Ibis

Ripley Mountain Bike Frame - 2015

Ibis is known for taking its time when it comes to developing new products. The Ripley frame is no different, with nearly six years of development in its design and testing. The impetus behind the Ripley was the desire to innovate a trail bike where the 29er platform feels most advantageous. The result: a lightweight, responsive, agile frame.

Ibis uses its monocoque frame design to create the lightweight frame. But the Ripley features a first: a micro balloon foam core for the swingarm and clevis. Unlike other manufacturers who use a foam or aluminum structure to lay the carbon over, Ibis uses foam as a core. This not only increases the rigidity of the frame, it also reduces the weight. The responsiveness and agility are the products of the collaboration with suspension designer Dave Weagle. The goal was to create a suspension system that reduces the usual elongated chainstays to create a compact system for fast reaction and fast riding. The result is a twin-eccentric system that provides an anti-squat pedaling motion to put all of your effort into the horizontal movement of the bike.

Additionally, the handling of the Ripley was developed using input from riders who agreed that it rode best with a 70-degree angle for a 120mm travel fork. Using the FOX Racing Shox 32 FLOAT 120 G2 CTD and rather stubby 17.5-inch chainstays, the Ripley is ready to rock the trails.