Ibex Comp X7 or Motobecane Fantom Comp?

GoWolfpack · Jan 11, 2007

Ibex Trophy Comp X7 or Motobecane Fantom Comp?

Hey folks,

Newbie here but rapidly getting more and more hooked on riding each weekend I am on the trails.

Currently riding a Columbia Trailhead mountain bike with disc brakes I bought at a Dick's Sporting Goods for $169. Good beginner bike and one I will hang on to, but have the bug for a better bike.

I have spent a lot of time reading about the Ibex bikes and am pretty sold on the quality and value of Ibex. Was ready to pull the trigger on the Trophy Comp X7. But I found the Motobecane Fantom Comp with almost identical parts for $100 less ($595 plus free shipping).

Here is a link to the Motobecane:

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/fantom_comp05.htm

Just would like some overal opinions as to what to buy.

Oh--and I am 6-1 195 lbs and fairly athletic. What size bike should I buy?

Thanks a whole lot in advance for any and all opinions.

See you on the trails.....

mrpercussive · Jan 11, 2007

Dont think they have almost the same components. The Ibex Trophy X7 has better shifters and front derailer, a better chain... not too sure about the rest though. That site did not give enough details about some stuff like which Avid disc brakes those are and which RS Tora that is.

And as for frame, i'd definitely go with the Ibex. I've ridden one of Ibex frames and was really impressed with the build and how well they took the abused we gave it. They look sooooo much better then the Motobecane. Here's a pic of JakePay's Trophy...
The X7 is a different colour though, but i doubt it'll look any less good...

mrpercussive · Jan 11, 2007

also, i'm not too sure about the size for you but if you call Ibex up... i'm sure they'll get you taken cared of... Good luck on the new bike...

Jake Pay · Jan 11, 2007

Welcome to the Forums......

Wolfpack, (20" frame

)
Pull the trigger, order the bike you wanted, (CLICK HERE) before you lost your way...:thumbsup:

IMO, the Trophy Comp X7 cant be compared to the other bike mentioned....
You may ask, why?
(Answer) The list is way to long and I'm not up to all that one finger typing....

Jake :ihih:

PS. XD, thank you for the complement of using my bike as a reference point :thumbsup:

mrpercussive · Jan 11, 2007

Jake Pay said:
Wolfpack, (20" frame )
Pull the trigger, order the bike you wanted, (CLICK HERE) before you lost your way...:thumbsup:

IMO, the Trophy Comp X7 cant be compared to the other bike mentioned....
You may ask, why?
(Answer) The list is way to long and I'm not up to all that one finger typing....

Jake :ihih:

PS. XD, thank you for the complement of using my bike as a reference point :thumbsup:

dude, that bike looks soooooo good... of course i'd use as a reference point...

Call_me_Clyde · Jan 11, 2007

Both nice bikes

With that said, you asked your question in the Ibex forum. Highly unlikely that you're going to get a Motobecane recommendation here.

Bob

mrpercussive · Jan 11, 2007

Call_me_Clyde said:
With that said, you asked your question in the Ibex forum. Highly unlikely that you're going to get a Motobecane recommendation here.

Bob

txjohng · Jan 11, 2007

GoWolfpack said:
Hey folks,

Newbie here but rapidly getting more and more hooked on riding each weekend I am on the trails.

Currently riding a Columbia Trailhead mountain bike with disc brakes I bought at a Dick's Sporting Goods for $169. Good beginner bike and one I will hang on to, but have the bug for a better bike.

I have spent a lot of time reading about the Ibex bikes and am pretty sold on the quality and value of Ibex. Was ready to pull the trigger on the Trophy Comp X7. But I found the Motobecane Fantom Comp with almost identical parts for $100 less ($595 plus free shipping).

Here is a link to the Motobecane:

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/fantom_comp05.htm

Just would like some overal opinions as to what to buy.

