By The Takeaway: This is why they invented the shit-eating grin.
- An aluminum version of the popular and excellent Ibis Ripley 120/130mm trail bike
- 65.5-degree head angle, one degree slacker than the carbon version
- Two builds: Shimano Deore ($2,999) and SRAM NX/GX Eagle blend ($3,299)
- Frame with shock: $1,799
- Available now
Price: $2,999 (as tested)
Weight: 32.5 lb. (M)
Pros
- Smiles for miles
- Top-end performance at a reasonable price
Cons
- Some rattling due to internal rattling
Most boutique mountain bike brands specialize in carbon frames. Yeti, Evil, Revel, Intense, Pivot, Spot: You won’t find a metal frame among their main offerings. Ibis, however, continues to develop some lower-priced aluminum versions of its more popular models. The first was the Ripmo AF, an aluminum version of the brand’s 147/160mm Ripmo, and now there’s an AF Ripley to democratize the awesome Ripley 120/130mm trail bike.
How the Ibis Ripley AF Rides
If riding a Ripley AF doesn’t make you hoot and holler and bring the shittiest shit-eating grin to your face, then you have serious issues, my friend. Price be damned, materials be damned, the Ripley AF is beyond good: It is magnificent. This aluminum-framed bike with Shimano’s base 12-speed drivetrain never feels like a compromise, and it doesn’t ride like costs were cut or that Ibis made sacrifices.
The carbon Ripley’s lively character comes through in the aluminum version. The rear suspension is crisp and remarkably efficient, which helps mitigate the cold reality of a 32-pound bike. The frame’s stiffness is dialed, leading to a stiff and accurate-feeling bike that doesn’t get chattery in rough corners.
Because the AF is quite a bit heavier with a degree-slacker head angle, the aluminum version doesn’t have the same devilish spiciness of the carbon Ripley. The AF’s handling is more muted, and the bike feels more stable and planted. Overall, the AF’s handling is better aligned with current trends than the zesty Ripley carbon, but I sometimes missed the precision the faster-handling bike offered.
Still, it is a well-balanced bike. Its roomy cockpit and efficient pedaling manners help make it an excellent climber, and it descends well because it’s stable with a centered riding position and high-quality suspension. And in all the stuff in between, this bike is crisp, lively, poppy, and just damn fun while providing genre-defying capability.
When I tested the carbon Ripley in April 2018, I said its shock tune “seemed slightly off” because the rear end felt slightly unsettled and a little harsh. At that time, the lighter Traction Tune shock that came on my Ripley AF review sample wasn’t available. Traction Tune seemed to fix my only quibble about the carbon Ripley. With the lighter tune, AF’s rear end had the sensitivity and suppleness I desired without noticeably diminishing the bike’s efficiency or compromising mid-stroke support.
The parts on this bike are excellent too. Shimano’s Deore group got a Gear of the Year award, a recognition I feel even more strongly about every time I ride it. The shifting is fast and accurate; the shift lever feels crisp and precise; it’s luxuriously smooth and quiet. And once you get through the epically long bed-in time, the brakes are superb, too: great power and excellent modulation. The wheels are solid, and the dropper post had n0 issues either. I was mightily impressed with the Fox 34 Float with the brand’s less-expensive Grip damper too. It offered excellent support and control in all situations and seemed much smoother and quieter than other examples of this fork I’ve ridden.
The only quibble I can offer is I heard occasional rattling from the hose or housings inside the down tube—I’d be over the moon if Ibis would wrap them in some foam.
I’m not going to pretend a $2,999 bike is cheap, but it’s a long way from $10,899—the price of a top-of-the-line Ripley carbon XX1 AXS. But while a vast price gulf exists between those two bikes, the performance gulf is much narrower. This base model Ripley AF Deore does everything a high-end bike should and brings the same satisfying grin to your face you get when you’re riding a great bike.
Ibis Ripley AF Frame Details
In most ways, this is Ibis’s fourth-generation Ripley rendered in aluminum. This results in a $2,999 complete bike selling for just $166 more than a $2,833 Ripley carbon frame. The 120mm-travel DW Link rear suspension is the same—it uses the same links and clevis—as are many details, including the threaded bottom bracket, internal routing, 2.6-inch tire clearance, and room for a water bottle inside the main triangle. Like the carbon frame, the aluminum Ripley frame carries a seven-year warranty with a lifetime bushing-replacement policy. The claimed weight for a frame with shock is 7.45 pounds, which is about two pounds more than the Ripley in carbon.
