In homage to [url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/the-bike-you-wish-you-still-had ]this thread[/url], what bike was so bad, you wish you had never had it?
I'll start the game rolling with my very first mountain bike. In Canada, GT had an entry-level line called 'Tundra' (in the US, it was called Mt Shasta). In any case, I had a 1991 Tundra Arrowhead. You can almost see the early 90s paint job in this pic (not my own):
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I should add that the reason I wish I'd never had it is that I knew nothing about bikes at the time, and the one I bought was poorly assembled by the (completely unresponsive) LBS where I bought it.
This one! I know people rave about them but, honestly, I didn't get on with it at all. Rattled my old bones to bits.
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What is it, Stevied?
Mine was a hideous Giant thing - I don't even know what model it was. I started my off-road riding career on that awful contraption. Never looked at another Giant again.
The first hire bike I had in Afan, can't remember the brand of the model but that f***** hated me and threw me at every opportunity. Was heavy and unresponsive and continually got stuck and smashed me in the shins with its pedals.
Lot of hate for that bike - more than I thought I did actually.
Chas Roberts custom build Genesis. So beautifully made, but rode like shit and was made of butter grade steel.
What is it, Stevied?
On One 456 Carbon..
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Trek VRX200.
I'd saved enough for a Marin Mount Vision, but the VRX had 50% off. Because they hadn't sold many. Because they were awful.
thank god MTB tech and aesthetics have moved on from that ^^ :O
Any road bike. Some are nice but they're ultimately boring as hell.
I am sure that the U-brake was ace in California 🙄
[i]Not mine,from retrobike[/i]..
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One of these:
[img] http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/download/file.php?id=29479 [/img]
Not mine....from retrobike
I also had a Massi full suspension bike.....what a pile of rubbish that was. It rode like a bag of junk and came apart in no time. Had a warranty repair and it looked as if someone had bodged it together with lumps of putty and chewing gum before painting it. Talk about agricultural.
Any road bike. Some are nice but they're ultimately boring as hell
A lack of imagination while living in a dull area can make it difficult. 😛
Kona Manomano (1997 vintage).
Someone had tried to nick my Orange C16R from the uni bike shed but bent the frame trying to snap the lock so stripped it instead. Insurance cheque came through and it was exactly as much as the local bike shop wanted for their ex-demo Manomano.
It was a bit crap really. Heavy, terrible forks, rear suspension wasn't great either even by late 90s budget standards. Just bounced like a pogo stick on climbs and did very little on the downs. Was partly responsible for me not riding for quite a few years after uni, until I stumbled on a cheap On-One offer for a rigid geared Inbred and got back into it. Manomano got cleaned up and sold on ebay for some other mug to endure.
[url= http://i.imgur.com/YPyOYqh.jp g" target="_blank">
An Orange P7 circa 97-ish. Coming off a lower level Kona I thought it'd be an upgrade, but everything about it felt wrong. Nickel plating looked amazing though. Sold it after a few months to a friend who loved it.
We've done this recently, but...
Alpinestars Cro-Mega DX
Horrible lumpen dead thing compared to the Kona's I had either side.
(not my bike pictured - it wasn't that big or with that long a stem)
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Thankfully, working for a bike shop at the time, made it easy to move it on.
2006 Spesh S-Works Enduro.
Put me off FS's for years - not sure why...
2010 trek remedy. HATED it. Tried not to but just couldn't get on with it. I loved the trek fuel that I had before it that was stolen. The remedy was the insurance replacement. It's the only bike I've ever had that I didn't like at least a bit.
I demo'd an Enduro around 2006 and absolutely hated it too. So glad I properly rode it before buying it.
1. The Pashley PDQ (pretty dire and quirky IMO)
2. Dawes Tracker the second, 2009, purchased from Ebay 20 years to the month since my first one ie my first MTB.
Lesson learned: You can't always revisit old flames expecting to be re-united blissfully... especially if said flame is the wrong ***** size even though advertised otherwise! In this instance my knees were also reunited with my chest.
Sad really as I seriously appreciated and totally ragged the first one - up hill and moor, up and down mountains, commuted, toured, pretty much lived on the thing - even if it was a size or two too big.
