Advantages: Well made. Well finished. Excellent durabilty. Quality piece of kit
Disadvantages: Come equipped with Rim Wranglers Brake Pads

...A bit of History V-brakes were originally developed by Shimano, and were an improvement on the older centre pull cantilever brakes. By lengthening the arms the amount of force applied to the rim could be increased, so improving braking performance. V-brakes are now being superseded by disc brakes. Disc brakes offer vastly superior wet weather braking performance, and are the brake of choice where extreme performance is required i.e. freeride and downhill. And the Avids? The single digit 7's feature Force Vector Alignment, and stainless hardware. Build quality and finish is excellent. I know because I have some Deore's and Tektro's to compare them against. Durability is good too - paint and fittings have lasted extremely well despite 2 years worth of being sprayed with mud and then hosed down by yours truly... Read review

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Advantages: Very very sturdy, easy to fix and fun to ride, great bearings.
Disadvantages: Quite heavy, not ideal for flatland.

...'01 GT Fly BMX Bike features Heavy-duty Chromoly frame and fork for extra strength Chromoly 3-piece crank provides extra stiffness and durability to give you the power you need to make the next double Overbuilt wheels for incredible strength 2001 GT Fly BMX Bike specs Frame: '01 GT dirt jump design; Chromoly Fork: Chromoly steerer and blades Rear Shock: NA Headset: Tange Seiki FATTY 22; extra deep cup engagement; 1-1/8" threadless Crankset: GT Tubular forged 3pc.; 175mm; 42T steel GT design Bottom Bracket: NA Shifters: NA Levers: Tektro; 319AC; Aluminum Handlebar: GT dirt/street bend; Hi-Ten; 7" rise Stem: GT Johnson III design; cold forged Aluminum F. Der.: NA R Der.: NA Cassette: ACS Maindrive; 16T Brakes: Tektro; 907AD; dual anchor bolts; forged Aluminum U-brake Wheelset: Rims: Alex G303; Aluminum; 36H; 31mm width... Read review

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Advantages: It has two wheels
Disadvantages: It gets muddy, it's not a car

...sense to me, but if you're interested (I doubt it!) the bike has... * Allterrainasuarus tyres (??) * Tektro V type brakes * Shimano rapid fire cockpit (?) * Ardaznailz paint * Teardrop down tube (?) Hope that helps. Having cycled to work every day I have to say I'm pretty pleased with the bike. I reckon it'll last me a good few years provided I look after it properly. Dawes have a whole range of other (more expensive) bikes available, full details of which can be found at their homepage: www.dawescycles.com. *Footnote: Entirely made up statistic, but it sounds vaguely plausible which is what counts...... Read review

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Advantages: Great for downhill
Disadvantages: suspension no good for road.

...The old Carerra bikes seem to be doing well for themselves of late, Halfords still arent offering them though at a reasonable price. The Carrera is what I would call an entry level bike, the bikes are built in the same factory as Kona so expect the same level of workmanship you would from a top name like Kona. This bike comes with the Tough 4 bar link full suspension 7005 aluminium Bi-axial tubed frame. Suntour XC60 fork, 27spd Shimano Deore transmission, Tektro IO Disc brakes, FSA Alpha drive chain set, Tioga double butted handlebars, Tioga stem and seatpost, Tioga Factory Extreme 2. 1 tyres, Shock comes with adjustable pre-load and rebound damping. This bike is meant really for downhill racing but does well on dirt riding. The gears are Shimano Deore which are a sturdier gearing than the standard Shimano, which is what you will need... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Light weight
Disadvantages: Not the top of the line product

...derailer hanger is a great design due to if it bends which is not too uncommon you can replace it for approximately 10 pounds vice buying a whole new frame for somewhere around 400 pounds. This is the only major issue that I have encountered with the bike since buying it. And that was due from a crash that I sustained while avoiding a bigger crash. The braking system is comprised of shimano brake levers (because of the flight deck shifters) and Tektro dual pivot caliper brakes with a quick release clip. This quick release system on the brake caliper allows for quicker removing and replacing of the tires and keeps from having to take the brakes out of adjustment just to fix a flat. The pedals that come with the bicycle depends on the dealer that you buy it from. Most of the time you will find that the dealer will install just your standard... Read review

