Ibis Announces the Aluminum Ripley AF

The Ripley AF is their beloved, category-defying, short-travel, singletrack-scorching Ripley—rendered in aluminum and with a touch more aggressive geometry. All the sizzle and pop of the carbon Ripley is now available as a complete bike at a wallet-friendly, sub $3000. This bike is a multi-talented shapeshifter; a light, snappy, fast, fun, incredibly versatile bike that can get a whole heckuva lot more rad than its 120mm travel and gossamer weight implies. And making it out of aluminum only broadens the Ripley’s already broad appeal. It still rips like a Ripley. But it also costs a whole lot less than the carbon version, and is, well, more metal.

• 29” Wheels
• 130mm front travel
• 120mm dw-link rear travel
• 2.6” tire clearance
• Aluminum front and rear triangle
• Available in four sizes S-XL fits riders between 5’ and 6’6
• Frame weight of 7.45 lbs. with shock
• Available with Fox Performance DPS shock
• Complete builds starting at 30.5 lbs / 13.04 KG

For additional information, refer to ibiscycles.com.

Even though Carbon bike frames can be light, they’re pricier than their steel and aluminum counterparts due to manufacturing and raw material costs. With the Ripley AF, Ibis is bringing that incredible performance of the carbon-based Ripley to an affordable price point by utilizing aluminum as a frameset. You can now get a complete bike for the same price as a carbon Ripley. 

The 29er Ripley AF features 120mm of rear travel utilizing the excellent dw-link suspension system and 130mm in the front that combines for a big-wheeled ripper, that is clickable and playful on any terrain. The geometry offers a 76° seat tube angle and a slack 65.5° head angle, 432mm chainstays, a shorter 44mm fork offset, and has accommodations for 2.6″ tires and 175mm dropper posts. The Ripley AF is 1x specific and has port styled internal cable routing, IGUS bushings in the lower link, and bearings in the upper link. It features a Boost 148 rear axle, a threaded 73mm BSA bottom bracket, a tapered headtube, and the ability to hold a large water bottle along, and a piggyback shock. 

It will come in S-XL sizes, with a frame weight of 7.45 lbs. , and comes in Monolith Silver and Pond Scum Green color schemes. It will be available as a frameset only with inline shock start at $1,799, and Shimano Deore ($2999), and SRAM NX/GX ($3299) kits.

Maintaining Metal Momentum

They already played up the whole “metal” theme when they introduced the Ripmo AF last year. Since this is a lighter, nimbler bike than the burly Ripmo AF, it would be easy to call it “Metal Lite”. However, the Ripley AF is too awesome, and too versatile, to get pigeonholed like that. Choose your own adventure, the Ripley AF is ready to go.

Contemporary Geometry, Telepathic Handling

A trail-friendly 65.5-degree head angle (that’s a degree slacker than the carbon version) and short (44mm) offset 130mm fork combined with 29” wheels makes for a super planted but still playful, precise but still nimble front end feel. Meanwhile, a 76-degree seat angle puts your power directly to the pedals, and the short chainstays and pedal-friendly dw-link kinematics deliver that power without squandering a single watt.

dw*link

Their 15 years of collaboration with Dave Weagle has yielded unparalleled climbing efficiency and tractability. Incredible snap and responsiveness. And a whole mess of plush, chunder-eating, downhill-crushing goodness. All wrapped up together in the best suspension you’ll find anywhere. It’s that good.

A Whole Mess Of Other Good Things

Price point accessibility is no reason to skimp on the details. So, in order to quell your concerns while still respecting your wallet, they’ve sweated the details to the fullest of their capabilities. Boost spacing. Threaded BB and ISCG 05 compatibility. 2.6” tire clearance. Post-mount rear brake, 203mm rotor clearance. Super low standover, long-dropper friendly design. Seven-year frame warranty and lifetime bushing replacement. Metric 190x45mm shock, and room inside the front triangle for a water bottle. Cha-ching!