DD required!
knoxf4i said:
As a soon to be Tass owner, what corners did they cut...
I can't speak for the GF frame, but the Axel fork is not very good (IMO) and all the in-house parts are a cost cutting measure. Remember, Bontrager is Trek... as is GF. The crank and cockpit items are produced strictly for use on their own bike models.
knoxf4i said:
Those MSRPs seem out of line with the rest of the bikes out there... it looks like I need to seriously consider IBEX for my next bike - especially with only $35 shipping.
Do your research. I think you'll find that the upper echelon of Deore hardtails w/ quality brand disc brakes sell for a good bit more than the Tasajara. A few examples are:
Trek 6700 Disc: Advertised Retail Price = $1,099.99
Specialized Rockhopper Pro: MSRP = $1,100
Kona Caldera: US MSRP = $999
IBEX Trophy 770 Disc: MSRP = $1000 / IBEX "direct" price = $749 / Pre-Launch Sale =
$699
So tell me again how unrealistic IBEX's MSRP's are? The fact that LBS prices are so high is precisely the reason that IBEX sells direct to the consumer where we can price our bikes about 25% below typical LBS prices. We do this by streamlining distribution and cutting out dealer profits... a savings we pass on to our customers.
And, for the sake of argument:
Gary Fisher Tasajara Disc: MSRP = $859.99
Now explain to me why the Tasajara sells for less than the others. Is Trek just being nice? I don't think so. There are others in the same class as the Tasajara like the Jamis Exile, Raleigh M80, KHS Alite 2000 and such. These bikes undercut the full-blown Deore hardtails by cutting back on fork selection, cockpit items, hubs and such... thereby forming a 2nd tier of Deore hardtails.
Our Trophy 770 Disc costs less than those 2nd tier bikes, but fits in squarely with the 1st tier bikes in every way except the price we ask you to pay for it. Heck, for less than most of those other Deore bikes go for in an LBS you can step up to IBEX's LX/XT equipped Trophy 880 Disc.
I'm not knocking knox's decision to go with the GF. That's fine if the name-on-the-frame means that much to you, but please don't imply that we've exaggerated our MSRP's. We are extremely careful to be accurate with these since they serve mainly as a guide to show our customers what they can expect to pay for a similarly equipped bike in one of those big-name-brands in the LBS.
-JA
2004 IBEX Trophy 770 Disc