Ibis Ripley LS Carbon 3.0 XT 1x Complete Mountain Bike 2018

Despite the praise and sterling reputation the Ripley has received, Ibis has proven incapable of leaving well enough alone. The Ripley LS Carbon 3. 0 XT 1x Complete Mountain Bike represents the cumulative effect of a mountain of changes that Ibis has seen fit to a bike that when we first threw a leg over its introductory iteration seemed damned near perfect. The latest changes include the agro as hell Longer Slacker LS geometry, which pushes into enduro territory, and the clearance to run 2. 6in tires. The latter is especially important as, in our estimation, tires in the 2. 4 2. 6in range keep the plushness and traction of high volume tires but without lapsing occasionally into squishy vagueness. Despite those changes, this third gen version of the Ripley retains the nimble handling that leaves you with an ear to ear grin on the trail but with a stiffer rear end that may leave a frown on your buddies' faces while you power away on climbs. The stiffer rear end and increased tire clearance are owed to a reconfiguration of the chassis and its dual eccentric DW Link suspension. The upper eccentric link is wider than before for increased stiffness when you're tracking across the rough stuff. There's a new swingarm and clevis mount as well, which is moved backwards and down to clear the 2. 6 inch tires. Despite those changes, we're happy to report that the reconfigured chassis and swingarm don't affect the praised suspension kinematics of the previous Ripley LS. This means you won't notice a difference in the pedaling efficiency or square edge compliance from the DW Link suspension. Other than its notable upgrades in rear end stiffness and increased tire clearance, the Ripley LS retains the praised geometry of the last version, namely its moderately slack 67. 5 degree head tube angle paired with a low slung 13 inch bottom bracket for impressive stability at speed. Although it's not quite as slack as much of the competition, the third gen Ripley LS never feels ou...