The Ibis Ripley AF needs no introduction. It's kind of the perfect trail bike to go out for a ride on almost any trail with you, your friends or your dog. Ibis has just released the Ripley AF in some new colors and have given it the UDH (Universal Derailleur Hanger) treatment to bring it up to speed with modern mountain bikes. If you aren't familiar with why the UDH is a good thing, essentially it allows the derailleur to rotate in the event of the derailleur taking an impact and giving your derailleur and hanger a better chance at surviving.
The GX build is quite attractive. $2999 is going to get you into a capable trail bike that is ready to ride straight away. Sure they cut corners a bit by putting an NX shifter, cranks and chain, but the most important part being the cassette is GX. Why is this good? Because if you ever want to upgrade to some lighter high-end carbon wheels, you are ready to roll with an XD freehub body. If I were to buy one of these I will be throwing on some TRP DHR EVO brakes ASAP and toss on a 200mm PNW Components dropper post and it's good to go. Those brakes are overkill for this bike you say? Well I weigh 250 lbs on my best day and big boys like to stop too. I'd love to put some Forge and Bond wheels on this and see how much it livens up this bike too.
If you are looking to pick one of these up for yourself, head over to Jenson USA through this link to help support Haven Outdoors. Happy trails!
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