Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This bike is an awesome starter bike, hands down.
I spent awhile riding my roomates Giant Rincon (hardtail, disc brakes, basically same thing but 26" tires and cheaper components).
After switching to the 29" tires I don't think I will ever go back, it is amazing what things you can roll over with these tires.
I have had a great time learning how to ride mountains on this bike and I can definately climb hills better than I could on the 26er.
However, now that I got that out of the way, I have some criticism on this bike.
The first criticism (and probably the only bad thing about this bike) are the tires that came on it, I bought this bike from a local bike shop here and I don't know if they picked the tires, but they are skinnier than normal mountain tires. The rationale that the bike shop told me was "with 29 inch tires you don't need them to be wide". I think the tires I have are 1.95" and this can cause some problems if you are trying to learn about shifting your weight. The trails where I live have lots of gravel and coarse loose material and I have had the bike slide out from under me a couple of times going around a sharp corner, I would recommend looking at 29ers that have 2.15" tires (I think that is the next size up). Or perhaps buy this bike and replace the tires.
The aluminum frame is a little too rigid on very bumpy rides, I have taken this bike on a couple of trails that ride on talus for extended periods of time and I was sure wishing I had a full suspension or even a carbon frame bike (which absorb the shock better).
If you are planning to ride expert or advanced trails, I would look at 29er's that are full suspension, or maybe look at the trails you are wanting to ride to check to see if your rear would be hurting after a good ride. As I stated before, this is a great starter bike, but before you get hooked on the 29" tires like me, I would suggest riding a full suspension 26, which you can get for comprable price.
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