Weird Ibis £350 Nottingham

[Synthiaks]

theres some geometry going on there.....

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/28585354...lp:4429486&itmmeta=01HXYC2N3M8CK6E0A00VG6YCT3

 

[Tsundere]

Ibis or not, that is an ugly frame.

 

[Rod_Saetan]

A lovely explanation of the URT design and subsequent ride characteristics in the description too:

This unified rear triangle or URT bike was the design work of John Castellano, with the idea being that the bike would be firmer while standing and cranking hard on the pedals and softer while sitting on the saddle during a rough descent. This design was to have some appeal to the so-called hardtail holdouts that eschewed soft full-suspension. Time has proven that you actually want the very opposite: firm pedaling while seated and soft suspension while descending out of the saddle. Trying this bike out for a short time made this very clear.

I had a small frame for a while, but never got round to building it, loved the look since seeing it reviewed in a US mag in the mid-90s.

 

[Synthiaks]

Guess thats why its not the usual Ibis level of money......

 

[Synthiaks]

Weird mix of quality of parts....or am I missing something?

I do like the Ibis bar ends

 

[Tsundere]

Weird mix of quality of parts....or am I missing something?

I do like the Ibis bar ends

View attachment 849389

It's a beautifully built and well equipped abomination.

I'm sure some will love it, beauty is in the eye of the beholder after all, but the quote posted by @Rod_Saetan says it all, the design was based on incorrect assumptions about what makes a downhill bike work.

Look at the seatpost assembly, you don't need to be an engineer to see that it looks wrong, aesthetically and mechanically. When a well designed machine is brought into the world it has a kind of divine aura, an intangible beauty that signals to the onlooker 'This bloody works'. That bike screams 'Oops!'.

It's quirky, it's part of the history of the MTB, for every successful experiment there's a mountain of failures, this bike looks like no other bike, and for good reason, and I'm glad it exists.

There's a Mountain Goat that reminds me of this, another madcap brain fart design that was never going to work, I'm glad that exists too.

 

[KermitGKona88]

Szazbo...

 

[ferrus]

Szazbo yep. They’re was a very rare Ti version too

 

[fennec]

I would love one of these or the later castellano zorro.


John Castellano (the guy who designed these frames for ibis) is an absolute legend, i have a castellano fango which is effectively a first gen ibis ripley, and ive been looking for a Szazbo or a zorro to add to my collection. If i was in the UK...

 

[Tsundere]

I would love one of these or the later castellano zorro.
View attachment 849472

John Castellano (the guy who designed these frames for ibis) is an absolute legend, i have a castellano fango which is effectively a first gen ibis ripley, and ive been looking for a Szazbo or a zorro to add to my collection. If i was in the UK...

There we go, the vision revised and refined.