What a good weekend. We went for a long ride with perfect Memorial day weather and a group of five, and then we dropped by Bikes Unlimited to pick up the Ibex Trophy that’s ready to roll.

Mike and I met up with a few guys from my church that ride and we hit the trails at Peaks View Park. I switched bikes with Mike to put me atop the Raleigh M80 and he took over the reigns of the Gary Fisher X-Caliber. We are both putting our final touches on the first review for each (be here in a day or two) so it was time to switch ‘em up. Since I haven’t hit the trails in awhile due to weather and life, it took a few minutes and biffing on a novice log crossing to get my wits about me and start moving good.

My first impression of the Raleigh M80 was pretty good. For a bike that retails around $600, it performs well. From what I can tell the only thing they really cut corners on was weight. The bike is pretty heavy, however it comes stock with Hayes mechanical disc brakes, Shimano LX drivetrain, Truvativ BB and crankset, and Manitou SIX 80mm travel forks. When you are looking in this price range the manufacturers have to cut corners somewhere and I’d rather pedal a heavier bike with better performing components rather then a lite and fragile one any day of the week.

Afterwards we went over and picked up the Ibex Trophy that’s finally been built up. Thanks to all the guys at Bikes Unlimited, especially Kenny for doing almost all the building, Troy for pitching in with brake levers and wheels, and Doug for providing the Avid v-brakes. Next on the list to be built is the Ibex Alpine frame. We have a few more parts we need for it though so we are in a holding pattern. I’ll post up the final specs for the Trophy later on.