Honestly, I don't really feel like IRO is in the wrong here. It sucks, but that's the cost of doing business with a mail-order company—when things don't work, you have to mail them back and deal with the wait. Asking them for a donor wheel is pretty extreme and I wouldn't expect them to honor that request. Same with reimbursement for the repair—it would be awfully nice of them to do so, considering the cost of shipping to/from Hawaii, but that's just not part of their (or, that I'm aware of, anybody's) warranty policy. They just couldn't make any money if they were spending an additional $100-150 in shipping costs and loaner wheels for every bike they sold.
(It's also unfair to compare the stock wheels on the IRO to a wheel you had hand-built by an LBS. One of my first stops after buying any mail-order bike would be to the LBS to get the wheels trued and tensioned.)

That said, I can empathize. My girlfriend and I just moved to Honolulu as well (We're probably really close! McCully Bike Shop is like two blocks away from our apartment.) and could only afford to bring one bike each. I brought my touring/utility bike since we were going car-free, but had to leave my road bike behind. Been trying to find an affordable SS/FG to hold me over until my Ironman can join me, but even the bargains aren't really bargains when you add $150 in shipping. That's the price we pay for living in paradise, I suppose.

yah jt, i agree about the cost of doing business with a mail order, and i do think asking for an extra wheel is extreme.

i do think, however, when you buy a new bike, online or at LBS, its safe to assume you are getting something that wont break within the first month (or i guess, maybe not lol)

but still, i would think the cost of having some spokes replaced is way cheaper than having to ship a wheel to IRO, have them fix it, then have them ship it back. So if I were IRO, to keep people from tarnishing their good name like is happening here, i would reimburse the relatively small repair amount for the bunk wheel. i dunno, i could be totally wrong.

Did your boyfriend properly tension the spokes before riding? Out-of-the-box bikes very rarely (read: never) have properly-tensioned wheels.

Yeah, this. The wheels on that bike were built by a robot. Robots don't have to ride bikes, so they don't know how to build a good wheel.

ETA: But in all fairness to illdthedj, IRO should at least let you know tension might be off. This is obvious to some people, but not everyone spends their entire day reading about bikes on the internet. That's one thing BikesDirect has going for it: if you forget to tighten something and ruin your bike, you can be damn sure it isn't BD's fault—I'm sure they told you at least three times before you even bought your bike.

Just put this together Tuesday. My first SS/FG and I am absolutely loving it.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/...9a2c8ca3_b.jpg

level your saddle

I wish my IRO was a Mark V and not an Angus. Why would anyone want to use quill stems? Gah.

Also, what does everyone think about the geometry of these bikes? I feel like the steering/handling is terrible. My GT carves into corners and feels amazing, but my IRO feels dead and unresponsive. I don't know if it's an issue of the slack headtube or what.

Apparently, this guy does.

http://www.fixedvancouver.com/Forums...5088#post65088

My singlespeed Mark V should get here on Tuesday. I come from a background of BMX, but those days are long gone. I am really excited for my new bike. I am starting to think I shouldn't have gone with 46/16 gearing though. I think I probably want something that is a little harder to pedal...

Why?

why? Its super comfortable as is. Other than comfort, would there be a reason to do it? I think it looks ok. In fact, you are the first person to say anything about it. Although, that doesn't mean people that have seen it don't disagree.


I kind of wish I had gone 46/16 as well. I am at 46/17 and it moves pretty well, but I would like to be able to A) go faster and B) pedal less. I don't think it would be much trouble on any of the hills where I live either.

Your saddle is pretty slammed...

http://blog.juno3.com/wp-content/ima...g_it_wrong.jpg

What did that picture say? I bet it was witty. Bummed I missed out on it.

I bet your wrists will hurt if you ride more than a couple miles. You have to hold yourself back with your arms when your saddle is angled forward like that and it puts too much weight on your arms.

and tape the bars.

I never knew that, I always wondered why my wrists hurt after a ride. Thanks

what do you guys think is a fair price for this mark V?
http://chambana.craigslist.org/bik/1961090950.html

Yeah that's a steal. People don't really seem to want to buy completes, personally I'd rather part out than sell complete.

So from what I am reading, the Iro saddle should be leveled with the seat? I didn't know that. Is it because of the frame?

I...have no idea what you just wrote.

The saddle should be more or less level. It shouldn't point up or down.

On the last page, Did you mean saddle should be straight or the seat height should be leveled to handlebar?

The saddle itself should be level, more or less. The height is determined by the length of your legs, not the handlebar.

so i posted about this yesterday but now i have a little more details. i am looking to buy a mark v.
heres some of the pics i got from the guy:

http://picasaweb.google.com/10720600...Kvh4pain5LqXw#

his price is $340. should i buy it?

IRO builds their wheels in house. in the FAQ, under "how long to receive my bike?", they mention that it typically takes 2 to 3 days to build the wheels...

Whatever. My point was less about robot jokes and more about how you should always double check the tension of any wheel you get in the mail. Maybe you should go tell anniehollis that her boyfriend is a lardbutt and that breaking six spokes in a week isn't IRO's fault—after all, they spend three days building those wheels.

I've been considering getting a black Mark V Pro frameset. But on their site, the colour option has only white.
have they stopped making the Pro in black?

i think you just did. you can unbunch now.

Get the Angus if you want the black Mark V Pro, their specs are identical.