Submitted by
gord olliver
a Racer
from Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Date Reviewed: May 3, 2007
Strengths: A work of art! Has been reliable, and at ten years and going,worth every penny! 20,000 miles of gnarly, intense insanely fast riding. I did get a mojo carbon, but i can't seem to put this one away!
Weaknesses: Wheels wear out, and I've replaced the drive train 7 times,but the frame is bulletproof.
Bottom Line:
I paid 11,000.00 canadian in 1998 for this bike. It was the only one availble from ibis in 98 and I took it no problem! Canadian exchange pushed it up from 8000.00 with tax! I have put 20,000 miles of intense thrashing and I beat people on their heavy downhill bikes w/8 in of travel and they ask what shock Im using. They cant believe its only 3 in up front! I have ridden this bike for ten years while my friends have replaced their dual susp. 3 times! 3500 bucks each bike. same price but they have three busted bikes and my bow ti is still kickin ass!
Strengths: eveything. durability, quality, the ride, its all there
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
This bike completely kicks ass. YES it is expensive. It's damn expensive. But it's worth every single penny I paid for it. It's like it's a part of you... the handling is telepathic and the ride is incredible. I've never had more fun on a bike. Plus you get to watch people stop and stare while you pass them. SELL YOU CAR, YOUR HOUSE, EVERYTHING YOU OWN, JUST GET THIS BIKE!
Weaknesses: Tendency to "stinkbug" (rear of bike decompresses) while braking heavily. Cable routing a little tricky due to the unusual lines and housing locations.
Bottom Line:
This is a great bike for the cross country rider. Definitely not a good choice for downhill enthusiasts due to it's tendency to stinkbug on downhills while braking heavily. Ideal buyer likes a butter smooth full suspension ride, spends most of his/ her time cross country riding, and is willing to spend more to own an exotic bike that is essentially functional industrial artwork.
Submitted by
Bennett
a Cross Country Rider
from New York, NY
Date Reviewed: July 12, 2000
Strengths: Floats like a butterfly. Never wears out. Quiet. Very supple as frame at rest is overextended. It wants to eat up small bumps, and there's always more for the big ones. Still light by F/S standards. The last bike you'll need (good thing for $3900).
Weaknesses: People always stop to ask about it. Only 3 sizes.
Bottom Line:
Yes, it's expensive. But nothing really compares. Does the bike flex. Yes. Does it affect the way it tracks. Not that I can tell, and I've had mine over 3 years. You might get an occasional misshift if theres alot of twisting. If anything, this bike bends like it's part of your body. Imagine snow skiing, when you've really got a good groove going. Your whole body is bending and absorbing and turning. Not just your feet. That's what riding this bike is like. An extension of you. For those sublime moments, the price is worth it. The worst part of riding this bike is that you feel pretentious in the parking lot.
Similar Products Used: Ventana Marble Peak is the closest
Bike Setup: XTR, Race Lite wheels. Basically what the frame deserves.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Super Fast
a Cross Country Rider
from Seattle
Date Reviewed: February 16, 2000
Strengths: Never wears out, no pivots. URT's are out, but this is not like a normal fixed pivot location, travel is 5 inches in or out of the saddle, no noticible loss of travel or plushness when standing. Powering out of the saddle is impressive. Ibis geometry is like riding a motorcycle, laid back and flowing.
Weaknesses: Shock pivot aluminum shims between shock bolt and shock end have a tendancy to make a clicking noise when they are worn, but If you can turn a couple of nylon pieces to replace these on your friends lathe your good to go forever on the suspension concerns. Rear end and bottom bracket flex is there, but that is ti's nature.
Bottom Line:
A bit heavy compared to the latest fs offerings due to heavier and more reliable parts. This is the bike I take on all epic adventures.
Similar Products Used: Haro Extreme, Santa Cruse Bullit, GT Lobo,
Bike Setup: Manitou Super X Vert, Fox Vanilla Float, xt/xtr, crossmax's, geax beaumonts, king hs, kooka rasta sp/crank/stem - 24lbs
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mr. Dirt
a Cross-Country Rider
from Mount Tam
Date Reviewed: January 6, 2000
Strengths: Great climber, sprints very well, LIGHT and PLUSH.
Weaknesses: None!
Bottom Line:
Arguably the best all around bike you can buy. Once you ride one, you will wonder why people ride hardtails. I would say that at the very least, people should be on a short travel f/s bike. Moots YBB and the new Ibis Silk Ti are two very fine examples. But they only have 1 1/8 inch and 2 inches of travel. The Bow Ti is loaded with 5 inches of plushness. And what a ride it is! Im glad I bought it and have never looked back!
Bike Setup: XTR all around, Crossmax rims, Michelin hot S tires, Chris King Threadless, Shimano 747's
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Blimp again
a Weekend Warrior
from cloud 9, in the sky
Date Reviewed: November 22, 1999
Bottom Line:
Oh yeah, and you guys that are dissing this bike even though you've never ridden it need to shut up. If you've never ridden it, how can you say its not worth every penny.Just for that Im gonna add more spicies to the pot.
