0 points (view top contributors)
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Holy thread revival, Batman!
I don’t think you will ever regret spending a little more to get an Ibis Ripley.
Ibis is a very good company that will provide great support after the sale. If you send them an email, there is a good chance Scot Nicol will be the one replying (often the same day). I ride a second hand Mojo SL-R that is way out of original spec (27.5 wheels crammed in the frame and now with a 150mm 27.5 Fox 34 fork) and I have had outstanding email and in person support from Scot, Will and Nate.
All of Ibis’ recent bikes get rave reviews and warranty issues seem to be rare. Dw-link is a proven platform and the bikes have solid specs at each price point.
I got to spend a day on the new Ripley while I was in Santa Cruz in 2019. There is a damaged spot on my rear triangle. My local shop (not an Ibis dealer) didn’t think the bike was safe, so I wanted to let someone from Ibis take a look at it. Will, the Warranty Department, inspected the frame and said it was good to go. It was also cool to hear that several of the employees geeked out on my 2012 bike while it was sitting in their warehouse.
My legs where tired from riding Soquel Demo Forest the previous day, but I put about 16 miles on the Ripley at Wilder Ranch while my bike was getting checked out. Climbing the steep fire roads and trails was no sweat. My Mojo was probably under 24 lbs. at the time. I am sure the Ripley was heavier, but I didn’t notice the extra weight. The Ripley was a blast on flowy sections through the redwoods and easily handled the chunky drops on the Enchanted Loop. The glowing reviews are legit, The Ripley is an awesome all-around bike.
From your original post:
· I think the Ripley would be really good on the fire road and singletrack climbs you mentioned. It is obviously more bike than you’re currently riding but you will still enjoy climbing on this bike.
· The Ripley will be a great bike for your annual trips. I live in Colorado and regularly travel with my bike. Approximately 1/3 of my riding is on advanced/black trails and I would totally trust this bike anywhere I have been.
· Your balls out climbing may not be faster, but cruising up fire roads and technical climbs will be much better on this bike. Your descending will go to another level on the Ripley and you may even start scaring yourself.
· If your free time and preferences change, you can put a 140mm Fox 36 on the Ripley and have a capable enduro bike.
A new bike is a big purchase and I still recommend trying before you buy. However, if you are set on a new bike, I don’t think you could go wrong with a Ripley.
On one hand, this is a great time to buy a short travel 29er because there are so many great bikes out there. Any of the bikes you’re looking at, plus those Bike Nerd mentioned should blow the grips off an 8 year old 26” xc bike.
On the other hand, it is a terrible time to buy a new bike because you can’t really demo and not much is in stock.
I would wait until I could demo before making a major purchase, unless I was going with a brand I was familiar with. For instance, I know I would be happy with a Ripley or a Trail 429 because I have ridden earlier versions and I trust the brands.
Even if there are better short travel 29ers, I doubt I would ever second guess my choice. However, if I was choosing from new brands and fairly different bikes, I would probably end up with buyers remorse and always wonder if I made the right choice.
Regarding full suspension – do you ever see yourself riding without your sons? If you enjoy riding enough to go alone, a full suspension may be worth the extra money, and the new Stumpjumper looks pretty sweet.
If biking is only a way to spend time with your kids and you will probably stop when they move out of the house, then you should be fine on a hardtail like the Fuse.
Specialized is putting out some killer bikes right now, so you should be happy with either bike.
I commuted on a nice 26″ Sugar for a while in 2016. I took it out on the trails a few times and it was okay. I also had a 29″ hardtail Stumpjumer and there was no comparison between the two. I think you would be much happier on the Fuse.
I know used bikes prices are ridiculous right now, but I only paid $225 for the Sugar 4 years ago. There is no way I would spend $700 on one now.
For the riding you describe with your sons, the Fuse sounds like a great bike.
I am partial to dw-link suspension and the Ibis Ripley is a great all-around bike. I would also recommend checking out the Pivot Trail 429. In my experience riding 7 different models, Pivots are slightly better on technical climbs.
Buffalo Creek Recreation Area has camping spaces very close to the trails. Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area has camping along the Arkansas River near Salida. Hopefully, someone with experience camping around Crested Butte will chime in.
Summer camping here can be busy, so make reservations if you can. There are many first-come, first-serve spots but it could be a little nerve racking trying to line them up on your first trip.
I will play devil’s advocate
I assume you are only talking about 29” bikes.
100 to 120mm downcountry bikes look awesome, but aren’t they more of a niche for riders who prioritize speed? These may be the bikes that most average riders actually need, but I doubt they will be the bikes many of them choose.
120 to 140mm trail bikes are really the ideal bike “for the average trail rider who rides a variety of different trails.” These bikes, like the new Ibis Ripley, have become great at almost everything. They climb efficiently, rip undulating trails, and crush most technical downhills. The average rider you reference may even be faster on a Stumpjumper than they would be on a comparably spec’d Epic Evo.
140 to 170mm enduro bikes are also pretty amazing. The Ibis Ripmo has arguably been the hottest bike over the past few years and it climbs so efficiently that there is no longer much of a penalty for being overbiked. The average rider in Colorado certainly doesn’t need a Ripmo but there sure are a lot of them on the trails.
So the devil asks – have trail bikes become so good that cross country bikes are almost obsolete?
