Iron Horse MKIII Broken rear Triangle

[dudevf1]

I told my friend about this site but he hasn't subscribed yet. He has a 2006 Iron Horse MKIII Comp with the Manitou Radium(?) shock. About 6 months ago he broke the rear triangle on the non-drive side chain stay. Iron Horse and Performance sent him the current year rear triangle, no problema. Great service. This weekend he broke his rear triangle again, this time at the weld where the section that connects the seat stay and chain stay (parallels the seat post) connects to the seat stay.

My friend rides very aggressively (he also broke 2 Iron Horse frames in 2005 and then 2006 the level below MK III) and that's how he ended up with the 2006 MKIII. He does all kinds of jumps and drops and breaks Rear Hangars and the DRs frequently. He rides all of the tough stuff in SD County, including Noble and another place in East County that is unmentionable, and he rides them hard. No excuses, he probably just needs a beefier bike.

However, if you were on a tight budget and can't swing the next upgrade to the 6 Point, would it be worth throwing money at a better rear shock to possibly avoid busting the triangle in the future? Or any other suggestions?

Thanks.

Here are some pics of my friend that I took on a recent ride of Noble that we did.

Noble_Jump_1.JPG

[destroyer]

Sounds like he just needs a burlier frame. If he doesn't have that much cash tell him to watch for some used frames, they go for cheap quite often.

[CalEpic]

A different shock isn't going to help with any of the broken stays. Sounds like he's riding the bike above it's intended use. He should look into upgrading to a 6 point or 7 point IMO.

C

[Dino Brown]

What's the point of throwing money at a new shock- if your just going to bottom it out anyway!
Your friend needs a BIGGER BIKE- Period!

To be honest, I have NEVER heard of anyone "breaking" MKIII triangles- especially the '05/'06 models!!!!

My opinion, sell the MKIII and look into a USED 7 point!

P.S.- You mentioned that in 2005/2006 your friend broke (3) Iron Horse frames (including the level below the MKIII). The model below the MKIII is the Azure (3.5" of travel). Below that are their single pivot line of bikes!

[92se-r]

Is your friend the only black guy on a green MKIII in SD? I've seen him around, he does ride pretty hard. I was wondering why he had a MKIII and not a 7point.

[tbowren]

Originally Posted by 92se-r

Is your friend the only black guy on a green MKIII in SD? I've seen him around, he does ride pretty hard. I was wondering why he had a MKIII and not a 7point.

HAHA! First of all, how could anyone know if they were the ONLY black guy with a green MKIII? There could be 2 and they might never know about each other.

Secondly, from the pictures posted, he is just wearing black armor and black clothing and is riding in the shadows. That doesn't mean has black skin.

Not trying to make fun of you here, it just struck me as a funny question.

[Rockinthecasbah]

time for a bottle rocket it looks like

[92se-r]

You are right. That was worded really weird now that I read it again. Feces coming out of my mouth. I've just seen the same guy more than once with a green MKIII that rides more like freeride style.

Yeah, you can't tell from the pictures.

Originally Posted by tbowren

HAHA! First of all, how could anyone know if they were the ONLY black guy with a green MKIII? There could be 2 and they might never know about each other.

Secondly, from the pictures posted, he is just wearing black armor and black clothing and is riding in the shadows. That doesn't mean has black skin.

Not trying to make fun of you here, it just struck me as a funny question.

[dudevf1]

Originally Posted by 92se-r

Is your friend the only black guy on a green MKIII in SD? I've seen him around, he does ride pretty hard. I was wondering why he had a MKIII and not a 7point.

I do not know about the demographics of all MTB riders but that's my friend.

[dudevf1]

Originally Posted by Dino Brown

What's the point of throwing money at a new shock- if your just going to bottom it out anyway!
Your friend needs a BIGGER BIKE- Period!

To be honest, I have NEVER heard of anyone "breaking" MKIII triangles- especially the '05/'06 models!!!!

My opinion, sell the MKIII and look into a USED 7 point!

P.S.- You mentioned that in 2005/2006 your friend broke (3) Iron Horse frames (including the level below the MKIII). The model below the MKIII is the Azure (3.5" of travel). Below that are their single pivot line of bikes!

Thanks for the response, your opinion is well respected on this site. To clarify, he broke 2 frames of the model that's below MK III. Performance and Iron horse worked out a deal with him after the 2nd incident to upgrade to the MKIII. Now he's broken 2 MKIII rear triangles. So, 4 frame warranty incidents in 2.5 years. Iron Horse and Performance have provided great service, no problems with them, just wondering if any other component upgrades would help if he continues with a MKIII. By the way, Iron Horse said the same thing you did about no one else breaking a MKIII rear triangle...My friend loves the Iron Horse bikes, but it seems that he needs a beefier model for the harder trails.

[northshore]

Originally Posted by Dino Brown

What's the point of throwing money at a new shock- if your just going to bottom it out anyway!
Your friend needs a BIGGER BIKE- Period!

To be honest, I have NEVER heard of anyone "breaking" MKIII triangles- especially the '05/'06 models!!!!

My opinion, sell the MKIII and look into a USED 7 point!

P.S.- You mentioned that in 2005/2006 your friend broke (3) Iron Horse frames (including the level below the MKIII). The model below the MKIII is the Azure (3.5" of travel). Below that are their single pivot line of bikes!

+1. You need a Sunday. The Azure is for XC stuff and the lower level MKIIIs are more for trail riding. I have a MKIII 07 Comp and have yet to break anything on the bike but then again I don't huck off of cliffs.

[mtnbikerfred]

Two Words:

Kona.

Coiler.

[DownHillPhil]

the Coiler is frickin BULLETPROOF. No joke.

if you want to see some coiler action, youtube the following:

friendly advice
more friendly advice
the plan re cut


wheel slayer does everything on his coiler, and let me tell you that bike takes a BEATING. He's been riding it forever too. 3 sets of broken handlebars, 2 broken seatposts, numerous derailleurs, cranks, etc...but the frame and shock are still charging. Granted it's a Push'd fox coil but yeah.

[el_d00der1n0]

Maybe Iron Hoser is the problem. WalMart isn't known for carrying real mountain bikes.

[northshore]

Originally Posted by el_d00der1n0

Maybe Iron Hoser is the problem. WalMart isn't known for carrying real mountain bikes.

None of them have DW-Links.

[Chewyeti]

Originally Posted by mtnbikerfred

Two Words:

Kona.

Coiler.

a coiler with a set of outlaw wheels and a dhx 5.0 is bullet proof....

[Dino Brown]

Originally Posted by Chewyeti

a coiler with a set of outlaw wheels and a dhx 5.0 is bullet proof....

How would you know, your tires have *NEVER* seen the ground!

[Chewyeti]

slammed in 2 threads by the same pic!

I LOVE IT!

[Dino Brown]

Originally Posted by Chewyeti

slammed in 2 threads by the same pic! I LOVE IT!

Keep putting your foot in your mouth and I will slam you in (3) threads with the same pic!