Submitted by
High_Roller
a Downhiller
from Marin, California
Date Reviewed: July 5, 2008
Strengths: Beast frame, everything is solid.
Weaknesses: Tires. I love High Rollers at first but i wore a pair down in 2 rides.
Bottom Line:
I got this bike for 500 from a friend, low price because it was #$%@ed up. I had it fixed within minutes of getting it, just a little oil here, tightening with an allen wrench there, and since i havent had any problems. Hayes brakes never give me trouble. All my friends hate me for this bike, because its so much better than the ones they have. They all ride giants and cannondales, and they can never keep up.
Similar Products Used: Specialized Demo, Trek Session (I actually like the trek more but it costs major $$$)
Bike Setup: Stock except new grips, and michelin dh 32 comp tires
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
daniel bridges
a Weekend Warrior
from los gatos,ca,us
Date Reviewed: June 29, 2005
Strengths: very burly frame built tough(onepointfive headtube)
Weaknesses: rear shock lacks adjustability, feel a little play in suspension, and the dealer left out a spacer in the headset causing it to get loose but bought one and it was fine
Bottom Line:
Awsome bike especially for the price. have gotten many compliments on the frame construction and havent encountered any major problems which is surprising with the way i ride it I miss the outer ring in the front derailer for high speed riding but the security of the bashguard is way worth it.
Strengths: The bike is great out of the box with only a few minor weaknesses which I have posted below. Love the E-thirteen, sherman,hayes hfx nine ect.
Weaknesses: I blew out the back shock on the first damn ride!! I am suprised because I am just 13 and weigh 110 pounds and I bought the small. Come on Ironhorse, I'm just a kid and I broke it on a 8 ft drop! Oh well, the only other problem is that the sherman bottoms out on VERY harsh braking and on six to flat drops which is reasonable. PS. get better grips, seat and back shock
Bottom Line:
The bottom line is that I recomend this bike to people my age who have been riding for a few years and are looking for a good priced and durable freeride/downhill bike. The only advice I have is to put in heavier oil in the forks and swap out the vannila R if you ride hard. I'm gonna give'er 5 chilis cause it is an overall great bike.
Weaknesses: let see wear do I start. Bike was one week old and total blew rear shock.( now I weight 120)Got shock back from fox and it blew first day. Got campmor to give me a manitou but its the wrong size and hit frame. 1 month into bike pivot bearing failed and head tube upper bearings failed. Replaced front fork and head bearing set. Also bought better pivot bearings. Now 5 months into bike and chain stay cracked. Bought back to dealer and they ordered new shock and chain stay for wrong bike. They reordered parts and still wrong They got my bike 3 weeks.
Bottom Line:
Don tknow what the bottom line is. Someone is screwing up ALOT.
Strengths: 7" of travle, nice parts for a starter fr bike, great tires,
Weaknesses: i cracked the frame half a month agao, and a fox vanilla r shock, but what do you expct from a company that is seling such a bike for such a price
Bottom Line:
this is a good bike for the bignner free rider/light downhiller. it handels good, has a nice feel in the air, and a great deal, a perpetual warrenty. i liked it until my bike shop told me that i had out rode it befor i got my moneys worth, but it handeled well as a starter fr/dh bike.
side note: go to bycicle bananas in reno nevada, they have gerat service and great deals, tell them that graham in nevada city sent you!
Favorite Trail: Evry trail at northstar. i guess karpiel
Duration Product Used: 6 months
Price Paid:
$1800.00
Purchased At: bycicle bnanas in reno
Similar Products Used: 1999 speciliazed hard rock, dyno/gt bmx, honda xr 80 and 250
Bike Setup: stock parts
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Submitted by
Nick
a Downhiller
from Tucson, AZ, U$A
Date Reviewed: November 17, 2004
Strengths: Durabillity, weight, 7" travel, E-13 chain guide and bash gaurd, it's an all out great bike!
Weaknesses: God damn crap ass Hayes Hyd. brakes
Bottom Line:
This is an excellent bike for the money. Strong and very comfortable. If you want a great FR bike and yr on a budget and yr not huckin the 35 footers, this is the bike for you!
