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Marin Ignacio

7
£699.99

VERDICT:

7
10
Comfy 2-spd fixer, the Sturmey hub adds range and sets it apart from the crowd
Weight: 
10,220g
Contact: 
www.marin.co.uk

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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We've tested the Ignacio frameset before in its other guise as the Marin Dominican – but the Ignacio brings something new to the party. Well, new in the sense of 45 years old. But different. You know what I mean. The something in question is Sturmey Archer's S2 Kickshift hub, first released in 1966 but lately resurrected as another gearing option for the style-conscious fixed crowd.

The S2 is ideal for the job as it doesn't require any kind of cabling, you just kick back on the pedals to shift between the two ratios, direct drive and an overdrive of 138%. The hub is attached to a standard 44/17 drivetrain and laced into white 28mm section Alex rims, which contrast well with the neat black finish on the Cromoly frame.

It's interesting that Marin haven't gone with the coaster brake option for the hub which would have allowed them to legitimately drop the rear anchor; as it is you get dual pivot brakes front and rear actuated by 'cross type levers on mini risers. All in all the look is almost indistinguishable from the cheaper Dominican with its fixed/free hub, and the components are more or less the same.

After swapping out the very short seatpost and hopping on the bike for a blast round town, the first impressions of the hub were distinctly mixed. Obviously it's not possible to know what gear you're in when you're not turning the pedals, and I couldn't get the hub to reliably shift between ratios, leaving me struggling at junctions, especially on hills. It's all about the practice though, and once I'd got a feel for the change I was fine.

The shift motion is a lot more subtle than you might expect and requires a little bit of finesse; you can change just by shifting the pedals back just a short way, so if you stop at the lights and rock the pedals back to starting position there's every chance you'll change ratios. You get used to rolling up to the lights with the pedals moving to get into postition before you stop, though. It's not hard.

The stock ratios are way too big for hilly Bath. 44/17 (69") is about as long a gear as you want for round here on a sigle-geared bike, and the 95" overdrive is effectively useless. We swapped the 44T chainring out for a 39T, giving an 85" overdrive and a 61" climbing ratio. You could go even lower and still get a usable cruising gear.

the 38% gap is a big one which takes some getting used to, but the upside is you get widely spaced gears that I found made the Ignacio far more enjoyable on longer rides than its singlespeed counterpart. I managed 60km rides on the Ignacio with no issues at all, and it's plenty happy cruising the B roads. In town the short wheelbase and quick steering make it very agile, and if you're careful to get into direct drive (assuming you downgear, like I did) then it's very nippy away from the lights.

Put the power down and there's a bit of sideways movement but nothing to worry about, the drivetrain feels very efficient and there's no noticeable difference in efficiency between the ratios. The Dominican is a comfy bike and the Ignacio is too, the springy frame and big tyres keeping your bum happy. It's less good news at the front; you'll only forget your gloves once before you realise that the grips are more ornamental than anything else, and the risers are pretty stiff beasts too, mostly by dint of them being narrow. That being said, it makes the steering pin sharp.

We've already said that 2011 will be the year of the urban gear and it starts here, with two instead of one. The Ignacio is a better bike than the Dominican for having the extra ratio, in my opinion. Okay you can't ride it fixed but the kickshift makes it better over long ranges without compromising the look or the urban handling. I liked the hub a lot, enough that I bought one to build up into a project bike.

My one sticking point is the price. At £699.99 it's £150 more expensive than the Ignacio, and the only real difference is the S2 hub which you can pick up (admittedly they're not easy to find) for about £70. A rim and a wheelbuild will set you back about the same again, meaning you can buy a Dominican and get someone to build up an extra wheel with the kickshift for the same as it costs you to get an Ignacio at RRP, and you can choose between one speed or two. That seems a bit silly to me, but no doubt market forces will mean that the actual price you pay for one will adjust itself over time. A quick scout around the corners of the internet reveals that at the moment it's still going at the asking price.

