Ibis Ripley GX Eagle Mountain Bike reviews and deals for sale

Billy the Billy goat

It almost does climbs by itself. GX build is plenty for most. Currently living in the flatlands of DFW. While we are lacking elevation here, we do plenty of pedaling and punchy up and downs. A well designed short travel bike is always a blast to ride. I did recently bump the Fox 34s up to 140mm (easily) As my favorite trail is rock covered and the additional travel smooths it… read more all out. First Ripley, won't be the last.

Everything about this bike is awesome!

What can you say about one of the best everyday just crushing it mountain bikes? I've ridden the Ripley LS, Ripmo, HD3, HD4 and the HD5 and I have to say this new Ripley is a beast stuffed into a small travel frame. The wife and I traveled down to one of my favorite winter riding spots in Hurricane, Utah for a little winter camping and riding. I also thought while i'm demoing… read more this sweet ride I'd also toss on one of the new Cane Creek Helm demo forks (140mm 44offset) and give that a shot as well. It's been a while since I've been out on a bike, I'm coming back from an injury so the first day back riding and nothing seems out of the ordinary the bike simply works. It did feel a tad light on the front end on the steeper climbs, but that is most likely due to the fact that I had a longer fork on it. It wasn't till the second day when the wife and I switched bikes and that's when I really noticed just how sharp the front end handling was on the Ripley. Her bike felt lazy and sluggish in the turns and it definitely did not feel as efficient on the climbs or just riding down the normal trail. To be fair her bike has a little more travel but it's still a 29" current model bike that we bought in March of 2019 when it first came out. I came away from the weekend incredibly impressed with the new Ripley. Ibis simply nailed the geometry and stiffness of this bike and the entire time while I was riding it I really couldn't think of anything I wanted to change. I was going to drop the Helm down to a 130 travel fork on Saturday night, however I forgot to bring along my small bike washing kit and I didn't want to get any dirt in the forks. If you are reading this review it means you are looking for a new ride and quite frankly if this bike isn't on your short list, you need to reevaluate your list it's just that good! What's that you say, you don't want to take my word for it? Well then feel free to email me at rojensen@competitivecyclist.com and I'll check the demo tour in your area and we'll get you out on one. Pros: Super Sharp handling Efficient pedaling Fits a huge range of dropper lengths for everyone Cons: Internal channeled cable routing is not good for running moto style braking (front brake on right) Tight rotor clearance so Hope floating rotors will be a problem Did I mention the internal sleeving (yes the bike is that good) Rider Details: 5'9" 32" inseam / 180 lbs Sag: 30% rear (seated) 20% front (standing) Version Ridden: GX Eagle w/ Factory shock option size Medium Upgraded * Cane Creek Helm 140 (up from OEM 130) Fork Upgraded * Magura MT Trail SL Brakeset Upgraded * SDG Radar saddle Pedals: Deity TMAC

New Ripley Rips!

What a fun trail bike! The latest evolution of the Ripley checks all of the boxes of a modern trail bike. It pedals efficiently, is a confident descender, relatively long reach, slack headtube angle, steep seat tube angle, etc. The DW link suspension platform that Ibis employs is undoubtedly efficient, just like any DW link bike. But what really stands out on this bike, and really… read more all Ibis bikes is when you really put some effort into the pedals, the bike just goes! It's a pretty special feeling, that is combination of acceleration and efficiency. It feels like the bike just wants to get up, and over anything in the trail. No matter if it's square edged, super steep, etc you pedal it goes. If you're hoping this bike is a mini- Ripmo, I would not characterize it that way. Only because I find the Ripmo so capable and wildly versatile. The Ripley is decidedly a lightweight trail bike, and it rides just like a 120mm trail bike should. Probably better. Many bikes in this travel range feel skiddish when you get up to speed, the Riply simply didn't for me. I would chalk that up to the stiff frame/linkage and balanced geometry. You can tell it has a Fox 34 out front vs a stiffer fork, and there are some trails that I would feel uncomfortable taking this bike down. That said, it's composed and confident when descending, and for most people in most terrain this is a perfect trail bike. I'm not a big fan of 2.6 or larger tires, I know they have their place but for me where I ride they are unnecessary. It is fun to see how far you can push the traction of 2.6 x 29", which happens to be pretty far! In summary I dare say this is the funnest trail bike I've ridden, its just a perfect combination of efficient pedaling platform, and a composed descender at speed.

