Ride one down and WOW, I'm impressed with the Ibis Ripley.

The main reason for my interest in the Ripley was to find a potential do-it-all MTB: one that's fast on the climbs and smooth on the descents, no matter what you throw at it. And while one (or two) ride may not define whether or not a bike is right for you, I know that this bike is a better option than the previous bikes I've owned in the past.

You might be saying, well, N+1. That's fun and all, but some of us have families to support (aka, I'm not rich), have other hobbies that are as expensive (fishing, overlanding, etc) and simply want to cover most of the riding they do with a single bike. Now, I'm not suggesting that you need to rid yourself of the bike-packing hardtail, enduro and DH rigs (and road/gravel bikes), but I am saying, that for your everyday riding, this is the bike to do it all.

So, here it is. My first ride review of the Ibis Ripley v4.

Is the Ibis Ripley a good bike? Why yes, yes it is. Its won multiple awards, and for the everyday trail rider, there aren't many better options in the short travel 29er category.

Is the Ibis Ripley a downcountry bike? If there's such thing as a "downcountry bike", the Ripley would be a category definer. With 120mm rear travel and 130mm front, it's not quite an XC bike and it'd be considered on the shorter side of the trail bike category. What's in the middle? A downcountry bike: fast on the ascents and the descents.

Ibis Ripley v4 weight? From a category perspective, the weight of the Ripley places it right between an XC and a trail bike. Sitting just under 30lb stock, the model tested, the Ibis Ripley v4 Deore is a lightweight trail bike or a eavier XC bike. With a few spec upgrades via your wheelset, groupset and suspension, you can easily bring the weight down to the 25-26lb range.