so at the risk of exposing the proverbial elephant in the room. .. has IRO fallen out of grace? I can't find anything recent on these folks, reviews etc. but I'm really liking the build-a-bike phoenix.
I've been researching singlespeeds for a few months now and am very close to pulling the trigger on a phoenix for my first ss commuter bike. Most anything will be an upgrade from the Schwinn Frontier MB (circa 1999) I'm using now.
I've looked at lots of frames (surly,soma,pake) and complete "urban" bikes (Soho S, Schwinn Cutter/Racer, Ral. Rush Hour) etc and realized I'd be hard-pressed to build up a Surly CC or something similar for under a $1000 and the complete bikes are lacking in MANY regards.
Anyone know what kind of brakes do they use on these? The only specs I'm seein on the IRO sight are for the frame.

thanks for the input!

I still love my Iro, and may be buying my GF a Heidi soon. I've e-mailed them back and forth and had great quick responses.

i will be getting my jamie roy tomorrow!

New or used? I haven't been able to find one anywhere!

used. im getting it tomorrow though.

my bike

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...0/DSC_0526.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...0/DSC_0527.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...0/DSC_0529.jpg

i dont like the fork.

Why not?

i dont like the curve. wheres the rest of the IRO

all IRO bike questions should go on this thread only.

there is an IRO angus in my future. far future probably.

Here is my Mark V I received and put together yesterday. Since then I put on Rolly Polys (gumwalls).

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_XHnCj4GtmZs/TG...4/DSC_6822.JPG

My IRO Jamie Roy!
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...0811001916.jpg

and in it's winter boots:
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...0114081752.jpg

Single best winter bike I have ever ridden, and I ride Maine winters. Still have all the stock parts except for the brake pads, tires and a chain. I LOVE THIS BIKE!!

so which IRO is that exactly? I love the downtube on that specific one...

It looks like the Mark V Pro.

Just ordered my Mark V about a month ago, it's sitting at my house waiting for my arrival. I got a 56 but i'm 5'11 with a 32in inseam, so I wonder how that will go. I order the 110 steam and I can always raise the seat if need be. What do you guys think?

I believe it's a Jamie Roy. The white was available for a little while. The Mark V tubing for the top/down tube is circular, the alu tubing for the Jamie Roys are not.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...ker/myiro3.jpg


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...ker/myiro0.jpg

Received a week ago. Got the frame back from the powdercoater yesterday. A friend and I assembled her today. Tires are flat because the pump I got didn't have the presta adapter for some reason, which is why I'm not out riding. Have to exchange the pump tomorrow after work and deal with the agony of it sitting in my living room the rest of the night tonight.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...ks/IRO0001.jpg

Just built up today!

I think the reason you don't see much about them is because on the internet everyone is either hyping FGFS stuff or the Kilo TT. IRO was really popular in Boston several years ago. They're great frames still.

I beat the hell out of IRO and it keeps ticking. I've put about 5k miles on it in the past year and a half with no frameset issues. I'm actually even running a 35mm in the rear because I've been riding a lot in an area with ****ty ****ty roads. I think that I see a steamroller fork at some point in my future. :)

I'm considering getting an IRO Mark V as a single speed.

Is it a good SS for a newbie? I don't know much about the quality of the components...

The IRO completes are better than Bikesdirect. They're more on par with the kind of off the shelf SSFG bikes you'd get from a bike shop. What's nice about the IRO bikes is that you can choose things like rim color, handlebar type and stuff right when you order.

I've got 28's on now and I want to move up. Did you crimp your frame?

is this pretty much stock?? Man, i REALLY think these IROs are some of the best looking stock bikes out there. very classy.
i was contemplating getting one when the price was higher, but instead went with doing a custom build. if only i knew two months later the price was dropped to 400 for the stock build....oh well, enjoy your IRO!

ooo yah a steamroller fork would look quite nice on the IRO frames i think! i bought one for my build and loving it. bought it for the same reason, to run bigger front tires (the fork that came with my frame could only run 700x25 with good clearance) and now i have 32s up front, could definitely go bigger! plus i think the crown on them looks really nice.

So after much deliberation I ordered a Mark V.

