Anyone with time on Ibis Ripmo and Santa Cruz HTLT?

**ripvw** · 05-18-2019, 10:08 AM

Cool, thanks for the info. Been on a Mayhem for the last year. Really like the bike, but some times wish the rear end was a little more compliant in the rough stuff.

**supermodel159** · 10-09-2019, 04:44 PM

Anyone get some trail time on the new Ripmo AF? LBS owner close to me is a believer.

**SchralphMacchio** · 10-09-2019, 06:04 PM

Did you see smmokan is selling his RipMo builds for $4k?

Also, XL frame and Supermodel 159 do not compute to me. I rode a Supermodel 159 (three to be exact) over the years but I fit a Medium bike ...

Is your current Ibis an XL? Didn’t you get a gen1 frame? You may be size Large in current frames with 780/800mm wide bars. See if you can throw your legs over a new one to be sure on size ...

**Cabinfever** · 10-09-2019, 06:13 PM

Subscribed. Considering an AF. Hope to get on a demo before winter.

Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

**supermodel159** · 10-09-2019, 09:32 PM

Originally Posted by SchralphMacchio

Did you see smmokan is selling his RipMo builds for $4k?

Also, XL frame and Supermodel 159 do not compute to me. I rode a Supermodel 159 (three to be exact) over the years but I fit a Medium bike ...

Is your current Ibis an XL? Didn’t you get a gen1 frame? You may be size Large in current frames with 780/800mm wide bars. See if you can throw your legs over a new one to be sure on size ...

A while back I ordered an XL, that was backordered then the shop canceled my order...long story.

Yes, I know smmokan is selling his demo fleet. I called a local LBS owner I’ve been riding with regarding size and mods, and he said to go with an AF...hence, why I was looking for additional input.

And, yes...love the 159 size.

**SchralphMacchio** · 10-10-2019, 01:52 AM

Just some random thoughts:

-An AF GX Build retails for $4300 and the wheelset isn’t as good as Smmokan’s demo. I9 hubs are the shit! For whatever reason the Ibis build selector doesn’t offer Aluminum S35 rims with i9 hubs so you can’t do an apples to apples comparo. It’s $5500 retail if you upgrade to carbon wheelset with i9 hubs. If you can get a good discount off that, are you going to be saving enough/any money over Steve’s bike relative to features you value? Maybe you want carbon wheels (see below). And how much is a new warranty (7 years) worth to you?

-I also have ridden carbon and aluminum frames, generally speaking, not this specific one, and the damping on carbon over aluminum is awesome. This makes a difference when riding at high speed in your local chattery chunky central coast terrain. It’d be different if you lived in Mendo or Southern Utah. I don’t think you can dampen high frequency vibration through geometry in aluminum tubing without creating unnecessary flex and loss of yield strength, or adding excessive weight - I never used my engineering degree for bike design but it’s my basic understanding of the material. Aluminum frames can be made awesomely and they are stiff and can ride well, but the same geometry bike tends to feel more damp and less chattery in carbon. Yes you can add awesome fork/shock on Aluminum frames to help dampen chatter but you really need to go with coils to really get high frequency chatter not transmitting from wheels into the frame.
— And carbon wheels will really help with chatter reduction too, I find the dampening amazing on a great carbon rim, and good carbon rims are also very durable but if you are going to be doing lots of high speed DH in places with loose flying jagged rocks you will have a higher chance for breaking a carbon rim than typical users so a strong aluminum rim may make more sense.
— The AF is almost 2 pounds heavier than the carbon frame* If you pedal uphill a lot, and/or manipulate your bike in mid air a lot, you will likely notice and value the lighter weight of carbon frame over aluminum.
— You will not likely notice weight savings of carbon wheelsets over aluminum (tires and hubs will make a bigger difference in feel)
* the aluminum frame weight is listed with shock at 8.25 lbs, carbon frame weight possibly without shock at 6.1 lbs ...

-re: Durability of plastic bikes over metal ... I know Ibis has 7 years on both, but Santa Cruz has lifetime warranty on carbon frames and not aluminum. Now I know these are two different companies, but it tells me that well made carbon frames are reliable enough to have a lower expected support cost than aluminum, at least by SC’s construction and math.

-I don’t know how Ibis treats 2nd owners with issues. A good company will usually offer crash replacement discount frame pricing to 2nd owners, so factor that into value of new vs used. Steve’s demos are tested and he would have sussed out any major manufacturing defects/issues with all the parts - so a future issue is more likely going to be caused by wear and tear or crash damage (I.e., not covered by warranty so you pay crash replacement pricing). But there are possible (but not generally likely) long term defects relating to things like paint chemistry and resin chemistry that may only appear after years of use, that could possibly be a credible warranty issue.

-Re: fit, you mind sharing your height, weight, self described riding style, shirt sleeve length, and pant inseam? I bet Steve and/or other RipMo riders will at least have some thoughts on frame size. I’ll certainly have some presumptive Internet thoughts!

And to be clear, I’m not trying to call you out on frame or board size, just trying to help you get the most appropriate fit and feel for your intent! Looking out for my fellow broboarder!

**supermodel159** · 10-10-2019, 10:17 AM

I'm not trying to turn this into a this or that thread, just curious if anyone has ridden the AF. .

**Ted Striker** · 10-10-2019, 11:51 AM

Wow, those are some deep thoughts for being random

Pretty solid analysis.

@supermodel, this is just another data point FWIW, I own a Large Ripley 4 and I've ridden a Ripmo carbon around on gravel for a quick comparo, and both bikes feel sized right for my almost 6'1 almost 170 body with a 40 stem. The As Fuck is a degree slacker, and looks to have maybe a little less standover so the fit might be slightly different, but I doubt that changes the fit significantly.

Looking at the spec on the nx for 3k, that's a pretty solid deal.

**Andeh** · 10-10-2019, 12:16 PM

I'm really curious how the leverage rate curve got changed for the AF, and whether it's really actually well suited for a coil shock, or whether they just gave it a nudge and called it good enough. The Linkage Design blog guy hasn't analyzed the AF yet, but his analysis of the carbon Ripmo points to it being totally unsuitable for a coil (progressive-regressive).

**Ted Striker** · 10-10-2019, 01:29 PM

ibis says they changed it to be "progressive enough", and they sell it with a coil. I'm sure the internet will dissect it soon enough.

**robnow** · 10-10-2019, 01:34 PM

+1 to what Andeh said. Putting a Works angleset on the Ripmo is an automatic to give it the same HA as the RipmoAF at a slight reduction in Reach (maybe 5mm?). But curious like Andeh to hear how suspension feel has changed between the two, my guess would be not much but I have no idea, total speculation.

I would look at the Forbidden Druid as well in this class of bike, might be a good price with your American exchange rate.

**XXX-er** · 10-11-2019, 08:16 AM

My buddy went nomad /5.5 /ripmo /HT in pretty quick order

when i ask him he sez well its either more DH-ey or pedals better or whatever

they are all good bikes

try them and buy one

**supermodel159** · 10-27-2019, 01:49 PM

I ended up buying Ripmo AF. Insane bike for the price. Noticeably heavier compared to carbon version, but not that noticeable once rolling. It’s an absolute beast on the downhill. I plan on swapping out the stock Maxxis Assegai tires (anyone want them?), but that’s about it.

For a 3k bike, I have zero complaints.