Verdict

Sturmey's two speed unit definitely brings something to the party, making the Ignacio a more interesting bike than its singlespeed sibling. The price differential is more than you'd expect from just speccing a different hub though, making the bike seem less good value than the Dominican.

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Marin Ignacio

Size tested: M

About the bike

State the frame and fork material and method of construction. List the components used to build up the bike.

Frame 6061 Double Butted Track Frame with Horizontal Dropouts

Fork Cromoly Road

Rear Shock N/A

Headset 1 1/8" Threadless

Rear Hub Sturmey-Archer Two Speed Kick Back, Alloy, 32 Hole

Front Hub High Flange Track, 32 Hole with Sealed Bearings

Spokes WTB 14 Gauge Stainless

Rims Alex Race28, Deep Section Aero Profile Double Wall, 32 hole with CNC Side Walls

Tyres Vittoria Zaffiro, 700 x 28c with Folding Kevlar Bead and Puncture Resistant Belt

Shift Levers N/A

Front Derailleur N/A

Rear Derailleur N/A

Cassette 17T Cog Freewheel / 17T Fixed gear

Chain KMC 1/2” x 1/8”

Crankset Sturmey Archer 5-Arm Track with a 44T Chainring

Bottom Bracket Sealed Cartridge

Seatpost Comp Alloy Micro Adjust, 27.2mm x 250mm

Saddle Classic Road

Bar Singles, 6061 Mini Riser, OS-31.8mm

Stem Marin Alloy, Threadless

Grips Micro Knurl, 110mm Wide

Brakes Front Dual Pivot with Cartridge Pads

Brakes Rear Dual Pivot

Brake Levers Flatbar Road

Pedals Traditional Old Style Road with an Alloy Cage, Steel toe Clip and Leather Strap

Tell us what the bike is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about the bike?

The Ignacio share the Dominican's frame and it's essentially an urban bike but the kickshift gives it a much better range

Frame and fork

Overall rating for frame and fork
 
8/10

Tell us about the build quality and finish of the frame and fork?

Nicely built, tidy welds and good finish

Tell us about the materials used in the frame and fork?

Double butted Cromoly frame and fork

Tell us about the geometry of the frame and fork?

73.5° and 74° angles are quite tracky, the top tube is fairly short too

How was the bike in terms of height and reach? How did it compare to other bikes of the same stated size?

fine, though i had to swap out the seatpost for something a bit longer.

Riding the bike

Was the bike comfortable to ride? Tell us how you felt about the ride quality.

Yes. The springy steel frame and big tyres make it comfy even over longer distances.

Did the bike feel stiff in the right places? Did any part of the bike feel too stiff or too felxible?

Yes, it's nice and sprightly

How did the bike transfer power? Did it feel efficient?

Power transfer is excellent, in both gears

Was there any toe-clip overlap with the front wheel? If so, was it a problem?

A bit but I was expecting that

How would you describe the steering? Was it lively, neutral or unresponsive? Nice and lively, but not so quick that it felt twitchy at speed

Tell us some more about the handling. How did the bike feel overall? Did it do particular things well or badly?

Overall it's a very pleasant bike to ride. Good in town, good on longer rides

Rate the bike for efficiency of power transfer:
 
8/10
Rate the bike for acceleration:
 
7/10
Rate the bike for sprinting:
 
6/10
Rate the bike for high speed stability:
 
7/10
Rate the bike for cruising speed stability:
 
8/10
Rate the bike for low speed stability:
 
7/10
Rate the bike for flat cornering:
 
7/10
Rate the bike for cornering on descents:
 
7/10
Rate the bike for climbing:
 
7/10

The drivetrain

Rate the drivetrain for performance:
 
9/10
Rate the drivetrain for durability:
 
9/10
Rate the drivetrain for weight:
 
8/10
Rate the drivetrain for value:
 
