BikeCo is excited to host the Ibis Demo Fleet Tuesday March 29 through Saturday April 2nd!

As we start to sway back into a more normalized retail experience it’s great to see the Ibis Demo Fleet here again.

Check the schedule and book your ride on an Ibis 29er: the Ripley (available in Small through X-Large) or the Ripmo (available in Small through X-Large).

To demo these bikes you’re going to need a valid drivers’ license, credit card, helmet and other riding gear. While Ibis does supply an assortment of pedals (typically Shimano clipless) we suggest that riders bring their own pedals to demo these bikes.

Demo bookings are shown below. To schedule your demo it’s best to call the shop at 949-470-1099 and speak with one of our team to get onto the list in real time!

Morning Demos can be picked up at opening, 10am or the evening prior after 5:30pm and are to be returned by 1:00pm. Afternoon Demos can be picked after 1:30pm and are to be returned by 5pm.

949-470-1099

Ibis Demo Schedule: Tuesday 3/29 to Saturday 4/2

Ibis Bikes Available for Demo

Ibis’ demo fleet currently consists of the carbon fiber Ripley and carbon fiber Ripmo. You can read more about each model as well as how the carbon fiber and aluminum bikes compare below.

Enjoy some more photos and read about this custom Ibis Ripley with Float X & FOX 36

Ibis Ripley

The Ripley is a 120mm rear travel bike spec’d with a 130mm fork from the factory. Tagged “snappy, flickable, playful, fast, lightweight and versatile” by Ibis it’s going to be hard to argue against any of those points.

The Ripley is an exceptional trail bike and competent into some enduro terrain as well. Many local riders, or riders in other areas known for a bit burlier terrain, find that a 140mm air shaft swap on the fork produces a great feeling bike, slightly more relaxed headtube angle giving the bike a bit more punch.

Another aspect to the Ibis Ripley that widens it’s trail capacity is its ability to accommodate up to 2.6″ tires (depending on brand). While less riders are gravitating to the 2.6 – MANY riders enjoy adding traction and a bit more small bump compliance with tires in the 2.4 to 2.5″ range.

Ibis Ripmo

Ibis’ Ripmo was a bike that was able to blur the lines between a true EWS enduro machine and a bike you’ll want to pedal all day. 147mm of rear travel spec’d with a stock 160mm fork seems like a bike build to be comfortable in the chunk, and the Ripmo surly is. But, in a sort of sinister “I want to be a trail bike too” way the Ripmo pedals shockingly well for a “big” bike.

Like the Ripley the Ripmo can be slightly “over-forked” with a 170mm front end for a bit slacker headtube and a bit more punch through the rough stuff. FOX forks make this an easy option by swapping the air shafts.

Ibis AF: Aluminum versus Carbon

We get a lot of questions about the differences in the Ibis Aluminum and Carbon bikes. Let’s go through some of the most often asked queries between the carbon and AF bikes.

Weight

Aluminum weighs more than carbon fiber – pretty cut and dry right?

Looking at the Ibis site for their published numbers they show the carbon Ripmo at 6.74 lbs spec’d with an X2 shock (usually they weight Mediums, but it doesn’t say on the Ripmo page).

The RIpmo AF is published at 8.25 lbs in size M with a DVO Topaz Air shock.

Now, with and production weight there can be a notable +/- associated with it – so a bit of a grain of salt is needed in the weight comparison.

The Ripmo and Ripmo AF are listed at about 1.5 lbs difference or about a 20% difference depending on how you want to look at it.

So, 1.5 lbs (now, the larger bikes will have a bigger gap as there is more material used) but 1.5 lbs – what is that? Well water weighs 8.3 lbs per gallon according to the web so 1.5 lbs of water is 24 ounces. Or, the difference between a full and empty water bottle.

The Ripley and Ripley AF are harder to compare as the carbon Ripley published frame weight is without a shock while the Ripley AF’s weight is published with the shock. So, let’s assume its kinda in the same range as the Ripmo above.

