Just two days after the Ibis Ripmo won the title of 2020’s best trail bike, the American brand already sent us it’s successor. For the Ripmo 2, they’ve done a lot to increase downhill performance, but will the bike still be as versatile as before? We tested it extensively and had it go head to head with its predecessor.
Before we start with the differences, let’s look at its similarities with the previous Ripmo. The Ibis Ripmo 2 is a trail bike with 147 mm travel at the rear (it had 145 mm before to be accurate) and 160 mm up front. As you’d expect from Ibis, the bike features DW-Link suspension with a virtual pivot point. Ibis provide a lifetime warranty on the bushings of the lower rocker link, which is nice to know. The bike features a full carbon frame and is compatible with up to 2.6” wide tires.
Compared to its predecessor, the Ripmo 2 has a 1° slacker head angle, and depending on the frame size, between 2–14 mm increase in reach, and more progressive suspension. The differences are not apparent at first glance, but if you look at the frames next to each other, you can see that the front shock mount has moved down significantly. So, Ibis didn’t just give the bike a new rocker link, but they redesigned the whole front triangle. However, they’ve made no changes to the rear triangle. The chainstays remain at 435 mm for all frame sizes. A nice little detail is the added protection to prevent stones from getting jammed in the rocker link, which has often been the cause of unsightly scratches.
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