[Closed] New Bike Day - Ibis RipMo

Very nice looking bike 🙂

Wow, didn’t see that coming. Looks great, although blue and orange is getting a bit common now 🙂 Looking forward to the ride report.

That is lovely looking , be interested to know your thoughts on it . I am interested in these longer travel 29ers like the bird , whyte 150 and hightower etc but i remember when the suggestion was a 29er was worth 20mm travel extra over a 26 or 27.5 wheeled bike and i wouldn't buy a 170mm travel 27.5 . Is that thinking out of date ? i suppose its a lot more about angles than travel these days.

Just of topic a bit how do you get on with the saddle ?

I know what I'm going to change my mojo hd for when the time comes.

Although I'm.not loving the blue as much as the red they do.

Looks much better with the black forks as with the orange foxes they look quite garish/cheap imo

You rode this morning? You are keen. Hope you packed a snorkel and didn't get struck by lightning.

Oh, and don't scratch it. I'll want it in pristine condition when it's for sale next year 😉

You’ll hate it. Best just send it straight here. I can arrange a courier.

[url= https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1752/28514594688_31f1c3c87d_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1752/28514594688_31f1c3c87d_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/KrJKyU ]RipMo first ride[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/alexleigh/ ]Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr

[url= https://farm1.staticflickr.com/962/41664505504_aa9a2bb59d_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm1.staticflickr.com/962/41664505504_aa9a2bb59d_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/26tKtVb ]RipMo first ride[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/alexleigh/ ]Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr

Apologies for the lack of focus on the first image. It was absolutely caning it down!

@trusty - I looked at the rain radar and it said the worst was over. Hah, I’ve developed gills after that ride. Still it was dry at the pub so we sat outside and dripped in the warm 🙂

@Moon - I’m normally a Fabric/Charge spoon man. But needed a saddle in a hurry and bought that on a recommendation from BlazingBIkes. It’s quite firm but I think it’s a keeper. Easy to clean 😉

@Trailrat: I love my Red Mojo3. I really didn’t like either of the colours but in the realworld(tm) it’s actually pretty nice. You’ll have to take my word for it tho.

So how does it ride? Well conditions weren’t ideal. But trails held up well with only a few puddles and a lot of sniper roots. Only did 20km before retiring for beer and medals but my thoughts so far are: (and should taken with the new bike glass weighting co-efficient 😉 )

- It’s not like my Mojo3. Or the smuggler.  It’s very stiff but not in a bad way. The seat angle makes it feel quite short when climbing but once your drop the saddle, it’s very roomy indeed.

-It’s the best climbing FS I’ve ridden. Better than the Mojo3, way better than the smuggler, better then the baseline which was my Pyga 110.  Shock, DW Link, Seat Angle, dunno, it feels very efficient and has seeming limitless traction. Those tyres are helping running at 18 PSI ish. They are draggy tho compared to the 2.3s I had on those wheels before

- The lyrik (2019) is an outstanding fork. I’ve always though the Pike was as good a fork as I’d ever need. But that Lyrik is something special. Butter - like Marzochhi open bath - smooth, super supportive and entirely unfazed when I do my normal case/brake thing. The DPS is  great shock as well. Compared to the Monach Deluxe on the Robotbike, it just feels better everywhere.

- Downhill it’s just silly. I really struggle in conditions when it’s ‘soft over hard’ but it was like I’d been adopted by a better rider, one jump and one corner into a trail I’ve ridden a 100 times or more was enough to work out I’m going to have a lot of fun with this bike. Normally when my wheels slide, I panic, grab the brakes and - well - crash. Today I was like ‘yeah that’s fine, we’ll go with that’ which is a level of insouciantness rarely found in my riding.

- I *think* its a combo of the wide tyres giving you almost (dry) chubby levels of traction, the supportive suspension, the sorted angles and fact I can totally lose the saddle with a longer dropper. Or it’s because it’s expensive and I want it to be right. One of the two anyway 😉

To that last point, I really wanted to buy that Robotbike. And if it suits you, you really should. But I never felt very connected to it. It felt like it’d go better if I got off. The RipMo was just confidence inspiring from the first pedal. I felt exactly the same way about the Mojo3.

Right I think you’ve suffered enough with my wibbling. TLDR; it’s fab. And at that price, it bloody should be.

Did you check saddle/tyre clearance at full compression with the saddle fully dropped?

