[y0bailey]

Compare these bikes all of a similar price and tell me what you think. I want an all mountain ride that doesn't weigh a ton but can take a beating....i just feel that you cannot beat these deals compared to the "big boys"

Here goes.

2006 Motobecane Fantom Elite DS Mountain Bike
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/fantom_eds.htm

2007 Ibex Atlas Expert
http://ibexbikes.com/Bikes/ATLAS-EXP-Details.html

Iron Horse Hollowpoint MKIII Comp 2006
http://www.rscycle.com/s.nl/it.A/id.8028/.f?sc=7&category=55

The Iron Horse looks hard to beat....but then again they are all nice bikes. Tear them all apart and give me your thoughts. The ibex has the most solid components, but the single pivot suspension scares me. The Motobecane looks to be the most fragile and has non-hydro brakes, with the iron horse falling inbetween. Help!

 

[corleone]

Ibex has the better components, IH has the better suspension system...you just have to decide which is most important to you.

Never ridden a Moto, but like I always say...it looks good on paper.

 

[Call_me_Clyde]

Your assessment seems fair

I would agree with the overall assessment. The IH at $1100 is very hard to look past, especially if you have apprehensions about single pivot. With that said, I have my money already laid out on an Atlas Expert, but the single pivot is not an issue for me.

Bob

 

[taikuodo]

I would get the iron horse because it looks really good.

 

[Moto Rider]

No need to battle!

Battle of the online bikes.

They don't need to battle. All the online bikes are all good bikes plus a much better value then your LBS. All the bashing going about who is king of the online hill is crazy. I realize some are trying to make a living and some are just supporting the brand they love. But hey " Can't we just all get along" Peace Out! :thumbsup:

 

[Becane73]

Iron Horse MKIII hands down.

 

[Jake Pay]

IBEX: Going with the better drivetrain and stopping with "THE" brakes..:ihih:

 

[Becane73]

IBEX: Going with the better drivetrain and stopping with "THE" brakes..:ihih:

for $400 more than the IH MKIII

 

[Jake Pay]

Money VS Performance..What wins in a race?

If you don't have a good tranny, you'll never get there..Once your there its good to be able to stop :thumbsup:

Its not about money in my court, its about performance..That's BANG for the BUCK$$$$$$

Jake

 

[txjohng]

Personally, if you have the $ I'd get the IBEX ...

1) the green on the IH does not impress me
2) the IBEX has 2007 sram x.9 which are like x.0 for 2006.
3) Avid Juicy-7 vs Hayes XC, I have Hayes on my IBEX and they are nice, but Avid are generally better
4) IBex has a better crank


the ibex is $400 more ... I don't think I'd let the SP suspension bother me ...

So, I rank them in this order
1) IBEX
2) IH
....
....
LAST) MOTO

 

[txjohng]

Ibex has the better components, IH has the better suspension system...you just have to decide which is most important to you.

Never ridden a Moto, but like I always say...it looks good on paper.

I am a Sorta MOTO fan...let me explain...

I've ridden many Moto models, and only the FLY series seemed to impress me. And they are really nice.

Now as far as the MOTO FS and lower end HT's go, I'd pass them up for IH or IBEX.

 

[todd_freeride]

dont worry about the singlepivot. ibex really take into consideration their SP bikes, they make them climb well. my zone is a beast of a bike, climbs better than most bikes I've ridden.

the ironhorse is really hard to beat. its a great bike. but the atlas has a really sweet build as well. the relic is a very nice fork, manitou really put thought into that one. I would personally say, go for the ibex. because if that bike is anything like my zone, then its one hell of a bike.

 

[bikesdirect]

Thanks For This Post

y0bailey

Thanks
This brings to my attention that our site has not been totally updated for 2007
but the truth is we have been real busy this winter and had a hard time catching up

Anyway, all 3 bikes you name are good deals compared to buying in a bike shop in general.

The frame on the Motobecane is the most expensive of the 3 from an OEM point of view. Does not make it best for you; but the quality and ride are top notch. The 4-bar link with setable rear travel and Taiwan quality; make this a very expensive frame to build.