6/10

Wheels and tyres

Rate the wheels and tyres for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the wheels and tyres for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the wheels and tyres for weight:
 
7/10
Rate the wheels and tyres for comfort:
 
9/10
Rate the wheels and tyres for value:
 
7/10

Controls

Rate the controls for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the controls for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the controls for weight:
 
7/10
Rate the controls for comfort:
 
6/10
Rate the controls for value:
 
7/10

Your verdict

Did you enjoy riding the bike? Yes

Would you consider buying the bike? Yes. I already did buy one bit of it

Would you recommend the bike to a friend? Yes

Rate the bike overall for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the bike overall for value:
 
6/10

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 38  Height: 190cm  Weight: 98kg

I usually ride: whatever I'm testing...  My best bike is: Genesis Equilibrium with SRAM Apex

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, cyclo cross, commuting, sportives, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, mtb, Mountain Bike Bog Snorkelling, track

Dave is a founding father of road.cc, having previously worked on Cycling Plus and What Mountain Bike magazines back in the day. He also writes about e-bikes for our sister publication ebiketips. He's won three mountain bike bog snorkelling World Championships, and races at the back of the third cats.

Add new comment

9 comments

Avatar
dave atkinson | 13 years ago
0 likes
Quote:

The project bike with that hub sounds interesting - any clues as to what it'll be?

a rather fetching raleigh scirocco off of the '80s  1

Quote:

And is the Ignacio Cromoly

it is, cross my heart

Avatar
jezzzer replied to dave atkinson | 13 years ago
0 likes
dave_atkinson wrote:
Quote:

And is the Ignacio Cromoly

it is, cross my heart

Nice big steel tubes. Best of both worlds. Or not.  1

Avatar
jengy | 13 years ago
0 likes

The project bike with that hub sounds interesting - any clues as to what it'll be ?

And is the Ignacio Cromoly ? Looks a bit ally-ish to me  26

Avatar
jackthedog | 13 years ago
0 likes

Thanks for the info, I shall investigate further  1

Avatar
MCLK | 13 years ago
0 likes

Interesting read.

I've been considering buying an S2 hub for a while now. When not out on a longer ride, I love the simplicity of singlespeed/fixed but living somewhere hilly you soon discover there is no single 'perfect' gear - having one for climbing and another for cruising sounds very appealing.

Avatar
dave atkinson replied to MCLK | 13 years ago
0 likes
MCLK wrote:

I've been considering buying an S2 hub for a while now. When not out on a longer ride, I love the simplicity of singlespeed/fixed but living somewhere hilly you soon discover there is no single 'perfect' gear - having one for climbing and another for cruising sounds very appealing.

That's *exactly* it. and the ratio difference means you can have gear for cruising along at a decent lick, say 78", and still have a 56" gear for the hills, which should get me round some big rides. hopefully.

Avatar
MCLK replied to dave atkinson | 13 years ago
0 likes
dave_atkinson wrote:

That's *exactly* it. and the ratio difference means you can have gear for cruising along at a decent lick, say 78", and still have a 56" gear for the hills, which should get me round some big rides. hopefully.

That sounds like a good choice of gearing.

I used to run an old, heavy, 3 speed Sturmey hub which gave me a nice range - something like 39", 54" & 70". It got me around Derbyshire and the Peak District quite comfortably. The ol' legs have got a lot stronger since then so something like 56" / 78" would probably be fine.

Avatar
dave atkinson | 13 years ago
0 likes
Quote:

Does it shift whenever you backpedal, or do you have to kick back in a particular way to make it shift?

whenever you backpedal, pretty much.

Quote:

Can you shift on the fly and/or stationery?

yes, you can shift whenever you like.

Avatar
jackthedog | 13 years ago
0 likes

Nice review. I like the look of that hub.

Does it shift whenever you backpedal, or do you have to kick back in a particular way to make it shift?

Can you shift on the fly and/or stationery?

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