The Iron Horse was the pin-up bike of the day, and as a young guy I was just hooked on the look (although they were well out of my price range at the time). “Looking back at early bikes really fills me with nostalgia.
To polish-off the retro-look, a Hope finishing kit really does the job! Hope have been in the business since the 90’s too and are still producing amazing high-end products in a number of classic anodised colours. ONZA were making tyres back in the 90’s so were a perfect fit, featuring the ONZA Porcupine TRC 60. The tyre choice was obvious ‘gum wall’ tyres are back in fashion and they really give the HYRAX that authentic look and feel. PEMBREE have magnificently created a bespoke colour combo of the R1V pedal, especially for this project. based and make artisan carbon neutral pedals, in house. PYGA partnered with producers who are U.K. The HYRAX is of the ‘new breed’ of 29er’s, utilizing modern geo, while the Iron Horse is 26” and pretty short. The key noticeable difference, especially when side by side, is the wheel size. The pantone colours of the decals also exact replicas too. The rocker, rear chain and seat stays have been anodised in the exact same purple as the Iron Horse as well as the front triangle anodized in silver. The PYGA HYRAX has been transformed into the dream build as the alloy 140mm trail bike is a good fit with the Varlicchi’s 1993 ethos. The 1992/3 season was the first year Shimano produced XTR (M900) too.Įvery PYGA frame is famously built in South Africa, by hand, and now with a powder coating/anodising and assembly facility in Nottingham, England to support the European market too, PYGA had the capability to create a ‘one-off’ bespoke bike pretty easily. The original ‘poster bike’ of the day, everything was top spec 50mm of Marzocchi air suspension front and back and all new XTR groupset. Sintessi later named the same model the ‘Bromont’. That bike didn’t only look great but was the bike that powered Dave Cullinan to win the Downhill World Cup in Bromont, Canada in 1992. It had revolutionary suspension design, and it was the frame that a number of brands ‘re-badged’ and rolled out in their own range including Sintesi, Kona, Diamondback, Saracen, Haro, to name just a few, but the Iron Horse FS Works, 1993 model, was the one chosen for this project. Not everyone will instantly recognise the name, but this bike is one of the most iconic designs of all time. After considering a number of options, notably the GT RTS, Manitou FS and the ProFlex/Offroad they landed on the Italian made Verlicchi. Working together the PYGA family came up with the great idea of re-creating their interpretation of the first ‘proper’ suspension bike, one that performed and had a pedigree. To break up the monotony PYGA envisaged the bling retro-look bike blended with the modern trail bikes of today and have made that vision a reality with the Pyga Retro Dream Build. Today’s bikes are all starting to look so samey. Carbon performs really well but the look is sleek, modern and basically getting pretty boring. With the rise in popularity of carbon framed bikes, PYGA believe something has been lost from the ‘soul’ of mountainbiking. Everyone would surely agree that back in those days, if you didn’t have a pair of purple anodised quick release skewers you really weren’t a serious mountainbiker, were you? Those early designs had one thing in common – they all looked fantastic with anodised parts and florescent paint. You could chart the PYGA family’s passion even further back to the beginning of mountainbiking, right back to the early 90’s when suspension design, good and bad, exploded onto the scene (don’t mention those unified rear triangles). In fact, another PYGA board director who used to compete has his original race bike from 1997 on permanent display in the Marin Museum of Bicycling’s Mountainbike Hall of Fame in Fairfax California. However, the PYGA mountainbike’s team history, heritage and passion for the sport dates back way before 2012, through founder and bike designer, Pat Morewood, who launched Morewood Bikes in 2002. PYGA are all about brilliant mountainbikes and have been riding, racing, designing and building them since 2012. With a solid nod to the past and their racing heritage, Pyga Mountainbikes have build a special, one-off retro themed Hyrax dripping with all the best modern parts. Pyga have built a modern retro Hyrax with a nod to the classic Iron Horse FS Works with plenty of purple anodising.