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Advantages: Solid Sturdy Frame, great feel, great looks.
Disadvantages: Front Suspension isn't the greatest

...'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... Read review

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Advantages: Good price, Good looking frame, Smooth disc brakes
Disadvantages: Front Suspension Fork is very poor, esp for off road use

.../cycling to work when everyone else sees sense! Right down to the specs of the bike, here they are Frame: Trek Alpha SL aluminium Forks: RST Gila T7 80mm travel with adjustable preload Gears: Shimano FD-C050 front and Shimano Alivio rear derailleurs Shifters: Shimano EF50 Chainset: SR CW7-XCT-T102 with 42s/34s/24s tooth chainrings Brakes: Tektro 845AL Wheels: Bontrager Camino rims built on Joytech front and Shimano RM60-8 rear hubs Bontrager Connection Trail Handlebars: Bontrager Crowbar Sport Stem: Bontrager Sport 25d Saddle: Bontrager Select ATB Seatpost: Bontrager Sport mm The only real downfall of the 4300 is the front suspension forks, these are of poor quality, if used in only moderate off road, its destined to break, I checked out forums before I purchased the bike, there were people who... Read review

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Advantages: Finish; Ride quality; Durability
Disadvantages: Price has gone up; Open chainstays

...for 99p from eBay the steal of the century); EAI cog; Connex Wipperman 1G8 chain; Nitto bars; Shimano 105 front brake; Tektro lever; an old front wheel, and a new Goldtec/Mavic rear wheel; and a Charge Spoon Saddle. Total build came to around £700 (at a higher spec, I have to say, than the complete bike from Mosquito). The ride quality is good from the steel frame, soaking up the lumps and bumps nicely, and the geometry makes for a more relaxed ride than a dedicated road bike. This feels somewhere between that and a mountain bike. Used every day to head to and from work the whole bike copes wonderfully, and with around 1200 miles under the wheels now there isn\'t a single hint of any flaws in the build quality. It has also done some long distance rides, including a couple over 100 miles, and again behaved admirably. The paint finish... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Everything, build, price, quality, aftercare, look of bike
Disadvantages: none

...if the suspension is to soft this can also be done for the rear coil to. The rear suspension is X-fusion Glyde RL rear coil shock with lock out a robust set-up that gives you 5 inch of travel, a brilliant spec for a none pro bike. The gearing system SRAM SX5 27 speed gearing with trigger shifters is soft and sublime and for a start tricky to fathom due to the 2 button system. When you get topside of this the bike is a smooth dream to ride. As for stopping with the large diameter and Powerful Tektro IO disc brakes with 180mm front rotor (non hydraulic) this stop you like running into a wall. They are tort brakes but not to a dangerous uncontrollable level where you could hurt yourself they are probably the best idea for bikes in than last 15 years. To get you moving and take the hammer of the offloading you would inevitably do on a bike like... Read review

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Advantages: Light, nice ride, good brakes
Disadvantages: Chain should have shield,brakes bit squeeky,only availible from halfords

...I brought this as my last bike, a saracen, died on me, it was really in a terrible mess! I brought this for £400 in Halfords, which is a pretty good deal for what you get. The technician was very helpful in there, otherwise I probably would have brought a bike from a Local Bike Store. So, what do you get for your £400 here? Well, a light and strong bike, with hyrdaulics, 24 gears, thick tyres, nice wheels with strong spokes. "GT Triple Triangle Aluminium frame with butted tubes Suntour XCR 100mm travel fork with hydraulic rebound damping and on the fly lock-out Tektro Auriga Comp hydraulic disc brakes 180/160mm rotors Shimano Deore/ Alivio 24 speed gearing Truvativ Isoflow chainset Tioga Factory XC tyres WTB SX24 rims SDG Bel Air saddle GT over size bar and stem" All in all, a good bike for you money. So far, been so good... Read review

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