The Denver “season” varies quite a bit from year to year. Nov/Dec can be totally dry or pretty wet. Mar/Apr can be totally wet or pretty dry. Jan/Feb the trails are mostly wet but usually dry out enough to ride a couple of days each month.
Canon City, Salida, and Fruita usually have decent riding in the winter or you could ride a fat bike on some of the closer trails when they are snow covered.
Bike Nerd,
I am also in Colorado and one of my all-time favorite bikes was a 2008 Pivot Mach 429 with several “downcountry” upgrades.
· Shorter stem and wider bars – This is pretty much required on any older bike and the 50mm stem and 725mm bars did improve the fit and handling of the bike.
· Bigger fork – Going from a 100mm Fox 32 to a 120mm Fox 34 totally changed the character of the Mach 429.
· Wider rims – Replacing the 21mm rims with a 27mm rear / 30mm front combo provided a significant increase in all-around traction. I ran 29 x 2.3 Specialized tires (Grid rear / Control front) but if I still had the bike I’m sure I would be on something a little wider on the front.
· Dropper post – This was one of my last upgrades and is not a must-have for me. I had a Fox DOSS on the bike and having 3 settings was really nice on the Mach 429.
I rode the Mach 429 on at least 20 of the Singletracks Top 100 trails, always had a blast, and never felt like I needed more bike. The upgrades I made moved the bike from XC toward Trail, which seems to be the point of “Downcountry.”
The new crop of more capable 100mm 29ers is pretty sweet but for Colorado, I would probably choose a 120mm Trail bike.
There are some interesting videos comparing the new Ibis Ripmo and Ripley. Perhaps Jeff can give us a back to back comparison between the Epic Evo and the Stumpjumper ST.
Based on the recent forum posts, it looks like everyone has gone to Bangalore.
Lol, looks like I did that. I am curious how it showed up in the recent threads.
Patrick,
Your local shop carries great brands, so you should not have any trouble finding an awesome bike. My only recommendations are:
- Get the bike you like best on your local trails. The current group of 29″ trail bikes are so good that you shouldn’t have any trouble on trips to Moab and Crested Butte.
- Don’t overlook the shorter travel 29″ trail bikes, they are really good.
- I live on the Front Range of Colorado and ride a wide variety of intermediate and advanced trails. I have also been fortunate to ride throughout the state and around the country on quite a few different bikes. If I was looking for a new bike from the brands your local shop carries, I would start with a Pivot Trail 429.
Stan’s formula should be perfect for your tire and rim width. At 200 lbs, you would be around 30 psi in the rear and 27 psi in the front – if your tires are tubeless.
If you tires have inner tubes, you should be fine around 40 psi.
Tire pressure is not that big of a deal when you are starting out. You just want to run enough pressure to keep from pinch flatting. As you gain experience you can start experimenting to find the pressure that works best for you.
Hopefully your tires are tubeless. If so, Stan’s No Tubes has a good formula to use as a starting point.
Divide your weight, in pounds, by 7. Add 2 psi for the rear tire and subtract 1 psi for the front.
Bike Nerd makes a great point … what percentage of the time is your Epic EVO ideal? Also, how important is it for you to be really fast on your local trails?
If the Epic is great for most of your riding and you really like being fast, then getting a second bike makes sense. If the trail bike will mostly be used when you travel, I would consider renting a few different bikes before making another purchase.
If the Epic is sketchy on some of your local trails and fun is more important than speed, then switching to a more capable trail bike may be a better way to go.
I am a big fan of dw-link bikes so I second Bike Nerd’s recommendation on the Ibis Ripley (or Pivot Trail 429). I primarily ride along the Front Range of Colorado and have more fun on a 27.5 Mojo. However, if I lived in Dallas and traveled to Colorado a few times a year, those two bikes would be at the top of my list when looking for a do it all trail bike.
Also, my son lives just north of Dallas and I will be visiting in a couple of weeks. Where is the best place to ride?
Very interesting question. I just checked out the $4,000 aluminum and carbon 5010s on the Santa Cruz website and that would be a tough decision.
1. I have not ridden a SRAM drivetrain or brakes in years, but getting Shimano SLX, XT, or XTR would not be a deciding factor for me. I would chose a carbon frame with SLX over aluminum with XTR.
2. I have not ridden the current FOX Performance or Rythm forks. If I could tell a difference between them on a demo, I would choose aluminum. If not, I would go with carbon.
3. I really like having a nice rear hub, so that would be an important factor for me. However, I don’t know how much better the DT Swiss 370 is.
Hopefully, you can demo both bikes to see which one you like better.
I
I would probably go with the aluminum bike if it had significantly better wheels. I would probably go with carbon if the wheels were only slightly better and everything else was similar I woul
I would also go used with $500 to spend. If you are close to a city where mountain biking is popular, and you are patient, you should be able to pick up a pretty nice bike in that price range. I just bought my son a very nice Pivot Mach 5.7 for $500 on Craigslist.
Wow, just noticed this thread is a blast from the past.
I buy a “new to me” bike every couple of years and have done several 1x conversions. I use a bike gear calculator (gears.mtbcrosscountry.com) when deciding on a new cassette and chainring combination.
In your case going to a 28T or a 30T oval ring probably makes the most sense, but the gear calculator will let you see how a different cassette, a larger cog or even a different wheel size will effect your gearing.
A gear calculator is especially useful when converting from 2x/3x to 1x.
