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It was my turn to have fun with the Ibex Ignition 3. Joe and Jeremy both had turns riding this bike and each of them had one thing in common they didn’t like about the Ignition (Iggy). The long stem and riser bar. One of the things Joe mentioned in his previous articles about the Iggy was having to lower the stem the lowest position possible. After doing so, he still felt like the rise was a bit too high.

Enter RL’s garage. I took the reigns of the Iggy a while ago. Since then I’ve made some changes to accommodate my size (I usually ride a medium) and riding style. First up was the bars and stem. I opted for a 1.5 rise and shortened the stem by using the Sette Stumpy stem from Pricepoint.com. This allowed the large cockpit area to become more compact so that my short arms could easily reach the bars. I also did away with the swooping seat post and went with a standard post and scooted my saddle in. Now this baby was getting closer to what I like as far as sizing goes.

I then did away with the front WTB Velociraptor Tires since I didn’t care for them. In its place I installed a Maxxis ADvantage, 2.4 tire. This was perfect for tackling some of the most technical trails SoCal can offer, besides, the ADvantage grip like nothing I’ve ridden before.

Here’s how the Iggy looks nice. The front tire was replaced (yes I kept the back on for now) with the Maxxis ADvantage, shorter stem, lock on Intense grips, Oh I also replaced the rear cassette with an 11-27 Dura Ace cassette. It’s the same one Priscilla has on her bike, but that’s for another article…So there you have it. This is an ALL Mountain bike that I plan on using as my DH Bike. I’m thinking about getting rid of the big ring and placing a bash guard on it since I really won’t be using it for DH purposes. Eh who knows…

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I’ve been able to get in a few rides the last couple of weeks on the Ibex Ignition 3 and have a few thoughts/impressions for you. They were all night rides so no action pictures of the bike yet. I have to admit that it has been a while since I’ve gotten a good amount of seat time on a 26″ bike let alone a 26″ full suspension. The Ignition 3 is a different animal from my normal ride a 29er but I’m still enjoying it. The biggest change for me is two-fold: 1. 5 inches of travel & 2. All Mountain steering.

1. The 5 inches of travel really change the way I ride. The travel allows me to be more aggressive as it flattens out pretty much everything on the trail. The travel provided by the Marzocchi fork is super plush and has a great lock out feature that I use when climbing. This helps quite a bit with front bob. The rear suspension is still a work in progress as I dial in the correct amount of air pressure. I’m going to try using a different shock pump as I can’t get mine to pump up enough air for me. I also have to say that the BB5 brakes, 7�? front & rear, have been amazing. More power than my hydraulics running 7�? front, 6�? rear. The modulation is very nice as well.

2. The All Mountain steering has been great on the downhills. It is a bit more slowed down in comparison with more XC oriented bike. This makes for more stable descents which fits well with the AM type of bike it is. On the uphills the slower steering requires a little more finessing for doing some technical stuff and the heavier bike makes me a bit slower. Also, because the rear shock is not dialed in just right, I have a hard time with the standing climbs. I experience way too much bobbing in the rear for standing climbs to be productive. I am working on this problem and I hope to have it solved shortly when I use the correct tool.

More thoughts to come as I take the Ibex Ignition 3 out for some more riding including to Aliso Woods for Saturday’s ride.

For more information on the Ibex Ignition 3 click here.

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The all mountain Trek Fuel Ex 9.5

Every once in a while, the Los Angeles Times does a short feature on some mountain bikes. This time the author, Roy M. Wallack, did a short write up on some 5 inch bikes including the Cannondale Rize, Trek Fuel EX 9, Giant Trance XO and the Specialized Pitch.

Here is his intro:

Five inches. In the mountain-biking world, where the probability of enjoying a breathtaking descent is often measured by the distance your bike’s wheels can compress, or “travel,” when they hit a big rock, 5 inches of travel is way better than 3 or 4. Although 5 inches typically came on heavy, slow-climbing, 33-pound bikes, advances in suspension design and tubing fabrication have brought big travel to nimble, sub-30-pounders.

Click here for the article.

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Good rubber can make a world of difference when riding off road. Pick the wrong tire for the wrong terrain or the wrong conditions and it may ruin your ride. Maxxis sent us a pair of the ADvantage tires to slap on our Ultimate All Mountain project, my first impression of the tires was “What a big ass tire that is! They look like dirt motorcycle tires!” Although the tires may look like they are made for downhill, according to Maxxis, they were designed for aggressive XC riding.

Alison Dunlap designed the ADvantage as a high volume aggressive cross country tire that corners great on big side-knobs. It also climbs and brakes with authority thanks to the opposing parallelogram center tread design. Ramped center knobs keep rolling resistance minimal and the wide lug spacing sheds mud easily.

Here are the tire specs:

Tire Size:2 6×2.40
TPI: 60
Bead” Foldable
Max: 65
Weight: 845g
Durometer: 60a

Thumbs Up: I’ve ridden with the ADvantage Tires on hardpack, loose sandy, rocky, wet and muddy conditions. The ADvantage tires excelled in most of them. Their high volume and big print allowed me to barrel thru most stuff, as I rode with the ADvantage tires, the thought of ‘who needs a 29er’ kept coming back to my mind. Besides barreling thru stuff, the tires also corner exceptionally well and riding thru sandy patches was never an issue. As far as climbing goes, well, the tires always stay hooked up, even when I stood up and pedal, however, the weight of the tires is VERY noticeable while climbing.

Thumbs Down: Yeah, the tires are heavy, in fact, the tires are heavier than my front rim! The weight is not an issue on the flats or when going down, but going up, you are going to sweat. The tires also didn’t fare well on muddy conditions, I got stuck on a mud patch and when I started riding, the tires still kept some of the mud making the ride a little slippery.

Recommendation:I must admit that the tires are a little overkill for the type of riding I do. In fact, they are way too heavy. However, I love them. Why? Since My MTB skills are not like RL’s, I need all the help I can get. I can roll thru anything on these tires, they also survived my ‘intimate encounter’ with the trees. Do I recommend them? Well, they are not for weight weenies, but if you are a rider that loves to go fast down hill or love to do the freeriding thing, the Maxxis ADvantage tires are a good investment.

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