You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
So on Friday, this arrived for me at work...
[img] 
?oh=f5b60bda0c12e9eee2abdc4e193f7b87&oe=5992E925[/img]
With this little beauty inside...
[img] 
?oh=75e0907a0c040d0ffa99dce011c60926&oe=599616CC[/img]
So when I finally had 15 minutes spare on Saturday afternoon, I whipped the existing Lyrik RCT3 off my bike, and fitted the MRP Ribbon...
And today I christened it!
[img] 
?oh=bcadd70be0ceab0b2a2aa01d911ac802&oe=5993BE68[/img]
Managed just over 20 miles on the trails down at Staunton, which were rather wetter than they were last week but never mind!
So... Those who know me know how much I loved the MRP Stage I ran on my old Evil Following for a year, and I was gutted at the time of building my Wreckoning that MRP hadn't got a 160mm 29er offering (nor were they planning to offer one at the time). So I ordered a Lyrik, built the bike, then got some miles in on it. Then 6 months later, MRP launch their Ramp Control cartridge as a retro-fittable item for Rockshox Pike and Lyrik forks (now available for others inc. Fox too) so I fitted one, and gained some of the adjustment I missed from the Stage. The fork still never felt quite right to me though, I was looking at FAST dampers or Andreani piston kits etc. Then MRP decided to finally get their long delayed Ribbon fork into production, with, shock horror, a 160mm 29er version confirmed, so I ordered one!
The Elephant in the room...? No, it isn't as "plush" as a Lyrik off the top. What is? In the car park (or for that matter, shop floor) test, the Ribbon can't match the Lyrik for suppleness off the top. But then the Stage has never quite matched a well fettled Pike in this respect either, but that's never been an issue for me. You can adjust the negative air spring pressure independently on the Ribbon (not a feature I think it needs, but there we go) to make it more supple off the top, but if you exceed the positive chamber pressure, all you're doing is eating into the forks available travel. So once I'd had a play with pressures, I settled on 85psi in both the +ve and -ve as a starting point, wanting to maintain the full 160mm of travel but not wanting the fork to feel harsh off the top if at all possible.
What this achieved is a fork that rides MUCH higher in its travel than the Lyrik. Riding down the trails, it felt like I'd swapped my low rise handlebar for a high rise one (but without the associated rise in bar height when climbing). With 85psi in both chambers, my sag was less than 20%! A stark contrast to the 28% or so that I've been running on the Lyrik. OK, so I never achieved the full 160mm of travel today, perhaps some 10-12mm short of this, but the conditions were quite soft and had it been firmer, I expect I'd have come closer to bottoming out. Maybe I need to drop 3psi so I can get that full 160mm of travel once in a while, but that's still not going to break through the 20% sag mark even if drop that pressure slightly. This is pretty much exactly what I was hoping for...
As for the damping? Well it felt very much like an old friend, the Stage... No surprise really, as the Ribbons damper is just an updated and beefier version of that on the Stage, and features the same low speed compression and rebound adjusters that give a more effective range (though narrower) than on the Rockshox charger damper.
Stiffness? I didn't notice any difference from the Lyrik it replaced. Not yet at least.
All good so far at least, though I'm fully aware these are just first ride impressions. It did feel like exactly what I was hoping for though, a slightly beefier, longer travel version of the MRP Stage. Now just to get a load more miles in and see how I feel about it further down the line...
Sounds like a good fork. Also looks great! I like the MRP forks - just that little bit different!
Nice. Mine should arrive today 🙂 Pity the frame it's going on won't be here for another three weeks 🙁
Can the low speed compression be easily flipped round on the fly to act as a lockout of sorts for climbing?
I love the idea of the ramp control.
That arch just looks daft though, however they market it. Just looks like there's been a terrible mistake in the moulding process.
Can the low speed compression be easily flipped round on the fly to act as a lockout of sorts for climbing?
Yeah, it's a lever on top of the right leg, with 8 defined positions. Very easy to adjust on the fly. Exactly the same feature was on the Stage though to be fair, I always tended to leave it 2 clicks from open, but you can swing it round to 8 for a bit more support when climbing (though it certainly isn't a lockout) or descending steep stuff where you don't want the fork diving lots just cos you're on the brakes all the time.
I love the idea of the ramp control.
It's a fantastic feature. I use it a lot.
That arch just looks daft though, however they market it.
They admit they did it to be a little different, a talking point if you will. It definitely has its benefits, not only will it not clog up with mud thrown off the tyre, anecdotally it's a little stiffer and lighter than the webbing being on the back of the arch too.
So far, its looks have attracted more positive comments than negative, most of the guys I was riding with yesterday immediately said "I see why they've done that, so the webbing doesn't clog with mud, good idea" straight away. I'm not going to deny I personally think they look a little "challenging", but if it's function over form and they work great, I'm all for it.