1. Climbing :
Moe-Both bikes climbed rather well. I will give the advantage to the Woodstock 505 because of the front fork lock-out. I’m totally sold that hard tails are the bikes to ride if your terrain has a lot of technical or steep climbs.
RL– I will have to agree with Moe as far as the climbing prowess of the Woodstock 505. The lock out feature on the Manitou Axel’s fork allowed me to climb the steepest hills. However, the Ibex Trophy 770 provided far more comfortable ride while climbing. My back was upright and I didn’t feel too much strain on my lower back.
2. Singletrack:
Moe -Riding on the singletrack at about 18 mph the Trophy felt more agile and more confident. Its geometry really allowed me to push the bike thru the bumps and ruts. The 505 was a little bouncier thru the bumps and ruts, therefore I was not able to hammer it as the Trophy. On the other hand, I found that the 505’s shifting was smoother than the Trophy’s. SRAM’s ‘thumb-thumb’ system took a little to get used to, but the shifting was fast and very precise.
RL– Due to its light weight, I found that the Trophy 770 to be very nimble and responsive. The Marzocchi EXR felt great on the bike. I really enjoyed how it absorbed the bumps of the trail. The 505 felt pretty good on the singletrack. I liked the idea of point and shoot on the 505. All I really needed to do was pedal fast and point. The 505 did a great job with the singletrack. Like Moe, I did prefer the SRAM drive train of the 505 over the 770’s Shimano drive train.
What I thought was interesting, even though the 505 had the SRAM rear derailleur; it also had a Deore front derailleur. I guess Ibex and Woodstock knew that Deore front derailleur would do the job intended.
3. Non-technical/technical Downhill:
Moe-I really like fast wide downhills. It allows me to really let go and let the bike’s suspension do the work. The Trophy’s Marzocchi EXR really kicked the 505’s Manitou AXEL’s butt on this one. I was very comfortable letting go of the brakes on the Trophy, while the 505’s was really jarring and stiff.
Technical Downhill: Due to the 505’s ‘racier’ geometry, going down on steep descends was down right scary. I felt like I was going to fly off the handlebars a couple of times. The Trophy’s more slack geometry suited me better on the steep parts, no sensation of Endo’ing when I rode the steep dowhills.
RL-Downhills are the best part about uphills! If I seriously had to choose between the Marzochhi EXR and the Manitou AXEL, then I would have chosen the EXR. If think if the EXR was on ANY bike, it would have made a major difference on its performance. The EXR’s abilities was nothing but ambitious. It’s a great fork for the Ibex 770 or for any bike for that matter.
4. Pavement:
Moe-Riding the 505 on pavement with the lockout on the fork allowed me to stand up and really pedal while standing up. I really noticed the bobbing on the Trophy as I stood up to accelerate.
RL –Both bikes did really well for riding. I highly recommend either one for commuting. However, the 505’s lockout feature is useful when you’re trying to start from a dead stop. The prevention of bob can make a difference in how fast you can get across the street once the light turns green.
5. Cornering:
Moe-The Trophy’s more compact cockpit made it really easy for me to corner hard. The tires on the 505 performed really well on most surfaces. Both bikes are good in taking the corners fast.
RL- The 505 had wider tires at 26″ x 2.0 and the 770 at 26? x 1.95?. The 505’s tires WTB WeirWolf’s worked great for all around riding, pavement or trail. They do really well in sandy or loose gravel conditions. Cornering was great, I didn’t experience any slipping while on pavement. However, while on the trail, I washed out more than a few times with them.
Being smaller tires, the Kenda Koyote that were on the 770 did better than I expected. I thought since they were not as wide that I wouldn’t have much grip. But I was proven wrong. They did excellent on both trail and street riding with no experiences of washing out of slipping.
Conclusion:
Moe-The Trophy’s geometry really suited my style of riding off-road. I had more fun riding it on the Fullerton Loop. A fork with a lockout would make this bike a super-climber. I really enjoyed riding this bike. The 505 climbed like a goat and its smooth shifting makes this bike a decent performer off-road.
RL-Riding the Woodstock 505 and the Ibex Trophy 770 for this comparison test proved to be fun yet challenging. We had a great time testing out each bike but the hardest part was trying to put to words on how each bike did on the shoot out.
The 505 and 770 did better than expected. Woodstock being the newcomer provided us with a bike that blew my mind away. The combination of components as well as geometry makes the 505 a race ready machine. It works great for commuting as well as trail riding. I truly enjoyed the SRAM rear derailleur which delivered sharp, crisp and accurate shifting. However, I’d have to say that the Manitou AXEL was great for climbing especially with the help of the lock out feature. But it was a bit disappointing compared to the Marzochhi EXR. The 505 could actually benefit from a higher travel fork or even the EXR. Other than that, the combination of components and its aggressive geometry makes the 505 a convincing piece of machinery that will blow away peoples expectations.
The 770 did a perfect job surprising us. You would think that most formidable mountain bikes would need to have some fancy paint job, big travel forks, crazy frame designs and be mega-expensive.But to our surprise, the 770 was the complete opposite. The light weight frame (26.6lbs!) along with its Marzocchi EXR fork and its premium components made the 770 a complete package. What do I mean by “complete package?” Basically this is a great all around bike. Perfect for commuting and of course trail riding. But more so, I think the 770 is more than capable of being an excellent XC racer.
Prices:
Woodstock 505: $639.99
Ibex Trophy 770: $699.00
Specs:
Woodstock 505
For information on either the Woodstock 505 or the Ibex Trophy 770, check out their sites:
Woodstock bikes and Ibex Bicycles
| IBEX Bicycles manufactures high quality bikes and markets them direct to the consumer via the Internet at www.ibexbikes.com. The wide variety of IBEX models includes a full range of mountain bikes and road bikes, as well as specialty items like Cyclocross, Freeride,high-end kid’s bikes and flat-bar street performance bikes. Known for offering great values, IBEX Bicycles’ prices are 25% to 45% below bike shop brand pricing for similarly equipped LBS models. Check out www.ibexbikes.com for the whole story! |