Reviews for BOB Ibex bicycle cargo trailer

I used this trailer on a 2 week camping/fishing trip. When used at it's advertised capacity it downright dangerous!!! Our trip consisted of rocky, steep logging roads & single track trails to the river. Great for >40#'s on flat paved roads. I you want experience this trailer before you buy get a wheelbarrow, fill it full then try walk fast over rough ground. You get the idea. If you hook this to a mountain bike, lock the front fork out, if you have that option.

Comments from The Staff:

Thank you so much for your review. I?m SO sorry to hear that you were unhappy with your BOB Ibex bicycle trailer. We try to provide as much information we can on our website and through our customer service staff to ensure customers like you end up with a product that is perfect for your needs.

Based off of your feedback we will be reviewing our product description so others may have a better experience.

Please feel free to contact us with any other questions or concerns you may have and thanks again for the feedback!

Thanks,
Melissa T.
(BicycleTrailers.com)

I bought my trailer last year. I took it on a long weekend trip to Maine (via Amtrak) and I used it around town to advertise two municipal political candidates.I think the trailer is great, but could be better. Given the increasing cost of gasoline I wouldn't mind having a slightly wider rear to carry more weight. If that means using titanium I probably wouldn't mind.

I do a lot of trail maintenance of our mountain bike trails. My friends had bought B.O.B.s, but I wasn't sure that I wanted to drag a trailer behind my bike. I did want to shuttle tools when my friends weren't around. I had a friend build a light weight tool support. The trailer rides well. Still it took me a while to get used to the different way that the bike handles. I have not taken it on any technical sections yet. Overall I am very pleased with my purchase and it is well worth it to get one with a shock.

Just does it all damn well; the attachment system, the build, the shape, the handling, the coosh provided by the admittedly-not-well-damped little shock, the durability; I've tried 'em all, built my own; Ibex is le max.... Really! Joel...on my fourth trip 'round the planet. Been towing a BOB for maybe 35 thousand miles, an Ibex for at least 15 of that....

I cannot believe this thing! So far, the only drawback I can see is that when it's empty, you know it's back there. I've been using mine for grocery hauling and have had loads ranging from 25-60 lbs. My route to the store includes streets with hills and singletrack with hills and ruts. I can't believe how well it handles it all. When loaded this thing is unbelievable. Unless you are hopping or going off a curb or rut in the trail, it may as well not be there. I've actually looked back a couple of times to make sure it's still behind me. With the 3 position load damping system I can be sure for the right ride setting and I can also adjust the spring tension via a large "bolt" on top of the spring. That may be the root of the complaint for the guy who didn't like the shock. When I picked it up they had it tightened so much for shipping that the spring was useless. All you need to do is loosen it a couple of turns and you're good to go. I LOVE my Ibex and can't wait til next year when I get to take it on some real trips. I know it will fare well since my bike touring poundage will never exceed the weight I've already used it for. The only thing I would suggest for the people at bOb would be to offer a shoulder strap for the sak.

After giving a lot of thought to the fender issue. I purchased a 20" fender to fit over the 16" tire. This can be done relatively simply with a couple of extra brackets. I used a Freddy Fender as it seemed to be the most flexible. It ends up looking quite nice and fully wraps the fender. But if you do this take your time. GOOD LUCK TO YOU!!!!

I have recently purchased this trailer. It pulls GREAT. Don't even know it's back there most of the time. Seems to pull better WITH a load than when empty. Nominal "bounce" factor when going up or down curbs. The only drawback I have found so far is, after riding in the rain, the fender provides NO cargo protection. Throws quite a "rooster tail" even at slow speeds. Am in the process of replacing this with a 16" fender IF I can ever find one that fits. BOB should really consider offering a better one.

In response to the following review: "Believe me, this "shock" is nothing more than a spring, and has zero damping whatsoever, ensuring much wild bouncing rather than the high-performance ride I was led to expect."

Ridiculous. I have owned my Ibex for over a year now. Believe me, the shock helps a great deal when you decide to jump that curve or haul a big load. On another note, the trailer is not heavy at all! I just had to write these brief comments on the trailer because I absolutely love it. Best bike purchase I ever made.

