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The All New Ripley SL - Pierce’s First Impressions (2 Minute Read)

  • Posted on
  • By Pierce Kettering
The All New Ripley SL - Pierce’s First Impressions (2 Minute Read)

This blog post is about Ibis Cycles brand new short travel bike, the Ripley SL.

The All New Ripley SL - Pierce’s First Impressions (2 Minute Read)



Overview

(In my opinion) the purest form of mountain biking combines all of the popular riding elements into one. Those special rides where adventure and engaging, technical terrain add up to be, well, a true and proper mountain bike ride. The harder these “true mountain bike rides” are, the more of a balancing act they become and after quite a few miles I see that this is where the all new Ibis Ripley SL feels right at home. 

 

The 117/130mm of travel Ripley SL from Ibis Cycles fills in the gap between the Ibis Exie and the updated, more robust all-mountain Ibis Ripley. After just over 25 hours testing the Ripley SL I can confidently say that it has proven to be the short travel Swiss army bike I was hoping it would be. 

 

The well rounded nature of the Ripley SL makes it an easy choice when picking which bike to ride, not only does it pedal extremely well it also has shown to be quite the capable descender. 

 

Locally speaking, Flagstaff's Lower Brookbank - Meteoride loop is more fun on this bike than any other I have ridden. The efficient pedaling characteristics make the steep climb up Brookbank more engaging and quicker than usual. The confidence inspiring descending capailties of the Ripley SL made for a fast and rowdy descent down Meteoride, where I was trying to make sure I wasnt slowing down our very own Rando Murphy (riding his sick Ripmo).

 

While you may not be able to smash down rock gardens or hit heavy compressions like you can on bigger travel bikes, you’ll still be able to enjoy trails with those features - and if you’re anything like me you’ll end up hitting more technical terrain in one day than you would on a larger travel bike because of how efficiently you can get around on the SL.

 

It's a bike I can pedal all day because it weighs 26 pounds, and uses a DW link platform that works extremely well with the custom SL specific tune on the shock. It's also a bike I feel confident riding more advanced terrain on where typically an enduro bike thrives.

 

 

Is it a race bike?

 

As somebody who has spent loads of time on the Exie, Ibis’s World Cup XC bike, I was curious how the SL would compare on the racier, more pedal intensive side of riding. Out of the box, the SL may not be set up for racing in the same way that the Exies component choices show, rather its set up for more all-mountain riding where the bike is tuned to to pedal well while still getting away with some questionable line choices and alternate lines along the way. 

 

Room for two bottles (one full sized and one medium sized) and internal frame storage (usually full of snacks) kept me topped off on nutrition and hydration without having to carry as much on my body as I usually do.

 

While the Ripley may not have the world-cup XC focus of the Exie, I’d argue it could be a better weapon for longer races like the Pinions and Pines where comfort over hours and hours of varied terrain adds up on your body. Comfort is speed in these ultra-esc type 2 fun settings and the SL has plenty. 

 

With that being said, using certain components the SL has the capability to become your next pure XC-race machine. I plan to race and adventure on this bike in two configurations.

 

  • One is the build kit you’ve seen so far, ready for rugged back country adventures and jibbing around on group rides.
  • The other is a lot more race focused, and will utilize Rockshox Flight Attendant suspension to maximise pedaling efficiency while still letting the bike open up and do its thing on the downhills.
  • I'll share more about this configuration once it's complete, but for now just know there are some specific parts you;ll need to use RockShox Flight Attendant (call us).
  • I don't want to spend too much time talking about this because it's a part spec relative to my preferences and the SL”s Fox/XTR build kit I have been riding deserves recognition for how well it performed. 

 

Suspension & Shock Tune

 

As I mentioned earlier the team at Ibis did a really good job tuning the Fox Float SL shock, and with three distinguishable compression settings I was able to get to know and appreciate each setting depending on the terrain. 

 

When testing each of these compression tunes with the shock set to fully open I found… 

  • Setting 1 is the softest and feels great for seated pedaling and small bump compliance, the way the Ripley SL is able to track the ground in this setting is noticeable and this is my go-to compression setting for all day rides where a softer set-up equals feeling fresher later into the day
  • Setting 2 is my go-to charge hard, hot lap style setting, great for going for the local KOM. The middle compression setting allows me to push into the bike with less bottoming out and more support in g-outs and corners while maintaining a soft, traction focused top end of the stroke. 
  • Setting 3 feels great on punchy, steep terrain. This setting is great for staying high in the travel to avoid pedal strikes. It also gave me more support on larger, individual g-outs. 

 

I think my main take away here is that being able to switch between all three settings on a ride is a luxury, there are plenty of routes that allow each setting to thrive and show its benefits. 

 

The 130mm Fox 34 SL has proven to be a pretty impressive fork. It tracks the ground really well while still having the playful poppy feeling I hope for when riding short travel trail bikes. The torsional stiffness of the fork is also impressive for how light it is, weighing in at just over 1500 grams.

Drivetrain & Brakes

The wireless XTR drivetrain has a quick shifting, race focused feeling. The 9-45t cassette range paired with a 30t up front provided a wider range than I was expecting it to. You can really get moving on downhills when shifted into the 9t, and the 45t isnt so easy that you fall through the pedals and lose all momentum on climbs. 

 

Wheels

The Carbon Ibis s28 hoops paired with the Industry Nine Hydra 2’s is a fun wheelset to ride on, that's backed with a lifetime warranty. I love the high engagement hubs on punchy desert terrain and I have always been impressed by the ride quality of the s28 hoops. 

 

Tires

I am happy to see that Ibis is using Continental Tires for this bike. From my experience on their heavier set tires like the Kryptotal enduro casing they last a really long time and stay relativley puncture free.

 

The Magnitol Trail Casing 2.4” lives up front and Dubnital Trail Casing 2.4” is out back. I haven't punctured the trail casing and have around 200 miles on these tires. 

 

I think this tire spec will really let riders know how they want to set up their SL, as the Magnitol offers impressive and predictable cornering traction while the Dubnital shows off its rolling speeds just about everywhere. It's worth noting that the Ripley SL is a capable enough descender that you’ll want to get to know how the tires play before going 110%. 

 

So, who is the Ripley SL made for? 

 

Based on my testing I would say it's made for just about anybody who doesn't want to be limited or confined to a certain trail-riding style, or for those who are racing but also want a single bike to adventure and progress technical skills on.

 

Big mileage and steep, technical terrain are shockingly easy to justify riding on this thing.  



Want to see how this bike performs? Stop by our shop and check the out the Ibis Ripley SL at Flagstaff Bicycle Revolution!