Oh--and I am 6-1 195 lbs and fairly athletic. What size bike should I buy?

Thanks a whole lot in advance for any and all opinions.

See you on the trails.....

Although the IBEX is more expensive by $130, including shipping it is a nicer bike. HANDS DOWN ... oh and I do have a MOTO and an IBEX.

The parts seem identical until you look at the crank ...also the Novatec 4/2 Sealed Bearing
Hubs are REALLY NICE.

I also think the ibex has a lot nicer cockpit set and IMO I think the SRAM x7 are just as good if not better than the deore/xt mix.

I you want a really fast, super light XC only bike look at the fly pro ....but the rims are really weak...the X7 for 730 is a great price!!!!!!!!

ibexbikes · Jan 11, 2007

txjohng said:
The parts seem identical until you look at the crank ...also the Novatec 4/2 Sealed Bearing Hubs are REALLY NICE.

The parts mix isn't really identical. The XT rear derailleur is a step up from the LX we put on the Alpine 650 ($569), but the Deore shifters are what we use there. They are not equivalent to the X7. And, yes the Iso-Flow crank is glaringly under-spec'd. It's not bad for an entry-level crank. We use it on our Alpine 450 ($369)

txjohng said:
...I think the SRAM X7 are just as good if not better than the deore/xt mix.

Deore matches up with SRAM's SX5. X7 compares favorably with Shimano LX in both performance and price (at OE level, anyway).

txjohng said:
....but the rims are really weak...

I don't know that those WTB SpeedDisc rims are weak, but again, not up to the level of the Sun's on the Trophy. We use SpeedDiscs on our Alpine series (Alpine 450, 550 & 650).

I also think the OP would find the Tora 318 Air fork on the IBEX Trophy Comp X7 more useful with air and lockout than the coil sprung U-Turn version. MotoB doesn't list the level of that fork, so I suspect it's the Tora 289. Rock Shox makes the Tora U-Turn in 289, 302 and 318 versions with about $200-$250 retail separating the bottom one (Tora 289) from the top-of-the-line Tora 318 Air.

Look, it's not unusual for a big manufacturer to use the lowest model in a fork platform because they get the "umph" of the name at the lowest cost. At IBEX we tend to do just the opposite. Most of our bikes, including the Trophy Comp X7, use the highest model from any given fork line-up. We like to have the full features like air, lockout and external rebound that make a fork more tuneable and more rideable. There are certainly exceptions like our choice of the Rock Shox Dart-1 on the Alpine 450, but that one came down to a choice of going with a lesser name like RST or pushing up to the Rock Shox... and it is an entry level bike with an entry level fork for entry level riders who may be a little lost with too many adjustments on the fork.

Regards,
Jack A.
IBEX Bicycles.

txjohng · Jan 11, 2007

ibexbikes said:
The parts mix isn't really identical. The XT rear derailleur is a step up from the LX we put on the Alpine 650 ($569), but the Deore shifters are what we use there. They are not equivalent to the X7. And, yes the Iso-Flow crank is glaringly under-spec'd. It's not bad for an entry-level crank. We use it on our Alpine 450 ($369)

Deore matches up with SRAM's SX5. X7 compares favorably with Shimano LX in both performance and price (at OE level, anyway).

I don't know that those WTB SpeedDisc rims are weak, but again, not up to the level of the Sun's on the Trophy. We use SpeedDiscs on our Alpine series (Alpine 450, 550 & 650).

I also think the OP would find the Tora 318 Air fork on the IBEX Trophy Comp X7 more useful with air and lockout than the coil sprung U-Turn version. MotoB doesn't list the level of that fork, so I suspect it's the Tora 289. Rock Shox makes the Tora U-Turn in 289, 302 and 318 versions with about $200-$250 retail separating the bottom one (Tora 289) from the top-of-the-line Tora 318 Air.

