Update March 18, 2013: Ibis Ripley 29er Now Available!
Ibis does did not have a 29er bike… until today. Today marks the day when the last of the Mohicans, the last of the good brands finally sells a 29er bike. Ibis is a revered brand in the mountain biking space and a lot of its loyal customers have been left with difficult choices when it comes to buying a 29er bike over the last couple of years.
Given that 47% of Mtbr readers are buying a 29er for their next bike, this is indeed a great development for Ibis. They didn’t want to rush to the market and offer mediocre product in this wheel size. They wanted to offer something special, something that elevates their brand with a bike that has true competitive advantages. But given the nature engineering and production, things do go wrong and this bike took six years to develop.
We have not seen the bike yet but we are quite sure that this bike will be beautiful and it will work. Ibis rides the same trails as Mtbr does and they wanted to create a bike that was quick, capable and agile. But there is such a thing as ‘time to market’ in the full suspension bike arena so quite a bit of the demand for this bike has moved on to entries like the Santa Cruz Tallboy LTC, Specialized Enduro 29er. 25% of mtbr users are now planning on buying 650b for their next bike as well as indicated on our most recent poll here.
But chalk this up as a win for the good guys. Ibis is run by a crew of good dudes and we are sure they are happy to push this baby out and deliver it to the hands of their eager customers.
The new versatile and lightweight Ibis Ripley 29er is now available for $2899.99. It is compatible with 120-140mm travel forks and features Dave Weagle’s dual-eccentric dw-link suspension that is hidden inside the seat tube and acts as the suspension linkages. It is more lightweight than the external linkage systems and also gives the bike a cleaner look. It allows the bike to be built with shorter chainstays and provides more room around the rear tire and front derailleur areas.
Check out Bike Magazine’s “Blueprint” R&D Story of the Ibis Ripley 29er
Check out the hot discussion on Mtbr’s forum here: http://forums.mtbr.com/ibis/ripley-believe-not-its-here-844440.html
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OH MY GOSH!!!!
Finally dropped the look based design for something a little more functional! A real water bottle mount! Yet, it still looks sweet.
Will this new suspension design make it to the 26er line?
Video has been added. Cool animation!
Given the weight savings I can see the suspension design going to other models in the IBIS line up…
Now we just need Ripley in a 650b wheelsize!
Last of the good brands, last of the mohicans? The last I saw there were a lot of really good bikes out there from many many different brands. Cyclists are full of a lot of things I guess, the least of them opinions
Bryan, we meant ‘last of the good brands that are 29er holdouts.’
Now that 650B is all the “rage” Ibis is finally releasing a 29er. Hope they didn’t miss the boat.
A gushing article about a bike that has been in development for six years and was released today…is it on any bike shop sales floors yet? And no one other than the Ibis staff and testers (and some random Manhattan commuters) have even seen the thing in person, let alone taken it for a ride. And it’s priced at the high end of the price range for this class of bikes. Should we be blown over by this news?
Lovely pics as ever captain K.
Your model looks a bit shifty in the first pic
Francis, dude, you’ve been hanging out in Silicon Valley way too long. Please do not say things like “Ibis is a revered brand in the mountain biking space”. I’m begging you to stop the madness before it spreads any further. If I wanted to hear people talk like that I could go back to corporate cubicle land…
About the bike – yawn. I’m sure it’s a nice bike, but it is too expensive and not much different than a bunch of other bikes out there these days.
>>Francis, dude, you’ve been hanging out in Silicon Valley way too long. Please do not say things like “Ibis is a revered brand in the mountain biking space”.
Sounds like trade offs were made to make just another trail bike. Let me do the math, expensive – heavy – consessions on gearing and required fork. they nailed it.
I used to wrench for the Yeti race team back in the day. John Parker sold Yeti to Schwinn. He called me into his office and asked me to not buy another Schwinn/Yeti. He told me to buy and support IBIS. I am in the market for a new bike, and it will be a Ripley. …..As soon as I can figure out how to afford it. Maybe a Yeti….Nah, Ripley.
we are pre-selling them now. If you want pricing on a Ripley frame or complete bike get up with me 801-736-6396 x 4074
Whats with the hipster in NYC pictures? Mountain biking will never be about being hipster. You got fixies, stay off mountain bikes!
We have a 19″ black/green in stock! One of the very few in the retailsphere . If your in Jackson Hole come by the shop and check it out because it’s absolutely beautiful. We’ll have a couple of demos when the snow melts! Ibis did a great job on this one!
It’s actually NOT available…anywhere.
It’s actually sitting in our bike shop right now! We’re going to use this first one as a demo and we’ll have a couple more by the end of the month. Take a look at your photos on Facebook. The Ripley looks amazing!
Looks like the cockpit grows as the rear suspension compresses, no thanks.