SANTA CRUZ, California -- Scot Nicol is excitedly showing me top-secret photos. Hans Heim is at a worktable geeking out over glass microspheres. The rest of the Ibis Bikes crew is wrenching on a couple bikes and trying to ride out the buzz. They are exactly three days away from the public launch of the company's very first 29er, the Ripley.
It's March 15, and everyone is excited because Ibis is finally at the end of a 5-year-long buildup to the release of the bike with the massive 29-inch wheels. They admit it took a while to join the 29er movement.
"We're not the first or second or 10th," says Heim, the self-proclaimed bookkeeper at Ibis. "We're very OCD about this stuff, but in the end we're very good."
Ibis took the mountain bike world by storm in 2005 with the all-carbon Mojo. They hope the same is true for the Ripley, a $2,900 frame announced Monday that takes the much-loved ride characteristics of the Mojo line and adds the rip-roaring capabilities of a 29er.
"It just kept getting better the longer we took," says Heim.
Since the advent of mountain biking, most of the made-for-dirt bicycle wheels have been a standard 26 inches in diameter. In recent years, there's been a boom in bikes with 29-inch wheels, since the bigger tires offer better rollover, increased traction and other benefits. At the moment, the big craze is the 27.5-inch tire, which splits the difference between the traditional size and the 29er.
As the workday begins to wind down Friday, a group of Ibis dealers start to roll back into headquarters, which is tucked into a nondescript industrial park on the edge of Santa Cruz. It could easily be mistaken for a meatpacking plant or a motor parts warehouse, at least until you see the motto on the door: "Ride More Work Less."
The dealers are sweaty and tired because they've been out ripping up the Santa Cruz singletrack on the new Ripley.
They seem content.
The Ripley could be the perfect companion if you like long days in the saddle, pushing yourself to the limit and riding a steed with phenomenal pedigree. The bike has 120mm of travel in the back matched with 120mm or 140mm of travel up front. Ibis is calling the rear travel 2XC and it's handled by two sets of BB30 bearings. The real travel was originally prototyped with proprietary bushings, but after several go-rounds, Ibis determined the BB30 were more efficient and easier to work on.
Heim has a hard time concealing his enthusiasm about the impending launch.
"I think I'm pretty much the target market," he says. "I like to go fast. I'm not a big jump guy. I can just relax and get away with things on this bike."
The advancements in 29er fork technology allowed Ibis to design a bike in every size, which when ridden in the 34 chain-ring, has almost 100 percent anti-squat, reasonable standover height, and the same trail numbers as the bike maker's venerable Ibis SL-R.
With leading bike manufactures like Scott, Ellsworth and Santa Cruz all launching 27.5-inch wheel bicycles, it will be interesting to see what kind of traction the Ripley can get with the 29er.
I was intrigued by the bike after seeing the photos on Nicol's phone and the company's Facebook page. But standing there at the headquarters, I couldn't help but think this bike is much better in person. It's a beauty and I look forward to riding it.
