offer.
What struck me first about them was their stiffness, which isn't really surprising as they are rather overbuilt - I would say far too much so for trail riding, as I've thrown them around a lot and jumped off some pretty big things and they're not felt at all sketchy, if anything fairly confidence inspiring and the maneuverability of a single crown is welcome also. Also the coil means bump sensitivity is good and they go through the travel quite well. But the ETA lockdown makes most trails climbs a little less unpleasant as its makes the geometry lass relaxed and prone to wandering about, though I would prefer it if the travel you got with the ETA was a bit more plush to track over things a bit better.
But what annoyed me most about the fork is that the QR20 axles used are rather fiddly and still require enough messing about and unwinding that I'd rather just have a few pinch bolts and that be the end of it. Also the rebound being internal is a pain when I went to France and discovered that the braking bumps meant that I wanted to speed the rebound up, which obviously wasn't going to happen with only the tools I took onthe plane!
Overall I'd say this is a sensible heavy duty fork, but the weight makes it overkill for trail riding I'd say, especially with the advent of so many lightweight but long travel air forks. Also its been overtaken by newer more specialized forks, as is reflected by the fact they're now discontinued. But if a good condition pair come up second hand they'll do what they're meant for quite happily for pretty good money.
'PASSABLE FOR THE MONEY, AND THEY SHOW IT A BIT...'
Strengths: Cheap, got a pair of 203mm for a little over £200 Don't suffer from over heating Powerful with okay modulation? Easy to bleed
Weaknesses: Poor construction, haven't faired well in minor crashes Standard pads get mulched in hours under heavy use Pads hard to get hold of on the continent?
Overall: I have these brakes on my Ellsworth Joker that is built up heavy for DH / FR use mainly, and these stoppers do the job pretty well for what I paid for them. They have some modulation, but I wouldn't say enough to make me really sing their praises. But the heat disappation is pretty impressive as you would expect with big rotors and 6 pistons; In a few days in the Alps with long long descents they didn't fade at all despite me being a big mincer and braking too much, I even managed to turn the rotors purple and there was still loadsa power! Bleeding is easy with a sensibly large, though unsubtle and possibly rather vulnerable reservoir.
However, what has disappointed me about them the most is the way they have coped badly with crashes. A few slow tumbles over the bars etc and the front lever was bent badly (likely due to the rather cheap looking casting) but worse was that the lever would pop out of the piston and the eyelet was stripped very quickly so it would just fall out mid run. It is now secured by a few bits of rubber that wrap new rolled up inner tubes! Also one of the magnets that holds on the pad has come loose and tries to stick to the opposite side when you are trying to replace pads means you have to do so with lots of jiggling with a screwdriver, which I suspect requires a third arm to be done easily....
In the Alps within a single day I roasted aset of stock sintered pads, which is pretty shocking. But worse was the fact that nobody in Les Gets or Morzine had even heard of the brakes, and so to keep riding I had to buy a new rear brake (thankfully got sorted with a 2nd hand Hayes by a local shop).
Overall I would say that these brakes were probably a false economy for me, as I've ended up replacing the rear and hopefully will do the front soon also. I wonder how long the guys who wrote the other reviews ran the brakes for before posting, as mine were on for over a year. I would recommend buying Juicy 5s instead as they can be bought for similiar money new on eBay.
Strengths: Lively feel to the suspension Well balanced Can be built up for a variety of purposes Light
Weaknesses: Bobs like a mother trucker going up
Overall: My Joker was my first full sus bike and as I already had an XC bike I wanted something that could handle some DHing, and as such I built it with Atomlab Trailpimp wheels, Marzocchi Z150s, big brakes and a single ring up front. In this downhill type mode it has taken on some pretty hairy descents (egs Cwm Carn and Snowdon) and has performed most amicably. Even though it was never designed for full on gravity induced silliness its copes well with jumping and big rock gardens (Snowdon!!) smoothing them out whilst letting you know what you're going over. Also it tracks well into corners and allows you to move it about easily as compared to its competition (enduro SX etc) it is comparitively light.
I think as a bike to get into DH it has suited me fine as I can whack the saddle up high and ride up hills rather than having to push! As such, I have also seen these bikes built up a lot more lightwieght with more XC orientated parts. However, when I do put the saddle up and take it on an XC ride going along the flat and down, no problems, but going up there is a rather noticeable amount of bob. This is to the point where if you follow the track of my rear tyre there is a heavy rut, then a lighter one, and so on all the way up the hill. This may be to do with the position of the pivot and the fact that my shock is set up for DH, but the positioning is not my fault!
I've had a bit of an issue with the shock eye rounding slightly, but I think this was most likely the previous owners poor maintainence than an inherant flaw. Also as for value I bought it second hand, but it has performed well and the RRP would seem reasonable for the bike.
As such, I think this bike is great for what it was meant to do, ie get thrown about and to have a laugh on, rather than to master any particular discipline.
