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Ripley AF

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Ripley AF
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flag jesse-effing-edwards
O+
Posted: May 2, 2023 at 8:32 Quote
flattoflat wrote:
I absolutely love my Ripley - but if I owned a Ripmo, I'd be looking for a trail bike that was both lighter and had better suspension out of the box than a Ripley AF. Then I think you'd find the bikes to be different enough to warrant owning both.

cool, good to know.
flag edeltoaster
Posted: May 2, 2023 at 11:14 Quote
What's a common shock upgrade for a size M Ripley AF?
I'm not at all unhappy with the performance of the DPS. I guess the light tune works well enough for my 70kgs. I'm thinking about a bigger volume spacer, though. On the front I have a 140mm Pike Ultimate btw.
flag flattoflat
Posted: May 2, 2023 at 13:47 Quote
edeltoaster wrote:
What's a common shock upgrade for a size M Ripley AF?
I'm not at all unhappy with the performance of the DPS. I guess the light tune works well enough for my 70kgs. I'm thinking about a bigger volume spacer, though. On the front I have a 140mm Pike Ultimate btw.

Card carrying member of the DVO appreciation club. I have the Topaz/Diamond combo and I love love love it. The couple of guys I usually ride with are on Fox factory 34/36 and their bikes just don't feel nearly as good at small bump sensitivity to me.
flag chileconqueso
O+
Posted: May 3, 2023 at 7:06 Quote
I have a manitou Mara on mine. And I also run a 140mm pike. The Mara is fantastic. I’m bigger than you, 97 kgs. I can run 160 psi in the Mara instead of the 270 in the dps. I thought the dps was chattery and harsh. Neither soaking up bumps or smoothing the trail out. I either went through all the travel or it felt like none. The Mara is damp and precise feeling. There’s Great traction and really opened my eyes on how good the dw link bikes are. I’m climbing up sections of trail that have been a challenge for me for years. The dampener settings are all very different. I like the trail mode 90% of the time up and down. The full open setting is great on known rough trails or new ones I want to go fast and wreckless!
This could be the ripley as well. I love my current set up. I have gone with a +1 headset and a slightly longer stem than stock. The bike is a rocket in the corners and downhills. Climbs anything I can keep the power down on. Such a great bike.
flag maxlombardy
Posted: May 4, 2023 at 17:31 Quote
jesse-effing-edwards wrote:
Hey folks,

I have a ripmo AF with a 170 on the front, minions F/R, coil, so HEAVY. I love it, but for more chill trails I wonder if a ripley might be a different enough bike to warrant replacing my hardtail. I like the hardtail, but it's just rough where I live so there are very few trails where I really enjoy it anymore, compared to my old trails which were pretty smooth.

Thoughts? Too similar? Sometimes I worry I'm just looking for different stuff just to be differenter. I do love my ripmo, but it's a bit of a brute.
I would contend that the Ripley AF might be a good option for you depending on your budget. Mine is down under 28.5#, but I did swap out a lot of parts to get it there. That being said, it’s now a MUCH different bike than my buddy’s ripmo AF coil. It’s like 8# difference.

For me, my other bike is a Hightower LT, and the Ripley af is definitely fun in a different way to ride on the mellower trails. If I didn’t have the Ripley I’d be looking at a Spur maybe, but that’s quite a price difference…
flag InitialDean
Posted: May 4, 2023 at 21:34 Quote
I have a Transition Sentinel v1 as well as my Ripley af and I find them totally different. The Ripley is so much more nimble and playful where as the Sentinel is more fun when you really want to charge hard. I find I take the Ripley out more though. Can’t resist the playfulness.
flag jrm99
Posted: Jun 12, 2023 at 8:25 Quote
[Quote="flattoflat"]
edeltoaster wrote:
What's a common shock upgrade for a size M Ripley AF?
I'm not at all unhappy with the performance of the DPS. I guess the light tune works well enough for my 70kgs. I'm thinking about a bigger volume spacer, though. On the front I have a 140mm Pike Ultimate btw.

Fox offers a trade in program with the choice of a float X or Marz bomber air. The float was just under $400 and the bomber was $300. I went with the bomber and like it..
flag deez-nucks
Posted: Jun 18, 2023 at 14:29 Quote
[Quote="jrm99"]
flattoflat wrote:
edeltoaster wrote:
What's a common shock upgrade for a size M Ripley AF?
I'm not at all unhappy with the performance of the DPS. I guess the light tune works well enough for my 70kgs. I'm thinking about a bigger volume spacer, though. On the front I have a 140mm Pike Ultimate btw.

Fox offers a trade in program with the choice of a float X or Marz bomber air. The float was just under $400 and the bomber was $300. I went with the bomber and like it..

