Ibex has a sweet sale on their bikes and frames.
Ignition Super Pro normally $1499, on sale for $1199
Alpine Frame, normally $249, on sale for $99
There’s more stuff on sale, just check out Ibex Bikes and save money!
Popularity: 7% [?]
Ibex Summer Sale
On June - 29 - 2009
Priscilla’s first time downhill mountain biking
On May - 3 - 2009
After months of persuasion, Priscilla agreed to try DH with me. She was never a big fan of the technical aspect of this genre of riding, but since she’s super cool and a kick butt rider, she figured it was worth a shot.
Since she’s never done DH before, the protective equipment we had for her was pretty limited. We had to borrow Moe’s chest protector and Priscilla used the POC Cortex DH helmet. We did have some knee and elbow pads, but even those were a bit big. I told her that if she likes DH, then we’ll definitely invest in better gear for her.
So our morning started off with my packing up the van and loading up the bikes. She was going to ride the Ibex Ignition that I used to win the Shimano Winter Series. This time I was riding a stock KHS XCT 555 (stock except for the ghetto tubeless conversion).
We arrived at Fontucky and began to suit up, we hiked up the mountain and proceeded to go down one of the many courses we’ve raced before. Though Priscilla felt scared at times, she rode through the trail with confidence. I have to say I’m very proud of her and you can see in the video that she has some major potential. So this leads us to the question, “Will she ride DH again?” The answer is YES. I better start saving up for some gear for her! But let me clarify, she would do it again, but not race DH. I didn’t care if she raced or not, I was just glad to see her doing DH.
Popularity: 5% [?]
Shimano Winter Series #3: RL’s DH Report
On February - 9 - 2009
To put it plain and simple, it was wet and slippery. The whole weekend was pretty much soaked. During our practice runs it was a down pour. You could see the water stream through the rocks and single track. Fun fun fun!
As my category lined up, 200 Club, I had greeted my two other opponents with a cordial hello and wished them a good run. I have to tell you, these guys were big boys. Not fat or anything, but at least over 6’2, plus these guys were fast and skilled riders.
So we line up, the first guy goes, and he had a strong start. I watch him meander through the course until Donny calls out 15 seconds, 10, 5, 4, 3,2,1….
Photo courtesy of Chris and Sharky.
I’m off to a strong start, I make it through the first part of the course with out any issues. I then roll up into a section called “the saddle” and make a hard right turn. But my speed was too much and I go out of bounds and end up running over the course tape and eventually I get tangled up in it. The tape wraps around my derailleur and my cassette and it forces me to stop, get off and pull this stuff off.
Photo courtesy of Christopher Wood.
You can see how the tape is already wrapped around my derailleur pulley.
I quickly get back on the bike after losing so much time messing with the tape. I ride down one rock garden and hear the spectators cheering me on, but I hear one guy say “he’s right behind you!” ARGH! The anchor rider in my category caught up to me! Since I knew he was behind me, I mashed on the pedals as hard as I can, but this guy wasn’t going away, he eventually calls my right and passes me before the rock garden. But I try to stay as close to him as possible.
As soon as we hit the infamous WALL, I big ring it and start to pedal as fast as I could. But by this time my lungs are on fire and my legs were starting to sputter out. The guy that passed me was at one point only 10 feet away and I see him gas out towards the middle of the wall and thought that I had a chance of catching up to him. However, I had the same fate since I too gassed out in which every pedal stroke was in pain and labor.
He crosses the finish line and I cross it a few seconds later. I was spent…
We head back to camp and I was greeted by my lovely and awesome wife. She asked me how I did. I began to explain to her the tape issue I had up the mountain and my frustration showed through the tone of my voice. I still had remnants of the incident in my cassette…
Results were posted rather quickly, that’s because the Southridge Racing Company is the best at what they do. I ride over to the results and I see that I came in 3rd. The 2nd place rider was over 30 seconds faster than I was. Seeing those numbers made me even more frustrated with my run. Though my competition was super fast, I knew that I could have had a better run. But hey, you know what. I’m glad I came down the mountain in one piece, no injuries!
Seeing my new competition (they weren’t at the last races) motivated me to really step up my game. I must have spent hours watching all sorts of riders practice and race the course and I hope to take away something from each of them that I could utilize in my own riding style to make me better.
I’d like to thank our sponsors, Evomo, Ergon, Hoss MTB, BikeCommuters.com. I’d also like to take the time to thank Ibex Bikes for letting me race on the new 2009 Ibex Ignition Frame.
Popularity: 4% [?]
The lil’ Bike that Could-Ibex Ignition 3
On January - 14 - 2009
Don’t get my title wrong, the Ibex Ignition 3 has impressed me beyond its capabilities. Ibex Bikes sells the Ignition as one of their “All Mountain” bikes. The bike was spec’d with decent parts such as Shimano Deore, LX, FSA, Rockshox, Marzocchi and many more. Ibex’s pretty much marketed this bike to be a great XC ride as well as something that could handle some aggressive trail riding.
When I first heard about the downhill race at Fontana back in November, I wanted to race, but didn’t have a downhill rig that that I thought could handle the terrain. Rather than missing out on the race, I decided to enter it with the use of the Ignition 3. The only thing I had to change on the bike was the fork. Joe let me borrow his Marzocchi 66 fork and Moe let me use his 20mm thru axle front wheel. I had also recruited the use of a Sette Stumpy stem to shorten the cock pit since the frame is a large.
After my first race, I was impressed that the Ibex Ignition 3 not only held up, but it really was a great bike for the Fontana course. With that said, I was pretty confident that this bike that was designed with a 120mm (a bit over 4.5″) rear travel frame could easily compete against DH bikes that were 3-5 times more expensive than the Ignition.