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Gt Xizang.Chain sucked so much. Ended up with me giving it the full Basil Fawlty on it's last ride.
Orange P7.
The 17" felt like a toy, so I bought a 19".
The 19" felt like a gate.
Just couldn't get on with it, I know its alot of peoples favourite though.
Didn't actually own, but the bike that surprised me in testing (after great reviews) was trek fuel ex. Hated it for some reason, felt like riding a wheelbarrow. And yet most people love them. Horses for courses and all that.
Not sure I should wish I never had it, because it was my first MTB since the mid-90's and the bug really bit me.
This isn't mine, I found it on Google, it highlights one of it's issues quite well actually.
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The photo is date stamped 1999 - but I bought it new in 2005 - I bought into the then new Ride2Work scheme in work, but had to get it from Halfords.
So it was a 6 year old design, dressed with the cheapest parts Halfords could throw at it. I snapped the first ISIS BB clean in half, and knackered the following 5 replacements, I tried everything from the cheapest to the most expensive but they never lasted long.
The front wheel taco'd and sent me off into the undergrowth after the full force of a 5mph 2" jump, the rear hub cracked. The RST fork collapsed, the bars bent, the brakes were useless and the chain snapped.
The funny I-Drive pivot thing in the middle died finally, it took 4 weeks to get the parts.
It cost me £600 in a sale, I replaced the wheels with some lovely Deore / Mavic entry level wheels, the forks with some nice cheap Marz MX Lo, the brakes with some hydraulics and most of everything else I think I spent about another £800 either repairing or replacing everything to keep it going over the 12 months I owned it - in the end I chucked in the towel and spent a few grand on a new bike - I couldn't give the GT away, in the end a young lad knocked me down to £125 for it and did the only thing worth doing with it - threw the frame in the bin and put all the nice stuff on a decent frame - he must have thought it was Xmas.
Raleigh Apex.
why, oh why didn't i buy the Kona Firemountain instead?
i'll tell you why, the Raleigh had a flex-stem, which i thought would be awesome.
it was crap.
Raleigh Montage, waaaay too big for me and an absolute POS.
At least it made me want to get a decent MTB I suppose.
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not my photo, but one of these. utter tosh.
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This, this was all colours of shite...
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Just one, the Dare. Even it served a purpose, it cost me nothing really other than a couple of wasted uplift days, and helped me work out what a not-shit dh bike should feel like. But it rode like it looked.
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My C456 was a decent bike but I regret buying it, because of the piss poor build quality and On One's subsequent lying their way out of the warranty. Did lose money on that. But I still enjoyed the bike, it was the overall experience that was sour.
ononeorange - MemberI demo'd an Enduro around 2006 and absolutely hated it too. So glad I properly rode it before buying it.
After the disastrous I-Drive I actually bought a 2006 Enduro Expert - era considered, easily the best bike I ever owned - had it as my main bike for 5 years.
Horses for courses I guess.
My me!! That's a blast from the past, my first MTB in 1986 was a 21" Dawes Tracker that I could grow into...
Have to admit it was mainly the color that put me off, that and it weighed a ton.
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Giant NRS XTC, utter pants, not helped by a mega flexy fork. Oddly STW gave it a pretty darn good review, as such I've never trusted them ever since.
The two that I'd had that spring to mind are:
Orange Patriot 66 - god I hated that bike. So much so that it managed to put me off riding for a while. The idea behind it was that I could sell my DH bike and hardtail and this should do both. The reviews seemed positive but it was awful.
The other bike I really hated was a Norco Sasquatch hardtail. It was just grim and was quickly replaced by an Orange Sub Zero.
I like the Enduro's of 2006 - I thought they were great.
My Proflex Animal, not my pic (borrowed from retrobike). Always wanted a Proflex after riding a freinds 854 for the day. Worst mistake ever, horrible ride.
[URL= http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn304/teadrinker1977/Proflex%20animal%201997_zpsgsysy5ck.jp g" target="_blank">
http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn304/teadrinker1977/Proflex%20animal%201997_zpsgsysy5ck.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]
On One Summer season in raw, a pile of shite with all the subtlety that you'd expect from a load of scaffolding poles. Never took a pic, and if I had I'd have deleted it. Hateful thing!
swavis, I bought one, rode it round a 40 mile cross fell circuit, and sold it the next day. it was pretty horrible.
