# Nashbar AT-1 MTB



## jjdrop (Sep 11, 2008)

Hey! I have been lurking around these forums for a bit and thought I would throw a little review in here for some people. I have been out of riding for a quite a few years, grew up on BMX and have sinced switched to mountain bikes. My son is 7yrs old now so, he is really getting into riding so I thought what better time to get back into it. :thumbsup:

After looking around Craigslist and every other site and LBS I could find I decided to go with the Nashbar AT-1 bike. I just couldn't find a great deal and figured at the price of the Nashbar I wouldn't be out too much and could always use it as a back up. The AT-1 was only $220 shipped to my door. For the riding I am going to be doing I didn't think I would need anything heavy duty....Trails, street and maybe some light jumps. Ordered last Thursday and arrived Monday at noon....of course they only had to ship from Ohio to Indiana.

I ordered the 15" frame. It required some assembly but not much. It was about 80% put together. Out of the box everything was in great shape and no damage. I put the bike together in about an hour and took off on a 20 minute ride. First thoughts on the bike....very clean, good looking lines and better than the pictures look on the website. The bike is solid and tight, very light....just under 28#. Gears switch very smooth and is a pretty quiet bike. I know the components on the bike aren't the greatest but they seem to work great.....so far! All and all I think I made a great choice on this bike and I am very pleased with it. I will be riding it much harder this weekend and double triple checking everything on it. I couldn't find any reviews on this bike anywhere so, this is the reason for this post. Any questions or comments on this are appreciated and welcome! Here are the specs and a couple pics (sorry for the crappy pics!)

oh..........and I had no problems with the CC# info leak and etc......just me though can't speak for others that have had problems.

Grips/Tape: Velo 
Headset: Ritchey 
Fork: SR Suntour 50mm travel 
Handlebar: Alloy 40mm rise 
Stem: Alloy 
Seatpost: Alloy 
Saddle: Comfort Steel Rails 
Crankset: SR Suntour 24/34/42 
Bottom Bracket: Square Taper 
Tires: 26x2.1 
Rack Mounts: no 
Brakes: Linear Pull V-Brake 
Wheelset: Rims: Singlewall Alloy; Hubs: Alloy Ball Bearing 
Chain: KMC 
Cassette: 13-34 alloy 7speed 
Front Derailleur: Sunrace 
Rear Derailleur: Shimano RD-TX31 
Shifters: Sram MRX 
Levers: V-Brake 
Pedals: Alloy Caged 
Frame: 6061 Aluminum


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## person130 (Sep 21, 2009)

I too bought the Nashbar AT-1 MTB 15" frame (for my son). I paid $199! with dlivery. Went together very easy. I never before assembled a bike from the shipping box. Works great and looks cool. All black frame with chrome parts. No where is it said BUT this bike is made by Fuji Bikes!!! Compare "Geometry chart" to a Fuji Nevada 4.0 - they are identical. The componets ar NOT identical but very similar. Nashbar uses generic brand like Kenda tires instead of Fuji tires. For me, this is a much better bike then anything else in the price range. 
I bought when there was a 20% off coupon. So price was $299 reduced to $199 minus 20% ($40) plus $39 for shipping (FedEX ground 5 days including weekend)


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## hardwarz (Jun 12, 2009)

Nashbar is owned by Performance Bike. Performance bicycle frames are made by Fuji. For an entry level bike, the AT-1 isn't a bad deal at all. It's the same price you can get something from WalMart, but with better components.


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## hardwarz (Jun 12, 2009)

Since you've never assembled a bike from a box... here's some a check list:
*
Out-of-Box Bike Build Checklist*
Pedals threads greased and tight.

Stem Greased.

Seat Post Greased.

Seat Post not inserted higher than max safe height or min. insert mark. Seat Post tight.

Seat level and tight.

Headset adjusted and top nut locked down.

Handlebar binder tight.

Stem not inserted higher than max. Safe height or min. insert mark. Stem bolt tight.

Hubs adjusted and wheels true.

