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Ibis
Timeline |
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Cool site with some
Ibis Catalog
Scans. |
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1981 |
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Ibis founded in Mendocino, CA |
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1983 |
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July 1983 Ad:
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1984 |
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Moved to Sebastopol, CA. First
Ibis road bike
March 1984 Ad including Roller Cam brakes:
1984/85 catalog:
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1985 |
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Ibis trials bikes
November 1985 Ad:
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1986 |
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Ibis tandem |
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1987 |
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Ibis Avion, first complete bike. The Avion
is reviewed below in a November 1987 bike test:
July 1987 Scot Nicol Interview:
November 1987 Bicycle magazine article with several
different mountain bikes including an Ibis:
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1988 |
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Out of the garage and into semi-legal work space December 1988 Mountain Trials bike test.
Andy Grayson: 1988 NORBA Trials Champion
May 1988 Bicycle Guide pictures:
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1989 |
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June, 1989 Ad:  |
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1990 |
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Birth of the SS, last pre-suspension hard tail
Titanium production begins
Scot Nicol (founder) inducted into Mountain Bike
Hall of Fame |
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1991 |
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April 1991 Scot Nicol
interview and bike review from Bicycle Guide: 
Wes William with the precursor to the
Scorcher, May 1991 Bicycle Guide:
August 199112" Ibis SS:
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1992 |
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July 1992 Bicycle Guide magazine tandem
review:
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1993 |
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Limited edition Scorcher (retro-styled fixed gear)
100 made (25 small, 25 large and 50 medium), custom handlebars were made
to replicate an old Torrington design.
November 1993 Scorcher review from Bicycle
Guide magazine:
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1994 |
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Moron (more on the ends) tubing for the Mojo
SST (Shimano
Suck This) component package available consisting of Control
Tech or Syncros stem, Dia Compe 987 brakes, Grip Shift, XC Pro brake levers,
Taperlite bars, King headset, Cooks or Topline cranks, Onza pedals, White or
Hugi hubs, Mavic 230 rims, Ritchey bottom bracket and XTR derailleurs. These specs were subject
to change depending on availability.
First butted titanium (with Gary Helfrich)
Titanium road bike
Touché road tandem
(steel or Ti), Cousin It mountain tandem (steel or Ti), Cousin It Road
tandem (steel)
Prototype Szazbo full
suspension in steel and Ti |
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1995 |
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Szazbo full suspension (Sweet Spot) in aluminum
(first Al bike)
Cousin-It mountain tandem, Forte Road
Tandem, Touché road tandem in steel and Titanium
EZ-Street road
tandem |
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1996 |
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First prototype BowTi |
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1997 |
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Ibis Alibi aluminum hard tail
Hakkalugi cyclocross |
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1998 |
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Spanky road bike with Moron
BowTi production
Limited run of single speed frames (one for each
letter of the alphabet) |
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1999 |
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Moves to Santa Rosa
Launch of Geax tires with Vittoria
Mai Tai titanium mountain bike and Sonoma Ti road
bike |
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2000 |
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Ibis Silk Ti pivot-less full suspension |
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2002 |
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Ibis files for
bankruptcy. |
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2003 |
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John Castellano
(designer of many of the Ibis full suspension bikes) now offers some of
the Ibis bike models as well as parts for older Ibis bikes. For
more information check out
Castellano Designs. |
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2005 |
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Watch for the announcement of the
righting of the good ship Ibis at the fall Interbike trade show!! |
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Beautiful Ti lugged carbon frame, 1988,super sweet!!
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Head tube close-up of the Ti/Carbon frame, 1 of 4 made
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Ti uptube tandem, 4 made, $10,000 retail
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Scot, Circa 1982, Mt. Diablo, Ibis #7
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Click on thumbnails above for larger image
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From the
Mountain Bike Hall of Fame |
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Scot Nicol
Inducted
1990
Web Site:
www.ibiscycles.com
In 1965, at age 11, Scot acquired his
first ballooner by rather questionable means. The irresistible late
1940s model Schwinn was in a neighbor’s garage when he spied it.
Always one to make a deal, Scot quickly offered his mother’s
lightweight bike as a trade on this classic cruiser. “Mom finally
forgave me 22 years later when I repaid her (with interest) by
delivering her a custom Ibis.”
Acrobatic tricks soon became his specialty on his new bike. In Breeze
and Gary Fisher in a trip to Crested Butte for a trip over Pearl Pass.
“They liked me at first because I had a car that would probably make
it to Crested Butte (unlike any of them). Later, when they found out I
could ride up and down hills as fast as any of them, plus ride
wheelies in circles around them, they accepted me into their group.”
This proved to be a valuable association for Scot, as he apprenticed
with Breeze and Cunningham that winter. Soon after that, the first
Ibis rolled out of the shop he had set up in his greenhouse in Fort
Bragg, Calif. That bike was shorter and steeper, and rode more
comfortably than the other mountain bikes available at the time, so it
soon became successful.
Scot also raced mountain bikes in the first years of the sport; his
most notable results were a sixth place at the 1983 NORBA Nationals, a
win of the Last Central Coast Clunker Classic, and an overall win at
the first Bishop 7500/Mammoth Stage Race. In 1984, Scot met up with
Tom Hillard and was quickly hooked on trials riding, leading to
several years of development of trials bikes, with some strange
incarnations along the way. Scot used his acrobatic and bike handling
skills to win dozens of trials events, finishing third at the national
championships in 1985.
A 1987 trip to Europe with his wife Ginny was the thrust behind the
production of the first Ibis Tandem. From that beginning, Ibis
produced a few tandems in 1988, many more in 1989 (after being named
bike of the year by Bicycle guide Magazine), and fully half of the
production in 1990 is devoted to satisfying the demand for the two
tandem models that Ibis produces.
“Ibis is a bird of beauty, revered by the ancient Egyptians for their
grace and form. In fact they often carried their mummified Ibis with
them to their tombs, “explains Nicol. “Although I don’t really hope to
have people get buried with their bikes, hopefully people will
continue to ride and enjoy their Ibis bikes while enjoying this sport
that has brought created so many wonderful friendships.”
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Ibis Serial
Numbers
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