Ha ha, almost identical to my experience, I think I only managed about 20 miles though 😆
Giant NRS - I bought the frame on here after breaking my bike that I posted in the other thread.
I did two or three rides on it and it then cracked. Well, I'm pretty sure it was already cracked when it arrived but I didn't check properly so there you go... As to the suspension, well the NRS design is pretty pap I reckon - you could get it to behave like a suspension bike if you didn't set it up as it should be - eg not locked out or if you did set it up locked out then it behaved as intended but that wasn't actually very good.
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I suppose at least it looked ok.
Ooo, I've got two: Proflex 857. Worse than that was an Ellsworth ID, weird geometry, far too high BB. My riding improved no end when I got an Orange 5 after that POS ......
loads............ and some will be peoples all time greats
Marin Pine Mountain .....17 oo small 19 like a gate
Marin Mount Vision........single pivot and capable but just did not fit me
Santa Cruz Bullit .....climb like an anchor
Intense Tracer......woeful bike and between sizes again
Nicola CC.....just not sure
Foes fxr wanted too love it but wrong size
Two bikes I own are on this thread.They both have their plus & minus points...
Specialized Enduro 2005.I like it but it's
A) To much bike for most stuff I do but great in the Alps.
B) The most expensive bike I've ran.I've not used it for 5 years but as I'm back in the Alps this summer it needs refurbishing.Fox front & rear will need a service plus new cables ,possible bottom bracket,every time I get the bike out it costs me money!
The other bike is the Giant NRS,bought it new in 2007.It's a 70 degree head angle & I've had some crashes on it,especially after being on the slack angled Enduro.It's really tired now & I recently bought a Anthem to replace it but I'll still use it as the 'winter hack'
[URL= http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu38/MarkF-XT/CYCLING%20STUFF/DSC_3754-NRSweb.jp g" target="_blank">
http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu38/MarkF-XT/CYCLING%20STUFF/DSC_3754-NRSweb.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]
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climbed like an utter dog in the granny ring (it compressed the bottom link every pedal stroke, effectively shortening the chain stay half an inch).
Taking it to Colorado for 2 weeks and riding it at 11,000ft meant a lot of granny ring climbs. My most coveted bike turned out to be the most disapointing.
I also had one of these (pic courtesy of mtbr/google, not mine, I didnt own a digital camera in them days)
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the seat stays flexed sideways as much as the suspension actually worked, but it was so light and pimpy (and most FS of the time were similarly crap) I forgave it.
Raleigh Apex.
Ha, still have one of those, in original pearlescent dusky pink. Call it 'The Ape' as it's missing the 'x'. (Am clever like that)
Flex stem was immediately binned, bike became an adventure MTB that I liked in a weird 'strap anything to it treat it like utter sh*t but it keeps going' kind of way. Buckled the the rear wheel big time out in the boondocks once, managed to bring it back true-ish with a rusty pair of pliers to complete the trip. Those spokes are now rounded and will never again be moved. This bike refuses to die but now sulks unused at the back of the shed.
Reynolds K2 tubing is a mystery.
Cannondale m600 in Red White and blue, looked nice but after my kona explosif (which I regret selling immensely before a long trip abroad) was like riding on a concrete Jack in the box.
for my 15th birthday my brother got me this horrible piece of sh***...he must have hated me badly!
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(not the actual one but same colour...i was too embarrassed to take a picture of it)
frame felt like it was made from scaffolding poles
brakes were non-existent
gears never worked
wheels were made of some type of cheese and weighed a tonne
fork was useless...no travel unless you weighed the same as an elephant
i had my first OTB on it
i even tried pimping it out but it still looked and rode like shit
in the end i dismantled it and left it in a skip
Orange ST4 stands out for me, maybe I didn't give it enough time but for me it was a heavy bobbing mistake.
Ragley Blue Pig 20". Looked and rode like a gate. Didn't go round corners and somehow managed to be a harsher ride than an aluminium Orange. The good reviews baffle me.
Klein Mantra- a gate of a bike!