Yep. I reckon I could run a 200m slammed into the frame and it’d be okay or marginal at worst. Steep seat angle helps.

Praying this doesn't make you faster, im struggling enough to keep up (as in actually catch sight of from time to time) with the rest of the crew these days.

I'm happy if it makes you feel more confident , just not Mat like warpspeed.   Mmkay

Looks great Al, felt sure you were going to get the Robotbike, but the Ripmo makes sense for you. I'd say bring it up here and throw down some of our steep stuff, but if I do that, Clover will come over and steal it from under you. haha

Nice looking bike Alex.

@H- it’s all cyclical. Except for Matt. Dunno what’s happened to him. It’s quite annoying 😉

@NickC - Yeah so did I. It would have been the wrong tho. We definitely need to get together and ride some stuff up your way. Let’s just sort a date. Anyone trying to steal it tho is going to be wresting it from my cold, dead hands 🙂

Inevitably I wrote a thing:  http://pickled-hedgehog.com/?p=4120

Interesting. Any more comments on pedaling with the steep seat angle?  I've my eye on one of these to replace my HD3 but am wondering if I'll get on with the fit (long legs and short torso). I've got a Chromag Surface with seat angle of 75 and it feels a bit strange at times so going steeper makes me nervous.

Ps. Thoughts on fork offset? I've got used to short stems meaning weights behind the axle most of the time. I'm impressed you have this already by the way. I'm friends with Ibis rep for Western Canada and he doesn't have his or his demo bikes yet....

Had another ride early this morning. It wasn’t raining this time but it was a lot slippier than yesterday.  I had an absolute blast even on a trail known as ‘head-dab’ (named after I crashed on my head multiple times first attempt down it). This is a steep, root infested tight between the trees trail that I normally can’t get down without at least one dab/emergency dismount.

Got down it today with no dabs! It wasn’t pretty- It more reduced the threat level from ‘arse going like a rabbit’s nose’ to ‘mild terror’ 🙂 Had quite a few slides even with those tyres and really wasn’t fazed. Definitely something going on to give a lot of confidence especially for front end grip.

To try and answer your questions Mark:

- I don’t notice the seat angle now until I ride somebody elses. It really doesn’t feel long. I’m similar height to you but reverse dimensions and with a 40mm stem on my L, it initially felt a bit short if anything. But it cimbs so well with that DW-Link and your legs above the BB not out near the rear axle. I reckon you’d be fine and with long legs might even be able to run a 200mm dropper.

- Offset. Hmm. I dunno. Ibis strongly recommend a 44, the lyrik is a 42mm. Which should slacken the head angle a tiny bit. It’s such a good fork, I’ve no idea if the confidence I have in the front end is that, the offset/geo or the monster tyres. Probably a combination of the three. It turns fine tho, it’s not lightening quick, but it’s not 29er cumbersome like some bikes I’ve had.

- Mine wasn’t due in stock until at least a week today. I think it might have been a cancelled order.  But I ordered it Thursday at 5pm and picked it up at 1pm Saturday.

I’m really looking forward to riding it on drier trails. One thing tho, the Mojo3 would have been hateful in the kind of mud we had today with the lack of clearance everywhere. It’s the one reason I don’t ride it all the time. The RipMo just shrugged it off, the clearance with all the DW linkages is still compromised but it’s so much better than the 3.

Thanks Alex. Interesting thoughts.

Nice looking bike that, how much do they cost?

Looks great that Alex.

If it helps you to post up more of your ride storys that's good by me.

You always seen to be able to sum up the feeling of a ride and put it in to words so well.

I know we all have good rides but you seem to be able to sum it all up so well that it's a pleasure to read.👍🏻

@2unfit - it’s a lot of money. There’s not getting away from it. I bought my Mojo3 ex demo as a full bike and that was wincingly expensive. This I bought new for a great price from Blazing bikes but it’s still eye wateringly stupid: I can’t bare to write it down so I’ll use a link to a shop 🙂   https://www.sunsetmtb.co.uk/shop/index.php?product_id=7667&9819=46722&9820=46726

@SSTu- thanks. I appreciate that. Some of it is because I write 900 word article a lot. And I’ve been writing for mags for 10 years so you kind of get a feeling for it. Sometimes it comes easy - like that one and sometimes it’s like pulling blooming teeth. So whenever I get feedback, it’s good to know at least two people are reading it. The other one being my mum who thinks I swear too much 🙂

All I need to do between now and the Weds night ride is to create some kind of time travel vortex to transport me from Coventry to the FoD without the M42 being involved!

