While this bike has been bounced through the rumor cycle a good amount, the new Ibis Exie 29er frames are now ready for official public viewing. This will be the first carbon fiber frame made in the company’s Santa Cruz, California, factory. Ibis says that the Exie is a World Cup level race machine, with a longer reach and a shorter stem to add some fun handling on the rougher modern tracks. The reportedly sub 2,000g frame uses a DW-Link suspension platform to actuate 100mm of rear travel behind a 120mm fork.
Exie frames are carbon fiber front and rear, and Ibis says that “complete builds [start] at 22.6 lbs / 10.29 kg for a large with generous tire sealant.” Marathon racers and adventure riders will be stoke on that dual water bottle capacity, which we don’t see on a lot of full suspension frames these days. The frame makes way for up to a 29 x 2.4″ rear tire, which should suit almost any XC racer’s grip needs.
This little bike can get fairly sendy with that 67.2° HTA, while the reach numbers have grown significantly compared to XC bikes of a few years back. The chainstays remain short across the board, as do seat tubes which should allow most riders to run a fairly long travel dropper. Seat tube angles are somewhat slack on these bikes, and they grow steeper to choke up the reach on larger size frames.
A US-made Exie frame and shock will retail for $4,500, with complete builds starting at $7,999. Ibis is currently projecting the availability of these frames for 2022. Check out the video below for a look at their factory and build process.
