⭐ LoCo-Motion ⭐ ReTrO gRaVeL

[Captain Awesome]

"statistics are a poor substitute for the thrill a fan gets in watching an old iron horse under full steam"

"In the cycling world, any larger-than-average (200 lbs and up) male rider. Most likely labeled so because they are bigger, usually slower and sometimes stronger than others (just like the horse)"

Resto mod incoming. 1x gravel adaptation

 

[Pondo]

Nice, I dig that frame design!

 

[Son of Kradus]

yeah and because of current events with my projects im really diggin that goose neck and seat post. like the way the post sweeps back at the top! and the cut away on the top of the gooseneck, small things but mean a lot to me lol!

 

[Captain Awesome]

Dug out a few spares. Ordered a few others

Maybe tomorrow we'll fling some poo and see what sticks

 

[CRASH]

In ‘91 I worked for a bike shop where the owner was in a bad way with Specialized. Owed them a lot and they wouldn’t send him bikes. So he struck a deal with Iron Horse, who was new and totally unknown. So what he did was advertise a huge sale on Specialized bikes. Once people were in the door, he put it on our shoulders to sell them Iron Horse as a better substitute, telling them that Specialized were behind on their shipments, but look at these better versions. Totally unscrupulous, and very few people fell for it. That was the last straw. I got picked up by a high end MTB shop shortly after that, and that dude went out of business. I went back and bought tools when he was liquidating. Lol.

That’s my history with Iron Horse that no one asked for.

 

[Pondo]

That’s my history with Iron Horse that no one asked for.

Good times! At least you got some good tools out of the deal.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

In ‘91 I worked for a bike shop where the owner was in a bad way with Specialized. Owed them a lot and they wouldn’t send him bikes. So he struck a deal with Iron Horse, who was new and totally unknown. So what he did was advertise a huge sale on Specialized bikes. Once people were in the door, he put it on our shoulders to sell them Iron Horse as a better substitute, telling them that Specialized were behind on their shipments, but look at these better versions. Totally unscrupulous, and very few people fell for it. That was the last straw. I got picked up by a high end MTB shop shortly after that, and that dude went out of business. I went back and bought tools when he was liquidating. Lol.

That’s my history with Iron Horse that no one asked for.

Perhaps it is appropriate that he used unscrupulous tactics versus SpecialEd. They have a reputation for dirty business from the very beginning

 

[OddJob]

Perhaps it is appropriate that he used unscrupulous tactics versus SpecialEd. They have a reputation for dirty business from the very beginning

We always referred to them as the 'evil empire'. And that was before Star Wars fandom really kicked in.

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

I had a feeling Iron Horse was local to me for some reason, so I Googled it. They were in NY from 1987-2009. Interesting frame. Looking forward to seeing what you do with it.

 

[Captain Awesome]

I had a feeling Iron Horse was local to me for some reason, so I Googled it. They were in NY from 1987-2009. Interesting frame. Looking forward to seeing what you do with it.

I'm not too sure at what point they swapped over to being Giant Taiwan but the earlier stuff is known for being reliable and robust if nothing else

 

[Pondo]

SpecialEd. They have a reputation for dirty business from the very beginning

True that. Their 1st mountain bike design was a ripoff, yet it was what really got the company growing. That being said I'm looking for one of those early StumpJumpers because I can't afford an original Fisher/Kelly/Ritchey MountainBike.

 

[Pondo]

Maybe tomorrow we'll fling some poo and see what sticks

Coolness brewing...

I'm not too sure at what point they swapped over to being Giant Taiwan but the earlier stuff is known for being reliable and robust if nothing else

I don't know the history of Iron Horse but they've made some pretty cool looking bikes!

 

[Captain Awesome]

Coolness brewing...

I don't know the history of Iron Horse but they've made some pretty cool looking bikes!

Iirc, @Karate Chicken Industries might have a good bead on their history

They did make some good machines. I remember racing against a couple of guys back in the late '90s and that's all they raced and they raved about them

 

[Pondo]

Iirc, @Karate Chicken Industries might have a good bead on their history

They did make some good machines. I remember racing against a couple of guys back in the late '90s and that's all they raced and they raved about them

I'd be interested to learn more. I love the history of mountain bikes.

 

[Tallbikeman]

I like the fact that the frame kinda mirrors the GT design at the seatpost except in reverse. Cool.

 

[Captain Awesome]

She came apart smooth with exception of the BB. That's soaking now. Filled with that smelly grey La Brea tar pit ooze that tells me it's probably never been opened and probably had water in there at least once

The only things pictured that are 100% guaranteed to be reused are the frame and the seatpost

Even the brake mount bolts and water bottle cage bolts will probably be replaced with stainless hardware like usual

If I can free up that BB tomorrow I plan to wash and hopefully polish this thing this weekend

 

[Captain Awesome]

Dug out a few spares to eyeball

I've got a couple different sets of these track cranks. Different lengths and chain ring size. Maybe but maybe not. They're heavy.

Might go hollow tech

 

[Captain Awesome]

Dug out the wheelset as well but forgot to snap pictures

Have a few sets of these that I got from Husky (have to order more to make their shipping worthwhile) that I might try

Running them on Showboatin and have been happy. They should make fast rolling gravel grinders

 

[Captain Awesome]

And I think I have some bars lined up

 

[OddJob]

Monster cross set up?