IRON HORSE Suspension Mountain Bike...Just Got It...

[HARPO]

I was having a cup of coffee yesterday morning going through Marketplace and this popped up.

Looked cool... liked the color ...I know NOTHING about mountain bikes... it was 20 miles from my house... and CHEAP. So off I went!

Iron Horse bikes almost became an account of the Ad Agency I was working for here on Long Island many years ago. They were built here on LI in Islandia, and went bankrupt in 2009 (good thing we didn't get them!)

Anyway, I got the bike cheap because when I went to get the bike, she said she was going through a very bad divorce and was getting rid of things very cheap. The bike, however, was her brothers. And he just stopped using it and wanted to get rid of it. Timing is everything...

Can someone please tell me what this is?? I can't find the exact bike on the web, but maybe one of you kind people will enlighten me as to how good a bike it is. Components appear to be all upper end. You let me know!

Anyway, enjoy the barrage of photos!!

 

[HARPO]

...and the rest!

 

[HARPO]

I just found this...

G-Spot 2001

 

[HARPO]

BTW...the Ad said it needed tires. It doesn't. They just needed air.

What do you think of this new Toy, Roger @juvela ?

 

[DrRumack80]

This was definitely not a cheap bike in its day. The link you provided specifies Rapid Fire shifters and a 9 speed cassette - yours has Grip Shift and it appears to have an 8 speed cassette, so it could be an earlier model. LX and STX-RC are mid to upper level from what I remember of Shimano's hierarchy back in the mid 90's to early 2000's. From lowest to highest:

• Tourney
• Altus
• Acera X
• Alivio
• LX
• STX
• STX-RC
• XT
• XTR

The bike looks to be completely original, except perhaps for the saddle. If you plan to keep it as a rider, I would recommend some riser bars with generous pullback....maybe a shorter stem too, and slick tires. The 130mm stem and narrow, flat bars are not wrist and neck friendly.

 

[HARPO]

This was definitely not a cheap bike in its day. The link you provided specifies Rapid Fire shifters and a 9 speed cassette - yours has Grip Shift and it appears to have an 8 speed cassette, so it could be an earlier model. LX and STX-RC are mid to upper level from what I remember of Shimano's hierarchy back in the mid 90's to early 2000's. From lowest to highest:

• Tourney
• Altus
• Acera X
• Alivio
• LX
• STX
• STX-RC
• XT
• XTR

The bike looks to be completely original, except perhaps for the saddle. If you plan to keep it as a rider, I would recommend some riser bars with generous pullback....maybe a shorter stem too, and slick tires. The 130mm stem and narrow, flat bars are not wrist and neck friendly.

Lol... I just responded to you on the other Post! Thanks for the update on this!!! But I'm sure I will pass it on to someone who will use it for its intended purpose.

At 71, I'm past the age of doing any mountain biking! And it would be a waste to use it for short rides around town...maybe...

 

[SKPC]

Hope it was cheap. FYI. this is a knockoff of the Trek Y bike I believe which was unfortunately a short-lived design as it rode like a Pogo Stick. (I had one back in the day) Every pedal stroke the bike squats and flops, rendering it almost useless for any real deal mountain biking on rough, technical stuff. Short travel front and long and squishy in the back, not balanced at all. Fortunately they went eventually into the Ether, and for good reason. . Also fortunately, or unfortunately, it looks low mile but will still ride weird with a high weight and bouncy feel. No Lockout lever on that early RST coil-over rear shock makes it a pogo stick but it isn't leaking, so that's good. STX components were really short-lived junk in the MTB world at the time and you would run at least LX at minimum, with XT or XTR gear changers & shifters. Bontrager hubs are ok. Don't let sand get into the rear brake cable noodle, slip the rubber boot back on. Cheap plastic pedals missing axle dust covers.
So as to end this old timer mtb-er's answer to your question on a good note (I am being very critical having ridden ALL of this stuff) , it still can be ridden once you get it rolling, but you will want a new seat, and make sure you are not on much more than pavement or dirt roads, nothing else. It looks good though with the yellow bee paint, grey rear triangle and very low mile components: should run like new. Taiwan sourced most likely and lived in the garage for some time.

 

[HARPO]

@SKPC I got the bike "dirt" cheap (pun intended) which is why I purchased it in the first place. At 71, I won't be on any dirt roads or trails...and IF I keep it, maybe around town or just an addition to my collection. Maybe.

It will probably wind up being flipped, but I couldn't pass it up for what I paid for it.

BTW...I got it for less than the price of a tire...

 

[DrRumack80]

Maybe I mixed up the hierarchy - LX should be above STX. I wouldn't call STX junk, but XT or XTR was what all the serious MTB'ers were running at the shop I hung out at back in the late 90's

I did ride a buddy's Y-frame bike once. SKPC is spot on when he said they are like pogo sticks. It will soak up much of your pedaling effort. For that reason, it may not be worth modifying it to be suitable as a townie bike. (bars, stem, tires will cost more than what you paid for the bike). If you hold on to it, appreciate it as an artifact from MTB history.

If you want a good townie bike, any 80's or 90's steel rigid mountain bike or hybrid will do. Here is one of mine, 1987 Schwinn Cimarron. Full Deore XT component group, first year for index shifting on the XT group. I paid $75 for it about 15 years ago. It is all original down to the tires - I just swapped the saddle for a modern WTB saddle.

My regular riders include the '85 Mongoose ATB and '84 Schwinn Sierra. These are all excellent riding bikes, with their steel frames, long wheelbases and slack angles

You should be fine riding dirt or rail trails at any age. Riding single track oe downhill courses is another matter.

 

[Archie Sturmer]

Nice bike.

Iron Horse G Spot... | Vintage Mountain Bikes

I posted the bike in the General Section because I figured it was to new to Post here. If you're interested in tons of photos, please check it out: https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/iron-horse-suspension-mountain-bike-just-got-it.236785/

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