Ibis Ripmo AF Review: A Budget-Friendly Beast (2023)

(Last updated on March 27th, 2023)

If you’re in the market for a new mountain bike, you can go down rabbit trail after trail of specs, pricing, and random mountain bike characteristics. But if you’re looking for a good all-rounder mountain bike that can pack a punch without a hefty price tag, you’ll be hard-put to find something that outshines the aptly named Ibis Ripmo AF. It’s a mean, durable machine that brings value to its price, as you’ll see in this Ibis Ripmo AF review.

The Ibis Ripmo AF is a sturdy, durable bike that sits right between enduro and trail riding. It has plenty of stability, suspension, agility, and a nice, roomy cockpit to give you a fast and stable ride. 

I will give you a thorough Ibis Ripmo AF review in this article.  I’ll give you the specs and details, the pros and cons of riding this bike, and all of the criteria I used to determine its value. I’ll also give you some comparable bikes so you can decide if the Ripmo AF is right for you (hint: it probably is! But I’ll leave that up to you). Let’s get started!

What’s in the Name: Ibis Ripmo AF

First and foremost, let’s get the obvious elephant out of the room: that double entendre in its name. While all of us in the cellular phone world know what the slang interpretation of AF means, let’s clarify that in the case of the Ripmo, it really means Aluminum Frame.

The Ripmo AF redesigns the original carbon Ripmo, with a few additional perks and a lighter price tag. But you can draw your own conclusion there. I love the rip in Ripmo because the bike can totally rip up the trails.

Now that we’re past the introductions let’s look at more exciting details about the Ripmo AF. There really isn’t anything shocking or extreme on this bike other than its name, and that’s a good thing.

This well-balanced mountain bike has front and rear travel, standard geometry, and a slightly heavy overall weight. However, Ripmo has surprisingly kept the bike’s weight under control without compromising the fork and coil shock, which tend to be extra heavy. It also includes nice wide rims, helping it to be super grippy when cornering.

What I find cool and different about the Ripmo AF is that it blurs the lines between trail and enduro bikes, and it does it well. It’s heavy, grippy enough to descend and still light enough to hit the trails with your riding mates.

Key Specs

Pros

• The Ripmo is a do-it-all bike with loads of grip when cornering.
• It offers a well-balanced ride despite different front and rear suspension.
• It isn’t too heavy to be a trail bike, but it can still manage quick descents.

Cons

• No adjustable geometry as per size
• No internal storage
• Not the lightest or best climber

An Overview

You can easily rip up some trails or fly down mountains on the Ripmo AF. It blurs that line between being a fun trail bike and a serious enduro bike. Since it is heavier, it won’t be flying up hills, but it isn’t so heavy that you can’t make steady progress on the way up.

It isn’t a trailblazer regarding new technology or fancy specs, which means it uses time-tested geometry, durability, and balance to make it a great value mountain bike for the price.

Enduro Trail

The Ripmo AF blurs the lines between enduro and trail riding.

Enduro bikes are known to be more stable at high speeds and a little more grippy on rougher, steeper trails due to the longer wheelbase and slacker head tube angle. This makes them super for racing down quick descents and a little laggy when climbing.

However, they have loads of travel to take on those extremes.

On the other hand, a trail bike is a sort of do-it-all bike with a little bit shorter wheelbase. As a result, they’re a little more nimble and quick and climb a little faster but aren’t quite as stable as their enduro counterparts when the going gets really rough.

The Ripmo fills the gap in the middle of the two. It’s a little heavy for a trail bike and light for an enduro. However, it can handle most of the downhill racing scene and playful, lighter trails. So if you like a bit of both, it can handle it without going to the extremes.

Suspension

The Ripmo AF gives you 160mm of front travel and 147mm in the rear.  This is plenty of suspension for Enduro riding but light enough to still be playful on the trails.

Wheel Size

There are no mullets here; you’ll find standard 29-inch wheels with 2.5-inch Maxxis tires. These are your do-it-all tires, but if you need something a little quicker on the climbs, you might want to swap your tires out for something a little thinner, depending on the rest of your terrain.

Frame Material

Aluminum is sturdy, lightweight, and inexpensive. As a result, it was widely used for mountain bikes before carbon frames entered the scene. The only real drawback to an aluminum frame is the road chatter. You’ll feel every lump and bump on the trail, although the Ripmo does a great job smoothing the ride as much as possible.

