Advantages: strong
Disadvantages: expensive

...This is a superb ring from that great manufactuer Shimano. This chain ring offers you a precision engineered teeth and a five arm fing that will take a good bashing. How ever with this you also get a mass produced expensive piece of metal. For those who want a ring that only needs replacing every anum, then this is for you. Shimano do a wide range of products that are compatible with most makes of bikes. I would recomend this ring for the fast cross country, and exciting downhill. This ring does lack value for money as they are made very cheaply.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: See text
Disadvantages: See text

...Shimano Deore is the main manufacturer of biking gear components. With them being the main manufacturer they will obviously more established and well known. Shimano Deore is the better part of Shimano's gearing. They have the SIS gearing which is lower quality. The models of the Deore range is; Deore, LX, XT and XTR. With the kit's getting better as you read them. I currently have a LX rear derailleur. You are probably thinking what is better in the different models. Some people don't really care and they just want the best model they can buy. All of the rear derailleur is covered to prevent and muck and sand to get into it and wreck it. The best part of the Deore range is that when you are going up hill's or you just need to change down a gear quickly, they don't jump, forcing you to not pedal really quickly, this is really... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: great value and functionality
Disadvantages: might fall off once or twice whilst learning!

...The Shimano M535 pedals are my pedal of choice these days, I’ve used other pedals and even other manufacturers but I have found that for value for money and ease of use these cannot be beaten. At first, using clipless pedals can be daunting but its not really an option when riding cross country as the added power and control are more than worth the effort of overcoming the fear and the odd bumps and bruises that you might get during the learning process. Obviously using these pedals you also need to have shoes which are compatible, mind are the top of the range Shimano units (which I would highly recommend) at a cost of around £120 but these are by no means the only option as compatible shoes can be picked up for as little as £20 to £30. Back to the pedals, they’re reasonably light, easy to maintain, set up and use and even manage... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Control, power transfer, efficiency etc
Disadvantages: You might fall off once or twice....

...around / pushing you do you might want a more flexible sole; the more flexible the better for walking but the worse for power transfer to pedal) & fixing. Also style if you plan to walk around in them!! I have a set M535 (LX) shimano pedals as well as a set of cheap M646 platform copies from wellgo. On the shoe front I use Northwave arctics in the winter (the only shoe to have in the cold; Northwave use a shimano sole with their own upper), Specialized comp in summer & a set of Lake "skate stylee" shoes if I gotta walk anywhere in them!... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Stops your bike. Easy to setup.
Disadvantages: Takes a while to bed in. Supplied pads rubbish.

...Oooh... brakes these days. Rim or Disc? Cable or Hydralic? The way things are going, you'd swear that disc brakes were the be all and end all of brakes these days, but you'd be wrong, as Shimano will be eager to prove. Shimano have been doing V-brakes for quite a while now, and the LX really demonstrates that. Whilst I was sorely tempted by a disc brake, I can't really see what all the fuss is about. Yes, if you're into hurtling down hills on your 55lb monster downhill bike then discs are for you, if you're a cross country rider trying to shave a bit off the weight then vees are still you best bet. The brake is the cheapest in the Shimano range to offer the parallelogram design, which keeps the brake pads parallel to the braking surface, resulting in longer pad life and better braking performance. Setting the brakes up is fairly... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Fork with lockout, hydraulic disc brakes and rigid FSA crankset
Disadvantages: No travel adjustment on fork, lighter options for the money

...This review scrutinises the Kona Cinder Cone 2007. Frame tubing Kona All-Mountain Butted Aluminum Fork Marzocchi Mz with Lock out braze-ons 2 bottles, fender, Disc brake tabs Headset TH Crankarms FSA Alpha Drive Powerdrive Chainrings 44/32/22 B/B FSA Powerdrive Pedals Wellgo LU-A9 w/Toe clips and straps Chain Shimano CN-HG53 Freewheel Shimano Deore (11-32t, 9speed) F/D Shimano Deore R/D Shimano Deore LX Shifters Shimano Deore Handlebar Kona Riser Stem Kona Control Grips Kona Mooseknuckle Brakes Hayes Hydraulic Sole Brake Levers Hayes Sole Front hub King Kong KDF2S Rear hub Shimano FH-M475 disc Spokes Stainless 14g fr/14g rr Tires Maxxis IGNITOR 26x2.1 Rims Sun Black Eye Saddle WTB Pure V SPORT Seatpost Kona Thumb Seat clamp Kona QR Colour Orange The Back Country aluminium frame is fairly light and uses the same frame as the £100... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Fork with lockout, hydraulic disc brakes and rigid FSA crankset
Disadvantages: No travel adjustment on fork, lighter options for the money

