Jack of All Trades?

By Justin Graves

WHAT: Haro Escape 8.3 HOW MUCH: $1,299.99 WHERE: www.harobikes.com
Blind Date
When I learned that I was being given the opportunity to test this dirt jumping mountain bike I could hardly contain my enthusiasm. With the tides of MTB marketing shifting strongly in recent years toward this more aggressive niche, and with numerous companies clamoring to create the bike best suited for the aspiring dirt jumper, I was eager to see how the results panned out. How does one adapt a 26" mountain bike to a task which is best performed by the most simplistic and rugged 20" BMX bikes without giving up the comforts and advantages that mountain bike technology has come to offer?

First off the bike must be solid; solid enough to survive misjudged jump attempts, over clears to flat, and of course the inevitable underestimate to case disaster. Suspension is nice, but too much in the wrong proportions is not conducive to sending ones inertia skyward. A bike designed to boost must be predictable in its ability to be projected off lips and lumps. Above all the modern “freeride hard tail” should be versatile and reliable; capable of riding ramps, parks, dirt, trail, and what ever fun obstacles lye in between.

Coming off a standard aluminum framed hard tail the first eye catcher on the Haro was the stout hydro formed frame. The top and down tubes are both broad boxed supports, joining the head tube to form a solid monocoque front section. From there the eyes drift to the frames ornaments: an assortment of some of the industry’s finer components. Hayes Hydraulic Nine brakes offer ample stopping potential front and rear, full Maxxis Minion rubber left no doubt about the bikes traction, Sun Single Track rims promised solid and sure rolling, along with XT rear derailleur and Deore front derailleur which looked sharp but had us wondering.

The Haro's cockpit was solid; Truvativ Hussefelt Cranks plus with a Hussefelt oversized Handlebar and stem—it looked stiff as hell. Even the house brand Haro platform pedals looked sweet, with a slim body, sealed bearings, and replaceable pins. Aside from the frame, the center of intrigue was the Manitou Stance fork. Externally adjustable from 130mm to 150mm of travel, sleek black stanchions, reverse brake arch, and a solid 20mm through axle it definitely looked the part.

Right off the bat I snapped into nerd mode, determined to learn a bit more about frame geometry by comparing the 8.3 to my current run-of-the-mill hard tail. I busted out the tape measure and performed the necessary comparisons.

I immediately noticed that the front end was much higher then bikes of similar size, partially due to the tall fork and handlebar. Despite this the Bottom Bracket height was a half inch lower then the control bike, measuring out to 13 ¼", and thanks to a generously sloping top tube the stand over was an inch greater having and effective seat tube length of 13 ½". The other notable difference was in the wheel base, over two inches shorter then my more XC oriented frame, the Haro's wheel span was 41 1/8". In theory this told me that the Haro should feel more comfortable on steeps, stick in the corners better, and allow me to flick the bike around like a pro. We would see.

A Day at the Track
Day one was a trip to our secret slalom training track, a dual style course with a variety of line options, berms, small and large jumps, all at a variety of speeds and pitches.

I wasted no time in putting the Haro through its paces. The immediate shocker was the braking control that the Hayes Nines offered, dramatized a bit by my recent trail time on a bike with a lone rear rim brake and slick tire. With an eight inch rotor in front and six inch in back the braking was smooth and predictable, requiring almost no effort to retard the bikes acceleration.

The tires also caught my attention; while I had ridden the Minions prior the aforementioned time on a rear slick had deepened my appreciation of the sticky rubber, aggressive tread, and predictable action.

As appearances had suggested the Escape frame proved very stiff and responsive, allowing me to feel all the trails undulations, but also allowing complete faith in its tracking capabilities. Power applied into the drive train was not wasted as neither the cranks nor bars had any detectable flex. In the berms the slightly lower BB did indeed feel snappy and gave a sense of confidence when laying the bike into corners. The higher front end took a bit of getting used to, but I found that I was soon feeling more comfortable and relaxed on the familiar course then I had before.

The Stance fork was truthfully the firmest fork I’ve ridden to date. At first this was jarring, as I became aware of many small bumps that had been absorbed on other, more compliant forks. Fortunately, the course was groomed and relatively smooth so this was not a huge concern and was offset by the way the fork managed the lips and drops. On steep lips the Stance loved to be loaded up right into the pocket before popping bike and passenger over what over gap or obstacle stood in the way. In this regard the fork worked beautifully, not bobbing while sprinting up to speed, while absorbing landings smoothly without bottoming.