Geometry

The Ripmo leans more towards enduro geometry with a slacker headtube and longer wheelbase. But it corners surprisingly well for its shape. Even better, it has a roomy cockpit to make you more comfortable.

Gearing

The Ripmo Has Sram with a 30t crank and 10- 50t cassette is surprising since many mountain bikes will go up to a 51.

Brakes

The Ripmo AF provides plenty of stopping power with hydraulic disc brakes and a mix of 200/180mm rotors. Honestly, I wouldn’t ride a mountain bike -especially one of this calibre – without good hydraulic brakes and some significantly sized rotors.

Ride Characteristics

Uphill

The Ripmo AF is a decent climber for a bike of its size. It is a little on the heavier size, but not so heavy that you won’t make it up that hill, especially if you choose some more efficient tires.

Descending

The AF manages downhills quite well for not being a true enduro bike.  The only drawback being the aluminum frame just isn’t going to ward off terrain vibrations like a carbon frame would. Still, the cushy tires and suspension will help, making it one of the more comfortable aluminum bikes to descend on.

Agility

For me, this is where the Ripmo really shines! Despite the longer wheelbase, this bike is surprisingly agile on sharp turns. It’s incredible how fast you can take turns with the Ripmo, which is why it is way more than an enduro bike.

Stability

The longer wheelbase gives you plenty of stability over rough terrain and fast descents.

Handling

The Ripmo is smooth, even at speed, and handles flat sections of the trail with ease and stability.

Fit

One minor drawback to the Ripmo is that it doesn’t have size-specific geometry. It just doesn’t adjust the shape of the bike for smaller – or larger riders. This might make it a little bit more difficult to fit. However, a mountain bike’s ‘perfect’ fit is less critical than, say, a TT bike, so there’s a lot more room for error.

Value

The Ripmo AF isn’t a cheap bike; it’s a high-value bike. You get great components, excellent handling, and lots of durability and stability for a really reasonable price. However, don’t let the ‘budget’ pricing fool you into thinking it isn’t a great bike. It can keep up easily with higher-priced bikes in its spec range and easily outshines slightly lower-priced full-suspension bikes. 

Ripmo Variations

There are other variations of the RIPmo AF, but I really like the Ripmo V2. It’s really similar in components and geometry but has a carbon frame. This will suck up more of the trail vibrations if that’s an issue for you, but it will also cost you an extra grand or two.

The tradeoff probably isn’t worth it since the AF has plenty of other ways to make your ride more comfortable. And, as far as aluminum frames go, it isn’t harsh and is much more comfortable than other aluminum bikes in its class.

Similar Bikes

You might want to check out some of these similar bikes if you aren’t convinced yet.

Bike	Type	Frame	Gear	Suspension	Wheels	Brakes	Price
Ripmo AF	Enduro/Trail	Aluminum	30T cranks 10 – 50t Cassette	160 Front Suspension, 146 Rear	29-inch wheels with 2.5-inch tires	Hydraulic Disc	$3,599
Salsa HorseThief Deore 12 Speed Bike	Trail	Aluminum	30T Crankset 10-51T Cassette	Split Pivot Suspension with 120 MM rear travel and 140 front	29-inch mullet wheels with 2.5 in front and 2.4 rear width	Hydraulic Disc	$3,449.00
Salsa Spearfish SLX	Trail	Aluminum	30T Crankset 10-51T cassette	Split Pivot suspension with 120mm Front fork travel	29-inch wheels with 2.35-inch tires	Hydraulic Disc	$4,049.00
Cannondale Jekyll	All-mountain	Carbon	30T Crankset 10-51T Cassette	Full suspension with 170mm front fork travel	29-inch mullet tires with 2.5 in front, 2.4in rear	Hydraulic Disc	$4,600
Cannondale Habit 5	Trail	Aluminum	30T Crankset 11 – 51T Cassette	Full Suspension with 140mm fork travel	29-inch wheels with2.4-inch tires	Hydraulic disc	$2,525.00

Final Thoughts

So everyone wants to know one thing: should I buy this bike?

The answer is this bike hits all my own personal hot buttons. I prefer a stable bike on the trail, and the Ripmo AF certainly does that while maintaining high agility. Impressive, right? It’s also durable and sturdy.

So if you want a budget-priced bike that rides like one with high-end specs, this is a great choice. Even better if you’re looking for the comfort and confidence found in a long, stable bike with enough agility to get up the hills and back down the other side.

In short, it totally rips. Just like its name says

Frequently Asked Questions