Today 1 year ago, I did my first ride on the Giant Yukon FX, since then we have had many adventures and many hours of trails throughout the USA, all in all we have done more than 1600 miles of Mountain Biking Trails.
Our first trail together was a disaster, it was the Walker Ranch Loop in Boulder Colorado. A fantastic loop, but I went straight from the shop and “Bombed” down a 4+ section of the trail, when I saw I was about to climb, I shifted gear, and the chain jumped over the smallest ring, and I crunched the chain. I ended up walking back, and within 2 hours of having the new bike, it was back in the shop for a new chain and some gear adjustments. It’s a real shame that the above happened, because since that day the Giant Yukon FX has performed just amazingly.

In 2008 I travelled to numerous States looking for some serious trails to put the Yukon to the test. Together we did trails in Boulder Colorado, Estes Park in the Rockies, the Grand Tetons,  Yellowstone, Helena, Astoria, Hood River, Salt Lake City, Bend,  Moab and a few other places in between. The Giant Yukon FX  has never let me down.

Since July 2009 we have done more than 300 miles of Mountain Biking in the DuPont Forest and Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina

In 2008 I paid just over $900,- for the Yukon, it came standard with the following specs :

size : XS (14.5), S (15), M (17), L (19)
color : Black/White
frame : ALUXX Butted Aluminum
fork : RockShox Dart 2, 100mm w/Lockout
shifters : SRAM SX-4
front derailleur : Shimano Alivio (update 3-5)
rear derailleur :  SRAM SX-4
brakes :  Hayes MX-4 Disc 6″ Rotor
brake levers :  Tektro Alloy, 2 finger
cassette :  SRAM PG830 11-32T, 8-speed
chain : KMC Z72
cranks :  TruVative ISO Flow 3.0, 22/32/42T
bb :  TruVativ Powerspline
rims :  WTB Dual Duty XC, double wall
hubs :  Formula 32H Disc
spokes :  Stainless steel 14G
tires : Kenda Blue Groove/Nevegal 26 x 2.1″
handlebar :  Alloy 31.8mm, high rise
stem : Alloy 31.8, 10° rise
seatpost : Alloy 350×30.9mm
saddle :  Unity Speed Groove MTB
pedals :  Alloy Platform
extras :  chainguard

I know these componants are not top of the range, but this is a hell of a lot of good stuff for $900,- , BUT, the “proof is in the pudding” , and there is only one way to find out what a bike is made of, and that is to test it, and test it properly, not a 2 hour trail test, no, a test over a whole year, and on various  types  of trails… and that is exactly what I did.

In the past year, from July 22nd 2008 to  July 22nd 2009, I have worn out / replaced the following  parts

• 3 innertubes
• 2 new tires
• 1 new chain
• 1 set of brake pads
• 1 new set of cogs ( just 2 weeks ago)
• 1 new crank set ( just 2 weeks ago)

So, all in all I have spent less than $150,- on parts. More than 1600 Mountain Biking Miles on less than $150 !!. I have no experience with much more expensive bikes, but I have spoken to fellow mountain bikers that have bikes ranging from $2500 – $5200, and they have assured me that their bikes would not perform any better than the Giant Yukon FX.

I am just 3 weeks into my mountain Bike Mayhem 2009 Tour of the USA, and I hope that my Giant Yukon FX will be with me for another year, but, if anthing was to ever go wrong, it will probably be my fault as a rider, I have had my falls, my crashes, my visits to various hospitals, but I’ve been lucky that no damage was done to the bike, hopefully my luck will last. I do know though, that if I do badly crash a bike, I would rather it be a $900 one, rather than a $5500 dollar one, and I also know that without hesitation, I would purchase myself a new Giant Yukon FX.

Other Giant Yukon FX Reviews:

• http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/giant-yukon-fx/

Happy Days with the Giant Yukon FX

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