Enduro/gravity bike suspension and geo

[Meezo]

One thing I can say is that the steeper seat angle is actually a 'thing'. Had a couple of rides on my new Ibis Ripmo and hell that thing fires up hills. One review said it was 'like riding a an ebike' up hills and while that might be a bit far fetched I can honestly say it climbs like no other bike I've owned and it's 160 / 145 travel 29'r. It surges forward so well just on normal peddling that I might actually come too like the 'ups' on a ride once I drop a few kegs.

 

The Seat angle does make you feel a bit pitched forward on the bike but a couple of rides in you start to forget that.

 

One point that the reviews repeat is that it's a really playful bike. I've just come off a Evil Following and believe me the Ripmo isn't that playful (prolly an unfair comparison tbh). Maybe measured up to some other enduro sleds it is or maybe it's because I'm running a coil front fork but nah... It's not dead by any means and deffo appreciates some moving around by the rider to get the flow going. The flip side is that it seems unfazed by most things in front of it to the point of 'oh yay, another DH line... nice view'.

 

It's very ridable and fun at most speeds on standard trails but get it going fast and it all of a sudden just electrifies and steps up into a new realm leaving you to realise where this is designed to be and how far you are off getting it there on a regular basis.

 

IMG_7600.JPG

That's pretty, let's hookup, a Tokai session, next weekend! I'll drop you a line

[T-Bob]

That's pretty, let's hookup, a Tokai session, next weekend! I'll drop you a line

 

Sweet. Sounds good. That said I might just nick the Cura's back, not 100% on the Hopes yet. 

[T-Bob]

Awesome looking machine, I've considered replacing my ripley LS V3 for a ripmo but can't help but think it will be tooo much bike. I do the odd XC marathon and long dirt rides (Attakwas, Transbaviaans etc.) so thinking I just need to skill up on the ripley.

 

Sounds like like the right bike for your uses. I still think that a shorter travel 29'r with some DH / AM DNA is the best option for trails around here. To date my Smuggler with a CC coil is the bike that could have been designed for SA. No idea how tat bike did what it did and rode how it rode (for me) with 115mm of travel at the back. 

[T-Bob]

Interesting... were you running the ribbon coil on the following as well? I ask this as I have recently gone from a ribbon air to a coil on my reign and I immediately noticed that the air fork is alot more poppy however that said I'd probably never go back to air. So lekker just arriving at the trails without finicky air pressure adjustments. I think that ripmo would look even better with a CC coil strapped in there.

 

Sweet looking bike!

 

Thanks, it is pretty nice for sure. When I moved to the coil I found it took a lot longer to get that sweet spot than my Pike but when it got there... woah that thing tracks and moves silky smooth. Really like the fact the ramp control is there just to balance everything at the end of the travel out as I'm running the soft spring. I deffo think my air fork was way more poppy. Maybe I still need play with spring / settings but it's not a bad thing, just different. The frame is less of a goofy hooligan than my evil so it matches up well.

 

Funnily enough I was thinking coil out back but funds are low now and renovations are on the horizon. I got the DPx2 instead of the X2 (which was an optional upgrade) because the Ibis team had been running it with good feedback, it was tuned for the frame and was supposed to be more playful than the enduro / race focused X2. Having had an X2 on my Orange it drove me crazy with the pure range of adjustments on offer and constantly thinking that something might be set wrong but in this case, with this suspension platform, being able to tune couple of little things differently would have been just that bit more awesome. 

[Thermophage]

Doubledown aggressor 2.5 is cool. Definitely not Exo!

 

Put one or 2 bands in the shock. Test. See what happens (should be more progressive and prevent going through the travel too fast)

 

Foamo. Meh. Taken mine out.

Everything Moogle said yep. Bands in the shock. You wanna run it more sensitive at the top so bigger sag and bands will help.

Then Maxxis tyres...great tread patterns, EXO is *** casing. And the Aggressor does not come in more than EXO in RSA thanks to Rush.

I recently ordered the new Schwalbe Hans Dampf in SuperGravity casing from EasyBike. Currently running my old Mary in SG on the back without FOAMO or tyre insert and it's far far more reliable than my Aggressor with the FOAMO.

[Meezo]

Sweet. Sounds good. That said I might just nick the Cura's back, not 100% on the Hopes yet.

