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A good choice for all but the burliest riders on the Shore |
Words by Pete Roggeman
Freeriding isn't old enough to be able to say that the perennial players have established themselves yet. The usual suspects have risen to the top of the heap from their roots in XC or BMX, but every year a few new companies emerge, announcing that they intend to carve their own niche.
Iron Horse hasn't exactly been tearing up the freeride scene in recent years, but the company has always been lingering in the background of the mountain bike world, trying to bring together the right combination of sound design, slick marketing, and capable distribution. The 2003 model year was Iron Horse's first attempt to make a real name for itself with a freeride bike, and the '03 line-up impressed us when we were at the annual Interbike trade show in Las Vegas last fall. Fast forward to May of this year, and the arrival of a SGS Expert at the nsmb office in North Van... |
The Iron Horse SGS Expert for 2003 - Photo: © Iron Horse |
Spec highlights
Truvativ Hussefelt cranks paired with a front derailleur-compatible e.thirteen DRS chainguide made for a nice combo. Shifters are Shimano LX, with an XT rear derailleur and LX up front, with nondescript hubs on Mavic 219 rims, and Maxxis Minion tires. Braking was handled by Hayes HFX-9s.
The stock Iron Horse grips were too thin - I yanked them off right away and threw on a set of ODI Lock-ons. More bike companies ought to spec Lock-ons on their pricier freeride bikes - they're essential gear on the Shore.
The Iron Horse ripping it up at Sun Peaks - Photo: Cam McRae |
The Ride
For the most part, the Expert is a very capable all-around freeride bike. The Breakout was very impressive and after I got over the psychological hump of using a single crown fork for aggressive freeriding, I found that the only time I was wishing for more stiffness was on bigger drops or at very high speed in choppy sections.
I never felt confident dropping anything nearing my bigger fork comfort zone, but I rode smoother and did like the tighter turning radius of the single crown for slow technical sections. Once I got the compression set up properly, the fork didn't bottom harshly except on square hits or at high speeds in rough terrain - something that could have been improved with stiffer springs. |
For a medium-duty freeride fork or a smooth rider that goes pretty big, the Breakout will do the job and then some. The fork has performed admirably even with a nasty scratch one of the upper stanchions, and it's nice to know the seals on your fork are solid and can withstand some stanchion damage. Big points for Manitou on that one.
On the back end, the Fox Vanilla R was a weak spot. The R isn't the best shock at this price level - it's not supple and the lack of compression adjustment was an issue for me. The original shock was blown when I got the test bike, so I was sent one of Fox's new Pro Pedal shocks. While it performed better than the Vanilla R, it a) is not the stock shock, and b) did not deal with the fact that the back end wasn't plush enough to overcome mediocre pedaling performance.
Iron Horse licensed the Horst Link from Specialized, so I expected a bike that would pedal (reasonably) well, and feel supple on small hits and progressive on big ones. What I got was a bike that did not pedal very well, and did not feel like a 7" bike on big hits. I'll admit that I've become spoiled by the plush feel of Progressive's 5th Element, but I still expected better from the Iron Horse.
In spite of that, I felt like the Expert was in its element in rolling terrain or when negotiating lots of high-speed turns. If you sat forward in the cockpit and showed it who was boss, the Expert responded very well. But if you like to hang out in the back of the bike and let it lead you down the trail, this is not your bike. The top tube is too long, and the head angle a bit too steep to get away with it. After a few weeks, I got this figured out and started riding much better on the bike.
Not everything's perfect
There were a few spec decisions on this bike that said something about Iron Horse's Eastern roots as much as they did about saving money. The two-bolt Ringle stem was perfectly good, but looked extremely pinner atop a 1.5" steerer tube, and a serious freeride bike should always have a four-bolt stem.
Ditto the wheels from Mavic, which worked fine and stayed true for a few months, but eventually succumbed to the Whistler stutters and doubles, and I ended up blowing up the back wheel one afternoon. The biggest hole in the bike's design, however, was the interrupted seattube without an accompanying telescoping seat post. I am just over 6' tall and couldn't get the seat high enough to climb or low enough to descend on a Large (19") bike. This was a big problem on sustained climbs, and was so bad that I usually wouldn't even bother climbing up more than half of Fromme (a 30 to 40 minute fire road climb for those Shore virgins reading this). |
A nimble performer in the right hands - Photo: Cam McRae |
Todd Seplavy, Product Manager at Iron Horse, has made some adjustments to this bike for 2004. The price has dropped to make room for the SGS Pro, which will cost a bit more than this year's Expert. Good improvements to the expert include a Manitou Swinger shock with SPV valving, Maxxis High Roller tires, a four-bolt stem, linkage by e.thirteen, and a WTB wheel set. The new Expert will come in at around CDN$2,200 Canadian, and is equipped with a 5" Manitou Flick and the Vanilla R shock. For a bike that costs well under $2,500, that's a ton of technology - bravo, Iron Horse.
The SGS Expert is a fun bike to ride, and a great value to boot. It has a few idiosyncrasies, but I rode it on the Shore, in Whistler, and Sun Peaks, and loved it everywhere. It wouldn't be the only bike in my garage, but if I had to have only one, I can say it would be closer to something like the Expert than an 8" freeride rig or a DH racer. It is a Swiss Army knife bike that you can rip on in the bike park, the jumps, and on any trail, and is a good choice for all but the burliest riders on the Shore who have an accountant for a spouse. Throw in a telescoping seatpost and you'll be laughing.
It is too soon to say whether Iron Horse will establish itself as one of the new players in the freeride game, but the company has made a nice initial splash with the SGS line, and the parallel success of a DH line serves notice that Iron Horse is making a sincere effort to penetrate the gravity market.
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