Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Rush Hour Vs. Iro Mark V/Jamie Roy

Hi first time poster I was wondering your opinions on either bike since this is my first fixed I also wanted it to be SS too atleast for the time being I liked the Rush Hour b/c it was easy to get at the LBS but i like the Iro's especially the Jamie Roy because of the down tube. Can anyone give their two cents? thanks

I have a Raleigh Rush Hour and like it alot. I've had it for 5 months now and ride it every day to work and back 25 miles. Light, fast, very nimble. Classic geometry and that groovy straight front fork. I bought the '07 model and got a discounted price. If you have any specific questions let me know. I would recommend this bike highly.

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I don't know much about the Rush Hour (only ridden one, from LBS) but IRO/Tony has a pretty good thing going. IRO is pretty much the ultimate in customized SS/FG bikes. What I like, is that IRO has it's own components... they may be rebranded (I don't know), but they are all quality for the price and interchangable. Even the IRO saddle I find as one of the best I've ever broken in. The seat post, crank, cogs, drops, etc are all great.

I tried to make my cookie cutter Mark V as little cookie cutter as possible, so I got mine completely blacked out... frame/fork, stem, bars, post, crank/arm, hubs/spokes/rims ...all black as night. I like it so much that in my search for a MTB to play with my MTB buddies, I think Im gonna pack a few more brown bag lunches and save up for a Roy and stick with IRO brand.

i rode a jamie roy for 2 years. great frame.

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What was the point in you even replying to the OP ?

Thanks Mr Helper!

I have had my Rush Hour for 2 years and love it. The thing is though, the only stock parts are the headset and frame, so you might want to consider that in your purchase.. which goes with almost all "lower end" built up bikes. I love the bike, a great beefy steel horse that will let you beat the hell out of it. Plus now it actually comes in a tolerable color!
My vote goes for the rush hour.

Love my Rush Hour. You may want to swap out the stock chainring though, because it comes with a pretty high gear.

Rush Hour has really nice geometry - tight handling but not twitchy. Also, it can be easily de-branded. The silver collar on the TT pops off with minimal effort.

All of the stock components are decent and are holding up so far.

I'm sure that you'd be happy with either a rush hour or a Mark V. Go with whichever you like more and is more convenient to get. IMO there is not a great deal of difference between the various entry level steel offerings.

That said, I love my rush hour and have no complaints.

how is the rush hour as a fixed

The Rush Hour is great as a fixed. For the price, it is a wonderful, strong bike.

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r306/javapunch/Bicycle/Bike5.jpg

Highly recommended.

dam looks hot so much goin for rush hour im leaning toward it

jamie roy!

what kind of wheel does the rush hour fit i red it comes with stock 23's but im wondering if it's able to fit larger ones

I'm running 25s and I've heard of people running 28s. Not sure how much wider you could go than that.

I have had my IRO Mark V for 3 months (ride it every day as my commuter) and I love it. I have swapped a couple components but it was great right out of the box, not to mention that Tony is a super nice guy that runs a great family business (his son is their wheel builder and does a great job).
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/jodrau/Bike_1.jpg

I don't know much about the Rush Hour (only ridden one, from LBS) but IRO/Tony has a pretty good thing going. IRO is pretty much the ultimate in customized SS/FG bikes. What I like, is that IRO has it's own components... they may be rebranded (I don't know), but they are all quality for the price and interchangable. Even the IRO saddle I find as one of the best I've ever broken in. The seat post, crank, cogs, drops, etc are all great.

I tried to make my cookie cutter Mark V as little cookie cutter as possible, so I got mine completely blacked out... frame/fork, stem, bars, post, crank/arm, hubs/spokes/rims ...all black as night. I like it so much that in my search for a MTB to play with my MTB buddies, I think Im gonna pack a few more brown bag lunches and save up for a Roy and stick with IRO brand.

+1

stock parts will last you

I ride a Jamie Roy. Great bike/great frame. I have mine set up fixed/free. Good components plus you can run tires from 700 x 23 to 700 x 38.

if youre going to use it in bad weather/off road get the jamie roy, otherwise all 3 are great bikes.

http://velospace.org/files/rushhour_ksyrium.jpg

Here's my Rush Hour. And here's my two cents:

The Rush Hour is a great bike. As you can see, I've replace the handlebars, saddle, brake, cog, lockring, and wheels on my bike. All of those, except for the cog, lockring, and saddle, were due to personal preferences.

Stock, the Rush Hour is everything you really need in a bike. The wheelset is decent, and is built around Dimension hubs, which are pretty solid and are used in a lot of FG wheel builds. I built my rear deep V around one, although it was gold anodized. The cog and lockring are cheap as hell and stripped out my first wheelset, but most off-the-peg track bikes need those parts replaced. It also comes with brakes and levers and Wellgo MTB pedals (which I think most people should use, as opposed to track pedals which are popular). The saddle was awful, full stop. I picked up an Avocet R1 the LBS had laying around for $10. The only thing it didn't come with that I thought was truly necessary were clips and straps, oddly. Out of the box, It'll be a great bike, except for the cog and lockring. Shop around a bit, because most shops were quoting me $600 for one but I got mine for $550.

That said, I got the upgrade bug. It's most satisfying to me to have a bike that I built up and customized myself. After paying $593 (after taxes) and $10 for clips and straps, I proceeded to spend:

$130 - Rim, Hub, spokes, nipples - built my own rear wheel
$100 - Mavic Ksyrium Equipe front wheel
$8 - locking skewers
$20 - Tektro RL726 cross levers
$20 - Nashbar bullhorns
$22 - Cheap, crappy, dimension double straps
$22 - Surly 17t cog
$9 - Shimano Dura Ace lockring
$10 - Avocet R1 Saddle

I refuse to do the math, because I might cry a bit. That doesn't even include shipping. But as you can see, it all adds up. I want to replace the stock crankset because it's a bit ugly (nothing functionally wrong with them), but my funds won't allow me to.

So there's a bunch of info, and here's my opinion: If you plan on owning only one bike, go the with the IRO. In addition to saving you money in the end by just simply buying the parts you want the first time around, IRO's also have wide tire clearance (my Rush Hour can take 28c's max) and fender eyelets (the Rush Hour has none), so you can ride your bike in the rain and snow, as well as have some cyclocross adventures.

However, if you plan on having multiple bikes, go with the Rush Hour! I used the stock wheelset on a $5 27" wheeled frame and put some 45mm cross tires on it for winter use. The rest of the parts also found their way onto my conversion and now it's the perfect winter bike.

Hope that helps. And since you're just getting into fixed, let me give you these tips:
1. Requisite reading: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixed/index.html
2. Get clips and straps for your bike! It keeps you tied to the bike, which helps with that whole zen crap (seriously), which is good if you want to learn how to spin properly or find yourself going down a hill at an insane cadence.
3. Keep the front brake. It's where all the stopping power comes from. As cool as your bike may look without it, you won't look so cool after your face goes through a windshield.
4. Get a lockring tool! You can use the rotafix method to put the cog in place, but it is absolutely vital that you have a lockring tool and tighten the lockring properly. I used a screwdriver and hammer for my first two weeks of riding fixed and then my hub stripped out and I had to get a new rear wheel (warrantied by my LBS, thank god).

That's all I can think of. I'm on a ridiculous adderall rush, hence long post. But I swear, most of it's useful information. I'm off to go clean my entire house.

awesome but one more question i was thinking of using a spare carbon fork (not mine yet) which bike would it fit better?