The Haro pedals were notable for their grip, the long pins holding onto ones foot in all but the most adverse conditions, though at times the shanks were unforgiving if trying to adjust foot position for a corner or obstacle. Not to mention the frightening possibility of catching one to the shin.

On the disappointing side was the drive train. Even though the course was fairly smooth and flowy the XT rear derailleur found the need to slap against the Haro's chain stay with every landing or hop. The monocoque frame amplified this noise, forcing me to ride as smoothly as possible. The double front chainring/bashguard setup offered an acceptable gear ratio, but had trouble staying aligned and caused us to snap the stock Shimano chain after only three runs, which forced me to coast practice runs for the remainder for the remainder of the evening.

A Day on the Trail
The next test was a shuttle ride. With so many DH-oriented components we had to subject the Haro to some speed work to see how it would handle out on the trail. The frame’s geometry was well suited for the descending, with the high front end and generous stand over I felt comfortable on the steepest of sections. Again the Hayes Nine brakes worked well and gave excellent control, no beef.

Unfortunately the XT derailleur was again a bit annoying. It shifted fine, but the incessant slapping made me wonder why Haro didn’t choose a more taught derailleur (I’ve had good luck with SRAM derailleurs in these riding applications) or simply pad the frame to muffle all that slapping.

During high-speed trail riding, the Manitou Stance quickly found its limit. While the fork performed fine on big hits, it wasn’t nearly smooth enough on the the high-speed stutter bumps and washboard conditions. The spring rate on this particular Splice is so stiff that the fork does not absorb bumps well in the first two inches of its travel, making it track unpredictably in many situations.

The 2.5" Minion tires helped out considerably, giving some cushions and sticking to the trail when the fork would not. A fun ride, but overall the Haro was too rough for my taste.

A Day of Jumping
Day three was time to return the 8.3 to its element: dirt jumps. But first I had to pedal the six-mile highway commute to get to said jumps. The Haro was a bit heavy for such lengthy road work, but was smooth and comfortable. Once there the Haro settled in beautifully. It was here that the Stance fork found its niche. A smooth runway into a tight pit and steep lip is what the overly firm Stance was made for. The forks lack of compliance was ideal for groomed take offs and landings, where a plusher fork would have dived and made popping off the lip more difficult.

With a fairly nimble wheel base the Haro pumped through the trannies, built by BMX'ers, with surprising fluidity. The bikes mass was beneficial as well, once up to speed it carried its momentum through the six pack effortlessly. The stable chassis is also a great platform from which to throw tricks and, on a good day, to return from them. While the fork was right at home in this environ, the DH tires and massive brakes were overkill and only made accelerating a bit more laborious. That aside the bike was a superb jumper and a pleasure to charge the six pack with.

Sticks and Stones
We did find the limit of a few key parts while aboard the Haro Escape 8.3. I’ve already mentioned the snapping chain. There was only one other questionable instance: coming down off a small log jump the bike landed a bit crooked, resulting in the rear wheel twisting in the dropouts. While the axle did not move much, it budged far enough to jam the rear tire against the chain stay, locking the rear wheel, and sending the test rider off the bike.

With the 2.5" rear tire there is also minimal clearance—I’d probably run something a bit smaller, like a 2.3” model. In this same accident the SDG I Beam gave up for the cause, I was surprised to see it go. Perhaps we will see a next generation of this saddle/seatpost combo made from more durable materials

Overall the Haro was a very fun ride. The 8.3 has sharp looks and is simply one of the most rigid frames I have been aboard. The parts spec is impressive, but in the end a little confused. A freeride bike should be versatile, yes, but the Haro felt notably compromised due to its aim to be so versatile. Let me explain….It has the wheels, tires, and brakes of a freeride hardtail, but will never be perfectly suited to trail riding with the Manitou Stance leading the way. Likewise, while the Stance was superb on dirt jumps and slalom courses, the massive tires and brakes bogged the bike down a bit in these groomed situations.

In short, if you are looking for a beginning bike to get the feel for jumps and street riding, without giving up trail capabilities, then the Haro Escape 8.3 should be a strong contender—with a few choice modifications the Escape can excel at both applications.