+1 for bomber. Was not a surprise that it is better at speed… but I found it even more noticeable on low speed tech. Lot more calm when picking your way throw slow chunky stuff. Only downside is it seems less poppy out of the box, but I feel like that’s a normal trade off for traction
flag deez-nucks
Posted: Jun 18, 2023 at 14:35 Quote
[Quote="jrm99"]
flattoflat wrote:
edeltoaster wrote:
What's a common shock upgrade for a size M Ripley AF?
I'm not at all unhappy with the performance of the DPS. I guess the light tune works well enough for my 70kgs. I'm thinking about a bigger volume spacer, though. On the front I have a 140mm Pike Ultimate btw.

Fox offers a trade in program with the choice of a float X or Marz bomber air. The float was just under $400 and the bomber was $300. I went with the bomber and like it..

@jrm99 just out of curiosity, what pressure are you running in your bomber compared to shock setup?
flag robcleary
O+
Posted: Dec 19, 2023 at 14:59 Quote
What's up, I'm considering buying a Ripley AF and have a couple questions.

1. I'm 5'8", roughly 31" inseam. I've thrown my leg over a large and it seemed to fit me, but I haven't been able to try a medium. Any other 5'8" peeps have any input on this? Initially I was planning to get a medium but now I'm not sure.

2. Coming from a YT Jeffsy 27.5, did anyone else make this move? I'm looking to get a more efficient pedaler but not lose all of my descending ability either. I understand the AF is a little more DH friendly than the carbon version.
flag maxlombardy
Posted: Dec 19, 2023 at 18:34 Quote
Man I’m 5’9” and usually ride a medium. Bought this bike in a medium and Inthink I should have gone L. Try and ride one to see what you think.
flag edeltoaster
Posted: Dec 20, 2023 at 13:14 Quote
5.9 Ripley AF medium owner here that had a 2018 Jeffsy 27.5 medium before. Love that thing! I also had a much longer hardtail that was so stable it wasn't fun anymore. The Ripley rips corners like a devil and is more stable than the Jeffsy was. The balance is better, I don't need to weight the front that actively anymore. And the suspension is another league. It's significantly more efficient and you don't hang over the back on steep climbs anymore. More so, it's great in filtering chatter. Technical climbing is actually fun now! On trails I'm not missing something in descending. On jumps and bigger drops you recognize that you have way less travel, though. I recently changed the shock from a Fox DPS to a Cane Creek DBAir IL which made the bike more controlled when riding hard and helped to control bottom outs better. But that was a DPS and not a Ripley AF problem. On the front I have a Pike Ultimate 140mm.
flag robcleary
O+
Posted: Dec 21, 2023 at 12:18 Quote
edeltoaster wrote:
5.9 Ripley AF medium owner here that had a 2018 Jeffsy 27.5 medium before. Love that thing! I also had a much longer hardtail that was so stable it wasn't fun anymore. The Ripley rips corners like a devil and is more stable than the Jeffsy was. The balance is better, I don't need to weight the front that actively anymore. And the suspension is another league. It's significantly more efficient and you don't hang over the back on steep climbs anymore. More so, it's great in filtering chatter. Technical climbing is actually fun now! On trails I'm not missing something in descending. On jumps and bigger drops you recognize that you have way less travel, though. I recently changed the shock from a Fox DPS to a Cane Creek DBAir IL which made the bike more controlled when riding hard and helped to control bottom outs better. But that was a DPS and not a Ripley AF problem. On the front I have a Pike Ultimate 140mm.

Cheers, that's my exact model! 2018 Jeffsy 27.5 medium. It's definitely a great bike, I just wish it felt a little less "enduro-y" and more short travel trail, especially riding in greater Philly region. I upgraded the rear shock on it to a DVO Topaz this past year and it's really opened up the descending ability. So I may consider tossing a Topaz on a Ripley AF if I get one. Glad to hear the medium size worked out and you didn't lose too much descending performance. I expect any bike with less travel to feel a little less stable compared to the "plow" feeling I get from the Jeffsy, but that's just the nature of going between All-Mountain and short travel trail.
flag robcleary
O+
Posted: Dec 21, 2023 at 12:18 Quote
maxlombardy wrote:
Man I’m 5’9” and usually ride a medium. Bought this bike in a medium and Inthink I should have gone L. Try and ride one to see what you think.

Yeah I'll have to see if I can find a medium to demo. Reach number and standover wise it seems like the medium would be ideal.
flag mrmountain
Posted: Dec 22, 2023 at 12:58 Quote
chileconqueso wrote:
I have gone with a +1 headset and a slightly longer stem than stock. The bike is a rocket in the corners and downhills. Climbs anything I can keep the power down on. Such a great bike.

What angle set did you use? Did it all tuck into the bottom of the head tube, or did some of it stick out? Any pictures?
That Mara sounds great by the way

 


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