BB5 Brakes on the Moto are excellent, but not as good or expensive as Juciy 7 [of course, for an extra $200 we would give you Juicy 7s]

There are feature differences that I think matter to many customers [and we always sell out Fantom DS Elites before we can get more].
PopLoc -- many people love this feature of being able to control frt&rr shocks from the handlebars. Really nice and useful.
Shimano shifting: this is a personal decision. However, I find over half the buyers actually prefer either Shimano or Sram. A smaller group is fine with either. Motobecane uses all Shimano shifters. Next year we will pick up a brand in Mountain that uses all Sram.
If you decide you really prefer one shifting system over another; you should go with a bike that uses that system. Both are high quality and easy to get parts for. Difference is in feel, action, and ergo features.

Wheelsets on Fantom and FLY level Motos are hand built and really nice. Lower level Motos use machine built wheels like everyone else does. Even though mountain bikers put less focus on wheels than roadies; Motobecane will be not be saving money on wheel specs in the future either; but will go for even more expensive wheels.

The first three brands to sell pre-built mountain bikes in the USA were Specialized, Univega, and Motobecane. So Motobecane has had lots of time to be tested and written about in magazines. Reviews have always been great. However, road bikes have gotten more attention lately. In 2008 Motobecane will make a major mountain bike push that will shock a lot of people. Some of that will be on display at SeaOtter.

anyway, all three bikes you name; even though at 3 different price points, are good solid deals.

have fun and stay safe
mike

 

[Jake Pay]

Even though mountain bikers put less focus on wheels than roadies;

Now thats a LOAD of CRAP!!!

 

[mrpercussive]

i would say the IH is the best bang for buck here. Though, the Ibex Atlas is a notch up in components. As for the Motobecane, i'm not too sure that looks like a strong enough AM rig. Look at the mount for the shock. I can understand about all the weight savings that gives, but IMO, an AM rig should not be concerned about weight unless it passes 38lbs. I'm also with Jake about the wheels. Yes we pay attention to our wheels. Hell, i even built my own wheelset on my last bike. You should see the amount of wheels we break...

The IH has the DW link and i was very impressed with how it manages to retain a low weight (aroudn 32lbs i think) and still be pretty burly enough to handle abuse. The Ibex is running on a single pivot and i dont see why that should scare you. Single Pivots are great designs proven in downhill racing and even now with all the piggyback shocks available (even the one coming with the Atlas) pedalling is going to be easy.

PS - My opinion might be blinded by my love for riding my Ibex...

 

[bikesdirect]

maybe my wording was poor

Now thats a LOAD of CRAP!!!

Mountain bikes are in many ways more complex than road bikes
especially FS models

Frt shock
Rear Shock
Pivots
very duifferent frame designs

Plus - mountain bikers do not expect their original wheels to last for years or even decades -

Road bikes one of the top performance items is wheels; mountain bikers may not think of wheels first when evaluating specs

Thus if you look at specs on different brands of mountain bikes; you will find that in the total balance of OE cost - wheels are far down the list compared with road.
I am still not sure I am saying this correctly; but if you know the OE cost on wheels; you will find a $1500 ATB gets speced with less expensive wheels than a $1500 road bike from almost every single company.

In addition, after market sales of ATB wheels is MUCH higher than that of Road wheels in units; whereas aftermarket average price of road wheels is much higher than mountain. This shows the relative market situation.

That does not mean there are not road riders on cheap wheels; nor mountain riders on expensive wheels. My comments reflex the overall market; not individual riders.

I happen to more focus on wheels than most; as I think wheels are super important. Example, look at wheels on Fantom Comp - no bike at that price has that level of wheel. The WTB set on that bike is twice the OE cost that is typical for that level of bike.

The trick is balance of spec; how much in OE dollars to put on each component.
Example, with the OP original question: Fantom DS Elite could have had Juicy 7 at same price by leaving off PopLoc OR by going to cheap formula hubs machine built wheels without eyelets. It is all a question of where to put the money.
Another example; DS Elite could have had Juicy 7 at same price by moving production to China. That is the spec/cost/quality decision each person who specs bikes must make.

I like good wheels; bikes we sell will continue to have heavier focus on wheels than typical brands.

mike

 

[taikuodo]

y0bailey

Thanks
This brings to my attention that our site has not been totally updated for 2007
but the truth is we have been real busy this winter and had a hard time catching up

Anyway, all 3 bikes you name are good deals compared to buying in a bike shop in general.

So update... I'm 16, I learned html when I was 11, I can update my site in like less than 2 hours, it's not that hard. And you guys have a "professional" team anyways...

