I finally decided to go for a mountain bike as I plan to go off-road quite a bit as well as my commute to work and there are plenty of areas for me to try off-roading locally.
My budget was quite small compared to what a lot of these bikes go for, I was only prepared to spend in the region of £300.
Visually the bike looks great, when you have a closer look you can see that it is very well made, the frame and the welding look pretty sturdy to say the least.
I know some of the components on the bike aren't the best and I was pre-warned about the front suspension being a bit suspect. The RST Gilla's aren't anything special, however they do the job for me so far at my level of riding. I've been off road through fields and down gravel tracks and I've been quite impressed with the suspension. I have ridden on other bikes with higher priced suspension though and I do agree that if you are into serious off-roading then you would need to upgrade the front fork.
The tektro v-brakes are very reassuring, I've had no problems and I feel very confident with these brakes on the bike. For the same price I could have bought a bike with mechanical disk brakes but I've tried these out and I'm not completely convinced that these should be considered an upgrade to v-brakes. I like hydraulic disk brakes but I can't afford that at the moment, I definitely feel that v-brakes were the most ideal for me.
The tyres are nice and wide and they seem to give really good traction, especially in wet weather. I haven't tried this bike out in terrible weather but on a wet day it seems to stay firm and give me the grip that I would expect.
The bike has 24 gears, controlled using Shimano Easy Fire shifters which are combined with the brake leavers. The shimano easy fire shifters work a treat and since I haven't ridden a bike for over 12 years I was really impressed with the shifters, maybe I previously just had a rubbish bike but I really find changing gears a million times easier with these shifters.
The front and rear derailleurs are shimano acera, again shimano are pretty reliable when it comes to this type of thing so I do find that it further instills confidence in this bike.
One other thing that I find makes me feel very confident is the lifetime warranty on the frame. This doesn't include any components fitted to it, just the actual frame. This really makes me feel confident with my purchase. When finances permit I probably will look to upgrade the bike, I would like hydraulic disk brakes and I would perhaps consider upgrading the front suspension fork but not for a couple of years.
One final thing, I test rode a lot of bikes and this one had the most confortable saddle on it. Now I know this isn't much, as saddles can be replaced, but I was just very pleased with what I got for my £300 from my local bike shop. They threw in a helmet too with a little persuasion so that was an added bonus.
In summary, this bike feels as solid as a rock, I have complete confidence in it and it is a pleasure to ride. It feels a bit heavier than some of the other bikes I've tried but I really love the feel of this bike.
But the same with all bikes, it's always best to try a few out first to see what feels right. But for me, this is the one!
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Thinking about buying one of these myself for commuting and mild off-road use. Thanks for the review.
hukerjohn 21.04.2007 21:50
You're a funny lot you specialized riders! You all seem to have damn comfy saddles! My mate wheelies everywhere and I was wondering why? Then i sat on his saddle and all made sense!
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