BillyG
02-10-2005, 07:48 AM
I have had my ignition 3 for about a month. The bike required some adjustments to the disk brakes, aligning the caliper with the disk and setting the gaps. I also slid the brake levers / shifters in a bit and put some bar ends on handlebars. This was a little tricky because of the slope of the bars. A few adjustments to the derailleur stops too. I put on some Ritchey clipless pedals. I also ordered the shock pump and accessory kit (bag, bottle, cage, pump and tire kit). The saddle bag did not fit well on the Ignition, so I put it on my wife's Giant Boulder SE where it fit fine (seatpost velcro strap overlap problem).
I have over a 100 miles on the bike, of which about 60 miles were dirt, some pretty rocky stuff. First few rides took a little getting used to, my previous bike was a Fisher hardtail. The brakes squeak unless adjusted properly. I found that minimizing the gap between the outboard pad (nuetral side) fixes the problem. This minimizes the flex on the disk when stopping. If the gap is too small, you will hear the drag and see no light between open pads and disk.
Shifting is generally smooth. Gear range is great. The bike overall is very solid and built to take abuse. The suspension is good. The Vector Axis has a virtual lockout. I had flipped the shock such that the lever was on top and up. This allows for on the fly adjustment. It works pretty well when climbing, although there is still a little movement. On rocky, rough climbs, the bike did well with the suspension engaged. On rough downhills, I can fly much faster than before, with much more control. The seals on the rear shock went last week, it was spraying/dripping oil, and Jack is sending me out a replacement...he is sending me out an upgrade, a 2004 Rock Shox BAR air shock. I would rather improve the overall quality of the suspension, though I will miss the lockout capability. The Axis was OK, and there was a damping adjust, but overall I had planned to upgrade eventually. Pedal bob is pretty minimimal if you stay balanced in the seat on climbs.
The paint is rubbing off the frame at the headset where the front brake cable moves up and down. If you want to keep it pretty, you may want to protect it new. I've only crashed it one good time, and that scuffed up the shock, crank and front brake. All cosmetic.
All in all, I am very happy with bike and customer service. As far as I can tell, I would be paying 1200 + at the LBS for comparable quality and features. The downside, you need to be cabable of making your own adjustments (or pay someone to do it).
I have over a 100 miles on the bike, of which about 60 miles were dirt, some pretty rocky stuff. First few rides took a little getting used to, my previous bike was a Fisher hardtail. The brakes squeak unless adjusted properly. I found that minimizing the gap between the outboard pad (nuetral side) fixes the problem. This minimizes the flex on the disk when stopping. If the gap is too small, you will hear the drag and see no light between open pads and disk.
Shifting is generally smooth. Gear range is great. The bike overall is very solid and built to take abuse. The suspension is good. The Vector Axis has a virtual lockout. I had flipped the shock such that the lever was on top and up. This allows for on the fly adjustment. It works pretty well when climbing, although there is still a little movement. On rocky, rough climbs, the bike did well with the suspension engaged. On rough downhills, I can fly much faster than before, with much more control. The seals on the rear shock went last week, it was spraying/dripping oil, and Jack is sending me out a replacement...he is sending me out an upgrade, a 2004 Rock Shox BAR air shock. I would rather improve the overall quality of the suspension, though I will miss the lockout capability. The Axis was OK, and there was a damping adjust, but overall I had planned to upgrade eventually. Pedal bob is pretty minimimal if you stay balanced in the seat on climbs.
The paint is rubbing off the frame at the headset where the front brake cable moves up and down. If you want to keep it pretty, you may want to protect it new. I've only crashed it one good time, and that scuffed up the shock, crank and front brake. All cosmetic.
All in all, I am very happy with bike and customer service. As far as I can tell, I would be paying 1200 + at the LBS for comparable quality and features. The downside, you need to be cabable of making your own adjustments (or pay someone to do it).