Learsport TR 3270D XT

Great value bike – I bought one of these bikes new in about 2005/6 (2014 now... ~8 years use). I paid aud $1399 (australian dollars) During my research i made the mistake of riding the bikes with 'xt' quality bearings/running gear and comparing the smoothness with 'lx', 'deore' etc,(these are all products within the shimano range). Unfortunately, i could feel the… Read more

extra smoothness (you pay more too) and just had to have 'xt' quality. ('xtr' is better again, but at around the lx/xt point price starts doubling for ever decreasing gains in strength, lightness and tolerances.)

If you follow what is meant by 'a feeling of quality', this (for me,) starts at the lx/xt point.

(i just googled and cut and pasted the shimano (mountain-bike) range, see below. Acera is the basic starting point and the quality increases up to xtr

Acera

Alivio

Deore

Deore lx

Deore xt

Xtr

Now that the background info is out of the way, i can tell you that the 'fittings' make up a large component of the quality and smoothness of a bike and that to get the same components (and i mean exactly the same components, ie; shimano lx front derailleur, shimano xt rear derailleur, lx wheel and crank bearings) on a 'brand-name' bike of the same weight was going to cost between $400 and $1000 more. In some cases i could get a heavier bike, with lower quality running gear (but with a great big 'insert brand name here' sticker!) for between $1800 and $2000... (now that's an expensive sticker!) for me, if i pay more, i want to buy decreased frictional losses.

Of course, sometimes a group of girls walks past me on my black and grey bike, and my mate on his hot-pink neon-yellow, dayglo-green whizz-bang 'thunder' bike and 99/100 go: "ooooh! Look at that one! It's pretty!" (he's better looking too, so that helps...) but if any of them actually knows anything about bikes, she gives the discerning nod to me, saying: "xt gear...Nice!" ...Which i value as much, if not more.

That's the pros, now the cons.

After a year or two the front shock started to not operate as it should and now only travels an inch instead of four inches. It might just need to be serviced, i haven't even looked at it 'coz it doesn't worry me.

That's the cons, back to the pros.

The [censored word removed] thing hasn't broken in any way, and has never really been serviced, i've put about three sets of tires on it (i fit them myself), and each time i just wash it, give it some oil if i feel like it, check the tune of the derailleurs (they haven't needed adjusting.... And keep pedaling!) this is a long lasting bike.

On the subject of longevity: the frame came with a lifetime warranty, (might be 15 years now...) but i haven't needed it, despite some pretty good crashes (eg: endo over double jump, leaving two hillclimb bar 'horn' marks in the ground, jumping off stairs etc.)

Modifications:

I put wider bars on mine (i have wide shoulders). I also put a brake stiffening bracket on the rear brake. (i got -v- brakes on mine, i forget why exactly, ...Something to do with weight savings and wanting to do 'stoppies'... Now that i'm older i'd just get the disk brakes.)

All in all, great value, for the reasons given.

My next bike will be a 29er with xt or xtr gear, a bike with low rolling resistance has to be felt to be understood. Best price for the equipment level. By a large margin. Forks, (rock shocks brand, not learsport) lost travel.