 

[ska todd]

The frame on the Motobecane is the most expensive of the 3 from an OEM point of view. Does not make it best for you; but the quality and ride are top notch. The 4-bar link with setable rear travel and Taiwan quality; make this a very expensive frame to build.

Mike, while I generally won't call other mfgrs out directly on boards for spewing BS but this case needs personal and prompt attention. The MkIII is a 100% proprietary frame made w/ 6061 & 6069 tubing, lots of custom forgings & tubing dies, Enduro Max bearings, etc and made in Taiwan at A-Pro. If this Motobecane is costing more FOB than a MkIII you should seriously look into other factories (this frame is from Astro, correct?) or getting a new buyer or trading company.

Wheelsets on Fantom and FLY level Motos are hand built and really nice. Lower level Motos use machine built wheels like everyone else does. Even though mountain bikers put less focus on wheels than roadies; Motobecane will be not be saving money on wheel specs in the future either; but will go for even more expensive wheels.

I'm curious here about the truthiness of your statement. While I personally am a big supporter of the folks at WTB, SpeedDisc series product is by and large an OEM styled range of product. The SpeedDisc hubs listed on your spec are nothing much more than branded hubs (Formula or KT I believe), not the uber fly weight LaserDisc hubs. The OEM SpeedDisc wheelkits are certainly good spec for a bike in the $1000 to $2000 range. However, compared to the wheels on both the MkIII & the Ibex, they are nothing special or glamorous. The MkIII uses DT/Swiss X455 rims with DT/Swiss Competition 2.0/1.8/2.0 double butted spokes & JY (Novatec) sealed bearing hubs. The Ibex uses Sun SOS rims and Novatec sealed hubs. If anything, the MkIII wheelset would come out on-top in a head-to-head grudge match of the three (though the Ibex doesn't list the spoke spec in all fairness to them).

What I'm getting at w/ this post is that it's all fine and dandy if you want to support your products on mtbr (or ridemonkey, pinkbike or other sites) but do so in full disclosure and in a truthful fashion. It only hurts your company and yourself to anything other.

-ska todd

 

[bikesdirect]

Very Sorry

Mike, while I generally won't call other mfgrs out directly on boards for spewing BS but this case needs personal and prompt attention. The MkIII is a 100% proprietary frame made w/ 6061 & 6069 tubing, lots of custom forgings & tubing dies, Enduro Max bearings, etc and made in Taiwan at A-Pro. If this Motobecane is costing more FOB than a MkIII you should seriously look into other factories (this frame is from Astro, correct?) or getting a new buyer or trading company.

-ska todd

Todd
I am very sorry if I am wrong on the assembly of the Iron Horse. I had been told this bike was made in China. If it is made in Taiwan; that is completely different. A-Pro is a very high grade frame maker and we spec several items from them.
I jumped to a conclusion and I should not have. Next time I will double check my info.

On the question of wheels; as you know once you get the wheelkit from WTB; there are two choices. Machine build or hand built at over twice the labor cost. I think this matters and we use hand-built on higher level bikes.

BTW - we have never had an issue on any Taiwan made frame from Astro, A-Pro, Kinesis, Yoan, Advanced, or Sunrise. So your spec of the A-Pro frame from Taiwan is very nice for this level bike in my opinion.

mike

 

[Becane73]

Now thats a LOAD of CRAP!!!

That just rude.

And for $400 I could think of a lot of things you could buy to improve your drive train. Not to mention being able to sell your old parts for $$. I think a set of OEM Hayes-9 can go for $100-150 (not that there's anything wrong with Hayes Nines), You could sell the x-7 Derailleur and Shifter for about $100...

So with about $600 I think you could buy some pretty nice drivetrain and brakes. I also trust the quality and resale value of the IH frames more so than the others, something you can see on ebay by the prices and numbers available.

http://listings.ebay.com/_W0QQsocmd...ode=2&a14=30371&a30299=30467&alist=a14,a30299

If green isn't your color check these:
http://www.rscycle.com/s.nl/it.A/id.8033/.f?sc=7&category=55
http://www.rscycle.com/s.nl/it.A/id.7599/.f?sc=7&category=55
http://www.rscycle.com/s.nl/it.A/id.8093/.f?sc=7&category=55
http://www.rscycle.com/s.nl/it.A/id.7604/.f?sc=7&category=55
http://www.rscycle.com/s.nl/it.A/id.8059/.f?sc=7&category=55