And yet, I strangely enjoyed mine... 😉
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Not sure I regret any of my bikes, that being said in no particular order...
Proflex 852 and 853, clue is in the name, they snapped and rocker brakes...wtf?
Marin Wolf Ridge, 1st gen Fox TALAS forks were divey as f***, chain suck destroying front mechs, flexy and generally a bit dull. Sold the freame and transplanted most of the bits onto a Dialled Bikes Prince Albert.
Specialized Road Bike - enjoyable to ride in France. Worried I'm about to be smeared across the front of an Audi round here.
arogers until recently I had a 18in Blue Pig and whilst not quite as long as the 20in, I know what you mean. You really had to bully the bike round corners but once it picked up speed - wow.
BB was a smidge too high for my liking though.
Trek Fuel Ex7, it was a great bike, the fit when I got it felt right and tbh it probably was, but after some bigger rides the bike was just too small.
Its a pity as at the time it was my most expensive bike I have ever got, although bypassed that now!
Tbf it was the bike I rode the original monkey at Cannock when it was all secret, and then the wolfie drop before they made it easier, but now I can't even ride it, even though it supposed to be easier!
Worse bike I owned was a Cannondale Super V700. Put me on my arse more times than I rode it. The Headshok was 80mm of bounce and nothing else.
Raleigh Apex.
Wha? 😮 Raleigh Apex was my first MTB and I liked the flex stem (these were the days before suspension forks kids)
Whyte 46 ****in thing tried to kill me several times including the descent off Snowdon(pic)
even with the Alpine link it was like riding a high horse
[url= https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3205/2892422393_5523a06a40.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3205/2892422393_5523a06a40.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/5pAqpB ]Whyte on top of Wales[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/22534490@N00/ ]Richard Munro[/url], on Flickr
Few bikes I wasn't too upset to part with. To be fair, I think it was more the size of the bike than the actual bike itself.
Cove Hustler: moments of pure riding clarity, but unfortunately few and far between. Fortunately the Five that replaced it felt like the Cove during those clarity moments, but pretty much all the time. Classic 17.5" too small - 19.5" gate bike as well.
[url= https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2161/2258812290_3857c22e11_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2161/2258812290_3857c22e11_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/4rB1cu ]Longer stem and a layback post...[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/77122468@N00/ ]NeilCain[/url], on Flickr
Mk. 2 Cove Handjob: decidedly average - a bit too short and a bit too high. Real shame as I utterly loved the mk.1.
[url= https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2743/4156173284_a91237f0f2_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2743/4156173284_a91237f0f2_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/7kgtw5 ]Last voyage on the Cove[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/77122468@N00/ ]NeilCain[/url], on Flickr
Cotic Solaris: we just didn't get on. Huge shame as I know others love it. With the benefit of hindsight I should have tried it with 100mm forks, but as it is I have no regrets us parting company.
[url= https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5520/10686977775_4823e014fd_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5520/10686977775_4823e014fd_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/hhnyav ]The Solaris after its first ride.[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/77122468@N00/ ]NeilCain[/url], on Flickr
moments of pure riding clarity
great phrase.
Kona Hoss. Awful:
1. Short in top tube, got a 20 inch. My fault, but I followed their sizing.
2. Dirt jumper 2 forks > total rubbish, undamped, bone shakers, weighed the same as Fox 40s.
3. Shimano deore rear hub > always working loose, rubbish seals.
4. Rubbish FSA headset. Left out in the rain once, by by bearings.
5. Duff Shimano chaîn > broker 2nd ride.
WTB volt saddle and Shimano derallieours still going 4 years after got rid of it, mind.
Oh, and useless, just useless M575 brakes. . .
I had a Whyte PRST-1. Do I win ?
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One like this, with Totems. Disgusting and it rode like shit
Hated the thing.
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Mark 1 Santacruz Bullit.
POS. To heavy for XC not enough travel for DH. Oh and at the time i couldn't get a fork to suit it. It was either a triple clamp that was too long/heavy or a single crown that was too short. Thank god we have 160 single crown forks now.
Also this.
It was his third attempt at building me a custom frame and he still couldn't get it right.
I'll never buy a custom frame again.