GREAT FOR GOING TO THE STORE. 24 PACK OF BEER AND RIBS. CANT BY OUT THE STORE. LOL I LIKE IT WHEN I ATTCHED IT FOR THE FIRST TIME TO MY BIKE I WENT TO RALPHS FOR A TEST RUN I BOUGHT A 50 POUND BAG OF DOG FOOD AND CAME HOME AND WENT BACK FOR THE 24 PACK AND RIBS I REALY LIKE ITS NOT BIG AND BULKY LIKE SOME OF THE OTHERS TRAILLERS I CAN GO TO THE STORE IN AND OUT OF TRAFFIC AND FIT ALMOST 8 BAGGS OF GROCCESSES AND THEN SOME GREAT FOR THE STREET IM NOT INTO OF ROADING YET BUT WOULD LIKE TO TRY IT SOME TIME.

Comments from The Staff:

When people type in caps all the time, it makes me feel LIKE THEY ARE SCREAMING WHILE THEY WRITE!!!

This trailer is advertised as high-performance. It is also advertised as having a "shock". Imagine my surprise when my trailer turned out to bounce wildly with no damping at all, no matter what sort of loads I was carrying. I tried to email BOB about it, but they refused to respond. Nicheretail.com was great about it, and even sent me out another to try if the first one was just defective. No dice. BOB's rep danced around the issue and was generally evasive and flatly dishonest, but finally admitted that there really is no damping in the "shock." The bottom line is that this is a cheaply engineered and produced product, and you'll have to either spend $350 on a Fox shock (because hardly any stock shocks will fit) or get out the welder and modify this thing to fit a real shock if you want a trailer that rides without bouncing all over the place. I ended up talking with the lead engineer at BOB, who was quite dishonest in his own right and first admitted that the "shock" is in fact simply a "captured spring" but later attempted to claim that it has "pneumatic damping". Believe me, this "shock" is nothing more than a spring, and has zero damping whatsoever, ensuring much wild bouncing rather than the high-performance ride I was led to expect. The failure of the trailer to live up to its billing combined with BOB's awful service and transparent dishonesty have really left a bad taste in my mouth. If I'd known what I'd be getting into, I could have made an informed decision; as it is, I feel ripped off. For $400 I expected something that really worked, and that's not at all what I got. The thing is heavier than it needs to be as well, and the general impression I get is that it cost about $25 to manufacture in Taiwan, and BOB didn't want to spend a penny more than necessary to make it look like it works, which it really doesn't. Bicycletrailers.com and their parent company, nicheretail.com, are great folks, and great to do business with, but before you shell out for the Ibex, Caveat Emptor.

Comments from BicycleTrailers.com:

1.) Late and/or inaccurate response from BOB's Customer Service Department.

Unfortunately, the time of correspondence with this customer happened to coincide with much of the preparation and the move to BOB's new Boise facility. It is very likely that their Customer service representative at the time may not have been able to respond as rapidly or research his answers as fully as he normally would during this period of time due to the move. Their Customer Service department is fully up and running in Boise now, and are much better equiped to avoid this problem from now on.

2.) Inaccurate advertising of the IBEX Trailer Suspension system as a "dampened" suspension system.

The IBEX shock does have a certain level of dampening. However, it is not an intricate and expensive shock absorber. It is designed to adequately absorb the typical trail obstacles thereby improving the tracking and handling of the trailer without significantly increasing the retail cost or the number of reliability problems. The level of shock absorber this customer is seeking would result in a trailer in the $700-$800 range and would also involve many more reliability issues which are typical with many oil dampened shock absorbers.

We posted this review, as we do all reviews, and he brings up good point, but I feel we need to clarify some of the issues.

A final note: This customer was offered a refund for return of the product, but he didn't want to give up the trailer.

I just received my Ibex and I love it. I have only been out with it a few times but I know that I made the right choice. Later this summer, I plan to go on some extended trips with the Ibex and I have no doubt that it will perform as advertised. I will write another review when I get back from my first trip.

We take this on and off-road and tow our little dogs in it so now they can come along on all our trips. We have two of these for our three dogs and have their carseats strapped in along with a three point harness system. The just love it. The suspension is great and they don't even notice the bumps.

There brilliant, you can pack them to over flowing and they still handle like they're not there! And yeah ok I managed to bust one but that's only because my mate Gonk insisted we could navigate a 2 in 1 downhill section of the Whakarewarewa forest with him on the back and he weighs around 90kg and I just welded it back together anyway.

I use my Ibex behind a XC MTB, it works great. My son and I go camping and plan future trips in the Aussie bush, my son uses a back rack, all I need now is another Ibex so I dont have to cart half of his stuff!!! FANTASTIC. You should see the looks I get when on the road!!