Friend of mine wants to get into MTB'ing and I have pointed him to 3 bikes, the Giant NRS being one of them (Iron Horse & Cannondale are the other 2). I'm pretty keen on the NRS-2.

This NRS 2 I'm talking about is a 2003 left over (new) and can be had for only $850. This one however is built with V-brakes (not that its a bad idea considering cheap discs suck and are heavy). The biggest downside I see is the front fork (Axel)...but hey, price is right.

Are there any common issues with the NSR models?

Any other comments?

Friend of mine wants to get into MTB'ing and I have pointed him to 3 bikes, the Giant NRS being one of them (Iron Horse & Cannondale are the other 2). I'm pretty keen on the NRS-2.

This NRS 2 I'm talking about is a 2003 left over (new) and can be had for only $850. This one however is built with V-brakes (not that its a bad idea considering cheap discs suck and are heavy). The biggest downside I see is the front fork (Axel)...but hey, price is right.

Are there any common issues with the NSR models?

Any other comments?
I have a 2003 NRS 2 and Its a very great bike. With the coponents on it I would say everything is fine. My model came with a skareb fork and that cracked on me but since it has the axel fork your ok. If the NRS comes with the Titec X-wing seatpost, watch out. The bolt on the seatpost broke and I needed to get a replacement. Of course, this was a desgin flaw and Titec sent me an upgraded one quickly. I didnt want the same thing to happen, so I bought a Thomson 30.9 x 410mm seatpost. He might want to upgrade to Avid disc because they are pretty cheap and is very easy to set-up. The avids came on my NRS 2 and I loved them from day one. They are very easy to set up and the stopping power is awesome. Just curious, Where is he getting this model from? b/c it doesnt sound like the US specs.

Just curious, Where is he getting this model from? b/c it doesnt sound like the US specs.
It is a U.S model from an authorized Giant dealer. Monday I will call them and make sure I didn't see things (Axel & V-brakes), because I too am noticing it has different components than what normally comes with them.

I have the 2003, too and mine was spec'd just like mtnbikerdude87's. My Skareb cracked too. Also, I love the Avid discs. I have started upgrading the crap out of mine, however. Kick A** bike. Love it. Cane Creek Cloud Nine on the way.

MTNBIKERDUDE87, why the 30.9 Thompson? I just ordered the 27.2, am I screwed?

I have the 2003, too and mine was spec'd just like mtnbikerdude87's. My Skareb cracked too. Also, I love the Avid discs. I have started upgrading the crap out of mine, however. Kick A** bike. Love it. Cane Creek Cloud Nine on the way.

MTNBIKERDUDE87, why the 30.9 Thompson? I just ordered the 27.2, am I screwed?

Because of the thinness of the seat tube, Giant requires the spacer. You have to use it.

MTNBIKERDUDE87, why the 30.9 Thompson? I just ordered the 27.2, am I screwed?
I ran the 30.9 b/c I didnt like the shim. The 27.2 seatpost is fine but you have to run it with a shim, which makes the diameter to 30.8. The 30.9 seatpost fits like a golve and according to giant: if you run the seatpost w/o the shim there has to be at least 150 mm (6") of insertion. So your fine with the 27.2, it was just my perference to run w/o the shim.

You can use a 30.8 post. Thomson just tries to make sure you can't run it with too less of post by demanding a non shim post having to be 410mm or longer. With the shim, no matter how high the post is, the bike still has the overlap of the shim.

My 30.8 x (like my blue bike is)ever will because of the increased overlap.

It does sound like an 04 rather than an 03. The 03's had a Skareb which was crappy (since they broke) and Avid mechanicals which rock! $850 would be a fantastic price for an 03. It should be very good for an 04 since but they should cost less.
The NRS is a great bike for XC/trail riding. If you keep to XC with moderate drops you should be fine! Aside from the Skareb they're very reliable and fast as well.