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what the hell??? Iron Horse + Canada = Sport "marts"....

zedro

zedro

Turbo Monkey
Sep 14, 2001
4,144
1
at the end of the longest line
...still

looking for a trail bike (MK III in mind), looking for a dealer and it seems IH still has Sports Chek/Sports Experts (in quebec) as the exclusive dealers...you know, bikes parked between the lawn darts and tennis rackets. I'm kinda dissapointed, I want to check out pricing but figure the conversion will go like:

Me- "Hi, I'd like to get pricing on an Iron Horse MK3 "
Dude- "Uhh...is that a golf set?"
Me- "No it's a bike"
Dude- "Whats that have to do with horses?"

uhhg, dont even want to think about service issues....
 
mud'n'sweat

mud'n'sweat

Falcon
Feb 12, 2006
1,250
0
zedro said:
yeah, the heavier end of what i'm looking at for sure, still looking for something that can take some punishment
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I definitely recommend the bike I'm currently using as a trail bike. The 2005 Ellsworth Distance. Weighs about 5.6 and is tough as hell. I weigh 220lb and am agressive as hell with it. I tear up parts almost every ride around here with our rough terrain but the frame just takes the abuse with grace. Apart from cleaning and re-greasing the pivot once a month (I ride almost everyday) it is really trouble free and really plush for a 5" travel trail bike.
 
sirbikealot

sirbikealot

Monkey
Sep 19, 2001
462
0
Dundas,ON,CAN
Zedro, its really sad, Iron Horse Sponsored our Team in 2004, they were great to work with and the bikes were spot on, however Forzani (owners of sport mart) have a contract for years to come on the Iron horse name to sell their cheap ass bikes (usually $700 cdn and lower) in the big box Sport marts.
We constantly had racers, riders etc contacting us to ask where to buy the bikes our team was riding, we always had the same answer, Sport Mart, they would then contact Sport mart and get the same answer you did. We went to some significant lengths to get some bikes brought up for some customers (almost begging stores), unfortunately IH is not about to change their distribution route due to the volume of cheap bikes Sport mart buys :(
 
wood-dog

wood-dog

Turbo Monkey
Jun 20, 2005
1,008
0
the mid-west armpit!
mud'n'sweat said:
I definitely recommend the bike I'm currently using as a trail bike. The 2005 Ellsworth Distance. Weighs about 5.6 and is tough as hell. I weigh 220lb and am agressive as hell with it. I tear up parts almost every ride around here with our rough terrain but the frame just takes the abuse with grace. Apart from cleaning and re-greasing the pivot once a month (I ride almost everyday) it is really trouble free and really plush for a 5" travel trail bike.
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I can attest to this guy breaking parts during every freaking ride! If I am not reparing what he broke, I am there witnessing the demolition of his parts. However, I do have to say that his frame has/is holding up like a champ! :thumb:
 
Transcend

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
mud'n'sweat said:
I definitely recommend the bike I'm currently using as a trail bike. The 2005 Ellsworth Distance. Weighs about 5.6 and is tough as hell. I weigh 220lb and am agressive as hell with it. I tear up parts almost every ride around here with our rough terrain but the frame just takes the abuse with grace. Apart from cleaning and re-greasing the pivot once a month (I ride almost everyday) it is really trouble free and really plush for a 5" travel trail bike.
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You said ellsworth, and tough in the same sentence. :rofl:
 
zedro

zedro

Turbo Monkey
Sep 14, 2001
4,144
1
at the end of the longest line
bjanga said:
Get a hardtail! ;)
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too hard for my tail...

Ellsworth: out of the question on principal alone...

Vacation to the States: well i might end up in California for a short contract...but dammit my wallets on fire!!!

Specialized Enduro...IH MK-III....Devinci Remix...Giant Reign....insert other 4-bar here....damn bike shopping is tough :looney:
 
mud'n'sweat

mud'n'sweat

Falcon
Feb 12, 2006
1,250
0
Tough to get warranted huh? Strange, always heard the exact opposite from folks who have actually owned them and broken them. In fact, I have a second hand Ell's and they still sent me free replacement parts. Another guy in my town who owns one broke the swing arm on a joker before they changed up the welds. They sent him a brand new one with the stronger weld design free of charge. I know it's a huge internet fad to talk ****, but do any of you actually have any experience with them to back up the **** talking? Just curious.
 
Toshi

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,421
7,805
mud'n'sweat said:
Tough to get warranted huh? Strange, always heard the exact opposite from folks who have actually owned them and broken them. In fact, I have a second hand Ell's and they still sent me free replacement parts. Another guy in my town who owns one broke the swing arm on a joker before they changed up the welds. They sent him a brand new one with the stronger weld design free of charge. I know it's a huge internet fad to talk ****, but do any of you actually have any experience with them to back up the **** talking? Just curious.
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see post 32 and on

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=112026&highlight=ellsworth+warranty

and read up on the search results here for "ellsworth warranty" if you're still not convinced.
 
mud'n'sweat

mud'n'sweat

Falcon
Feb 12, 2006
1,250
0
That thread doesn't seem to back up the bashing very much. It seems that everyone who has had an Ell's on that thread had positive things to say about them. I called Ell's about the warranty on bikes that have changed and they said that was not true. I haven't been in that situation though so I can't speak from direct experience. Who knows, all I care about is how the bike feels for me and that I'm enjoying the hell out of it.
 
binary visions

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,102
1,153
NC
Certainly enjoy your bike, Ellsworth's business practices don't affect how much fun you have on a ride. However, just because your direct experience has been positive doesn't mean that everyone's experience is.

