merchant
04-19-2006, 12:49 PM
Ive finally taken the time to put my thoughts and impressions down. thanks Ibex for making a great product at reasonable prices and no i don't work for ibex ;)
At 373 pounds I’m a big guy. In order for me to safely ride off road I had no choose but to upgrade a few parts other than these parts the bike is stock. I was informed by ibex support the stock build was aimed at a max rider weight of 260 pounds. Working with Marzocchi and other manufactures I replaced the following components with parts suited to my weight and intended use. Trail and cross country riding.
My modified “Clydesdale” Build
Wheel set: Aronic Outlaw’s with 2.3 Refugee tires.
Front suspension 2005 Marzocchi Dirt Jumper 1 100mm air preload
Rear suspension vector 300 w/ fox 950lbs spring
Pedals Time ATAC Z
All other parts are stock!
First Impressions, before upgrades
Over all I was and am very happy with the bike. The build is nice, it has a nice mix of parts and if I weren’t such a big guy it would have been perfect. Assembly was quick easy and mostly painless. I had some questions about the fork being on backward but it turned out that was for shipping. The breaks, shifters and pads were close but did require some adjustment. The wheels were close to true one thing I would like to note is that all though the specs say the frame is double butted. I noticed a decal on the frame that clearly states triple butted 6061 heat treated aluminum. A bonus I didn’t expect. The stock build held up nicely for paved trials and smooth roads. The suspension was a bit soft and the front fork came close to bottoming out after dropping off curbs or rolling over small obstacles, even with the preload adjustments maxed out. (Remember I am well above the target rider weight range.) I’ve put about 55 miles on the bike until winter set in and have been slowly adjusting the seat and handle bar positions.
Second Impressions, after Upgrades
Winter is over and I’ve started riding again, I’ve finished the upgrades and have put close to 100 miles on the bike. Now that daylight savings is back I will be ridding Mondays Wednesdays’ and Fridays after work and of coarse the weekends. I hope to rack up quite a few miles and drop quite a few pounds. Last week I made the final adjustments to my bike. I couldn’t believe the difference. What I thought was a good ride before was nothing compared to how the bike climbed and handled now. I had raised the seat to a height I swore was too high but it was perfect. I can’t stress how important setup is to a beginner which I am. I was becoming discouraged and was beginning to think that I would be stuck to paved trails until I lost more weight. But the changes I made to the setup and the beefed up parts have made a big difference.
Last Monday I went on my first Real Off road Ride.
Location: West Rock Park Hamden CT. Trails: the Red Trail and The White Trial.
The red trail is an old unpaved fire road or something similar double track? I’m not to sure of the terminology, its flat mostly smooth has a few rocks and exposed roots.
The white is a nice bit of single track? (its wide enough for a single rider?) It’s got a few short climbs that lead to long down grades, some tight corners and at least one small drop. I first walked this trail after 6 inches of snow had fallen and knew were most of the problems for me should be. (The drop) riding the red tail to the white trail head, was easy and comfortable. The adjustments to the bike did not leave me tired or worn out. Like my previous ride. I decided to try the white trail. Climbing was easy, the bike handled nicely it tracked well Thur the turns and glided nicely over the few roots and branches I encountered. I came up on the drop and noticed I could take it high 1foot or low 6 inches. I went low. Put my butt over the rear tire and took it. (Noting broke!) this put me out of position on the trial and I clipped a small tree/sapling about 4 or 5 inches in diameter but I road Thur it and continued on, as this was my first trail ride on a non powered bike I actually heard the tires rubbing off the racks and roots I was riding over, I don’t know if this is normal too hear but it was great. I ended up riding Thur a section of standing water and mud but was able to get off and walk Thur the next 2 sections that were water logged, I’m just too heavy and didn’t want to damage the trail. The ride ended with a long open and gradual downhill run. It was a great first ride for me, a real confidence boost and the bike held up perfect. I hosed the mud off when I got home lubed the chain and drive train and checked the wheels to see if anything was out of true. Nope I love the bike and can’t wait till my next ride. Which should be in about 3 hours.