Favorite Trail: The one thats fast, technical, and full of drops
Duration Product Used: 3 months
Price Paid:
$1200.00
Purchased At: Supergo
Similar Products Used: Azonic Recoil (not mine but i rode it every time i went riding with my friend...back in the day before i had a DH/FR bike of my own.)
Bike Setup: Non-stock parts: Azonic Hot Seat, Panaracer Fire FR tires, Lizard Skins Lock-on Grips, Race Face FR Bar, and hopefully soon i will add a 03 monster t, Avid mechanicals, and a fox DHX 5.0
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
michel pinto
a Weekend Warrior
from macaé , rio de janeiro, Brazil
Date Reviewed: September 25, 2004
Strengths: price, specs , FSR desing , good geometry .
Weaknesses: weight, fox vannila rear shock, rear tire hits the frame.
Bottom Line:
i had spent 1000 dolars to save some weight, now its is 34 pound , manitou swinger air shock gets plush 6" rear , with this setup i have turned this bike in agressive trail bike that can to climbs two hours and fire my tired friends with heavy bikes on downhills.it´s geometry is perfect to rain forest tracks in Brasil.in tecnical ,slow speeds down its shine.
Strengths: Great frame design, way better than any I've ridden. Built like a brick $h!t house. Great components and excellent build quality.
Weaknesses: Stock version NEEDS a bash gaurd (aka rock ring) and chain tensioner! Have to throw out 3rd chain ring to install one.
Bottom Line:
I can ride boulderfields I wouldnt even try on most bikes with ease. It is great at hard X-country and downhill, just be prepared to huff a bit with the 45+ bike weight. I weight 225 and this beefy big boy has no frame flex I can feel, even over modest high speed jumps (Ive tried so far). I don't beleive some of the other posters who claim they snapped this frame. Don't believe it. I've or my buds have snapped or folded the likes of Gary Fisher, Trek, Giant, and Specialized but this one takes it all in stride. 7" of rear travel is a wonderful thing. I am aware of seat post issues and rear shock blowing out, but I will probably put in a Romic with a 700-850 lb spring when I can afford one. I highly recommend this bike.
The value is there but expect to invest a lot keeping this thing running. Bike came with bottom bracket and chain guide installed incorrectly. Fixed this but Bottom bracket went out anyway. Had to remove chain guide to frame ISG bolts as they rub against smallest chainring. Rear wheel bottoms out against frame before the shock bottoms out. I weigh 165 and both the fork and rear end bottoms out on 4 foot drops even though I have the largest size bike. Plan on switching to 24 inch wheel and or stiffer rear spring. Need stiffer front spring. Getting lock on grips as stock ones come off even after painting them on. Have less than 100 miles on bike and now front hub is loose. Dorks at LBS stripped thru axel bolt head trying to adjust play in hub. Bike feels great going down hill and on most jumps. I actually climb quite well on this bike. I have passed up many crosscountry guys going up hill, especially the steep stuff. My freeride friends envy what I paid for this bike but I may just be spending the same as them in the end.
Submitted by
Evan Gilsdorf
a Downhiller
from Sammamish WA USA
Date Reviewed: April 1, 2004
Strengths: Price,frame, The suspension is really plush, the fork is a sherman, so you know it rocks.Completely adjustable, Handled 9+ feet of air.
Weaknesses: None really, except the chain skips when you mash the pedals, and some minimal chain slap.
Bottom Line:
Great bike for the money, handles drops 9+ feet like a feather, you just have to stiffen the compression a little bit for the manly drops. Overall quality is great, I dont know why some people say it has no climbing gears, I got the small, and you can pedal that thing freakin' vertical. Also, no offense, but if you break everything on the bike, you 1, should of bought a bigger bike, or 2, don't abuse the stuff you have, and then blame it on the bike. Great overall composure, I am completely satisfied with this bike for what it is, I mean I wont take it off a 30 foot to flat and expect to be fine, but it's a great overall bike and I am very pleased.
Similar Products Used: 03 Kona Joyride, 03 SGS Pro, 02 Giant DS-1, 04 bighit spec
Bike Setup: Stock, except I changed the rear shock position.
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Submitted by
Jason A.
a Weekend Warrior
from Syracuse, NY
Date Reviewed: November 8, 2003
Strengths: Price, price and price. Has held up well after 10+ really sick rides with many major drops, serious rock gardens and one really nasty night ride. Major exceptions noted below.
