120mm travel carbon 29er accepts not-quite-Plus tyres.
The third incarnation of the Ibis Ripley is still a 120mm travel carbon 29er but it’s now a bit slacker and longer and can take 2.6in mid-Plus tyres.
Ibis Ripley key points
- 120mm DW-link design
- Can accept 29 x 2.6in tyres
- Carbon fibre monocoque frame and swingarm
- 5.9 lb frame with Fox FLOAT DPS EVOL
- Approved for 130-140mm suspension forks
- Provision for internal cable-actuated or hydraulic adjustable dropper posts
- Shimano 2X side swing or 2x Di2 front derailleur compatible and of course, 1X
The Ibis Ripley has only been in Ibis’ range for four years but it’s seen some significant changes in that time. It basically arrived at a time when the bike industry was having something of a growth spurt. Slacker and longer bikes came into trend, then Boost back ends swiftly followed. Each time Ibis brought out a new version of the Ripley to address these technological changes.
Now that the bike industry has calmed down (well, a bit) this new Ibis Ripley consolidates everything into one model. No more multiple Ripley offerings from Ibis. This is it now.
This third generation Ripley is longer, slacker, Boost-ed and can swallow 2.6in tyres. Yep, these new mid-Plus tyres that you’re going to get bored about hearing over the next few months will fit right into the new Ripley.
New 2.6in Schwalbe tyres and 2.5in Maxxis WT tyres are the two rubber ranges that Ibis have bared in mind when designing the Ripley. Of course, this also means that if you want to run ‘normal’ 2.35in tyres you can do, and you’ll have hods of mud clearance now.
Ibis are big fans and proponents of wider rims (they make their own doncha know) so it comes as no huge surprise to see this new wider-set swingarm to better accommodate wider-stanced tyres.
The lower pivot has also changed slightly, both in position and width. It’s lower and wider than before basically. The clevis joint where the rear shock joins the swingarm has also been reworked.
Despite all this widening, the Ibis Ripley will still accept a front mech for anyone (Bueller?) still choosing to run a double chainring setup. To be fair, the front mech mount will also serve as an upper mount for a chainguide, so you may actually see some use out of it after all.