[sethimus]

So my gig at the best cycling apparel brand is up soon as i‘m gonna leave german sin city (no more drug infused naked berlin techno parties ) for german vancouver (freiburg). new gig is at a bike shop startup and one of the perks of the job is getting a bike from the stock each year up to 5k im value for personal use. there are mostly blue trails, some reds and a black around freiburg with downhills up to 10km in length and around 800m vertical. i will ride mostly there and need to ride up on my own. there will be the occasional bike park trip but i still have a gen 1 podium from back in the day, so emphasis of use is on the local trails. inhouse brands are giant, cannondale, ibis and yeti. which of the bikes in the list would you choose and why? (i‘m also building up a 120mm downcountry hardtail for longer rides.)

 

[Gary]

Forgetting about official graded trails (trail grades mean nothing really on their own) are there any decent/tasty rider built or natural DH/Enduro style trails in the area as well or that you'd travel to from your new location?
For all I know the 120mm hardtail might be perfect for the graded trails. A 120mm hardtail is fine for any official "black" trail in Scotland

 

[Floor Tom]

A friend has a Ripmo AF, he thinks it's great, we rode at Derby and it looked like pretty much the perfect bike for that place, quite similar to my Sentinel on that regard. Not quite a full on enduro bike but far more versatile for it.

 

[canadmos]

Thats pretty big difference in those bikes. What are you actually looking for?

 

[Nick]

Of those choices, Ripmo AF.

 

[sethimus]

so there are a lot of natural trails but also legal build trails build by a trail crew from nelson bc with members from the local bike club. from flow trails up to single black stuff

borderline trail has a littlebit of everything and looks like a good representation of what the area has to offer

so far i‘m leaning also towards the ripmo, just the weight of the wheels is a bit offsetting

 

[sethimus]

Thats pretty big difference in those bikes. What are you actually looking for?

a daily ripper that pedals up well enough

 

[rideit]

i would go with the one that will actually ship before next fall...

 

[dump]

Based on those and having ridden none, Ripmo. Fairly straightforward bike, capable. I like that.

 

[sethimus]

i would go with the one that will actually ship before next fall...

all in stock right now, they ordered a shit ton of bikes

 

[rideit]

awesome, you are in rare company!

 

[William42]

My reign Adv 1 occupies a weird place. It's not really DH trail capable in a meaningful way (although I'd argue no enduro bike is) and it's too much for any trail riding.

With that said, a fucking love it as a "I want to go ride DH trails, but have to pedal to get there, and sometimes ride on easier trails with my wife." It's rad. It handles well. It's got good geo, pedals well, is stable, and generally pretty easy to throw around for a bike with a 50" wheel base.

10/10 would recommend as an "only bike"

If I had two bikes, I'd sell it without looking back, buy a DH bike, and buy a 120-130mm trail bike.

 

[jstuhlman]

given those choices, ripmo.

 

[dump]

If I had two bikes, I'd sell it without looking back, buy a DH bike, and buy a 120-130mm trail bike.

Are you the lone RM regular that has only one bike?

 

[Gary]

Trails look fun.
Out of those I'd probably go Reign but I don't really want a 29er at all so ignore my input.

 

[jstuhlman]

Are you the lone RM regular that has only one bike?

*raises hand guiltily

 

[djjohnr]

I'd go for the Reign or the Ripmo, although I've only ridden the Ripmo.

 

[StiHacka]

I am not saying you should wait for the new high pivot Cannondale, but you should wait for the new high pivot Cannondale.

 

[pizza diavola]

For the Ripmo, would you have access to the upgraded wheels or suspension offered as options by Ibis? And would they fit in the budget?

 

[Jm_]

I'd say Habit, the other two are a shit ton of bike to ride around in 29 all day without a shuttle IMO given that you already have a gravity bike.

 

[sethimus]

I am not saying you should wait for the new high pivot Cannondale, but you should wait for the new high pivot Cannondale.

thats the plan for 2022, the employees usually get the bikes for xmas, so i only need one for this year and i only start in april there

 

[sethimus]

For the Ripmo, would you have access to the upgraded wheels or suspension offered as options by Ibis? And would they fit in the budget?

maybe shock but wheels should be over budget, the ripmo is already 4600 with vat. ibis and yeti are more the custom brands they have, they mostly sell giant afaik

 

[sethimus]

I'd say Habit, the other two are a shit ton of bike to ride around in 29 all day without a shuttle IMO given that you already have a gravity bike.

the habit is also around 15kg, similar to the ripmo but has only heavy nx components

 

[sethimus]

anyone has more infos on the wheels? some reviews from 2 years ago stated the wheels are around 2,1kg but on the website they say they are only 1,88kg, did they change something since the bike was first released?

