Interview: Chuck Ibis

Photo:Sam Farrar

Ibis back in the ‘Stairway Years’.

Photo:Sam Farrar

Was the inspiration behind the first ‘custom’ bikes to improve upon the ride of the old Schwinns? Or just to make ones that didn’t break?

The CroMo bikes we made had more upright geometry, although others mimicked the Schwinn slacker geometry. Slacker was more than geometry then, it was a lifestyle. Oh yeah, back on point, the CroMo bikes we were making were lighter and stronger than the old Clunkers. And we made them in sizes to fit big folk and small folk. And the bigger tubes made them stiffer. Those old clunkers were sure flexy.

At the height of ‘steel and titanium’ Ibis, how busy were you in Sebastopol? Our hippie days’ work ethic never let work get in the way of fun, or profit for that matter.

What prompted you to sell the brand? Many things that are boring, but basically I was burned out after 20 years. I was finally ready for a change.

And what prompted you restart it? (/buy it back/reclaim it - whatever it was you did...) The people I sold it to bankrupt it after 20 months. Hans Heim had recently left Santa Cruz and was looking for the next thing. He approached me, I said I didn’t want to go it alone, but would consider being part of a team. Hans is unknown in the public face of the industry, but I consider him a legend in the way he runs companies. I jumped at the chance to work with him. We engineered a way to grab it out of bankruptcy and brought Tom Morgan and Roxy on board. My expectations with this crew were very high and have been met in every way.

Everyone (us included) expected to see steel Mojos again. Dude, I told you we’re not playing Stairway to Heaven tonight.

Old steel Mojos still turn up on eBay now and again. Are you surprised by some of the silly prices for retro mountain bike gear on eBay these days? I’ve sold a few older Ibis things that fetched a pretty penny. I’ve bought a few things too. But I really haven’t been following the trend lately. I can see collecting the kit for nostalgic purposes. Not for actually riding it though. That’s like trading your M3 in for a Cinquecento.

Back to the present. The carbon, full suspension Mojo was quite a shock. What was the thinking behind that? And how did that design evolve?

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www.singletrackworld.com We like to think that if Ibis had kept on keeping on without interruption, the current bikes would probably be similar to what we’re doing now.

We like to think that if Ibis had kept on keeping on without interruption, the current bikes would probably be similar to

We did the [steel] Mojo back in the day, but look at all the

butted Ti tubeset. Followed by the Ti Mojo with the same

I’ll take both of those questions together. We like to think that if Ibis had kept on keeping on without interruption, the current bikes would probably be similar to what we’re doing now. We did the [steel] Mojo back in the day, but look at all the rest of the stuff that was cutting edge for the time: •The super light Ti Road with the Ancotech double butted Ti tubeset. Followed by the Ti Mojo with the same butting treatment applied to its tubes. •The Steel lugged carbon hardtails we did in 1988 •The BowTi with 5in of pivotless rear wheel travel. •The Szazbo Sweet Spot Aluminum Suspension bike. •The SilkTi pivotless softtail. All of these broke signifi cant new ground, as far as suspension or technology goes. The other thing I’ll bring to mind is a prediction I made while writing a long materials piece for VeloNews in the early 90’s. I said carbon is going to be the material of choice one of these days. The only reason more of the 1988 carbon bikes weren’t made was due to cost. I think that each carbon tube on that bike cost us several hundred dollars, because we were using the highest quality aerospace

The other thing I’ll bring to mind is a prediction I made while writing a long materials piece for VeloNews in the early 90’s. I said carbon is going to be the material of choice one of these days. The only reason more of the 1988 carbon bikes weren’t made was due to cost. I think that each carbon tube on that bike cost us several hundred dollars, because we were using the highest quality aerospace

Photo:Sam Farrar

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