Review: Ibis Ripmo V3

Does The Ibis Ripmo V3 Rip Mo' Than The Previous Version?

I've been riding the Ibis Ripmo V3 for the past few months and here are some thoughts on what I think about the newest iteration of the Ibis Ripmo. I had the previous version of the Ripmo a while back, in the aluminum version at least. That has probably been my favorite bike to date until this V3 came along. The Ripmo AF was a super fun bike on a lot of different kinds of trails. It was fast, sporty, playful, poppy, and climbed super well for a 150mm travel bike. It was fun on greens and blues just as much as it was on blacks. But there were times where I felt like the AF got a bit overwhelmed. Through repetitive chunk and bigger hits the rear end always felt like it just ran out of talent. It wouldn't really bottom out but it would feel pretty harsh through that last bit of travel. I rode that bike with both air and coil shocks and it was the same either way. The small bump compliance was better with the coil, but it would still get in over it's head with consecutive rocks, roots and any other kind of sustained chunder. That is where I feel the V3 outperforms the older Ripmo by quite a bit.

Climbing

Going uphill on the Ibis Ripmo V3 has the same feeling as the older version. It still climbs super good for a biggish travel trail/all mountain bike with 150mm of travel. DW link bikes have always been know for being efficient climbers with tons of traction through rough sections of trail and this one is no different. I will say I think this version climbs a bit better than the previous bike though. Ibis decided to grow the chain stays as the bikes go up in size as well as the bottom bracket getting higher. Some have complained about the BB rising with the sizes but I haven't noticed anything negative going on here with that. The extra bit of chain stay length makes the bike feel more balanced and that longer rear end keeps the front end down even on steeper climbs. I do feel like the seat tube angle could be a degree steeper and I may move my seat forward a bit when I am riding stuff with steeper climbs. But it works really well in most situations. Seated climbing is efficient with minimal bob and I leave my rear shock fully open with no issues. Leaving the rear shock open allows the DW link to work its magic and keep the rear end glued to the ground offering up loads of traction. Out of the saddle climbing is something I don't do a lot of but when I do the Rimpo V3 rewards my best efforts even though they aren't great. People would mistake me for Butterbean far more than they would for people like Keegan Swenson. I like the stock Ibis aluminum wheels a lot, however I will be throwing on some carbon wheels from Forge and Bond soon and then see how that changes things. I expect to get a lot better acceleration with the F + B's. More to come on that in the near future.

Descending

Let's move along to how this bike goes downhill. Because if you were buying a bike for it's uphill performance you would have bought the Ripley, which shares the same frame as the Ripmo now. ( Stay tuned for more when I turn my Ripmo into the new Ripley V5 by swapping out the clevis, fork and rear shock. ) The new Ripmo feels like the old one with a couple differences. I am not sure this goes for every size, but riding the old XL and the new Large are different in a couple of ways. The chain stays as I mentioned are longer on the new size Large than the older XL. If you rode the old XL and liked it, then you should be on the new Large even though there is one reviewer out there that says it fits way smaller. I don't think that is true. The longer chain stays make the newer bike feel more stable and more balanced. It moves at speed through chunk and bumps with more confidence. It's still sporty and changes directions quickly, but maybe a little slower than the previous bike. While I can't manual much longer than 10 feet or so this bike is a bit more difficult to get the front end up off the ground but you can still do it pretty easy. The biggest change with the V3 compared to the V2 is just how much better the rear end feels on bigger hits and consecutive bumps like I mentioned in the intro of this review. It has a lot of small bump compliance and then some good mid-stroke support for popping off jumps, and other side hits and objects and then the last part of the travel gets really controlled and plush. It feels so much deeper and way more comfortable than the V2. Whatever Ibis did here is a big improvement over the old bike. And it didn't just turn into a super planted bike either with this change. It's still very playful and has enough pop to have fun. It still feels fun on blues and greens but goes a lot harder when you get into the black trails. I would say I just feel a lot more confident going fast through rougher sections of trail than I did on the older Ripmo.

Other Stuff

Living with the new Ripmo has been great thus far. No weird noises, still running smooth. I went with the XT build on mine. I felt like it had the best bang for the buck. Everything is near perfect and I while I have liked the XT brakes I have noticed that wandering bite point everyone talks about. But it hasn't been too bad. I would love a set of new TRP DHR Evo Pro's or Sram Mavens on this bike though. The Fox Factory suspension has been running great as well as the XT 12 speed drivetrain. New to the Ibis Ripmo V3 is internal frame storage and I am a fan. It works well and doesn't rattle around and fits plenty of stuff. Plus it comes with two rad Cotopaxi bags that stuff inside the frame.

Geometry

160mm Fork (575mm axle to crown)

mm / inches

Nominal Size		SM	MD	XM	LG	XL
Seat Tube	A	395	400	415	457	477
Top Tube	B	578	605	630	655	685
Head Tube	C	85	95	110	125	140
Chainstay 29"	D	435	435	436	438	440
Chainstay MX	D	432	432	433	435	437
Seat Tube Angle	E	77°	76.5°	76.5°	77°	77.5°
Saddle Height for Seat Tube Angle	F	650	700	745	790	830
Head Tube Angle	G	64.5°	64.5°	64.5°	64.5°	64.5°
Wheelbase	H	1195	1219	1249	1286	1329
Stack	I	616	622	633	643	654
Reach	J	436	456	478	506	540
BB Drop 29"	K	36	33	30	27	24
BB Height*		338	341	344	349	350
Standover	L	693	734	757	772	784
Recommended Seatpost Drop		140	170	185	213	213
Crank Length		165	165	170	170	170
Tire Size		2.35-2.5"	2.35-2.5"	2.35-2.5"	2.35-2.5"	2.35-2.5"
Water Bottle Size		1 x 22oz	1 x 26oz	1 x 26oz	1 x 26oz	1 x 26oz

*With Maxxis 29x2.4 WT tires = 748mm diameter, 27.5x2.5 WT rear tires = 708mm diameter.

*You can purchase an Ibis Ripmo V3 through any of the links on this page from our affiliate partner at Jenson USA.

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