Wheels centered with quick releases adjusted and tight. Front lever parallel to fork and rear lever between left seat and chain stays or axle not tight.

Wheel and pedal reflectors installed.

Front and rear reflectors installed.

Brake lever bolts tight.

Cantilever or caliper brakes mounting bolts tight.

Brake adjusting barrel screwed all the way in.

Brake cable fully pre-stressed.

Brake cables re-adjusted.

Crank arm bolts tight.

Derailleur hanger aligned.

Shifter levers tight.

Cable casing seated.

Front and rear derailleur adjusted.

Cable ends capped.

Air in tires to recommended pressure. Valve caps on.

Tires inspected for proper mounting on rim.

Kickstand straight and tight.


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## CarolinaLL6 (Apr 12, 2010)

hardwarz said:


> ...
> Wheel and pedal reflectors left in box and/or removed.
> 
> Front and rear reflectors installed. (see above)
> ...


fify


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## darkpollo (Nov 26, 2012)

hardwarz said:


> Since you've never assembled a bike from a box... here's some a check list:
> *
> Out-of-Box Bike Build Checklist*
> Pedals threads greased and tight.
> ...


Hi 
thank you for the list!
I have just received my bike and I am not sure what tools am I going to need.
Do I need something special?
I also have read that some parts needs to be greased.
Where can I buy proper grease to use on the bike? 
Target? wall mart? DicksSG? Or must I go to a bike shop?
Thanks


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## hardwarz (Jun 12, 2009)

I just use general purpose grease from Autozone. You should be able to get through the checklist with just a set of metric Allen wrenches. Any specialized tools will need to be purchased from a bike store or online. Nashbar has inexpensive tools. If you invest in a good set of bike specific tools, a stand and a book, you'll be able to work on almost any bike for the rest of your life.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

Just abouts any grease will work. At home, I prefer waterproof grease (they sell it at either boat/auto shops for wheel bearings on boat trailers). White lithium grease, bought from the hardware store, also works. At work, I use Park Polylube because that's what I got.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

hardwarz said:


> I just use general purpose grease from Autozone. You should be able to get through the checklist with just a set of metric Allen wrenches. Any specialized tools will need to be purchased from a bike store or online. Nashbar has inexpensive tools. If you invest in a good set of bike specific tools, a stand and a book, you'll be able to work on almost any bike for the rest of your life.


You dug up this thread to respond with that after your last post was more than a year ago?


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## Ken in KC (Jan 12, 2004)

*Nope...*



NateHawk said:


> You dug up this thread to respond with that after your last post was more than a year ago?


He's responding to answer a question that some else asked regarding their new in the box bike. After that person dug up the thread from almost a year ago.


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## sauprankul (Sep 6, 2012)

Why do people get upset when threads are revived? Maybe 4 or 5 years later info will have changed, but a year isn't that long. Better than having multiple threads about the same thing.
Props to you darkpolis, for actually using the search function!

Oh whoops. Sorry, its darkpollo


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

My bad, i scrolled past the big quote and missed who posted it and when.

The thread is actually 3 yrs old fwiw.


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## darkpollo (Nov 26, 2012)

Hi,
Thanks for the answers. 
Sorry for answering on this post but the bike is the same and I didn't see the point to create a new thread.

I just bought the grease and put everything together.
The problem now is that I have a bag with some pieces I am not sure if I need to use and where: 
http://db.tt/vRQm7tPn
That is a photo of the extra parts.

I am sure you know what are they for.

The only thing I know is the end-cable thing and the screws for the reflectors


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## sauprankul (Sep 6, 2012)

:eekster: The derailer hanger, is that an extra or or what? That larger solid piece of metal is what your derailer mounts on.
The S shaped thing is a cable guide. 
And, I'm not sure on this one, but those two circular objects look like pieces of a chain ring bolt.


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## darkpollo (Nov 26, 2012)

, now that I know the name I found it on the bike. It is an extra. 

Thanks!!


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## sauprankul (Sep 6, 2012)

Does your crank set have removable chain rings? Its hard to tell from the pics. No info on model either.