There’s a good review on Pinkbike:  https://www.pinkbike.com/news/review-ibis-ripmo.html

It explains exactly why - even tho I do like riding my smuggler a lot - I wouldn’t buy a Sentinel. Way too much bike for me, I really like the fact the RipMo is fun without having to smash it through the trails at scary MPH.

The other one being my mum who thinks I swear too much

Shut the **** up. 😉

Ouch at the price.

[url= https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1757/40692899140_799eb2b895_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1757/40692899140_799eb2b895_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/24ZTKcj ]Ian's stag weekend - Blade Trails, Afan[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/alexleigh/ ]Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr

A final new bike update. After three rides on local trails, I sneaked off today as part of a mate’s stag weekend. Rode the Blade at Afan. Wasn’t as soggy as expected and trails riding really well.

Apart from the tight berms on one section (which I’m rubbish at anyway), the bike, er, ripped even tho I was feeling a bit rubbish. Got a few PRs which is good but mostly just thought how much faster I could have gone if my head was fully in the game.

So after four rides, 100km ish my thoughts are:

-it’s a great climber. That first pitch up whytes to the hairpin is a brutal start but the ripmo is stiff in terms of power transfer and just grips and grips.

-You don’t need to ride it at a million miles an hour to make it fun. It doesn’t bite back if you’re not fully committed. It’s way more fun if you are, but it doesn’t need to be balls out all the time.

-It *might* be a bit of a handful on the super tight stuff. Felt long. Probably technique but noticeable.

-On the last descent (the very rocky one), it was super composed, just rolled over stuff and was great off the rock steps. Took about 10s off my best time on a 1:40 descent so I’m happy with that and there’s way more to come.

Still got new bike glasses. And as @2unfit says it’s a proper ouch-y price but so far it’s exactly what I’m looking for. Off to the Maritime alps (Trans-Provence Country) in a month. I think it’ll be a blast there.

Well summarised points and succinct and to the point Alex 🙂

I'm still loving my Mojo 3 although it can be unnerving clipping pedals at times but need to hone and increase fork travel perhaps to 150mm (as this is said to help aid clearance especially with 170mm cranks). It really is like an adult bmx and handles finer than a fine thing!

Would like to think you're going to keep your Mojo 3 yeah and tbh I went into buying an Ibis HD3 at first then changed my mind to a carbon 29er full suss but ended up with the Mojo 3 as the Ripmo took a further 6months to be talked about publically.

BIG Q is if I were choosing again between the M3 & Ripmo, which one would I go for, I'd still think or like to at least that I would pick the smaller wheeled with fatter tyres and more trail friendly all round suss in my flaming blood red colour ;D

Any reasons why no Ibis wheels on your Ripmo? Any more updates on your Mojo 3 and pics to share, with you launching it 😉

I’m definitely keeping the Mojo3. I’d not have bought anything else - well okay I might have…. - if it wasn’t so compromised in the mud. I’m going to switch to a 2.6 rear tyre to give me more clearance at the back but nothing is going to solve the linkages being so close to the frame. My RipMo has had 4 muddy rides and it’s not touched the invisitaped on the seat tube. On the Mojo3 I seem to change it every other ride!

It is pretty low - what tyres are you running. I tried it with 2.3s on the 41m rims and clattered it everywhere! I do run 170mm cranks. Not sure I’d want to change the fork tho as it’s such a great handling bike.

I bought my RipMo frame only and those were the wheels I had spare. I will put a set of Carbon hoops on it - not IBIS tho, too much cash, I have some BlueFlow wheels on the Mojo3 and I’ll get a set of 29 versions for the RipMo.

If I had my time again - I dunno. They are very different bikes- the RipMo is more efficient I guess, especially climbing (Some is seat angle so is the better shock and you can retro-fit that to the Mojo3) and probably faster most of the time downhill (with me being the significantly limiting factor) but the Mojo3 is so much fun - I never rode a BMX but the Mojo3 makes me feel about 11 every time I ride it and that’s a good thing!

I expect I’ll pick whichever one I’m in the mood for. Don’t expect any issues switching between them. Maybe the RipMo feels a bit more pointy and precise but the Mojo3 definitely has it on those super swoopy trails. Once I’ve sold my Smuggler (stealth ad warning!), I’ll buy a new model Solaris which I’ll run 29 in winter and nick the chubbies for for local woods riding.

