Ibis Ripmo AF Frame - 2020

Not just an alloy Ripmo
You might think to yourself, “Oh, an alloy Ripmo? Big whoop.” But this is not simply an alloy frame Ripmo - it is a huckster’s Ripmo. Ibis has slackened the headtube out by a full degree (64.9 vs 65.9 on the carbon model), and revamped the DW-link suspension to be more progressive. If you ride like a jack-rabbit, popping and skipping off of every bump in the trail, you can run an air shock and preload the bike at a moment’s notice. If you tend to pick your line and plow through any obstacles in your path, the AF is coil compatible. That’s right, you can now get all the small bump benefits from a coil shock on your Ripmo AF. 

Ride Report
Since its introduction, the Ripmo has been billed as Ibis’s “enduro ready” 29’er. With the AF they’ve pushed it even further in that direction. Does that mean you should only buy this bike if you are a gravity rider? Not exactly. The Ripmo AF does cater to the downhill side of things a bit more than the original Ripmo, but that doesn’t mean it’s only suitable for aggressive tracks and big jumps.

A heavier frame weight - around 2 lbs - means this bike will build up a bit burlier, but burly is what the AF is about. With 147mm (5.8”) of rear travel and a 160mm reduced offset fork, this bike charges just a hair harder than it’s lighter carbon sibling. It has a more unrelenting feel, which results from the combination of a slacker fork, a greater weight, and the revised suspension design.

When heading up-hill, this bike is still an Ibis. Any bike bearing their mark will be designed with pedaling in mind, and that holds true here. Dave Weagle’s DW-Link has long been heralded for its pedaling efficiency, and this iteration is no different. 

In terms of descending, it doesn’t necessarily rip ‘mo than the carbon version, but it does it a little differently. The slacker head angle is immediately noticeable, giving the bike a slower steering feel that seems slightly calmer at high speeds (read our blog on “trail” to learn how HA changes steering feel). It also makes it feel a bit less nimble on tight, slow corners, both up and downhill, but there are always trade-offs to these types of changes.

The Final Word
At the end of the day, and especially with the ability to run a coil shock, this bike is geared towards people who don’t care about some added weight in the name of descending prowess. It delivers this with all the tenacity of the original Ripmo, and just a bit more. It is, in all interpretations, a Ripmo AF.