Ibis released the first Ripmo in April of 2018 to an audience hungry for the new wave of long-travel 29ers with progressive geometry, and it’s been a very popular bike for the brand. The Ripmo V1 was carbon only, with a 76° seat angle and a 65.9° head tube angle.
Ibis released an aluminum version of the Ripmo late last year, with the idea that it should feel a little bit burlier than the carbon version. The Ripmo AF featured the ability to run a coil shock (which the Ripmo V1 didn’t) and its geometry was updated, not to mention buyers could get a full Ripmo AF build for roughly the same price as a carbon Ripmo frame.
Today, Ibis released the carbon fiber Ripmo V2, less than two years after the V1 debuted. The updates are more of a refreshment for the Ripmo, rather than a revision though, and follow what the brand put into the Ripmo AF.
Namely, the Ripmo V2 got a predictable longer and slacker geometry makeover. The bottom bracket height stayed at 341mm however, so it isn’t lower — although the standover height is lower on all sizes.
The top tube length stays the same across all sizes, as does the chainstay length, and the stack height is pretty similar, only varying by a few millimeters on each size. The wheel base is longer, and reach is — well, kind of longer. A size small frame has 2mm longer reach. A size medium is 14mm longer. A size large is 4mm longer, and a size XL has 7mm more reach.
Oh yeah, and it’s still 145mm of rear travel, paired with 160mm of fork travel.
The V2 Ripmo frame also looks almost exactly like the first version, minus a few details. The frame can use a coil shock now and suspension has a more progressive end rate with more ramp, and improved small bump performance, Ibis says. Inside the frame, the V2 Ripmo can fit a slightly larger water bottle.
There are two new color choices for the Ripmo also: Star Destroyer Grey and Bug Zapper blue.
A frameset starts at $3,000, and completes start at $4,400 for a SRAM NX build. Builds top out at $9,300 for a top-shelf Shimano XTR spec.
As a whole, the newest version of the Ripmo actually seems like an unusual update since there doesn’t appear to be a whole lot that’s actually different from the first version.
For more information see the Ibis website. For pricing and build options, check Backcountry.com and JensonUSA.