Great for mincing along fireroads, shite for any proper riding.
The front end would tuck in for no real reason when I least expected it.
It's new owner loves it though.
[url= https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8215/8437454125_249090a086.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8215/8437454125_249090a086.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/dRAa9Z ]New Bike Transporter[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/18504429@N00/ ]multispeedstu[/url], on Flickr
Blimey, taste is a funny thing. I have ridden and loved a few bikes in this thread. Lots of love for the huster, sx trail, mk2 hj, (even the trek fuel!). I had the 'team' nrs xtc. I thought it was ahead of its time: dropper-friendly, really easy to change bearings (when you got the betd replacements for the horst link), 44mm head tube. I only rode the version with the +ve and -ve chamber sid shock thoough, and 'over forked' it too- once you had the pressures just right for your weight (just about breaking into the travel rather than all clunky and platforms) it was a suprisingly capable bike.
I had an Azonic saber that could could probably have done without, (rather wallowy and neither one sort of bike nor the other) but really i have liked all my bikes, just some more than others. I reckon good brakes and a good fork can often transform what you otherwise think is a crap mountain bike.
@Tom- mine had Lyriks, its career highlight was going to fort william in the back of the car and never once getting taken out because I realised it was less good at the downhill than my everyday trailbike. It got taken back up for the endurance dh to be a pile of spares.
But I don't regret buying it, because I parted it out and made a profit. Take that, SX Pest.
A Rocky Mountain ETXS 70, gears that never indexed properly, paint and lacquer that fell off for no reason, back up from the distributor, non existent, god I wish I had never spent £1800 on it
@Tom- mine had Lyriks, its career highlight was going to fort william in the back of the car and never once getting taken out because I realised it was less good at the downhill than my everyday trailbike. It got taken back up for the endurance dh to be a pile of spares.But I don't regret buying it, because I parted it out and made a profit. Take that, SX Pest.
What was your issue with it? I found the front vague (probably the totems) and the back devoid of feedback. It was wandery as well, even with the totems and it pedalled like a downhill bike without the stiffness/200mm of travel.
Basically it was pointless. The new 170mm travel bikes seem to have come a long way, as you can build them to 30lb with a coil shock - and push are bringing a coil out with a pedal switch, I really like the idea of this. I reckon Enduro bikes are turning into what mini-dh bikes should have been 5 years ago. Lightweight, fun, bouncy bikes with more liveliness than the big bikes.
2008 or 2009 Wolf Ridge, I'd test ridden and loved how solid it felt descending compared to my Hemlock. Sadly this just felt dull and lifeless everywhere in reality.
Hmmmm, there've been one or two 😆 😳 but I can honestly say, as the eternal short-term test-pilot, I don't consider any of the experiences wasted. Out of all the frames I've bought, built, test-ridden and sold on there are only a small handful that I wouldn't want to try again.
Mountain Cycle Battery: As a Heckler/Bullit fan this promised so much and delivered burger all. Angles felt all wrong and this one never even made it offroad.
650b: Had a couple of 650b hardtails in the last 18 months and didn't get on with either - BB felt too low and both felt sluggish. I guess for us small folk 26 ain't dead.
I feel lucky, my bikes have been good and each one a progression from the last, nearest to a duffer I guess was the Charge Duster Rigid, which was too small and too unforgiving, but not all its own fault. I replaced it with an inbred which was a much happier experience.
GT LTS 2000 was my dream bike at the time but fell out of love with it, it rode downhill well, but uphill and in twisty stuff it was a nightmare, and the squeaky pivots oh god they never stopped.
I loved my hj mk2 and had some good times with it, but it was too short and too tall I agree.
I think I'd hate it now and the c456 I replaced it with was much better.
I'd hate that as well now probably tbh.
A few here. My GT LTS 2. First full bouncy. Weighed more than a cruise liner. Bottomed out and crap Rockshox rear shock.
