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Dirt Rag Articles
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Ibis is a brand that goes way back to the origins of mountain biking. Times when a bunch of scruffy guys in lumberjack shirts old jeans barreled down the hillsides of Marin County on home made, fat tire bikes.
The first Ibis frame saw the light in 1987. Through a combination of hand-made quality, obsessive attention to detail, sense of humor and boldness the brand thrived and, at the same time, managed to keep an aura of purity and fidelity to the origins of mountain biking. Finishing touches like the handjob cable guides and the brass head badges became trademarks of a small, passion-inspired bicycle factory, which filled the dreams of several generations of bikers throughout the '80s and '90s.
In 2001, soon after the brand was sold by its original owner, Ibis went out of business. This premature death broke the hearts of many bike lovers worldwide.
Nobody better than Scot Nicol, founder, designer, master of ceremonies, entertainer and spiritual leader of the original Ibis to provide an insight on what Ibis was and on how much of the original Ibis will carry on into the future.
Dirt Rag: How did you get yourself involved with bicycles? Tell us a bit about your background and how and why you created Ibis.
Scot Nicol: I was involved with bicycles every day since I was five years old. Still am. As I write this I just returned from a beautiful three hour mountain bike ride, leaving from my house. Not so bad! Riding all the time is what got me into building bicycles. I got my first 26" wheeled bike when I was 11. I still have it - a 1949 Schwinn. I rode it in the dirt all over the place. Riding with the crew from Marin in 1980 got me hooked on riding off road. We all went to Crested Butte together one fall, and I became friends with a lot of them. Joe Breeze had built 10 mountain bikes at that point. I apprenticed with him and helped him build the second batch of ten bikes. I have the number 13 Breezer still. That winter, I also apprenticed with Charlie Cunningham. Joe and Charlie had very different philosophies about building, which is a great advantage when you're trying to learn. After spending time learning to build bikes with them, I put together a workshop and built the first Ibis mountain bike for myself. What happened from there was that someone asked me to build them a bike and I did. Then it happened again. And again, fast forward 20 years and Ibis had grown into a nice little company. I think the largest we ever got was about 18 employees. A nice size.
DR: How would you succinctly describe the philosophy and personality of the original Ibis bicycles?
SN: We built bikes that we wanted to ride, not that some marketing guy thought might sell. Our motivations were very pure in this way. And we let our personality come out in the bikes in the way we presented the company in advertisements, at shows and at races. We weren't afraid to be controversial. I feel that when you speak your mind rather than being very careful about what you say, you gain fans and customers. You might upset 1% of the people and they won't buy your bike, but for every one of those there are 10 who think it's great to hear a little something different out of a company.
DR: How does the new Ibis compare to the old one? In which ways is it similar and in which is it different?
SN: We're still building bikes we want to ride. Still true to that philosophy. And there is still a tremendous emphasis on quality, as there always was. Although we outsourced various bikes at the old Ibis from 1987 until 2002, we built most of the bikes we sold. So in that sense it's very different, as we are currently outsourcing all our bikes. Where it's really different is that there are multiple owners of this company, and they are all playing a crucial role.
DR: How do you and Hans Heim complement each other? What does each one of you bring into the mix.
SN: Actually, the four of us compliment each other very well. Tom is doing all the really hard day to day work, and going to visit all our suppliers in Asia. This is a crucial part of the new venture, and one he does very well. He has tons of experience, I think he said he's made more than 50 trips over there! He also is answering the phones now, among a ton of other things.
Hans has great vision. You've read about his experience in the other parts of this article, and he is using his vast knowledge to make Ibis a great company. He knows what he wants as far as product goes, and as far as a direction for the company. And he has Tom and me to validate his ideas. Or tell him it's a bad idea (doesn't happen much).
I bring a continuity and vision to the brand as well, and the ability to present it to people, shops and the media. The operational skills that Tom and Hans bring to the company are a great change from the old Ibis. I'm really confident in both of their ability.
Someone much smarter than me said to me once "you don't get a second chance to make a first impression." This is where Roxy comes in, she makes our products drop dead gorgeous, and you are left with an impression something like "man, those are beautiful bikes." This too is a crucial part of the puzzle. And I think it will become even more critical now that suspension is getting pretty figured out. A lot of bikes perform well now. With Roxy we have the ability to make the bike beautiful as well as functionally superior. It's a winning combination.
DR: What are your feelings to see the Ibis brand back?
SN: It's great. It was sad to see it go bankrupt after I sold the company. I had the company for 20 years, and the guys I sold it to didn't even make it 20 months. I'm very excited about the new Ibis and proud of what we've all accomplished.
DR: How is the biking community reacting to the return of Ibis? What about the community of previous Ibis owners?
SN: At least a hundred people came me at the show and said "it's good to see you back, we missed you." This really feels good. Ibis was a good company then, and it's a good company now. Some of the old Ibis customers wish we were still building steel hardtails. They don't like the carbon. But even in old Ibis, every time we had a new innovation whether it was Ti or suspension or anything new that pushed the envelope a bit, we had people who didn't like it. It's only natural, and it happens no matter what business you're in. I'd say that the people who like the new Mojo outnumber then ones who don't like it 100:1.
DR: I saw that the head badges are back. Will we see the handjob cable guides and bottle openers also?
SN: Sorry, can't say right now. We will have some cool stuff for sure. Stay tuned.
| Exclusive Dirt Rag Web-Only Extras For Scot Nicol Interview | Hans Heim sat down with Dirt Rag and talked in great detail about the process that led to the return of Ibis and the role he played in it. Click here for an uncut version of the Hans Heim interview that ran in Dirt Rag issue #120.
You can read all about the design and development of the new Ibis Mojo full-suspension frame in this web reprint of the Inside Line: Ibis article that originally appeared in Dirt Rag issue #120. |
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