...This review scrutinises the Kona Cinder Cone 2007. Frame tubing Kona All-Mountain Butted Aluminum Fork Marzocchi Mz with Lock out braze-ons 2 bottles, fender, Disc brake tabs Headset TH Crankarms FSA Alpha Drive Powerdrive Chainrings 44/32/22 B/B FSA Powerdrive Pedals Wellgo LU-A9 w/Toe clips and straps Chain Shimano CN-HG53 Freewheel Shimano Deore (11-32t, 9speed) F/D Shimano Deore R/D Shimano Deore LX Shifters Shimano Deore Handlebar Kona Riser Stem Kona Control Grips Kona Mooseknuckle Brakes Hayes Hydraulic Sole Brake Levers Hayes Sole Front hub King Kong KDF2S Rear hub Shimano FH-M475 disc Spokes Stainless 14g fr/14g rr Tires Maxxis IGNITOR 26x2.1 Rims Sun Black Eye Saddle WTB Pure V SPORT Seatpost Kona Thumb Seat clamp Kona QR Colour Orange The Back Country aluminium frame is fairly light and uses the same frame as the £100... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Robust, Shifts cleanly
Disadvantages: Might be a little tricky for novice mechanics to install

...For all the non-cyclists reading this, I bet your first question is going to be "What's a rear mech?" A rear mech is the doobery-wottsit that hangs down at the rear of the bike and moves the chain between different gears, also known as a rear derailleur, although this term isn't used much because nobody ever seems to be able to spell derraileur correctly two times in a row! This one in particular comes from Shimano, who are pretty much the Microsoft of the bicycling (and fishing) world, with most bikes out there having at least one bit of Shimano kit on them these days. Deore LX is what Shimano class as their MTB Enthusiast range, which seems to fit somewhere in the middle of all their kit. I didn't actually buy myself this mech, it came with a bike I bought in 2000. Although this is now two years old, Shimano don't update... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Fast wearing gears, good brakes
Disadvantages: average fron forks

...The 8000 comes stock with an all LX/XT mix, and a system 3 front hub. It also has a Judy (I admit to not knowing which one, because I swapped for a Manitou Pro-C immediatly after I got it). I also swithed the stock clipless peadals for Shimano M-747's, which have performed wonferfully. Over all this is the best hardtail bike I have ever owned, I had some troubles with the LX crank, the chainrigs seem to wear way to fast, but thats about it. It weighs around 24 pounds, does awesome on the climbs and the Avid brakes work really really well on the downhill. For me, this is hte ultimiate raceing bike. The manitou pro-c has worked really really well for me, being able to adjust the fork (tho not without tools!) exactly to my needs. In my humble opinion it is a good all around fork, the steel springs being a nice touch.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: They Stop The Bike
Disadvantages: Not Disk Breaks

...Shimano LX M600 M-system V brake blocks (not pads but they are the same thing) are the brakes my bike uses. They consist of two rubber blocks with a screw comming out of them, for easy fixing to your bike. Fixing them is easy anyone who can use a spanner can do it, and at around about 6-99 a pair then they are a lot more resonable than brakes for cars. (Yet another reaon to ditch the motor around town) One of the most important things brakes do is stop your bike and it is vitaly important that they do it quickly. When new and properly adjusted these babies are bloody good at doing that task, and if you have been used to a dodgy old worn pair then it is not a good idea to hit the front brakes too hard. Unless a mate has a camcorder handy then you could earn a quick 200 quid from Youve been Framed. The next most important thing is how... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful