First Look: Ibis Ripley LS

Ibis Ripley LS

Size Tested: Medium

Geometry: (Here)

Build Overview:

  • Drivetrain: SRAM X1 & XO1 w/ Race Face NEXT SL cranks
  • Wheels: Ibis 938 (Aluminum)
  • Fork: Fox Float 34
  • Rear Shock: Fox Float DPS EVOL

Wheels: 29′′

Travel: 120 mm Rear / 130 mm Front

Blister’s Measured weight, frame only (with Fox Float DPS EVOL Shock, seat collar, axle, downtube protector, and water bottle bolts): 5.95 lbs / 2.7 kg

Blister’s Measured Weight, complete bike: 27.6 lbs with Race Face Atlas pedals

MSRP: $6,429

Reviewer: 5’8”, 160 lbs.

Test Location: Park City, Utah

Test Duration: Two weeks

Tom Collier reviews the Ibis Ripley LS for Blister Gear Review.
Ibis Ripley LS

Intro

Ibis’ first generation Ripley found great acclaim as a snappy climber of a trail bike that didn’t feel like a 29er. Its steep 69.2 degree head angle kept steering responsive, and its 17.4” chainstays were considered short when it first came out.

The industry has moved on, though, with many 29ers pushing closer to (and even below) 17” chainstays and to head angles around 67 degrees — see the Evil Following and Kona Process 111 for examples. In this new context, the original Ripley looks very XC-oriented.

But Ibis has been paying attention, and in 2015, they released an update to the Ripley: the Ripley LS — the “LS” stands for Long & Slack.

How Long & Slack, and What Else is New?

The Ripley LS extends its reach by just over 20 mm on each size — that is almost a full size jump in most brands — and slackens the head tube angle to 67.5 degrees.

The bottom bracket height drops from 13” to 12.8”, the seat angle steepens a bit, and Ibis dropped the seat mast by ½” to better accommodate long dropper posts. That’s great news for people with short legs like me. Lastly, the Ripley is now offered with Boost spacing.

Tom Collier reviews the Ibis Ripley LS for Blister Gear Review.
Tom Collier on the Ibis Ripley LS, Park City, UT.

These numbers sound a lot better to me than the original Ripley’s geometry. To be clear though, the reach / toptube, while longer than the original Ripley, is still short compared to a lot of bikes on the market, and 67.5 degrees, while slacker than before, is far from being an anomaly. The LS doesn’t lose Ibis’ stated focus on making nimble bikes with responsive handling, but the new bike no longer occupies the more extreme end of the spectrum that the original Ripley does.

I tend to run a two-bike-quiver, with one 27.5” wheeled, 160 mm travel bike to handle rough descents, and a 29er for long rides. This spring I was looking for a new 29” bike that could make climbing fun without neutering downhill performance. The Ripley LS looked like a great candidate for a bike that could capture some of the climbing performance of an XC race rig and some of the descending performance of a longer-travel bike. Combine that with some sweet organic frame lines, and I wanted to review this bike.

The Frame

Ibis uses a carbon fiber monocoque construction for both the swingarm and the main triangle. It yields a competitive frame weight and a very fluid aesthetic.

The Ripley LS has a novel implementation of DW-Link that uses a rotating eccentric core similar to what Yeti used with Switch Link. It results in a very sleek looking design that almost appears to be a link-driven single pivot.

Starting in late 2015 Ibis advertised that they have moved to stiffer eccentric cores for the suspension. The earlier Ripleys could have a bit of flex in the rear end. The new one really doesn’t. It isn’t the stiffest bike I’ve ridden, but I don’t for a second think of it as flexy. The pivot hardware is a pretty standard, non-collet design. I’m interested to see if it stays tight as well as the collet style hardware that has become increasingly common.

On the back of the bike. The Ripley LS uses a simple, low-profile 5mm hex socket head rear axle. It doesn’t allow for tool-free removal, but is light and stays out of the way.

In previous years, the Ripley had terrible cable routing. The internal routing was challenging to set up and often resulted in housing wear against the carbon frame and/or rubbing against the steerer tube.

I’m glad to report that the cable routing is now a nice combination of an external rear brake line, a dropper post with full housing routed internally except for one interruption by the bottom bracket, and an interrupted internal housing for shifting.

The access points are covered with aluminum plates. To route the cable, you remove these and then fish the cable through. It isn’t as slick as the internal tubes used on Santa Cruz frames, but it works just fine.

I did find that I’ve rubbed quite a bit of plastic off the dropper housing due to sharp edges on the frame entry point cover. I also wish there were a good way to close the unused hole for the front derailleur cable routing to prevent water from getting into the frame.

