Sound familiar? Well, itвЂ™s true that most modern suspension systems claim similar advantages, but Iron HorseвЂ™s insistence that all those efп¬Ѓciency gains donвЂ™t rely on a platform-valved shock appear to be borne out by the Azure SportвЂ™s ProPedal-less Fox Float R shock, tuned with minimal compression damping. Claimed advantages include better small bump response, minimal pedal feedback and greater rear-wheel traction. While writing about the martial arts was also great because I owned my own combat arts school, it was the chronicling of the biker subculture in Iron. Like other virtual pivot point systems, the net result is an effective main pivot that hovers somewhere just behind the front wheel. MAGAZINES SCOTT WONG HAS WRITTEN FOR Ive written for numerous publications since 1978, but my most gratifying experience as a columnist was for the now-defunct no-holds barred and freewheeling, hardcore biker publication, Iron Horse Magazine. The DW Link attaches the rear swingarm to the two main frame pivots via a pair of short secondary linkages, while the shock is driven directly from the top of the seatstays. While itвЂ™s arguably not light enough to be considered a pure cross-country race bike, the slender build and 90mm of rear-wheel travel hint at its intended purpose. Light Easton tubes and some positively skinny bracing plates at various points around the AzureвЂ™s frame ram home the point that this is a bike to be п¬Ѓnessed, not hammered. With great weight distribution and tidily balanced handling, the result is a surprisingly conп¬Ѓdence-inspiring descender. Some riders wonвЂ™t like it, but weвЂ™ll take the traction boost any day.ДЄs the speed picks up and the bumps come harder and faster, the п¬‚oating pivot point continues to do its work, delivering a bizarrely вЂbottomlessвЂ™ feel thatвЂ™ll have you swearing that youвЂ™re on a longer travel bike. Pedal feedback is effectively non-existent, although the pattering of the shock as it responds to rear wheel movement can make it feel as though thereвЂ™s some pedal-related bob. Keep the power down and the front wheel pointed where you want to go, and the AzureвЂ™s rear end will follow through with a tenacity that the Trek and Norco simply canвЂ™t match. The rear tyre seems to stay glued to the ground at low speeds no matter what the provocation. Small bump response is exceptional, and only equalled in this company by the CommenГ§al (with its ProPedal damping switched off). What about that rear end? Well, it works, and works well. Grippy, open-tread Continental tyres cling to the trail tenaciously in all but the wettest conditions and accelerate quickly. Efп¬Ѓcient geometry ticks all the right boxes, combining conп¬Ѓdence-inspiring low standover with plenty of room for the rider to move around over the bike.

Iron horse bike magizine