 

[Floor Tom]

Could you buy a set of wheels for yourself to use in the bike, then just refit the originals when you go to sell it? Having said that, if they are 1880g that's really not bad.

 

[Sandro]

So is this gig some spinoff of Jobrad?

 

[sethimus]

Could you buy a set of wheels for yourself to use in the bike, then just refit the originals when you go to sell it? Having said that, if they are 1880g that's really not bad.

its more like a lease, they go back after the year and sold

 

[slimshady]

I threw a leg over a Ripmo AF last winter, with a DVO coil shock. Pretty capable bike. Loved the low standover height, and the longer reach -compared to the usual Ibis numbers.

 

[Jm_]

the habit is also around 15kg, similar to the ripmo but has only heavy nx components

My comment was more about the general travel than the weight. I find longer travel on the 29ers is fine for plowing and if you are getting shuttles, but to ride around all day, something with 140+mm rear travel feels like a "boat" to me with 29er tires. The Ibis is an outstanding bike, I'm not so sure about the C-dale, but if I already had a gravity bike, I'd look for a bit less travel than the Ripmo.

 

[slyfink]

A 120mm hardtail is fine for any official "black" trail in Scotland

says the guy who likes to ride bald skinny tires down muddy ruts...

 

[slyfink]

My buddies with Giant's really like them, and they ride hard. They're both on Trance Advanced. They both used to race DH. Whenever we visit a a bike park (usually once a year, but we skipped last year), they definitely feel they're being held back by the bikes, but for the rest of the time, they really like them. It's hard to beat the value for money.

My concern with the Ripmo is Ibis' silly wheels. I do not like/am not on board with the "plus" (or "almost plus") tire mentality. but that's a personal preference, and is based on rider style, weight, and to a limited extent, terrain. fwiw, I find 30mm rims a little too wide, and tires over 2.5 not worth it.

tl;dr One of the Giants.

 

[Jm_]

One bike: 120-130mm 29er

Two bikes: Shorter travel and longer travel bike. Too extreme in either direction though and you basically get pinned at the extremes or end up woefully incompatible with the majority of your riding. This is arguably worse than one bike, since you aren't limited by one bike and can "see the world" outside of what your one bike limited you to. Hard covering the bases. I used to do a DH bike and then an "all mountain" bike. Looking back, I didn't need the DH bike as much, although it was fun to have, and my "all mountain" bike was generally kind of overkill for a lot of rides. I think bringing that all back a little would have been a good idea. They also didn't make the shorter travel bikes as aggressive back then, so that might have been part of the issue. Then it comes down to the terrain. Just describing the vertical and trails is still difficult to convey what the terrain and riding is like. It's *nice" to have around 6" of travel for any real serious/aggressive descent. Not always needed, but nice to have. Some descents are a lot smoother though or longer and flatter, where you don't need the steep-chute ability of that longer travel slacker bike. So it really comes down to the terrain IMO. If I was always Pac NW going straight up and down a lot of those rides, it'd be a different bike than say in AZ, still going up and down gnarly terrain, but shorter descents that aren't as steep for as long.

But whatever you do, get a coil

 

[jonKranked]

I am not saying you should wait for the new high pivot Cannondale, but you should wait for the new high pivot Cannondale.

 

[sundaydoug]

I vote for the one that won't say Giant or Cannondale on the downtube.

 

[Andeh]

I haven't ridden any of the others, but the Ripmo AF is a solid bike. Looks like they got rid of the garbage NX spec. I'm not a huge fan of the DVO suspension compared to the top tier Fox/RS stuff, but compared to the low end stuff it's nice.

 

[StiHacka]

I vote for the one that won't say Giant or Cannondale on the downtube.

I have it the same with Ibis.
And Pivot.

 

[Westy]

My buddies with Giant's really like them, and they ride hard. They're both on Trance Advanced. They both used to race DH. Whenever we visit a a bike park (usually once a year, but we skipped last year), they definitely feel they're being held back by the bikes, but for the rest of the time, they really like them. It's hard to beat the value for money.

My concern with the Ripmo is Ibis' silly wheels. I do not like/am not on board with the "plus" (or "almost plus") tire mentality. but that's a personal preference, and is based on rider style, weight, and to a limited extent, terrain. fwiw, I find 30mm rims a little too wide, and tires over 2.5 not worth it.

tl;dr One of the Giants.

I like 30mm rims with Maxxis WT tires and that is my preference for a front wheel. Other tires not so much. So awesome if you like Maxxis, otherwise can limit tire selection.

 

[WestCoastHucker]

all of them are solid downhill/freeride bikes, just pick the color you like and go...

 

[sundaydoug]

I have it the same with Ibis.
And Pivot.

Everyone's got their reasons.

 

[Nick]

And Pivot.

I dunno, That new mach 6 looks fun.