Awesome Experience w/County Cycles

[phoenix]

I just wanted to take a moment to give kudos to Paul at County Cycles. I purchased the 2014 XC 200 "Woods Weapon" that he listed in the classifieds here. The experience working with Paul was great and he spent much time answering my questions and helping me decide if a 200 would be a good fit (after getting used to being lazy on a 300). Before shipment, they got the suspension all setup for me (and did a great job) and got graphics so I'm ready to start the fall race season. Paul is a great guy to work with and if you're looking for a Gas Gas or a Beta, he's the man to call!

As for the 200, I only have one ride on it so far, but as the day went on I got more and more comfortable with it. I think this bike is really going to shine in the tight stuff and has plenty of power for the stuff we ride. The weight is considerably less than the 300 (I did lose my magic button) so that's going to be really good for me. Now just a little tweaking to make it my own and I'll be ready for our first race back after summer break.

[Rod Overstreet]

Originally Posted by phoenix

I just wanted to take a moment to give kudos to Paul at County Cycles. I purchased the 2014 XC 200 "Woods Weapon" that he listed in the classifieds here. The experience working with Paul was great and he spent much time answering my questions and helping me decide if a 200 would be a good fit (after getting used to being lazy on a 300). Before shipment, they got the suspension all setup for me (and did a great job) and got graphics so I'm ready to start the fall race season. Paul is a great guy to work with and if you're looking for a Gas Gas or a Beta, he's the man to call!

As for the 200, I only have one ride on it so far, but as the day went on I got more and more comfortable with it. I think this bike is really going to shine in the tight stuff and has plenty of power for the stuff we ride. The weight is considerably less than the 300 (I did lose my magic button) so that's going to be really good for me. Now just a little tweaking to make it my own and I'll be ready for our first race back after summer break.

It never happened unless you share pictures of your new ride

[liv2day]

Originally Posted by phoenix

As for the 200, I only have one ride on it so far, but as the day went on I got more and more comfortable with it. I think this bike is really going to shine in the tight stuff and has plenty of power for the stuff we ride.

That's awesome man; after riding my orange 300 for just over a year, I switched to the small bore and it was the best decision I made for riding the trails we hit. Amazing chassis and plenty of power to get me in trouble...lol.

+1 to what Rod said...need to see some pics

[john01]

CONGRATS! So it's that much lighter than the 300? On yeah where are the pics ? Enjoy.

[Fred1956]

NOW I see why the 300 will be for sale Congratulations and again....Where are the pictures ??

[iamovru]

It must be a Phoenix, because there are no pictures. BTW, Paul is a great guy!!

[2004ec200]

Ive never seen the 2014 model. Got any pics?

BTW, congrats

[phoenix]

Well I've now gotten 2 good rides on the 200 so I think I can write a good report on it.

The first good ride out was at the Stillwater 500 near Stillwater, OK. It's one of my favorite places to ride and I know it very well so it's easy to get an idea of the bike setup. Richard Wilson had done some tweaking on it and it was running great and the Rekluse was spot on. As the day went on I got more and more comfortable on it and by the end of the day my friends were telling me that I was definitely faster on the 200. It is significantly lighter than my 13 300 which made it a lot less tiring to ride, even though I felt like I had to do a little more work to keep the bike moving (more shifting, etc.). I would be lying, though, if I didn't say that I missed the easy-going ride everywhere in 3rd gear ability of the 300 as well as the electric start. On the 200 I was in first or second most of the time at this particular riding area.

Moving on to my second race on the 200...this race was held in Morris, OK and it had a little bit of everything except for hills. The track was bone dry to the point that visibility was 0 at times due to the dust. I got an absolutely terrible start because I'm not used to kick starting and with all the noise I could hear it start. I guess I need to practice that. Once I got going, though, I rode a mistake free race. The lightness of the 200 helped as this was a very rocky track and it got more chewed up with every lap. Everything was coated in dust, so the bike wanted to slide around just about everywhere. I know the 300 would have been a handful picking through the rocks at such a slow speed (since visibility was 0 on the first lap, people were creeping through the rock single track). I never stalled the bike and never crashed...error free race! I got up as high as second, but ended up falling back to 4th for most of the race after getting stuck in the dust-cloud-rock-section-train on lap one. Finally at the end I caught up with 3rd after a tree jumped out and got her. She was ok and I moved up to third for the checkered.

So, I can say that I am very happy with the 200 except for my desire for estart. I might fit the 2015 estart kit as well as get Richard Wilson's pipe and an oversized PV cover. Going from a 300 to a 200 really wasn't as big of an issue as a lot of people made it out to be. It's plenty powerful and is a lot of fun.

Attached is the requested photo.

[phoenix]

I should also add that County Cycles indeed delivered a woods weapon as advertised. I haven't changed a thing about this bike other than rejetting for our elevation and adjusting the levers and Rekluse to my preferences. Perfect setup for XC racing!

[liv2day]

Originally Posted by phoenix

Going from a 300 to a 200 really wasn't as big of an issue as a lot of people made it out to be. It's plenty powerful and is a lot of fun.

Attached is the requested photo.

Nice!

What are you running for gearing on your 200? She definitely requires more shifting compared to a 300 (one of the things I noticed after coming off my orange 300), but it's easier to deal with if you swap gearing. I'm at 12/50 and considering 12/52 so I only have to use 1st for nasty hills.

Where did you get that pipe guard and is someone making an aftermarket pipe for the 200s now?

Congrats on taking 3rd in the race, that's awesome