Something else to consider on the weight – since a good deal of a bikes’ architecture is in the swing arm a good portion of the weight increase is actually pretty low on the bike’s center of gravity. That said, it’s also unsprung weight for those of you really getting into the full technical details.

Demo-ing the carbon but shopping the aluminum and want a concept of the difference? Bring an extra bottle!

Geometry

I tend to break down MTB geo into a handful of measurements. Stack, Reach, Wheelbase and Headtube Angle all play a bit part of a bike’s personality.

Looking at the Ripley and Ripley AF let’s compare a size L.

Ripley: 622 stack, 475 reach, 1207 wheelbase, 66.5 degree headtube
Ripley AF: 622 stack, 475 reach, 1217 wheelbase, 66.5 degree headtube

I’m not exactly sure where the wheelbase stretch is as both bikes list the same fork spec, headtube angle, trail and chainstay length. I’m also doubtful that I could feel the 10mm, 1cm or 0.39″ difference…

Ripmo: 628 stack, 475 reach, 1238 wheelbase, 64.9 degree headtube
Ripmo AF: 629 stack, 475 reach, 1237 wheelbase, 64.9 degree headtube

The Ripmo AF and Ripmo have slightly different fork spec’s but are relatively close with the exception that the Ripmo carbon will have a bit more trail with the FOX fork.

Enjoy some more photos and read about this absolute banger Ibis Ripmo AF build by BikeCo

Spec

One of the best things about Ibis is the lack of any proprietary bits. This means you can spec or upgrade your Ibis down the line with any number of options whether you choose the carbon or aluminum bikes. In fact, we’ve seen a LOT of banger aluminum bikes come out of the shop over the years with carbon wheels, FOX Factory suspension, etc, etc.

A difference between the aluminum and carbon bikes is the stock suspension.

The carbon Ripley is spec’d with the FOX Factory DPS rear shock and FOX Float 34 Factory fork across all of the builds. The Ripley AF is spec’d with the Fox Performance DPS and FOX Performance 34 fork.

With the Factory options riders have extra compression tuning availability on both the rear shock and fork.

On the Ripmo carbon the spec is the FOX Float X2, the most sought after rear shock for enduro riding as it has high and low speed rebound as well as high and low speed compression adjustments.

The Ripmo AF is spec’d with the DVO Topaz.

Carbon versus Aluminum: On Trail, the “Feel”

If I was forced to list a single notable difference between the aluminum and carbon bikes (and in fact, this same thing applies between the bikes with top tier carbon fiber and lower models in a secondary carbon) the carbon bike (or better carbon) has some additional “vibrance” on trail.

Carbon bikes will have a bit more “pop” to them while at the same time taking out some of the trail chatter. Seems kinda magic to get both right?

I’ve never really looked at the actual material data to try to wrap my head around it. I would imagine it has something to do with properties related to yield or plastic deformation. Since carbon doesn’t have a plastic deformation per se compared to metals – plastic deformation or yield being when something is loaded beyond capacity to return to the normal shape and takes a bend – it’s likely that has something to do with the ratio of stiffness to ultimate strength (or when things go BANG).

Carbon also lends itself to complex shapes which when appropriately designed can be used to absorb, deflect and flow stresses more uniformly. That said, there’s some amazing stuff available with aluminum hydroforming as well.

What makes Carbon and Aluminum Ibis Bikes Class Leaders?

Geometry. Suspension Design. Capacity for customization.  Attention to manufacturing details. Really the things that make an Ibis and Ibis are what sets both their aluminum and carbon fiber bikes apart.

Whether you’re shopping an aluminum bike starting in the low $3,000 range or prefer the carbon bikes starting in the low to mid $5,000 range BikeCo can dial in your Ibis dream bike. Chat with our sales team about which bike, specs and setup are best for your riding.

BikeCo.com – The Best in MTB.

Return to Top of Page