Strengths: This bike is a good, sturdy workhorse for DC's dreadful roads, and can handle the massive loads i have a tendency to carry on it. With the right tires it can handle all weather, and can be very comfortable even for 9+ hour rides. The threadless headset is great, ive never had a problem with it, and I have something of a history of headset problems.
Weaknesses: First of all, it's quite heavy, especially loaded with racks, tools, etc. The original tires were too smooth for my tastes. I had quite a bit of trouble with the bottom bracket- had to replace the original bb after it completely gave out when i'd had the bike about a year to a year and a half. (although i do admit that im probably a lot harder on it than most). Ive had some problems with even the replacement bb, which was a significant upgrade, making noise at high torque, but tightening it up seems to have taken care of it for the time being. Difficult to install fenders.
Bottom Line:
Ive had this bike for less than three years, but it is my sole mode of transportation as well as my recreational vehicle, and so it's seen at least 10,000 mi, (no, im not kidding), including some loaded touring, a century or two, numerous rides of over 50 mi, a summer of courier work in downtown DC (with its heavy traffic, insane drivers, and terrible roads), up steep hills heavily loaded, down hills at 45 mph, you name it, this bike's done it. Yes, ive had a number of components wear out on me, but given the kind of use and abuse ive given it (probably way beyond what the manufacturers ever expected of it), it's really no surprise that a few things should wear out. The frame's still in great shape, I still live on this bike day in and day out. Especially at this price, you really can't do any better than this. I wish the gearing was a bit higher, since i almost never use the lowest gears and spin out the highest fairly frequently, but again, this bike was never intended for racing. It's stable at 45 mph, comfortable after 9 hours, can really take a pounding, can haul massive amounts of gear, and is still my best friend after 10k mi, what more could you ask for, especially at under $500? I'd say, buy this bike if you're looking for a real workhorse for commuting, recreation, even touring, and dont want to totally blow your wad. Obviously, if you're looking for high performance you're going to need to spend a LOT more anyway, but hey, keeping up with people on high performance machines on an Iron Horse gets you in great shape and earns you quite a few compliments too!
Favorite Ride: anywhere and everywhere, in particular places that most people would just take a car
Price Paid:
$400.00
Purchased At: lbs
Similar Products Used: Bianchi '96 (or so) Strada, Specialized Crossroads, Specialized Sirrus, tested quite a few others as well.
Bike Setup: Stock for the first year or so; after about the first year-year and a half i had replaced the bottom bracket, cassete, chain, front derailleur, tires, all the cables and housings, and seat, all because they more or less wore out.
