REVIEWS DEALS BIKESHOPS TRAILS

$1,000 Iron Horse Bicycle?

1304 Views 13 Replies 4 Participants Last post by Speedub.Nate, Jul 3, 2006

dejacky

Discussion Starter · Jun 28, 2006

The Ellsworth Truth I demoed was great, but it was beyond my $1,000 budget so Iron Horse bikes seemed like the better bang/buck option. I do all kinds of daily and weekend riding, but no serious racing. I would like the bike to be able to handle some fun weekend downhills in Austin, Dallas, and east Texas areas and not break. I'm 5'11'' (medium sized frames fit me best) and ~200lbs (soon to be 177-180lbs with the help of cycling hehe). Since I don't need the absolute lightest (most expensive components) I know the following:

Regular brakes instead of disc brakes
Shimano LX components should be fine for me
I don't need expesnive pedals or cranks
Suspension just needs to perform adequate, expensive "racing spec" stuff is not needed, etc

What bikes do you experienced riders recommend that minimize pedal bob (or eliminate it

) ? (i'm fine with buying used bikes too)

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Speedub.Nate

· #2 · Jun 28, 2006

dejacky said:
The Ellsworth Truth I demoed was great, but... I would like the bike to be able to handle some fun... and not break.

Couldn't have said it better myself!

Dave Weagle's dw-link suspension design pedals well without a platform shock -- you'll get a supple, compliant ride on even the smallest stuff, yet get the solid, "no bob" suspension you desire.

Look for the dw-link on the '04 Hollowpoint, and on the '05-'06 Azure (XC - 3.5"), MkIII (All Mountain / light FR - 5") or 7Point (FR - 7").

None of those are going to hit your $1000 price point brand new, but the '05 Azure Comp and MkIII have compe pretty close at places like Randal Scott (www.RSCycle.com) and Performance.

Oh, disc brakes aren't a weight weenie item -- most of us gladly take the small weight penalty discs add, in trade for the increased braking control & stopping power. I don't know what kind of hills you're riding, but at your weight, you'll probably appreciate a couple of rotors bolted to your wheels.

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ashwinearl

· #3 · Jun 28, 2006

dejacky said:
The Ellsworth Truth I demoed was great, but it was beyond my $1,000 budget so Iron Horse bikes seemed like the better bang/buck option. I do all kinds of daily and weekend riding, but no serious racing. I would like the bike to be able to handle some fun weekend downhills in Austin, Dallas, and east Texas areas and not break. I'm 5'11'' (medium sized frames fit me best) and ~200lbs (soon to be 177-180lbs with the help of cycling hehe). Since I don't need the absolute lightest (most expensive components) I know the following:

Regular brakes instead of disc brakes
Shimano LX components should be fine for me
I don't need expesnive pedals or cranks
Suspension just needs to perform adequate, expensive "racing spec" stuff is not needed, etc

What bikes do you experienced riders recommend that minimize pedal bob (or eliminate it ) ? (i'm fine with buying used bikes too)

Keep your eyes open for the sales on 2006 models to start. September is Interbike and usually around then everything goes on sale to make room for the 2007 stuff. Also there are some 2005 old stock still floating around that will drop in price even more.

Sounds like you'd have the most fun on an MKIII. For a real budget setup look for a 2004 Hollowpoint.

Many modern bikes will be disc brake only on the frame.

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dejacky

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jun 29, 2006

If any of you see any medium sized frames, please let me know. I miss riding and it's a fun incentive for me to get healthier and remain in shape :thumbsup: .

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dejacky

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jul 2, 2006

It looks like supergo was offering the 2005 Iron Horse MKIII's for ~$1,400 almost a year ago, so I'm hoping I can get one for a $1,000 now that 2007 is nearing. Is there any way to use a standard V rear brake instead of the disc brake on these mkIII/hollowpoint frames?

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Speedub.Nate

· #6 · Jul 2, 2006

Maybe... they were hot sellers, depends what dealers have sitting in inventory. Keep your eyes peeled!

No v-brake option on either the Hollowpoint or MkIII.

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dejacky

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jul 2, 2006

Speedub.Nate said:
No v-brake option on either the Hollowpoint or MkIII.

ay yai yai!

Surely, there must be someway to rig a hollowpoint / mkIII for V-brakes? I absolutely do not want any disc brakes on my future mkIII :madman: . Any ideas on how to do this would be much appreciated! (looks don't matter to me) I coulda sworn I saw a picture of a MKIII somewhere here with a non-disc type rear brake :aureola:.

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cavscout

· #8 · Jul 2, 2006

dejacky said:
ay yai yai! Surely, there must be someway to rig a hollowpoint / mkIII for V-brakes? I absolutely do not want any disc brakes on my future mkIII :madman: . Any ideas on how to do this would be much appreciated! (looks don't matter to me) I coulda sworn I saw a picture of a MKIII somewhere here with a non-disc type rear brake :aureola:.

May I ask why you don't want disc brakes? If it's cost go with mechanicals. Just wondering.

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dejacky

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jul 3, 2006

cavscout said:
May I ask why you don't want disc brakes? If it's cost go with mechanicals. Just wondering.

I'm a weight weenie and disc brakes are extra cost i don't need

Basically, I wanted to lose the weight of the rear-disc brake and eventually upgrade to an internally geared rear-hub like the Shimano Nexus. So, the nexus rear hub wouldn't be adding much weight since it would offset that by using a much lighter rear-mechanical v-brake. How feasible is it to make the Mark III bike's 27lbs? Also, how much do the 05 Mark III's weigh in stock form?

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Speedub.Nate

· #10 · Jul 3, 2006

In all honesty, the Nexus isn't designed to withstand the type of abuse you'd dish out in an off-road environment. Its off-road endorsement comes from the frame-mount gearbox implementation GT is specing.

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dejacky

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jul 3, 2006

Which internally-geared hubs do you recommend that can withstand mountain-bike trail riding?

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Speedub.Nate

· #12 · Jul 3, 2006

dejacky said:
Which internally-geared hubs do you recommend that can withstand mountain-bike trail riding?

So far, only the Rohloff Speedhub.

I have high hopes for SRAM's new i-Motion 9, which should debut in August. Meanwhile, we heard a lot of tall talk out of the folks at Nuvinci & www.FreerideHubs.com after their relationship with Rohloff soured, but I haven't heard or seen much from them. (Anyone?).

MTBR'er El Calballo has just set up a Nexus Red Band and has been updating this thread (http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=203634) over the past few days, but based on the experiences posted by Nexus owners over the years, I don't have much hope for the long term success of this attempt.

I should add that I have a Nexus 7 and a Sram Spectro 7 on my and my wife's street bikes. While I feel they are adequate for this type of riding, I'm concerned that trail dust and out of the saddle climbs would quickly take the toll on the Nexus, and the shifting action on Sram is a bit spotty under even light pedal loads.

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dejacky

Discussion Starter · #13 · Jul 3, 2006

Excellent info, thank you :thumbsup: . GT used the nexus in their latest downhill bike. I would think that GT are confident the nexus will hold up well if they put it in a production mountain/downhill bike right?:

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136015&page=3&highlight=nexus

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Speedub.Nate

· #14 · Jul 3, 2006

Speedub.Nate said:
...Its off-road endorsement comes from the frame-mount gearbox implementation GT is specing.

^^ This is the setup I was citing. ^^

The red-band Nexus GT is using is mounted mid-frame, not at the back wheel, making for a less abusive environment and probably reduced operating stresses due to gearing.

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