don't ask why. if you've never ridden one, then it probably doesn't make sense and i will admit to a degree of scepticism myself. the ibis single malt - a single speed mountain bike - simplicity itself, but in an age when shimano equipped mountain bikes are reaching 27 speeds, this very definitely goes against the grain. ibis cycles are a small, high end manufacturer based in santa rosa, california celebrating their twentieth anniversary in 2001, and with an obsession for building bikes without compromising quality for price point. they have a range that encompasses a softail, hardtail, full suspension and road bikes, mostly offered in steel and/or titanium.
for the 2000 las vegas bicycle show, they produced the single malt - the company president and chief operating officer both have an affinity for the output from islay's best - and received more interest in that particular model than any of the others on show. on their december flying visit to islay, they brought the single malt prototype, mainly to show to the managers of the island's distilleries while the washing machine post had the opportunity to be the first to try out the bike.
ibis generally produce frames only, and the purchaser can kit his/her frame out with whatever componentry takes their fancy, or that the bank manager will allow. the single malt prototype had been built up into a complete bike at the ibis headquarters and consequently had pretty much the best of everything on board. so before we move on to what it was like to ride, let me take you on a tour of the bike.

since all the ibis frames come suspension fork ready, this model was fitted with a pair of manitou mars forks up front, attached to which was a shimano deore hydraulic disc brake, matched by the same at the rear. there are braze ons on the seat stay to accommodate such. however, should the prospective purchaser prefer 'v' type brakes, pivots and braze ons can be fitted during building. the prototype as tested was designed for the discs at birth so there were no rear brake pivots and the top tube cable guides were there to accommodate the hydraulic piping and not wires. since apparently the legendary chris king has his headquarters only a few blocks from the ibis works in california, the headset was supplied by same in a very fetching 'whisky' colour, with an easton alloy aheadstem and easton carbon bars, topped out nicely by clear grips.

to somebody with more than a passing interest in wheels, the two on this machine were beauties. hubs on both were also supplied by chris king, vastly oversized and in the same whisky colour as the headset. now as i've mentioned before (perhaps too often) this bike is a single speed but, unlike the single speed hub produced by hope technology for a screw-on single freewheel, this model is cassette based. the single sprocket is fitted in the centre of the cassette and held in place by splined spacers on each side. the whole kit is lockringed as any other. the advantage here is that an existing wheel could be adapted to take a full cassette or the single sprocket fitted to the single malt. if you already own a cassette, it's a snip to choose the sprocket you want to use and change as necessary. a very clever solution and sure to be imitated. the hubs are laced to mavic rims and beautifully finished off with whisky coloured spoke nipples. tyres were by wilderness trail bikes.
since all ibis frames employ 'breezer' dropouts, which differ from 'normal' dropouts in allowing the round tubes to be welded direct to a flat surface. according to roger of ibis, this provides a torsionally stiffer meeting of the tubes and is reminiscent of the droputs employed on pegoretti road frames. the dropouts are of the regular vertical variety. unexpected, since track bikes, bmx etc, usually have rearward facing dropouts to allow chain tensioning. the single malt gets round this problem by having an oversize bottom bracket shell which is split acorss the bottom and containing an eccentric similar to the left side arrangement on tandems. to adjust the bottom bracket and thereby the chain tension, you loosen two allen bolts at the slot then rotate the eccentric using a peg spanner in either a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction depending on the tensioning required. when the tension is set, the two bolts under the bb shell are re-tightened. fitted to this prototype was a race face forged alloy chainset coupled with a race face cartridge bottom braket.
the frame colour was chosen from a lagavulin single malt presentation box and is way cool. the seatpost is yet another carbon offering from easton and comfortably topped by a fizik saddle. ibis are also one of the few companies left in the world who still fit a real head badge. not a decal/transfer, call it what you will, but a real metal headtube badge, held in place by two screws. as original as an islay malt.

now the selling point of the mountain bike was originally the availability of a wide range of gears to cope with every conceivable situation, so is there any real point in producing a machine with only one chainring and only one sprocket? well, surprisingly, yes there is. i only had the bike for a brief period (to conduct the first ever road/off road test anywhere in the world - sometimes wishes do come true) but now i don't want to give it back. (and i've hidden the key for the bike shed) sure, there will be occasions when another gear or two would be just ideal but the trade off for simplicity is pretty much worth it. the bars are encumbered only by the shimano hydraulic brake levers. no rapid fire shifters, no bulky gripshift. it's great. the bike is also sooooo light that acceleration and minor uphills are no problem whatsoever. quite honestly, the single malt is an absolute joy to ride. no more worrying about gearchanges, no more snagging the rear mech in undergrowth in fact, no more shifting problems at all. who needs hyperglide?!
this was my first encounter with shimano's hydraulic discs and a very pleasant encounter it was too. there's not too much feedback from the levers, a trait i've heard levelled at 'v' brakes too, but they work very, very well - no fuss, no messing, just stopping. the manitous were plush, very smooth. granted, i'm not the heaviest of people, so i would be unlikely to tax their suspension power to the limit but they did what the best suspension forks do - pretend they're not there. a match made in heaven. (well, santa rosa actually)
since this frame is the only one of its kind and wasn't made for anyone in particular, it was a joy to discover that it fitted like a glove. my usual mountain bike is an old muddy fox mega pro which i've always found to be more than comfortable but this....... it has the same comfortable cockpit that i have become used to on the colnago and felt just great. the angles were great, the manoeuverability was slick and undemanding and the almost total lack of weight made this the most fun i've had on a bike since i took delivery of the colnago all those years ago. the build quality is second to none. you can run your fingers over where the welds are supposed to be, but you'll be hard pushed to find them; the finish is powder coated - very robust and flawless and an excellent match for lagavulin 17 years old. the bottle cage on the prototype has been modified to accept a whisky bottle for those rare single track, single speed, single malt, singular moments.
if all goes according to plan, ibis cycles will be offering purchasers of the single malt the opportunity to take delivery of their bikes on the island of islay, for a few days of trails and whisky. it really doesn't get much better than this. if you want to order one, check out their website and e-mail now. production doesn't start until next year but i guarantee you will not be disappointed. believe me, i'm a bike mechanic. and the baseball cap