The Ripley climbs with the best of them. Ripley LS V3 vs. Ripmo I built up a V3 earlier this year right before the Ripmo was announced. Short-travel with big tires is a fun combo, and you can squeeze 2.6" rubber (left) into the back of the Ripley. Unfortunately for many of us, these big wheeled bikes tended to favor the endurance/XC side of mountain biking. Two of the best trail bikes for 2020. Currently, the Ibis Ripley and Santa Cruz Tallboy are standouts in the short-travel category. In the Ripley's case, it's 11mm of travel on the Fox shock's stanchion, which equals 25-percent of the stroke. You don't need to run any less to improve the pedaling, and you don't need any more sag to make the Ripley something it isn't'. If you want to know more about the bike read/watch that one. Then when things turn downhill, the Ripley was able to handle everything it’s bigger brother did on my test ride. The Ripmo continued to impress us with its excellent pedalling position, efficient suspension and high-quality frame. They both climb well, descend well and will be perfect for a wide variety of terrain. Small adjustments such as a slightly longer reach, a 1-degree slacker head angle, and more progressive leverage rate, mean that the character of the Ripmo we fell in love with in 2018 is still intact. Unlike the SB150, which only seems to have fun on the steepest gnarliest descents, the Ripmo, while capable of racing enduro, seems much more fun on the slower and more technical trails. These trail mountain bikes are ideal for the rider who doesn't feel the need to ride a longer travel bike but still wants an impressively capable ride. That’s because the Ripmo is exactly that. The Ripley's 120mm of travel is still controlled via a dw-link system, but there have been some kinematic changes that add more ramp-up through the stroke. They are both really good and really similar. It’s probably one of the best climbing trail bikes period. The geometry of the Ibis Ripmo is modern and balanced, with a super short 418 mm seat tube. Ibis Ripmo features 145mm of rear travel paired to a 160mm fork, slightly smaller than Yeti’s larger 29er the SB150. I just rode the Orbea Oiz and I’d have to say the Ripley is 90% of the way there on climbing ability. If you like loud hubs, you'll love the noise this one makes. Weâ re stumped â it must be magic. Trails like Captain Ahab, The Whole Enchilada and Gooseberry Mesa would be the trails that come to mind when trying to find the perfect trail for the Ripmo. Again, I think it comes down to preference and the trails you ride. So which one should you choose, Ripmo or Ripley? The geometry of the Ibis Ripmo is modern and balanced, with a super short 418 mm seat tube. They're not better/worse just different. They are both really good and really similar. The Ripmo comes with 145mm rear travel paired to a 160mm fork, while the Ripley uses 120mm rear travel and a 130mm fork. Ibis Ripmo (AF, V2, or V1, undecided) Here's my thoughts: Rode a ripmo AF and the SB130 LR yesterday. The Santa Cruz Hightower and Ibis Ripmo … It goes about things in a slightly different way. Ibis. It’s a tough call between the Ripmo and the Ripley. 7 comments. Visit the high-res gallery for more images from this review, Throwback Thursday: 8 Old School Rides from Pinkbike Staff, First Ride: 2021 Devinci Marshall - Aluminum, Affordable, & Made in Canada, First Look: Fuji's Rakan LT Adds Travel, Keeps Weird Suspension, Video: Ibis's New Aluminum Ripley is More Metal, More Slacker, Round Up: 26 EWS Cockpit Setups Past & Present, Propain Acknowledges Long Lead Times and Price Increases, Gravaa's New Wheels Will Allow Tire Pressure Adjustments While Riding. The Ripmo may have been the most popular bike of 2018. The Ripmo can tend to feel very linear, especially in that last third of the travel, making it very easy to use all of the travel. It will handle the rocky stuff well enough while really excelling on the climbs and flats. The tire selection at the time was a lackluster mix of narrow, small knobbed rubber that catered to the larger wheel’s already strong rolling speed. It’s plenty plush off the top for smoothing out the trail chatter and very supportive in the mid stroke allowing you to pop off every side feature on the trail. It has the travel to get you through some nasty terrain but mellower geometry to make the rest of the trails fun. For the average trail rider, a linear bike can be quite nice and feel very plush. The Ripley Gets Way Longer and a Bit Slacker. Ripley. Ripmo. That said, the Ripley is a faster, nimbler, and more efficient climber than those alternatives, which makes it a better choice for big days. With the recently announced Ibis Ripley 4, we now have another excellent do-it-all trail bike option from the California brand. Geometry of the Ibis Ripmo. The bottom link is borrowed from the Ripmo (left) and said to add stiffness and subtract weight. Running bigger volume reducers in the shock will provide a more ramp up in the last third of the travel. We break them down to help you decide which one is better for you. On the other hand, if your ideal ride is a long ribbon of flowy singletrack with a handful of rocky sections scattered in there, go Ripley. Wrapping up our look at five modern trail bikes, we now put them all on the same graph to see how they look compared to each other. Active ingredients include: 29” wheels, berm-defying cornering tendencies, and a love for long rides. Close. Fox Float 34 Factory Series 130mm, 29”, 15QR, Race Face Next R 175 or 170mm, 32t Alloy Ring, Ibis S35 Carbon Rims / 29” / Industry 9 Hydra Hubs. The combo of DW Link suspension and a steep 76° seat tube make it climb better than other bikes in the category. Tallboy vs Ripley. Trails like the Wasatch Crest, BST, Mid Mountain and Zen come to mind as perfect for the Ripley. If I was spending $3,000 on a new bike the Ripmo AF would be at the top of my list, but I would probably try to find a demo Ibis Ripley or Pivot 429 … The two bikes are very similar, with only subtle differences between them. I sold both my HD3 and Ripley OG when I built up the new Ripley. It’s also the best climbing long-travel 29er I’ve ridden to date. Ibis Ripmo AF vs Orbea Occam. Trying to decide between these bikes. I felt I just needed to lean back a little further on the Ripley vs. the Ripmo to get the same level of control. They both roll on 29” wheels, take advantage of the DW Link and have Ibis’ signature lively ride. The geometry found on the AF, and now the Ripmo 2, isn’t wildly different than the original. It might be more forgiving, but it still feels fast AF on any and all climbs. And no, I never locked it out or even firmed it up. Posted by 2 months ago. It’s very fast, there’s little to no pedal bob and it’s light enough you don’t feel like you’re dragging unnecessary weight uphill. Ripley 4 Review. For riders that like to push the limits and hit bigger features this can be a bit of an issue. The Fox shock is driven by carbon fiber clevis, and the whole thing looks a hell of a lot like a Ripmo to me. The latest XTR group (right) hasn't been trouble-free, but Industry Nine's Hydra rear hub (right) sure has. If you enjoy climbing, you'll enjoy the new Ripley while doing exactly that. We put each to the test in our Santa Cruz Tallboy vs Ibis Ripley review. Giant's Trance Advanced 29 has 115mm of travel, 130mm up front, and similar intentions to the Ripley. Hell, what if we made it more progressive and coil compatible? 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