Other than material, the primary difference between the aluminum and carbon Ripleys is head-tube angle: The AF’s is 65.5 degrees, a degree slacker than the carbon, which also adds a centimeter to the wheelbase. The AF frame’s standover is lower in all but the extra-large size. Of particular note is the small AF’s 676mm standover, a full 32mm lower than the small Ripley in carbon.
One detail I want to call out is Ripley’s seat tube. It’s straight (no bends) and short: In my size (medium), the seat tube is just 381mm long. That means plenty of room for longer-travel droppers. The Ripley is one of a small number of bikes in my size that lets me run a 200mm dropper with no fitment issues.
Ibis also cooked up some frame protection for the Ripley AF, but pandemic-related challenges mean they won’t make it to the first batch of bikes. “To help dampen sound and increase frame protection on your Ripley AF, we have developed a swanky down tube, chainstay, and lower link protector. Unfortunately, they’ve been subject to pandemic-related delays. We will make a running change as the parts become available this spring. We will be offering these parts free of charge to anyone who received their bike without the new protective pieces.”
Build Kits
Ibis offers two 12-speed build kits for the Ripley AF: Shimano Deore ($2,999) and SRAM NGX (a NX/GX Eagle blend) for $3,299. Other than drivetrain and brakes, the build kits use the same parts. There are two frame colors: Monolith Silver and Pond Scum Green.
A Fox Performance Series 34 Float with Grip damper hangs on the front, with a Performance Series DPS shock. Small and medium frame sizes get Ibis’s Traction Tune shock with lighter damping, while large and extra-large get the brand’s standard tune. Riders ordering direct from Ibis can request either tune, regardless of frame size.
Wheels are from the Ibis collection and use the S35 aluminum rims (35mm inner width) with Ibis logo hubs (10-degree rear hub engagement). See below for the full kit breakdown.
The original batch of information I received laid out four build options with a Shimano SLX ($3,899) and SRAM GX Eagle ($4,199) kit. Ibis pulled those back and issued a statement saying, “To help streamline availability, we’ve decided only to offer the Deore and NGX builds. That may change over time, but will be dependent on consumer demand and parts availability.”
My review bike had the Deore build with a few pandemic-related availability swaps: I had a lighter Shimano SLX crank instead of the Deore, and Schwalbe Hans Dampf tires instead of Maxxis Aggressors.
Comparable Bikes
The most obvious competitor to the Ripley AF is Santa Cruz’s Tallboy aluminum. The two bikes have the same travel, use dual-link suspension designs, and have similar geometry. However, the Santa Cruz comes in two more sizes (extra small and a double-extra large) and has a flip-chip to adjust geometry (the Ibis does not).
The base Santa Cruz Tallboy D / Aluminum ($2,799) is $200 cheaper than the Ripley AF Deore but comes with lower grade components: a SRAM SX Eagle drivetrain, SRAM Level brakes, and a Rock Shox Recon fork. The higher-end Tallboy build, R / Aluminum ($3,399), is $100 more than the Ripley AF NGX. However, Ibis gives you a better build for less money. The Ibis has a better fork and better rear derailleur.
Both bikes ride great, and unless you have to go with one of the additional sizes Santa Cruz offers, I think the winner of the bunch is the bike I tested. The Shimano Deore drivetrain shifts better than SRAM’s offerings, the Deore brakes are excellent, and the fork is better than the one Santa Cruz offers on either build.
A gear editor for his entire career, Matt’s journey to becoming a leading cycling tech journalist started in 1995, and he’s been at it ever since; likely riding more cycling equipment than anyone on the planet along the way. Previous to his time with Bicycling, Matt worked in bike shops as a service manager, mechanic, and sales person. Based in Durango, Colorado, he enjoys riding and testing any and all kinds of bikes, so you’re just as likely to see him on a road bike dressed in Lycra at a Tuesday night worlds ride as you are to find him dressed in a full face helmet and pads riding a bike park on an enduro bike. He doesn’t race often, but he’s game for anything; having entered road races, criteriums, trials competitions, dual slalom, downhill races, enduros, stage races, short track, time trials, and gran fondos. Next up on his to-do list: a multi day bikepacking trip, and an e-bike race.