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## darkpollo (Nov 26, 2012)

sauprankul said:


> Does your crank set have removable chain rings? Its hard to tell from the pics. No info on model either.


Yes, it looks like there is one extra of those too.

Thank you.


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## sauprankul (Sep 6, 2012)

Hate to revive this thread, but...
My rd got caught in my spokes and exploded, so I had to remove the derailer hanger.
Turns out that that bolt isn't a chain ring bolt (I knew it couldn't be, and why would they give you just one when your crank uses 8?), but a derailer hanger bolt.

Again sorry for reviving, just wanted to clear things up.


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## jeffj (Jan 13, 2004)

One of the things (besides a stick getting caught in the rear derailleur) that causes a derailleur hanger to snap (especially when it appears to have done so for no apparent reason) is the rear skewer not being tight enough. When the skewer is properly tightened, it holds the derailleur hanger tightly against the rear dropout (frame) and acts to make the hanger stronger in unison with the frame than it is as a single entity. 

The metal the hanger is made from, is made to be the weakest link so it will break before the frame is damaged, but in order for it to be strong enough so that it doesn't snap unnecessarily, the rear skewer needs to be sufficiently tightened. Think of it as a 'system'. To tighten the skewer sufficiently, it should take a pretty good push with the palm of your hand to fully close it, and it should be a little difficult to open it back up, but not terribly so.


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## Natedogz (Apr 4, 2008)

sauprankul said:


> Why do people get upset when threads are revived? Maybe 4 or 5 years later info will have changed, but a year isn't that long. Better than having multiple threads about the same thing.
> Props to you darkpolis, for actually using the search function!
> 
> Oh whoops. Sorry, its darkpollo


Yes, why the upset? I much prefer that a post be added to a relevant thread than a million threads all asking same question. Kudos to OP for searching first. :thumbsup:


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## darkpollo (Nov 26, 2012)

sauprankul said:


> Hate to revive this thread, but...
> My rd got caught in my spokes and exploded, so I had to remove the derailer hanger.
> Turns out that that bolt isn't a chain ring bolt (I knew it couldn't be, and why would they give you just one when your crank uses 8?), but a derailer hanger bolt.
> 
> Again sorry for reviving, just wanted to clear things up.


Hi,

Thank you for the update. 
The bike is working wonderfull by the way. :thumbsup: Thank you to everybody.


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## kapusta (Jan 17, 2004)

sauprankul said:


> Hate to revive this thread, but...
> My rd got caught in my spokes and exploded, so I had to remove the derailer hanger.
> Turns out that that bolt isn't a chain ring bolt (I knew it couldn't be, and why would they give you just one when your crank uses 8?), but a derailer hanger bolt.
> 
> Again sorry for reviving, just wanted to clear things up.


Actually, it is a chainring bolt as well. You use a short one like that when you have a single ring mounted in a position that requires a chaining nut/bolt.

That's actually quite surprising (in a good way) that they gave you an extra hanger and bolt.:thumbsup:


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## sauprankul (Sep 6, 2012)

kapusta said:


> Actually, it is a chainring bolt as well. You use a short one like that when you have a single ring mounted in a position that requires a chaining nut/bolt.
> 
> That's actually quite surprising (in a good way) that they gave you an extra hanger and bolt.:thumbsup:


Would they be of the same size? I realize they look/work the same, but I doubt that bolt would fit the crank.

And I too was surprised when it turned out to be an extra. It's a PITA to find the right one (esp for online bikes), and they're also pretty expensive for a piece of metal the size of a matchbox (15-25 bucks).


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## kapusta (Jan 17, 2004)

sauprankul said:


> Would they be of the same size? I realize they look/work the same, but I doubt that bolt would fit the crank.
> 
> And I too was surprised when it turned out to be an extra. It's a PITA to find the right one (esp for online bikes), and they're also pretty expensive for a piece of metal the size of a matchbox (15-25 bucks).