Submitted by
Blimp da Pimp
a Weekend Warrior
from hicksville, nowhere
Date Reviewed: November 22, 1999
Strengths: Lots... Light for any bike not just FS. Handles like it should. Envy of everyone on the trail. comfortable, Ti, awesome suspension (no bobbing, pivotless) great climber
Weaknesses: would have to sell my kidneys to afford it
Bottom Line:
Convinced my friend to trade rides for a day. I kind of regret doing it because I cant afford it yet I want it SO BAD. Figure anyway possible to get a hold of one of these. Possibly THE best bike on the market or otherwise.
Similar Products Used: similar?? Mabye my first car in terms of price. Nothing in terms of riding ability.
Bike Setup: all kinds of pretty things
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Chris Minick
a Racer
from Mill Valley
Date Reviewed: November 11, 1999
Strengths: No pivot points - so no creaking and constantly tearing down and replacing/lubricating. Super workmanship on welds and finish. Plushest ride you'll ever experience - so plush that you can pedal downhill on baby-head bolders while your buddies just hang on hoping they don't pop out of their cleats. Very good for climbing steep technical trails. Has character like a good pair of skis that have life; you can compress the whole frame in banked single-track turns and become airborne for fun. Extremely easy to compress the frame for fantastic leaping jumps. If the rear shock fails completely the bike can still be ridden for the rest of your ride, as the frame is preflexed and doesn't depend on the shock to keep it up-right. Fun and wild to ride.
Weaknesses: Cable rattle; the rear derailleur shifting cable is long and tends to vibrate against the frame, although I believe this could be corrected with different frame mounting materials. It wasn’t annoying enough to downgrade the Bow Ti, but it would be nice to eliminate it. The front Cable stops are too far forward on the top tube which causes the cables to kink and the cable housing to break if you crash and happen to wrap the handle bars toward the top tube. I solved this problem by rerouting the cables past the around the stops with full cable housing from end to end on both the brake and shift cables. Sounds wierd, but the cables work perfectly, don't get dirty, and I can handle the extra few ounces of cable housing. If you're interested in this reroute of the cables, send me an email, and I'll send a picture - until I get too many emails. Lateral Flex: The only time that I noticed significant rear flex was on steep switch-back single track turns where I had to apply a great deal of pedaling force to keep the Bow Ti, and any bike for that matter, upright through the turn. I definitely could feel the bottom bracket swing under me as I applied pressure to the crank on the same side as the turn direction. It wasn’t something that I couldn’t get used to. Pedals hit rocks if you don't put 150% your weight in air pressure in the rear shock - not really a problem.
Bottom Line:
The Bow Ti is a bike that you can immediately feel confident about riding. None of the two months that you hear about getting used to a suspension frame. I’ve built up suspension frames for my buddies, but I’ve never seen anything that I’ve really been interested in. At 155 lbs I can handle a 24+ lb bike, especially since the Bow Ti handles so well. It’s also the only bike other than my Merlin that at every point in my evaluation seemed to enhance my riding skills (and speed). In a previous life I was a certified welder - not on titanium - but, I can really appreciate the workmanship on the Bow Ti. The welds are smooth with a lack of cratering along the edges which should mean that you won’t have to take IBIS up on their life-time warranty offer. No pivot points to creak or wear out - like my buddies complain about. This bike super-hugs the ground which translates into mucho speed and control.
Similar Products Used: Trek Y, Moots, GT, Merlin Mountain (20K miles)
Bike Setup: Setup: To make the Bow Ti as ergonomically close to the geometry and feel of my Merlin hard tail I replaced the Bow Ti’s WTB saddle with my own saddle, the 747 SPDs with my own (so that I wouldn’t have to adjust them or worry about scratching them) and replaced the XTR wheel set with my own Chris King wheel set and tires. I didn’t want to introduce getting used to the handling of unfamiliar tires into my testing of the Bow Ti. By the way, the Bow Ti and Merlin both were equipped with Judy SL forks. I measured all the crucial distances; I made sure the end of the saddle was the same distance to the center of the bottom bracket as on the Merlin, and then made sure the distance from the nose of the saddle to the center of the handle bar at the stem were the same. As it turns out I already use the same stem and handle bar on the Merlin. The Bow Ti handle bars were ½ closer to the ground than the Merlin, and the frame wheelbase was ½ inch shorter. Allowing for suspension sag the
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Steve
a Cross-Country Rider
from SF Bay Area in Nor Cal
Date Reviewed: November 1, 1999
Strengths: I have already reviewed this bike and was a bit angered by the brainless idiots who wasted space reviewing this incredible rig. Look, only review a bike if you ACTUALLY own it. Dont beat up on a bike because your sorry ass cant afford it, or you dont understand it. These are the same idiots who ride without helmets, or ride the Full Suspension bikes with 7 inches of front and rear suspension down crowded fire roads with complete a total disregard for everyone. Oh wait...I just passed judgment on you guys without ever meeting you....hmmm, sounds a little like what you did to this bike! Ask anyone who owns one and they will tell you...this bike is for real and it kicks ass. It is not for everyone, and it is quite expensive, but if you can afford it, you will love it.
Submitted by
Kevin
a Cross-Country Rider
from Los Angeles
Date Reviewed: July 31, 1999
Strengths: Doesn't have any.
Weaknesses: Weak!
Bottom Line:
IBIS? Take out both I... More Like B.S. Waste of money. Yeah smooth at first, once I got to the trail, I realize... ! My $5000. What a !!!!!!! STAR? Don't deserve any. Don't buy the bike!