Tom Collier reviews the Ibis Ripley LS for Blister Gear Review.
Tom Collier on the Ibis Ripley LS, Park City, UT.

The finish quality on the bike looks great, until you start pulling off the cable entry point covers. The openings are a bit rough, and the inside of the frame isn’t as smooth as others. It’s not a big deal, just not as polished as a Santa Cruz carbon bike. The metal head tube badge is a nice piece that adds a touch of class.

In late 2015, Ibis switched from a pressfit bottom bracket to a standard threaded affair, showing that they do listen to market feedback, specifically the common complaints about creaking pressfit bottom brackets.

There is a nice optional plastic guard for the downtube to prevent damage from rocks kicked up by the front tire. The chainstay protection provided with the bike is nice as well, with rubber molded chainstay and seatstay guards, and a metal plate to protect against chainsuck damage.

There are two water bottle mounts, one on top of the downtube and one on the bottom. The bottom one doubles as the mount for the downtube guard. The top one can just fit a 24 oz bottle. I haven’t used the bottom one with a bottle.

NEXT: The Build, Geometry, Etc.

11 comments on “First Look: Ibis Ripley LS”

  1. Nice review! I was also impressed with the Ripley LS.
    Try and ride a Intense Primer…..that bike has “bike of the year” all over it….amazing ride.

  2. Awesome write up Tom! I’m considering this bike, but concerned about being in between sizes. I’m 5’10.5 and weight about 180. I usually ride medium frames, in general…but, I think I’m leaning toward a large in the LS. Thoughts?

    • Ryan,

      I don’t think you’d go wrong sizing up, but you should think about a few things first:

      Do you have a longer torso or longer legs?
      Do you like riding with a longer stem or a shorter stem?
      Do you prefer more nimble or more stable bikes?

      At 5’8″ with a longer torso and a preference for short stems I think I could be happy on either size, but you could have a very different body shape from me.

  3. Thanks Tom. I’d say I’m right down the middle and very average in sizing. I rode both, but the medium seemed cramped. I decided to go with the large and bomb some downhills!
    Appreciate the info
    Ryan

  4. Hi Tom,
    Thanks for your interesting review.
    I’m also being in between sizes M to L
    I’m 5ft 8.5in, 175LB
    I had a test ride on IBIS Ripley size L and I loved them, so it should be even better with the LS.
    However I was unable to arrange a ride test for LS frame.

    When I compered the specs of the LS & standard frame, it seems that I should pick the smaller frame of LS, meaning size M on LS = size L on the standard frame.

    I usually go for 30-35 km trails, mostly XC open trails, 700 mt of climbing, but no Downhill.

    My preferences:
    60mm stem
    Handlebar: 740mm- 760mm (i’m not sure yet)
    RockShox Pike RCT3 130mm or Fox Factory Float 34 130mm
    Fox Transfer Hydraulic Dropper Post 125mm

    What are your thoughts?

  5. Tom, I’d love to hear your thoughts between the Ripley LS and Mojo 3! I’m trying to decide between the two of these and can’t seem to narrow it down to one.

    Rode both back to back this weekend on a local loop in Park City. The loop has steep switchback climbs, rolling rocky undulating terrain and fast flowy bermed and swoopy downhill. First lap on Ripley was fast feeling, rode nice, cockpit was a little cramped with the 50mm stem, could have used a 70mm, this would match the reach on my road bike fit to the bars. Mojo 3 second lap, fit was perfect with 60mm stem, bike was slow feeling on climbs, but fun everywhere else. Overall, Strava tells the truth, the Mojo 3 was a hair fast everywhere except the one extended climb. Overall through only 40 seconds fast on 44 minutes. In the end, both PR’d every segment from previous.

    Struggling to make the decision……

    • Blake,

      I haven’t ridden the Mojo 3, so I can’t offer you any firsthand opinions. However, just from reading your post it sounds like you are feeling more positively about the Mojo than the Ripley – perfect fit matters.

      -Tom

  6. I built up a large Ripley LS with full XTR 1x drivetrain, 50 mm Thompson X4 stem, KS Lev dropper, Easton Arc 30 rims with blue Hadley hubs, Next SL cranks with XTR trail pedals and a One Up 45 tooth cog added to XTR cassette. It pedals wonderfully and descends even better on the mile high rocky terrain we have here in Prescott, AZ. Sometimes I feel I could use a little more reach but, overall, it’s a nimble, confident descender and the smaller feel lends to its agility.

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