[Ouch!]

Does anyone have experience with this bike, or some of the components that come on the bike?

 

[Speedub.Nate]

Does anyone have experience with this bike, or some of the components that come on the bike?

The Hollowpoint itself is solid. The frames are essentially the same across the line. Mine is an '03 Expert and I absolutely think it's the greatest thing since take-'n-bake pizza, and I'm not joking. I stumbled across this bike while looking for an active rear suspension that would climb as efficiently as my NRS yet give me the compliance the NRS lacks on small bumps and technical descents.

"Efficient" can be a bad word because it means different things to different riders, but the net effect of the dw-link suspension is that it climbs with a minimal amount of rider-induced suspension movement without relying on an SPV platform to do so, and has so little pedal feedback when the suspension does cycles that your legs will think it's been locked out. I honestly get more "pedal feedback" out of my Thudbuster-equipped hardtail.

The bike is plush across the whole range of hits, small to large, and has been a joy to ride for the past year-and-a-half. The spec looks solid but if any Sport owners don't chime in here, ask around in the Iron Horse forum about any specific components.

 

[s0larnuke]

I have been riding the sport for a couple of months and have no complaints. The only thing I need is a longer seat tube.

As Speedüb Nate said, the hollowpoint is a great bike and the dw-link is awesome.

 

[pathfinder]

Anybody weigh their Hollowpoint?

Hi,

I am seriously considering buying a Giant NRS 2, but I just got a Supergo catalog and am now considering a Hollowpoint instead, partly because of the parts group, but is it chunky? The terrain around here is steep, so there's lots of climbing.

 

[Speedub.Nate]

I am seriously considering buying a Giant NRS 2, but I just got a Supergo catalog and am now considering a Hollowpoint instead, partly because of the parts group, but is it chunky? The terrain around here is steep, so there's lots of climbing.

I came off an NRS2, which I purchased in an attempt to find something "more efficient" than my Fisher Joshua 'Y' bike. Despite the shining reviews of the dw-link's climbing prowess, I was concerned that I would be in for an adjustment period getting used to the 5" travel bike. Sitting on the bike the first time, feeling it sag over an inch and a half underneath me, I was sure I had made a mistake.

But on my very first climb, a moderate 2 mile fireroad of an average 7% grade, I knew I picked the right bike. Despite the sag and the long travel, the shock held fast underneath me, the pedaling was s-m-o-o-o-o-t-h over smaller terrain imperfections, and the pedaling was fluid and kickless on larger compressions.

This is all with a dirt-simple air damped, non-platform Cane Creek AD-12. The '04 stock bikes are coming with somewhat more sophisticated dampers, with platform valving on some. I insist the bikes don't need the SPV bells-and-whistles, and it looks as if Iron Horse concurs somewhat due to the fairly low platform thresholds the shocks are to be set at.

My only advice for climbing on this bike is to keep the front end low. To me, a 4" fork with a healthy inch of sag feels perfect, but the bike begins to feel "choppered out" once you get much above this. An adjustable travel 4-5" fork might be the best of both worlds. I get some decent vertical on my rides, and never feel like the bike is dragging me down even after a couple hours in the saddle.

Weight-wise, my naked medium frame weighed in at 6.25 pounds, very much capable of a light build if you want to put the effort in to it.