First Bike

This is my first bike so I'm loving it. I live in southeast Michigan and most of the trails around here are pedally singletrack with some < 2 foot drops or jumps in a few areas, roots, man-made rock gardens etc. The most I've probably been off the ground is 4 feet. I settled on the 120mm travel class of bikes because I have more fun going fast on the downs and getting in the… read more air than chugging along, even though I think a 100mm or less travel XC bike would be a better fit for my local trails. For 120mm travel from what I've read this bike pedals the best which is the main reason I went with it. I was able to demo a $5k ST stumpjumper and can confirm this is a significantly better pedaling bike and it's lighter. I'm also not a fan of the stock tires. Interestingly, the most expensive version of the bike ($9k XTR build) comes with 2.35 tires instead of the 2.6 tires. I've tried Stock 2.6 Hans Damf / Nobby Nic, 2.6 Rekon / Ikon combo, 2.4 Rekon/Rekon, and 2.25 Racing Ray/ Racing Ralph. My favorite so far is the Ray/Ralph combo (probably because of the pedally nature of my local trails). Looking at a narrower carbon wheelset for next year now.

I've seen the light!

This bike was my first time riding an Ibis, and now I can understand the hype. This bike was amazing! It was flat-out a fun bike to ride, and not only that, but it was surprisingly fast compared to what I had expected it to feel like. Granted, the big 2.6 tires are not doing it any favors in terms of weight and rolling speed, but I felt that they made up for it in terms of the grip… read more that they offer and higher volume helped give little extra squish on top of the 130/120 travel this bike offers. I felt that the suspension did a good job offering support on the climbs, even when you need to stand up and mash on the pedals. It was also really nice to be able to open the suspension and point this bike down the trail. It felt really great on the flowy sections of trail, but when things got a bit bumpier, I realized just how capable this bike actually was! It felt so stable and fast on rougher trails, and I hate to say it, but it really was "confidence-inspiring"! This bike was not afraid to take the rougher line, and handled the unexpected drops with no complaints. On the climbs, it felt fairly quick and I wasn't completely cooked after taking it up some longer climbs. For the XC-minded cyclist, don't think of this as your race bike, but more of your all-around fun bike. Overall, I liked the spec on this bike, however I think that the brakes could be upgraded. Everything else was excellent. It would be interesting to try this bike with a more traditional, narrower tire to see if it still feels as plush and grippy. Nice work Ibis!

The Trailduro

With the new Ripley, Ibis has created a very capable trail bike with downhill-mined confidence. I have not ridden the Ibis Ripmo but from what I've read and can tell, the new Ripley is a short-travel version of the very popular Ripmo. If you're not always looking to ride the rockiest or root-filled trails you can find, then I think the Ripley will be the better bike for you. With… read more 120mm of rear travel and 130mm up front this bike will handle most obstacles that you throw at it. So what did I love about this bike? The confidence it gives you when pointing it downhill. It feels ready to tackle all the rock gardens and small drops you could throw at it. It's a very solid feeling frame which begs to be ridden harder. Longer + Slacker = Confidence. What did I dislike? The wheelset and tire choice. It put a big damper on the fun for me. I think a lighter/narrower wheelset and 2.4 tires would really liven this bike up. The 2.6 tires definitely hurt the bikes climbing performance which is important to me. I'm an XC type rider that likes to take on some gnarlier trails from time to time without losing too much efficiency. Overall the bike is a lot of fun but I would love to set it up with a lighter wheelset and tire combo to really enjoy it. I rode the size XL in a GX build with Factory suspension and it weighed in at 29.4 lbs without pedals. I think that this trail bike definitely leans more towards the enduro type rider who wants a more efficient pedaler rather than an XC rider who wants a little more travel.

Are the tires on Ripley GX model tubeless?