I recently purchased one of the last Ibex Classic 3300s at the end of November for my fiancee as a Christmas gift. I was looking for a road bike with a triple crankset and STI shifters. When the Canadian dollar was worth more than the American dollar, I realized that the Classic 3300 was definitely worth it. However, I was dismayed to learn that Ibex did not ship to Canada. Fortunately, I had a friend living in upstate NY who was willing to bring it into Canada for me, which she did just last week.

I haven't quite put it together yet as we're waiting for Dec. 25 to do the honours. However, I just wanted to comment on a few things:

1. Emails to Jack were answered promptly when I initially asked about shipping to Canada and generally inquiring about the bike.

2. Once I purchased the bike, however, I asked for the specs on the bike, and unbeknownst to me, was sent the incorrect specs (I bought a 51 and they sent specs for a 58). Furthermore, the specs that were sent weren't entirely comprehensive; they resembled what you would see on the website. That may be fine in some respects, but when I started to ask about specifics such as BB spindle length and what not, I was met with short answers. In retrospect, it would have been nice if the CSR just provided all the specs (seatpost diameters, fork diameters, bar reach, etc). I say this because while I did wonder about the rather large handlebars (44cm) and crank (175), I just figured that since the bike was the last of the production run, I'd go for it. So, I went out and bought new handlebars, as well as purchasing brakes, carbon seatpost and fork. Then, when I finally mentioned that the sizing just seems too large for a 51, the CSR finally realized that he mixed up my order with another. So, my main complaint isn't so much that he mixed up the order as it is that he could have sent all the pertinent information upfront. Not that big of a deal, in the grand scheme of things.

Like I mentioned earlier, I haven't set up the bike but I'll see how much of a pain it'll be replacing the fork, brakes (hopefully, the Ultegra brakeset will work with Sora), and handlebars, although I think I'll just ask my LBS to do that because I'm terrible at taping.

Once all this snow clears up, I'll post more about how she likes the ride -- I'm thinking that with the carbon fork and seatpost upgrades, she will... or else, I'm calling off the wedding. :)

Thanks to Jack for his prompt and informative responses.

Happy holidays!

OK. I've finally got the Ibex Classic 3300 to where I wanted it to be for my fiancee. When she opened the box, everything was well packed so high-fives to the Ibex shipping crew. Everything was quite easy to put together since they included a pedal wrench and set of allen keys. Since I was swapping out some of the parts, I had to take the bike to my LBS to get everything put together (and also, to make sure that I did everything correctly). First, if you're considering purchasing this bike (which I would highly recommend.. more later), swap out the fork!! The included fork, while it includes eyelets for a rack, is H-E-A-V-Y. It's cromoly but I have a cromo fork on my city bike and it's nowhere near as heavy as this one. So, I'm glad I splurged and got a carbon fork ($70!). Second, the saddle didn't get very good reviews so I swapped that out for a women's specific saddle and then I found a carbon seatpost for cheap. The handlebars seemed a little wide (42cm) for my fiancee so I swapped a set of non-ergo 40cm bars with a guy off Craigslist for brand-new 40cm Ritchey Pro bars. Finally, I swapped out the Tektro brake calipers for a set of Ultegras I had lying around. Of course, after I installed them, I discovered that the Tektros were lighter than the Ultegras (according to WeightWeenies)! So, I didn't really need to swap them out but I like the look of the Ultegras.

So, finally, today was warm and dry enough (well, 5C was warm enough for me) to take it out for a spin and I have to say that I was VERY impressed!! I used to ride an aluminum bike but found that it rode like a wet noodle. But the Ibex Classic differs considerably from that bike. It responds very well -- as a comparison, I also happened to be riding with a friend who just got an all-carbon Kuota Kebel and while the Ibex didn't handle quite as well as the Kuota, we both agreed that, for the price, it was a great bike. Again, we were both very pleasantly surprised at the handling and the acceleration. I think as an entry-level bike, the Ibex Classic is a great steal! I'm surprised that they're going to discontinue it (I think?) so grab one while they're still on sale!!!

All in all, this bike gets the cool high-five from me!!!

watching your pics makes me more desperate to get me an Aprisa...I wish I had the money to buy it right away....i have an ASTA right now, but I also want to do some road....oh man I want the Aprisa soooooo bad!!!!!