I am considering purchasing the apogee sport. I will use it as a general trail bike. I am looking for something smooth on small to medium bumps. Could somone describe to me the rear suspension action (plush, harsh, bottoms easily ?) of this bike. Thanks in advance
Scott

i've had my apogee for 3 mths now, i would consider the ride near plush, i weigh 180 and run the shock at 175. overall i really like the ride.
karl

I just got a Apogee XT and I love it! I test rode a Specialized Epic Marathon (a $3800.00 bike) and a Santa Cruz Blur. The ride was great as was to be expected, but I wanted to buy a bike with great components at least XT/XTR combo. To get a FS bike with that level of components I would of had to spend $3000.00 to $4000.00 on a bike---OUCH!! I did a little research and found that the frame geometry of the Apogee was nearly the same as the Specialized Enduro (which my friend rides). He paid $2400.00 for a previous year model bike with LX/XT combo. Specialized and Santa Cruz as well as other bike manufactures produce quality products, but you ultimately pay for the name. Granted there is a lot of R and D that went into making the orignal design of the bike, but after a few hundred bikes have shipped, the company has recouped the costs.
What I am getting at here is the Ibex product is a great product for a rider that wants great components, a great frame, great service (don't be scared by the mail order thing). The bike is light about 27lbs and rides like a dream. I would recommend taking the bike to a reputable bike shop to have them do a out-of-box-build to true and de-stress the rims, bleed the brakes and re-grease the bottom bracket, gears, etc. I would just have them go through the bike like they would go through one they are selling. I paid $120.00 for this service and even got a free tune-up in 60 days.
Though I love the bike...the XT does have one major set back in my opinion that the Sport model does not seem to have. The integrated Shamino XT shifters are a true joke (just my opinion-some people love them). Before I rode the bike I swapped out the integrated set for seperates- XT brake levers and SRAM attack shift pods. I also replaced the bolt that holds the bottom of the rear shock on- mine seemed to be stripped for some reason and I felt that having a better, more hefty bolt/nut combo on such a critical component area was key. This up-grade has to be done the right way with the right bolt.
I would buy an Ibex product again and would recommend the Ibex product to anyone. The Apogee is a great bike, a great ride, and has a great price. By the way...when I was taking my bike into my local shop they asked me why I did not buy from them. The sales guy and the mechanic looked at the Apogee and both agreed that if they were to sell me a similar bike it would cost about $3500.00. Then the owner walked by and when he inquired as to what I paid, he shook his head and walked away. There was a Specialized FSR comp or pro near by. That bike was $1700.00 and did not have near the component level that the Apogee had. BUY THE BIKE. YOU WILL LOVE IT!!! Don't get ripped off and be one of those guys that buys a bike to say "Look what I am riding bro!!" Just because you pedal a name brand bike does not mean you can actually ride it!! :)

Thanks for the info guys. Ibex looks like a great deal to me. I personally don't care about name brands.

The Apogee Sport is pretty close to last year's LX model component level.
I should've just got the XT instead of LX last year.
If you can afford it, I'd recommend the XT instead of Sport model.
Then you won't have to upgrade both front and rear suspension like I did, and weighs about 3 lbs less too.