I'm about 5'11" with a 32" inseam (while barefoot) and was hesitating between the 56 frame and the 59--eventually called and Tony suggested the 59. Here's to hoping it's the right size!

I was told it'd be about two weeks because they have a bunch of bikes to build. Excited and anxious. :)
:)

Serious problems with bike and customer service
 

I know this is my first post but seriously, not a troll. Bike Forums was one of the places I learned the most about bikes when I was first starting to ride as a primary form of transportation 4 years ago. That being said...

I’ve had (and still have) an IRO frame and bought various parts from them for the past 4 years. Never had an issue with quality or customer service before, and I’d gladly recommend them to others. Until now.

My boyfriend and I recently moved to Honolulu, HI from Columbus, OH. So we got rid of most everything we owned, including most of our tools beyond the daily-maintenance essentials. We haven't replaced a lot of the specialty items yet because we are tight on money. I shipped my (IRO! HA!) bike but he sold his 80s steel road bike, planning on going back to fixed gear and buying a new bike when we got here.

So when we moved to Honolulu, my bf bought a complete bike, the “World’s Toughest Fixie” from IRO. Generally speaking I don’t like complete bikes, but this was the cheapest, easiest and fastest option for us to get him a bicycle so he can get to work and school. Given my good experiences with IRO in the past, I figured it would be fine.

Since he got the bike, he has been doing nothing but normal city riding in Honolulu. No off roads or going off curbs, nothing crazy. The back wheel of the bicycle has broken 6 spokes so far. Every week, sometimes multiple times, we’re at McCully Bike Shop in Honolulu getting spokes replaced. I’ve been dealing with Nicole from IRO all week about this issue and she has been extremely unhelpful. They want us to send the wheel back for them to evaluate it. Not an option, because this bicycle is Thomas’s only form of transportation to school and work. They won’t send us a loaner wheel to use while the wheel is repaired (I even offered to pay a deposit on a loaner wheel with my credit card) and they won’t pay for shipping to PA from HI for the wheel, despite the fact that we paid $500 for this bicycle LESS THAN TWO MONTHS AGO and already paid $180 in shipping to get the bicycle here. We don't have an extra wheel to put on his bike because we just moved 5,000 miles away.

Honestly, why the **** would I pay shipping to send a wheel to Pennsylvania and back and have it take at least two weeks when I can just go to McCully Bike Shop (who has been nothing but fast, helpful and excellent) and get the whole wheel relaced for $50 within a day. This is ridiculous.

Compare this to a wheel I had built by Casey at B1 Bicycles in Columbus last year - I have never broken or lost a spoke, and it is still in true, a year and a half later.

In the past couple of years, I’ve watched IRO grow from a small company to a bigger one, and I had been happy for them. Unfortunately, with growth comes major, major issues, apparently. This bicycle is brand new, touted as the “world’s toughest fixie” (yeah right) and already having tons of mechanical issues. Their customer service has refused to help us in any way. They should realize that many people rely on a bicycle as their primary form of transportation; in fact, I’d argue that’s who IRO caters to: the urban commuter. Therefore, it’s completely unrealistic to expect us to send the wheel to PENNSYLVANIA to get it fixed without them sending us a loaner wheel.


I don’t want anyone else to have to deal with this kind of bull****. I hate to do this, because like I said, previously I was happy to support this small business, but this is unacceptable. I'm amazed, because I've heard so many stories of IRO going above and beyond for people, but apparently my case doesn't warrant that.

Finally - anyone have any tips or suggestions? Thanks.

couldn't you have asked them to reimburse you for fixing the back wheel locally instead of sending it back to them because you need the wheel for transportation?
what did they say when you said you cant send it back because you need it to commute?

When I told them about the commuting, they basically said, too bad, we don't have any wheels to send you, send it back to us. Making it sound like the ONLY option is sending the wheel to IRO.

I asked about reimbursement and have not received a reply yet, but I am not optimistic given what I've heard so far.

well, the wheel is fixed now, right? you have the receipts for the fix?

if i were you i would demand reimbursement because they sold you a faulty wheel and needed a working one to commute for work.
if this nicole person gives you more trouble ask to speak to a manager.