It's for a single middle chainring. Normally, on a 3X crank you each bolt goes through the big ring, the crank, and the middle ring. If you only have one ring, though, the bolts only go through one ring and the crank, so they can be shorter.


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## Krakkreel (Jun 4, 2007)

Hi!

Sorry for revive this thread, but i havent found another about the bike that im thinking about buy.

I would like your opinion about the nashbar at1 29er. Im looking for steel 29er, and i think its a great price. I have some older parts from other bikes that i could use for upgrading this bike, but im not sure about cuality of the frame.

Fuji and nashbar tell about Helios1, but this is a commercial name for... 4130 chromoly?

Any suggestions about her cuality? Any experiences?

Thank you!


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## hardwarz (Jun 12, 2009)

Let's see if we can annoy people by reviving old threads...



Krakkreel said:


> I would like your opinion about the nashbar at1 29er. Im looking for steel 29er, and i think its a great price. I have some older parts from other bikes that i could use for upgrading this bike, but im not sure about cuality of the frame.


I have no experience with that bike or frame. Why do you want a steel frame? The components on it are not very good. You'd be better served by going to the GT Karakoram 4.0 on the Nashbar website. Hope this helps.


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## Krakkreel (Jun 4, 2007)

hardwarz said:


> Let's see if we can annoy people by reviving old threads...
> 
> I have no experience with that bike or frame. Why do you want a steel frame? The components on it are not very good. You'd be better served by going to the GT Karakoram 4.0 on the Nashbar website. Hope this helps.


4 aluminium frames broken in 15 years... too much for me! xD

Steel is harder than alloy and so soft over the trail...

I bought the bike, and im happy. The components are cheap and not very good, yes; but i have older XT and other parts from my deceased alloy bikes.

29er steel bikes starts above 1000$ (Kona Unit, On-One Imbred, Salsa El Mariachi...) I wanted a low cost steel bike (yes, im poor  ) and step by step get upgrading the bike.

Merry Christmas!


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## dirkdaddy (Sep 4, 2007)

Good luck with the Nasbar bike. This maybe off base, but I had one of the early Nasbar bikes back in the late 80's. Had a rigid frame (wasn't much else), biopace chain rings, toe clips, a chainstay mounted U brake under the BB, etc. I rode the living crap out of the bike, doing a lot of off road and through mud, streams, and then commuted on it to work. I had to rebuild/regrease the thing a couple times, and it was CONSTANTLY going out of adjustment. I wore out the headset, bottom bracket, a set of wheels (the freewheel got corroded on and rims were bent some), the U brake was a horrible idea that quickly was out of date...I was spending a LOT of time adjusting stuff and even when tuned it wasn't really a good bike. Finally after buying all those parts and wheels etc, I had spent a good amount of money even doing the work myself. So, then, I spent which at the time seemed like a fortune ($1000 in 1993) and got a Cannondale Delta V 700 with a headshock. That bike I could actually ride and ride and it stayed in tune, was way better ride and faster. I still have that bike, original BB and headset, but I've replaced nearly everything else over the years, and its one of my favorites for just combination of road and some trail riding. 

I hope the new Nashbars are better. Just my advice if you start wearing out stuff, don't bother to pay to replace all that stuff, buy a new bike.


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## Krakkreel (Jun 4, 2007)

I was looking for a cheap steel bike. The components really did not matter me, i have a older XT group change (2004) and v-brake XT from same years.

If i would prefered better components, perhaps i should had bought GT Karakoram 4.0, for example; but i wanted cheap steel bike and after get better upgrades, while i going on bike (i dont have another bike).

Another option was buy a steel frame like on-one imbred, but wait several months until i could ride her. Six months already no riding... too much time!

I have ridden the bike near two weeks, and i only found two problem: the seatpost is very short (i have bought substitute) and crankset has very large chainring. But nothing impossible to get riding. Gears works fine (for a low and cheap group), brakes too, and the frame has a perfect fit to me (i think this is most important thing on a new bike).

Later im going to open a new thread about this bike and her next upgrades.

Merry Christmas!


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