I hope you enjoyed this review, and if it helps you make a decision that’s even better.
At 373 pounds I’m a big guy. In order for me to safely ride off road I had no choose but to upgrade a few parts other than these parts the bike is stock. I was informed by ibex support the stock build was aimed at a max rider weight of 260 pounds. Working with Marzocchi and other manufactures I replaced the following components with parts suited to my weight and intended use. Trail and cross country riding.
My modified “Clydesdale” Build
Wheel set: Aronic Outlaw’s with 2.3 Refugee tires.
Front suspension 2005 Marzocchi Dirt Jumper 1 100mm air preload
Rear suspension vector 300 w/ fox 950lbs spring
Pedals Time ATAC Z
All other parts are stock!
First Impressions, before upgrades
Over all I was and am very happy with the bike. The build is nice, it has a nice mix of parts and if I weren’t such a big guy it would have been perfect. Assembly was quick easy and mostly painless. I had some questions about the fork being on backward but it turned out that was for shipping. The breaks, shifters and pads were close but did require some adjustment. The wheels were close to true one thing I would like to note is that all though the specs say the frame is double butted. I noticed a decal on the frame that clearly states triple butted 6061 heat treated aluminum. A bonus I didn’t expect. The stock build held up nicely for paved trials and smooth roads. The suspension was a bit soft and the front fork came close to bottoming out after dropping off curbs or rolling over small obstacles, even with the preload adjustments maxed out. (Remember I am well above the target rider weight range.) I’ve put about 55 miles on the bike until winter set in and have been slowly adjusting the seat and handle bar positions.
Second Impressions, after Upgrades
Winter is over and I’ve started riding again, I’ve finished the upgrades and have put close to 100 miles on the bike. Now that daylight savings is back I will be ridding Mondays Wednesdays’ and Fridays after work and of coarse the weekends. I hope to rack up quite a few miles and drop quite a few pounds. Last week I made the final adjustments to my bike. I couldn’t believe the difference. What I thought was a good ride before was nothing compared to how the bike climbed and handled now. I had raised the seat to a height I swore was too high but it was perfect. I can’t stress how important setup is to a beginner which I am. I was becoming discouraged and was beginning to think that I would be stuck to paved trails until I lost more weight. But the changes I made to the setup and the beefed up parts have made a big difference.
Last Monday I went on my first Real Off road Ride.
Location: West Rock Park Hamden CT. Trails: the Red Trail and The White Trial.
The red trail is an old unpaved fire road or something similar double track? I’m not to sure of the terminology, its flat mostly smooth has a few rocks and exposed roots.
The white is a nice bit of single track? (its wide enough for a single rider?) It’s got a few short climbs that lead to long down grades, some tight corners and at least one small drop. I first walked this trail after 6 inches of snow had fallen and knew were most of the problems for me should be. (The drop) riding the red tail to the white trail head, was easy and comfortable. The adjustments to the bike did not leave me tired or worn out. Like my previous ride. I decided to try the white trail. Climbing was easy, the bike handled nicely it tracked well Thur the turns and glided nicely over the few roots and branches I encountered. I came up on the drop and noticed I could take it high 1foot or low 6 inches. I went low. Put my butt over the rear tire and took it. (Noting broke!) this put me out of position on the trial and I clipped a small tree/sapling about 4 or 5 inches in diameter but I road Thur it and continued on, as this was my first trail ride on a non powered bike I actually heard the tires rubbing off the racks and roots I was riding over, I don’t know if this is normal too hear but it was great. I ended up riding Thur a section of standing water and mud but was able to get off and walk Thur the next 2 sections that were water logged, I’m just too heavy and didn’t want to damage the trail. The ride ended with a long open and gradual downhill run. It was a great first ride for me, a real confidence boost and the bike held up perfect. I hosed the mud off when I got home lubed the chain and drive train and checked the wheels to see if anything was out of true. Nope I love the bike and can’t wait till my next ride. Which should be in about 3 hours.
I hope you enjoyed this review, and if it helps you make a decision that’s even better.