When Ibis Cycles released the Ripmo AF people were excited about the future! Speculation had started to run high on what bike in their lineup would get the aluminum treatment next! After all, the Ripmo AF is the first aluminum offering by Ibis Cycles and they knocked it out of the park! You got the same technology and design of their carbon offering Ripmo but in a more budget-friendly metal option! The Ripley AF was no different and we saw the release of a bike very similar to their carbon Ripley offering however it also got the aggressive treatment of being a degree slacker and metal!
"It is nothing like the carbon Ripley"
On paper, a degree change to the head angle and a different frame material wouldn’t seem like it makes much of a difference however after testing this bike over a wide variety of terrain and some very aggressive miles we can say that it is nothing like the carbon Ripley and instead almost as if the carbon Ripley and the carbon Ripmo had a baby!
Upgrades
Out of the box the Ripley AF comes in at $3000 dollars for a solid build that has everything you would need to hit the trails! However, no long-term review would be fun without a few upgrades to unlock a bike's full potential and that is what we did. Bumping the fork travel up to 140mm and using a stiffer fork (the DVO Diamond) added a lot of all-mountain capability to this bike. Pairing that with a DVO topaz rear shock with a piggy gave the bike even more downhill potential. SRAM AXS Eagle drivetrain helped us explore how this bike would feel with a top-of-the-line drivetrain. Carbon Ibis wheels with i9 hubs and carbon One Up handlebars also added a bit of stiffness and familiarity to the overall ride!
Interested in the Ibis Ripley AF or another Ibis bike? Call Shaun from N+1 Bikes and tell him you're a friend of Awesome MTB. 502-718-7246
The Review
After many miles over a wide variety of terrain, the Ripley AF continues to blow our minds as a truly do everything mountain bike! On climbs, the Ripley AF has the efficiency traits Ibis is known for! Even with the weight penalty the alloy frame has over its carbon offering and the more aggressive rear shock we put on there, we still found ourselves out of the saddle on climbs and not feeling like we were wasting our energy! However, with that being said you can feel the weight penalty overall on climbs, and acceleration isn't as quick. But this same weight penalty transforms how this bike performs on the downhill!
When it comes time to point this bike downhill is when the serious fun begins! Who knew that a short travel bike could be so capable! The added frame weight combined with the degree slacker head angle had us constantly trying to figure out where exactly the limits were on this bike and always coming up empty-handed in our findings! The best part was even though this bike had a tremendous amount of stability and confidence, it still retained the poppy nature of the Ripley as well as the quick reaction in and out of corners that a short travel bike provides! The ultimate do-everything bike label came to mind a ton as well as desert ripper! We can't even imagine how fun this bike would be in Moab or Sedona!
Final Thoughts...
If you are looking for the ultimate bike to take from everything from desert trips to bike park laps and don’t want to break the bank the Ripley AF is a strong contender. And if the metal is your thing you will be stoked about how this bike looks and performs out on the trail! Great job Ibis!
Interested in the Ibis Ripley AF or another Ibis bike? Call Shaun from N+1 Bikes and tell him you're a friend of Awesome MTB. 502-718-7246