So for my second DH race which I had already posted a report about, I used my trusty Ibex Ignition and raced the course the best way I knew how. What was great about the Ignition was its ability to respond to everything I need it to do.
Keep in mind, in both events, my first DH race, during my practice run, I crashed pretty hard. OTB as they say. Then on my second race, during my run, I slammed into a big boulder, but the Ibex still worked like a charm. You know, we’ve had this bike since March and never had to tune it. The bike shifts like butter, suspension works as it should and honestly this bike has been pretty reliable, except for the occasional tightening the rocker arms will need from time to time. Other than that, this bike has been bombproof and DH capable.
Photo courtesy of Sharky
If you’re interested in a do it all bike, you may want to check out the Ibex Ignition. The new Ibex Ignition line for 09 has models starting as low as $699 and all the way up to $1299.
If you’re looking for a bike that CAN do everything, look no further, visit www.IBEXBIKES.com and heck out their Ignition line of bikes.
Popularity: 8% [?]
Southridge Race Report: Team Manager and DH Racer’s Perspective
On November - 24 - 2008
This race was something the whole team was looking forward to. What made this event unique is the actual races being hosted that day. They had the XC race in which this was the last of the Triple Crown Series, Super D and Downhill.
Priscilla, Joe, Kim, and Eric as well as our friends Val and Ner were all racing in XC. Rather than me spoiling how everyone did on the race, I’ll let them post their own reports so you can find out. Let’s just say, the MtnBikeRiders.com Racing Team did REALLY well in XC.
Then there was Super D, both Kim and Moe raced in this event and again I’ll have to stand down from announcing how things went.
Waiting for the shuttle. Check out my new POC helmet and goggles.
So here’s where the Downhill Racer report comes in. I’m not so sure if I’ve really mentioned it, but I raced in the DH event on Sunday. Sport racer Tony Finch and Joe Solancho both raced DH as well. After the XC race on Saturday, Tony and I decided to get in a practice run. But since the line for the shuttle was super long, I was only able to get one run in.
The “Mountain”
During my practice session on Sunday morning, I managed to make it without any problems down the mountain but when I was coming through a technical rock garden, I totally munched it. I struck a large rock and OTB (over the bars) I went. Luckily I was wearing my Sette Impact Protective Suit and Knee/shin guards to keep me safe. As I flew in the air and eventually rolled on the ground, I saw my bike, the Ibex Ignition 3 flying in the air. After I bounced back up, I looked around to see if Priscilla and the kids were there since they were waiting for me to come down the mountain so they can take some shots of me. But instead I was greeted by 50 people laughing and cheering at me. Hey what can I say, I like to entertain! In all seriousness, I’m glad I wasn’t hurt.
After that crash, it really messed me up mentally. I knew that one section of the trail was going to be the thorn on my side. But fortunately, Joe told me that once I hit that rock, the officials decided to remove it since I dislodged it from the ground and was deemed unsafe.
nasty rock garden
As race time approached, we were shuttled up to the top. Since this was my first DH race, I didn’t know anyone there and tried to strike up conversations with other riders. Funny thing was, one rider says to me, “weren’t you the guy that crashed earlier?” I say yes, he responds, “THAT WAS AWESOME MAN!”…again, I like to entertain.
As they call out riders’ names, we all line up. Joe gives me a fist pump and wishes me luck. As I get up to the make shift starting line/gate, they count you down from 30 seconds, 15, 10, 5, 4,3,2,1…and I was off! everything seemed to have gone mute. The only thing I could hear was my breathing.
While I’m riding through the technical single track which was married with big boulders, rocks and ruts, I felt good, but suddenly I noticed something strange. My Marzocchi 66L fork wasn’t working properly, I look down, and I saw that I was fully compressed….LOCKED OUT! NO! Since I couldn’t really figit with the fork on my way down, I just rode the bike like my rigid SS.
In the video you’ll see me coming down the mountain and if you look closely, you’ll notice that the fork was compressed. Anyhow, on the last leg of the actual mountain, I come around the corner, and I see Tony Finch cheering me on, then further down the trial was Moe, and Kim. It really was encouraging to see them there, it gave me an extra push to work even harder than I already was.
Once I got down off the mountain and headed towards the rock garden, (where I had crashed and currently where over a hundred people were watching) I was able to mess with the ETA valve on the 66L. I turned the dial and POP, the fork bounced up from being locked. Now I felt even more confident in being able to ride through the garden.
Photo courtesy of Sharky
While maneuvering through the obstacles, I can start hearing cowbells and cheers from spectators, then pass my crash site, and then I hear the words, “Go Daddy!” and something along the lines of “babe.” That right there gave me my last burst of adrenaline and allowed me to sprint to the finish.
The end result, I cam in 15th out of 23 racers in the Beginner 27-34. I was hoping to do better, but then again this was my first race and I was going against some really good riders that rode on bikes that were at least 5 times more expensive than the Ibex Ignition 3.
Overall I was glad I made it through in one piece. My 3 goals for this race was to finish, catch the rider in front of me and not to let a rider catch me from behind. I recall right after I pass the finish, I quickly looked behind me to see if the dude after me was on his way. But fortunately he was quite a distance.
This really was a great experience for me. At first I wasn’t so sure how much I liked racing DH. I mean, I love riding technical stuff and enjoyed the trail. But the pressure of it wasn’t all that great for me. But the more I thought about it, the more I want to go back out there and do well. I know I could have done way better than I did. The Southridge Winter Series is coming up in January, so I may try my hand at it again and see how well I do.
Popularity: 8% [?]