Then I’ll be sorted and won’t need any more bikes 🙂

Last pic of me riding the Mojo3 was on bluebell day

[url= https://farm1.staticflickr.com/981/40164999010_431101da79_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm1.staticflickr.com/981/40164999010_431101da79_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/24cf7SW ]Bluebell Day![/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/alexleigh/ ]Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr

At the end of that ride I  confidently declared this bike was the best ever and I really didn’t need anything else!

Summary: I’m very lucky to have both. I’ll be keeping both as they are different bikes. Both brilliant but different enough to justify two Ibis’s in the shed.

Great write up and review (as always) Alex. However you're not helping my predicament with another nice bike turning up 😉

After riding my Mojo SLR for a good while and then a 27.5+ hardtail, I was all set to get the Mojo 3 frame to combine the best of both - especially after reading about and seeing yours.

I didn't get quite the bonus I'd hoped for so bought a different frame as a N+1 to the SLR (2017 NS Snabb+ from CRC) and some Fox forks from the German sale, but it ended up riding much better so all parts were swapped onto it and the SLR now left as a bunch of bits.

In 29" mode it feels awkward but the chubbies are immense.

Trouble is, I now want another carbon Ibis and can't decided between the 3, Ripley and now Ripmo.

Bugger.

Nice1, I was just trying to tell you subtly to keep the Mojo 3 and success it worked as is too fun to just get rid of 😉

I'm running 2.8" Nobby Nics on the Ibis 738 rims.

If anyone is in the market to try a Mojo 3, I would highly recommended as I was sold within 20secs of car park test the GRIP coverage of tyres is insane and it's far more nimble and surprisingly so in some places than it's looks would suggest.

@ Twonks - BikeTart are offering a large in black for a £1k off rrp currently and I rate their own wheel set too to go with.

In the world of insane bike pricing, that’s a pretty good deal. The 2018 has the DPS2 shock like the RipMo (and while  it is a better shock  for sure) which is not a £1000 upgrade.

I’d buy a RipMo over a Ripley unless climbing is the most important thing for you. I’m not sure it’s any less fun on less technical downhills. Mojo3 or RipMo… tough choice. At a £1000 off, Mojo3 every time. At similar prices…. DON'T MAKE ME CHOOSE 🙂

@TDOG- I ran those tyres when I first had it, didn’t like them much but now that wheel set and tyres are on my Solaris Max and they seem somehow better suited. Maybe I just got more used to them. I reckon with a DPS2 shock it’d sit a bit higher in the travel, not sure how noticeable that would be.

Off to Cwmcarn tomorrow I think. Love testing bikes there, in the last year I’ve had good dry rides on Solaris Max and Mojo3 so should be good comparison with the RipMo. Still think it’s a stupid name!

Once I’ve sold my Smuggler (stealth ad warning!)

Size condition & price please 😉

@2unfit: you have a PM 🙂

Hi Alex did your Ripmo come with the Ibis afterthought protector to go on the mud collector part of the swing arm above the lower pivot?

My Ripmo is on order for July hopefully...can’t wait!

Mojo 3 although it can be unnerving clipping pedals at times but need to hone and increase fork travel perhaps to 150mm (as this is said to help aid clearance especially with 170mm cranks)

Or hopefully manufacturers will get over this long low bullshit Biopacesque fad that they're going through and actually go back to building bikes that can be properly ridden up technical trails...

Kinda agree with that statement tbh.

@chemister - came with the chain stay protector and the rock guard on the down tube. Invisitaped the rest and added some more on seat tube where the linkages are based on my experience of the Mojo3 collecting mud in the linkage and then applying it forcefully to the back of the seat tube.

Quite a löng wait for yours.. is it a built up one? Stock seemed to be pretty good when I was looking for a frame.

@Thegeneralist - I rode mine up the Whytes climb and don't remember clipping that much. But I have got used to - in the last few years - timing pedal strokes etc. 170mm cranks help a bit. I remember riding a Gary Fisher Cake about 10 years ago. The highest BB I'd ever seen. It was terrifying 😉

Delays are for the build kit, frame in stock.

I had the wheels but otherwise most of the kit is new. Easy to source tho except the Lyrik’s, Not sure there are many sets left with the 42mm offset. It’ll be worth the wait!