unknown Irish Cycles Tir Na Nog

Price Paid:  $1179.00 at Thru the web

Favorite Ride:
T&H Saturday Ride

Bike Setup:
SRAM Force w/ Reynolds Wheels.

Summary:
I saw the Irish Cycles ad at www.irishcycles.com after a friend of mine told me about it. I was looking for a fast frame for criteriums. They were a new company and local to me so I thought I would give them a try.

First off, I have to say I love it. It is more then I ever expected and I was really suprised that the craftsmanship was well above my expectations. It seems that they really did their homework in designing this bike from the construction to the paint job.

The first thing that stands out at you when you look at the bike is the beefy 50mm downtube. It looks a lot like a cannondale there and seems to give the bike a firm spine. I chose the HM modulus and the frame in a 54cm weighed in at 1120 grams which was a little less then what I was told by them. They seemed to have a habit of under representing their bike for fear of making it sound too good. I also weighed the fork which I got with an uncut steer tube and it weighed in at 350 grams. I was blown away.

I decided to build the bike up myself. They offer complete bikes or frames and I went thru the LBS to get the frame and slung on it my SRAM Force with Reynolds DV46s and my FSA complement. The bike weighed in at 15.7 lbs. I was shocked.

Finally, after I built it all up I got to take it for a spin. I was once more pleasantly suprised. It seemed it had more 'get up and go' then I ever expected. When I wrote the company I talked to a guy named Joe who was the guy behind the bike. He explained they took the best characteristics of several European frames popular right now and mixed them together to form the bike. The frame is also apparently produced for them by a well known Asian factory that does several other company's bikes as well.

My overall impression is that this is the best value money can buy as far as a racing bike goes. It's fast, it's relatively low cost and seems to have the same pedigree as Orbeas, Kuota's and Wiliers.

Strengths:
Frame geometry - fast, worksmanship, paint, and a wonderful fork

Weaknesses:
Cannot find any yet.

Similar Products Used:
Orbea Opal, Kuota Kharma