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.

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.