Weaknesses: It's a PIG...Got the large, 45 lbs with no climbing gears. cardio hell...but what do you expect from a DH broke BOTH of the brake levers the second week. Hayes low end stuff-Crappy design. Out of the box the bike was scratched up, covered with goofy stickers and the front rotor was slightly bent. There was an old invoice under mine that indicated this bike had been returned from someone else but obviously never ridden. SuperGo denied it. The large comes with the firm kit for the sherman fork. Is it me or would it make more sense to sell it with the extra firm? Big boys ride big bikes ater all... There is also some vertical play in the rear suspension that probably is the result of the cheap ass bolt that connects the rear shock to the upper triangle. There appears to be a little lateral play as well.
Bottom Line:
It is a good deal for the package. The mechanical shortcomings are all fixable. The weight, well, I knew that it would be a pig before I bought it. If the frame and wheels hold up as well as I think they will, it will be well worth the price. Wish I could have afforded the Bullit though.
this bike has been a pleasant surprise considering I had never riden an Ironhorse before. I wanted to get something with the 4 bar rear susp. as I have always like the way they track, brake and soak up hits, and the Expert has taken everything I have thrown at it so far. Having the best riding in the world to test it out on (Kamloops and surrounding area) I can honestly say this bike has taken a full beating and never whimpered once. It is incredibly stable at high speed, and having the Sherman up front makes for effortless steering on the steep,loose or twisty stuff around here. It even climbs relatively well for a big D/H oriented frame, which is nice when you feel like actually getting a bit of a cardio workout before the gravityfest. Overall, I'd have no problems reccomending this bike to anyone, the bang for the buck value is incredible. Cheers...
Bike Setup: stock except for some lizard skins and stem pads and stanchion guards (protect your investment and balls)
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Thomas
a Downhiller
from Long Island, NY
Date Reviewed: October 26, 2003
Strengths: Great Frame for the price, the 4 bar linkage is very strong
Weaknesses: Stock rear shock must go
Bottom Line:
Just buy the frame and build it up. The stock parts are OK but if you build it the right way then you could have a great Freeride/Downhill ride. overall price for bike $4600
Bike Setup: '03 Ironhorse SGS Expert fully sealed bearing frame with 7 of travel, Marzocchi F150 Freeride Fork, Stratos El Jefe Sr rear shock, Hayes hydraulic HFX 9 HD brakes with 8 Rotor front and rear, Raceface Diabolus Stem, AZONIC HD seat post w/Azonic Hot Seat, All XTR Components with Shimano XTR Steel Chain, Sun Rhyno Lite XL rims Chris King Hubs 12mm back and 20mm front, WTB Weirwolf Laser DH 2.5 front and rear, ODI Locking Grips, Cane Creak S-Pro Headset, Shimano PD M-545 Pedal , Kore HandleBar 1.75 FreeRide
Seat lasted 1 ride, seatpost 2 rides, rear shock has blown 3 times, Hayes brakes are inferior to past offerings (see other reviews) Broke frame 2 times. Chainstay once and seatstay once. BB lasted about a month. Sherman is leaking on right leg.
Biggest drops about 4 feet. Owned bike about 6 months. Ride once a week accept for the many weeks something has been broken and I've been waiting for new parts. Generally about 2 weekends between getting parts. Sometimes longer.
Iron Horse service has been poor at best. Taking this bike in and waiting for parts is getting to be a weekly occurrence and a lengthly. Getting anywhere in MA is a chore and I'm sick of walking out of the woods when it breaks and then fighting traffic to bring it to the LBS and then fighting traffic again to go get it after having missed a weekend or two or riding. I would rather have spent a few more $$'s on a bike that doesn't break every 2nd ride. I know all bikes break but I'm ready to through this thing in the trash.
Strengths: onepointfive steerer sherman breakout hayes 8inch
Weaknesses: the weight(42lbs)
Bottom Line:
i think this is one hell of a great bike for the price......the only thing that i have found bad about it is the weight. i have went off 6ft flat landings and it holds up great. i weight 165 and am bout 5'10". i got the medium and it feels goods....the vanella r could be upgraded but thats what u get for the price.... the bike also handles real well. after i hit some bigger drops ill prolly post a better review