Hasn't been fitted yet, message let's chat

[Sparky and the Warden]

Thanks, it is pretty nice for sure. When I moved to the coil I found it took a lot longer to get that sweet spot than my Pike but when it got there... woah that thing tracks and moves silky smooth. Really like the fact the ramp control is there just to balance everything at the end of the travel out as I'm running the soft spring. I deffo think my air fork was way more poppy. Maybe I still need play with spring / settings but it's not a bad thing, just different. The frame is less of a goofy hooligan than my evil so it matches up well.

 

Funnily enough I was thinking coil out back but funds are low now and renovations are on the horizon. I got the DPx2 instead of the X2 (which was an optional upgrade) because the Ibis team had been running it with good feedback, it was tuned for the frame and was supposed to be more playful than the enduro / race focused X2. Having had an X2 on my Orange it drove me crazy with the pure range of adjustments on offer and constantly thinking that something might be set wrong but in this case, with this suspension platform, being able to tune couple of little things differently would have been just that bit more awesome.

I'm also running the soft spring but the factory settings are way off, I added alot more ramp think I'm at 16clicks as it felt as though the front wheel was stuck to mother earth. The ramp control is an awesome feature kinda wish that MRP could have installed the ramp control at the top like the other models just for the shear ease of adjusting on the move but that's really minor. Overall what a beast of a fork and for the money there's nothing that can compete. Edited March 20, 2019 by andrewdh

[Headshot]

I may have mentioned that I'd started playing with my Enduro's suspension settings. More air out back and now also much faster rebound front and back.

 

The Yari seems quite over damped IMO. With one token and bottom of the reccommended air for my weight, I don't reach full travel on the mellower terrain I have been riding of late ( it does include a drop off and some high speed rough  bits and hard braking at times though). A Tokai test ride is overdue. I am now running the fork fully open i.e max rebound and no compression damping and loving it. There is no top out "clunk" with the rebound set to full fast. Any comments on the damping of your Yari or Lyriks? 

 

Back end is also set faster than before and the bike feels great at speed on rough terrain - kind of like its flying over rather than bogging down in holes. 

Edited March 28, 2019 by Headshot

[Sparky and the Warden]

I may have mentioned that I'd started playing with my Enduro's suspension settings. More air out back and now also much faster rebound front and back.

 

The Yari seems quite over damped IMO. With one token and bottom of the reccommended air for my weight, I don't reach full travel on the mellower terrain I have been riding of late ( it does include a drop off and some high speed rough bits and hard braking at times though). A Tokai test ride is overdue. I am now running the fork fully open i.e max rebound and no compression damping and loving it. There is no top out "clunk" with the rebound set to full fast. Any comments on the damping of your Yari or Lyriks?

 

Back end is also set faster than before and the bike feels great at speed on rough terrain - kind of like its flying over rather than bogging down in holes.

Have you tried mrp ramp control? Instead of tokens to prevent the bottom out? I prefer it over tokens any day

[BaGearA]

Have you tried mrp ramp control? Instead of tokens to prevent the bottom out? I prefer it over tokens any day

They do exactly the same thing, mrp you can just do on the fly

[Sparky and the Warden]

They do exactly the same thing, mrp you can just do on the fly

I'm well aware of that. I prefer the adjustability. Some do some don't.

[Sparky and the Warden]

They do exactly the same thing, mrp you can just do on the fly

 

http://theloamwolf.com/2018/10/25/__trashed-2/

Edited March 29, 2019 by andrewdh

[Headshot]

I'd love a ramp control cartridge but it's not in the budget right now...

[Headshot]

I am edging ever closer to another nice Maxxis tyre. The ex front wheel Butcher I have on the back still has lots of tread but is showing signs of losing its side knobs. Not in a good way either - there is one that has a nice cut/tear at the base, all the way through to the casing. These things keep their tread but wear out in other ways before their time. 

[anybody seen george?]

Does anybody else think, that off the back of Martin Maes wins with the 29er front 650b back we are going to see manufacturers pursuing the 29/650 combo actively featuring in catalogues come next year?

[Grease_Monkey]

Does anybody else think, that off the back of Martin Maes wins with the 29er front 650b back we are going to see manufacturers pursuing the 29/650 combo actively featuring in catalogues come next year?

Anything to make more money - in other words - yes. There may be something to it, but I am sure the benefits will be blown out of proportion by marketing departments to sell us yet another standard.