Look, it's not unusual for a big manufacturer to use the lowest model in a fork platform because they get the "umph" of the name at the lowest cost. At IBEX we tend to do just the opposite. Most of our bikes, including the Trophy Comp X7, use the highest model from any given fork line-up. We like to have the full features like air, lockout and external rebound that make a fork more tuneable and more rideable. There are certainly exceptions like our choice of the Rock Shox Dart-1 on the Alpine 450, but that one came down to a choice of going with a lesser name like RST or pushing up to the Rock Shox... and it is an entry level bike with an entry level fork for entry level riders who may be a little lost with too many adjustments on the fork.

Regards,
Jack A.
IBEX Bicycles.

the rims are weak comment actually applies to the Moto Fly Pro. Either way IBEX wins hands down .....

ibexbikes · Jan 11, 2007

txjohng said:
the rims are weak comment actually applies to the Moto Fly Pro. Either way IBEX wins hands down .....

Sorry, my mistake! But hey, it did give me a chance to get my licks in about how we chose a higher level rim for the Trophy!

Best,
Jack

txjohng · Jan 11, 2007

ibexbikes said:
Sorry, my mistake! But hey, it did give me a chance to get my licks in about how we chose a higher level rim for the Trophy!

Best,
Jack

Yeah that Trophy X7 is a GREAT DEAL -- WOW .... I'm still super happy with my Asta X9 though!

Jake Pay · Jan 11, 2007

Thread Hi-jacked....

Texas John,

txjohng said:
Yeah that Trophy X7 is a GREAT DEAL -- WOW .... I'm still super happy with my Asta X9 though!

When you going to post a picture in the Post your IBEX thread. You'd be the 1st 07' ASTA in the thread :thumbsup:

Jake :ihih:

PS. People shopping like PICTUREs :yesnod:

EDIT: CmC and the Administration cleaned up the B-F-Pictures so its easier to manipulate and browse the thread :thumbsup:

txjohng · Jan 11, 2007

maybe tonight .... depends what time I get home from work

GoWolfpack · Jan 12, 2007

Thanks for the super advice everybody. I really appreciate everyone's input and opinions. Spoke with (I think) Jack today and he was very informative and helpful.

Done Deal. I am planning on ordering the Trophy Comp X7 tomorrow or first part of next week.

Playing around on ebay though, I only wish I had stumbled upon this before the auction ended:

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-IBEX-Trophy-Pro-Mountain-Bike-Shimano-XT-20-NR_W0QQitemZ230073787410QQihZ013QQcategoryZ98083QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Call_me_Clyde · Jan 12, 2007

Nice choice

Very nice bike you're buying. The Trophy Pro on ebay was a steal. I watched that auction myself. Don't second guess your choice though, it's a very nice bike you're getting.

Bob

GoWolfpack · Jan 12, 2007

Thanks Bob!

Jake Pay · Jan 12, 2007

Way to go, Wolfpack.........

Your going to love your Trophy C X7, the frame is so sweet the way it sucks up vibration and climbs like a bat out of hell.
The bike would be a steal even at $1100 :thumbsup:

Jake :ihih:

mrpercussive · Jan 12, 2007

nice going... thats one sick bike

Ibex Comp X7 or Motobecane Fantom Comp?

GoWolfpack

Registered

mrpercussive

BrassBalled DropbarNinja

mrpercussive

BrassBalled DropbarNinja

Jake Pay

Cuánto pesa?

mrpercussive

BrassBalled DropbarNinja

Call_me_Clyde

Freshly Fujified

mrpercussive

BrassBalled DropbarNinja

txjohng

Registered

ibexbikes

Company CSR

txjohng

Registered

ibexbikes

Company CSR

txjohng

Registered

Jake Pay

Cuánto pesa?

txjohng

Registered

GoWolfpack

Registered

Call_me_Clyde

Freshly Fujified

GoWolfpack

Registered

Jake Pay

Cuánto pesa?

mrpercussive

BrassBalled DropbarNinja