Also another nickel plated Orange P7, with early Pace elastomer forks, which kept sliding the stations up the crown, as they were pinched in the crown with the steerer. Any sign of moisture created total seizure. 1 inch headset on an MTB was a big limiting factor. Sold both bikes with a smile of gladness. Also, my On One whippet. Just felt bland and just didn't gel at all with it. Came in as a 24 lb cross country lightweight bike, but found it didn't climb great and very nervous to the point I never picked it to ride. On the other hand, totally love my C456 in matt. With 130 mm Fox's, Goldtec hubs and racing ralphs, make it a missile and very competent as a blast in the woods/ swinley play bike. That comes in at almost the same weight as the Whippet.
I am not sure I wished I'd never had it, but as I have mentioned on other threads, the most [i]disappointing[/i] was certainly the 20" Ragley Ti I owned for a while. I wanted it to be a longer travel version of my Litespeed Kitsuma, but it was just too stiff for me, the rear end was harsh. Strange as I had had a go on a friends' 18" and it was much more comfortable. I transferred all the components in their entirety (apart from the seat post) to an On One 456 and got on much better with that.
Tom_W1987 - MemberBasically it was pointless.
Exactly that. It had the drawbacks of a dh bike and the performance of a trailbike. If I'd got it in 2006 it might have blown my mind to be fair
One of these was my first 'proper' mtb.
[img] http://www.socaltrailriders.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1391&stc=1&d=1158210859 [/img]
Never really got on with it but didn't know at the time why.
Once I rode a few other bikes it became pretty clear though. 6" travel, short top tube, massively long stem, gate sizing, crazy steep head angle, bb in the sky. What exactly it was designed to be good at I don't know.
Edit: also xc wheels and terrible tyres on a bike that weighed as much as the earth. And a triple chainring!?
Edit edit: at the time a mate had a stinky. The coiler felt like all the bad bits of the stinky without any of the good bits. Why, kona, why?
Mountaincycle San Andreas, with Stratos MX6 forks, Hope Big 'Un hubbed wheels and lots of other 'expensive and pimp in the early '00s' kit.
Was a flexy bouncy ungainly lump. The bb was somewhere around my ears and the wheelbase was too short so it handled awfully. It's only redeeming factors were the looks it got from other riders and the money I made selling it.
Other than that, with probably 30 bikes since the mid '90s I have to say that I've always been lucky enough to get along with them all, even if ive not absolutely loved them.
kenneththecurtain - MemberOnce I rode a few other bikes it became pretty clear though. 6" travel, short top tube, massively long stem, gate sizing, crazy steep head angle, bb in the sky. What exactly it was designed to be good at I don't know.
Edit: also xc wheels and terrible tyres on a bike that weighed as much as the earth. And a triple chainring!?
Just ahead of its time- the US market was full for a time with 6 inch bikes with 100mm bike design, basically so that people could flatter themselves that their big bike was right for their riding. Same deal as super-squishy forks and the like. What they ought to have been sold was a short travel bike, what they got was a long travel XC bike.
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Nothing shocking, but this was my first proper mountain bike. Was stuck between the 17" (small) and 19" (gate) and ended up with the gate. I was just never comfortable riding it on technical stuff and it probably put me off mtb'ing a bit. It was also harsher than riding a gate with big square "anti flex" stays. Forks, brakes and tyres also all kinds of useless.
Surprised to see the Spesh SX on here - bloody loved my 2005 jobbie, which was only retired in 2013. I used mine as a trail bike and it was good apart from the very slack seat angle that made climbing a chore. Quite a few of the Wharncliffe regulars ditched Demo's and such for these when they came out.
To be fair, I've never ridden any of the later longer travel versions. I think these kind of mini DH bikes have died a bit of a death now that 150/160mm bikes are so capable. My Rune is more stable / better than some of my old DH bikes but can do longer rides etc.
Agree on the Whyte 46 though - awful, awful thing.
Without doubt my 1999 GT XCR4000 Idrive thing. Got it after a while off bikes when I got my first (and current) salaried job. It was meant to re-ignite my riding but in reality put it back another 6 years.
Heavy, oh so heavy. Dull to ride and the forks were god awful Rockshox that actually managed to be worse then the mk1 Pace RC35's, Rockshox Mag 20's and Manitou 1's of my youth even though there'd been 7 to 8 years 'progress'.
Sold it to a pal virtually as new when I got a 2005 Orange Evo4. He didn't keep it long either although the next owner still has it.