8.20.2006

Haro

Haro is probably better known for BMX bikes than their mountain bike line, but they do have some pretty good bikes. I don't know much about them because nobody in Edmonton has ever sold their bikes. Weird how that works eh? [edit] starting about 4 years ago, haro was distributed in canada by norco, so now we finally get some.


Escape - This one's a little odd. Seemingly a XC bike - a short travel fork on an aluminum frame is a good indicator of that. But it's got DH-style pedals and a beefy looking slalom like stem. This is what I like about mountain biking - just use whatever parts you like...


Extreme - This is what you did in 1989 to make a name for yourself. Normally you would paint it bright yellow, pink, and white, or even make it really wild and use composite frame construction like the next Extreme.


Extreme - This bike was higher up in the line from the one above. It's hard to tell, but the rear triangle of the frame is bolted to the front. This was a technique used by Gary Fisher with his CR-7, and the Richard Cunnigham designed Nishiki Alien. A steel rear section - for it's compliance - bolted to an aluminum front - for it's low weight. I guess both metals have evolved considerably since 1990, nobody has built a bike like that since then.


MX-3 - One thing I like about Haro, is they have a couple of bikes that are very similar to really expensive ones, but are somewhat cheaper. Like this bike, which borrows a rear section from Intense.


Werks - This is probably a great bike - really light and fast and all that stuff. But it just looks weird. I don't like that reinforcement on the top tube. Doesn't look right on an XC bike.

1 comment:

Bushpig.vrc said...

The top Haro is a Ti Extreme. It is higher end than the CR-7 clone below. The frame was built by Litespeed. The composite steel/aluminum construction was pioneered by R. Cunningham for the Mantis XCR, which became the XCR-EC. He subsequently licensed the design to Fisher for its CR-7 and to Nishiki.