There is a tremendous amount of information out there about how poorly Ellsworth has treated many of their customers.

As I said, though, it doesn't affect your ride so enjoy your bike :)
 
mud'n'sweat

mud'n'sweat

Falcon
Feb 12, 2006
1,250
0
binary visions said:
Certainly enjoy your bike, Ellsworth's business practices don't affect how much fun you have on a ride. However, just because your direct experience has been positive doesn't mean that everyone's experience is.

There is a tremendous amount of information out there about how poorly Ellsworth has treated many of their customers.

As I said, though, it doesn't affect your ride so enjoy your bike :)
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Well, I'm definitely not trying to come across as defensive, as I am really curious about the whole Ell's gossip. It seems that everyone who says exactly what you are saying never actually experienced this themselves. In turn, everyone who has owned one and talked about it says the exact opposite. It is just a bit confusing to hear people say there are countless accounts of all of this from owners, but I can never really find more than one or two isolated incidents in all of my searching. I guess I'll never know until I'm in that actual situation, but like I've said, they have already sent me free replacement parts + spares and I didn't even buy the bike new under warranty.

I just realized this thread is getting hijacked a bit by myself, all apologies for that!
 
buildyourown

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
Zedro,
How about a 5-spot from superho/performance. You can get them for about $1400-1300 depending on who was doing the pricing that week. The Burner I got on blowout has been eveything I could have imagined and more. Just a suggestion for a cheap trail bike.
 
zedro

zedro

Turbo Monkey
Sep 14, 2001
4,144
1
at the end of the longest line
buildyourown said:
Zedro,
How about a 5-spot from superho/performance. You can get them for about $1400-1300 depending on who was doing the pricing that week. The Burner I got on blowout has been eveything I could have imagined and more. Just a suggestion for a cheap trail bike.
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well on that note they deal in IH, but been reading reviews on the MK and i think i'm leaning away from it (although it was 2005 stuff...but with the hassle of ordering across borders etc...). The 8-ball is leaning towards the Reign now, I've had good experiences with Giant as well, and i'm stuck on VP type designs
 
mud'n'sweat

mud'n'sweat

Falcon
Feb 12, 2006
1,250
0
Agreed, the 5 spot and burner are both sick frames. I will likely up to a new frame after this season and was thinking of trying a burner. Also, the Yeti 575 is a real nice ride for a 4" travel trail bike. Actually feels pretty plush and smooth.
 
Bicyclist

Bicyclist

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2004
10,152
2
SB
The Enduro is more of a DH-feeling bike (Dirt magazine beat their record test track time of an M3 on an Enduro), so I would say if you're aggressive get that or a Coiler if you want a Kona. The Giant is more "trail-bike" oriented, and since you want a trail bike, I say go for that.
 
DHS

DHS

Friendly Neighborhood Pool Boy
Apr 23, 2002
5,094
0
Sand, CA
i have a 2005 MKIII 19" frame up for sale. rode it 4 times, never really cared for the geometry feel of it. will it fit you?

(SPAM)
 
zedro

zedro

Turbo Monkey
Sep 14, 2001
4,144
1
at the end of the longest line
DHS said:
i have a 2005 MKIII 19" frame up for sale. rode it 4 times, never really cared for the geometry feel of it. will it fit you?

(SPAM)
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it might, but after binge drinking last night i realized i'm fully in :heart: with the Reign....thanks for the offer tho

thanks all :)
 
Roasted

Roasted

Turbo Monkey
Jul 4, 2002
1,488
0
Whistler, BC
sirbikealot said:
Zedro, its really sad, Iron Horse Sponsored our Team in 2004, they were great to work with and the bikes were spot on, however Forzani (owners of sport mart) have a contract for years to come on the Iron horse name to sell their cheap ass bikes (usually $700 cdn and lower) in the big box Sport marts.
We constantly had racers, riders etc contacting us to ask where to buy the bikes our team was riding, we always had the same answer, Sport Mart, they would then contact Sport mart and get the same answer you did. We went to some significant lengths to get some bikes brought up for some customers (almost begging stores), unfortunately IH is not about to change their distribution route due to the volume of cheap bikes Sport mart buys :(
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This has been an issue for ages. I was fully intent on buying an ironhorse until I found out I had to go to sportcheck. I did go there but couldn't bring myself to make an expensive purchase from a sport based wallmart. Considering I used to work there, I still wouldn't do it.
 
H

Heavy C

Chimp
Dec 5, 2001
37
0
Another way you can look at the Sport Check connection.

Service may be below local bike shop standard but the price of the complete bike is as well. I was suprised how much bike you get for our buck with the IH line up.

I have really liked my Mk III as a trail bike and highly recommend it.

The money you save can offset any cost required in maintainance at your lbs.
 
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