PRESS RELEASE: MRPAre you “downcountry”? The new Ribbon SL from MRP is.
Easily dismissed as yet another sub-genre of mountain biking, “downcountry” is actually a perfect distillation of the type of experience that a lot of us are after. It’s not a type of riding or racing, nor is it a niche within a niche, and it’s definitely not just synonymous with “trail”. Downcountry is a way of life, it’s the “I’m gonna send it” mentality applied to bike and component choice, pace, and overall attitude. It’s not specific to a particular part of the ride, not the downhill or the climb, it’s the whole shebang.
It’s Tomac-era mountain biking: leaping before you look, two-wheel drifting, and sprinting to exhaustion. It’s squeezing every last minute out of your lunch ride, showing back up at work drenched in sweat, caked in dust, and possibly bleeding a little here and there. It’s that heart-skipping moment you think you might have cut a tight line too close and yet,
miraculously, nothing happens at all. It’s that moment you catch yourself riding way outside your capabilities because you’ve somehow ended up between two faster riders on the weekly shop ride. It’s hanging it all out for an imaginary, virtual trophy that not even your parents will congratulate you for winning.
Downcountry is best experienced with components that can handle day-in, day-out punishment. You don’t have a World Cup pit setup awaiting you at the trailhead or a mechanic to tear down and rebuild your rig between rides. You can’t downcountry like a boss cowboy or cowgirl without a trusty steed. A downcountry-ready bike can’t suck the life out of you on the climb or hold you back on the descent.
Enter the Ribbon SL, a downcountry fork that’s both business and party in the front. Heck, its business is to party. It’s our award-winning Ribbon on the Keto diet — slimmed down, chiseled, and ripped. A chassis based around 35mm stanchions vetted for heavy lifting, but trimmed of all fat. With up to 130mm of travel, the Ribbon SL perfectly pairs with the new breed of rally-ready short travel 29ers. The FulFilll air spring is volume adjustable for control over progression, while its independent negative chamber produces a supple initial stroke that common self-equalizing air springs can’t touch. This pairing of tunability means you no longer have to concede comfort for capability; small bump performance for big-hit support. Consistent and exact damping is handled by the EssenTTial damper that features twin-tube architecture and a low-friction, low-pressure floating piston that outperforms and outlasts the typical bladder-based design.
A brawny chassis, purpose-built spring and damper, and a directive to charge any trail are what make the lightweight Ribbon SL definitively downcountry.
MRP Ribbon SL Details Stanchion Size: 35mm
Travel: 120 or 130mm (Internally adjustable to 110mm)
Weight: 3.95 lbs. / 1.79 kg
Spring system: FulFill independent positive and negative chamber system.
External Adjustments: 8-position low-speed compression and rebound.
Internal Adjustments: Travel (110-130mm), spring volume with Huck Puck™ system
Offset: 46 OR 51mm
Decal Options: Nine to choose from
US MSRP: $899.95
Product Page: Ribbon SL Ribbon SL decal options:Learn More:
MRP Ribbon SL
163 Comments
Good for you that you get the "joke". Video shows a guy pushing for a Strava KOM, riding a lame trail...seems pretty serious to me. They could just say..."hey, we created a short travel yet beefy fork so you can rip around on your mountain bike and have a good time(or be a race guy and get your KOM)"
I’m holding out for the “Down-Duro” version of the Ribbon.
So I have to ride a certain bike in order to fit in this sub genre of me riding my bike on dirt?? Wait, what if I ride my 160 travel bike on a "true DH" course...or if I ride my 130 bike through trail but then onto the streets to do some urban assault...am I breaking laws?? Will my bikes explode because they aren't adhering to their proper label and "intention"?
We're going to need patches like the Cub Scouts to signify what classification we belong to.
And wait, if I meet a girl and she asks me what things I like to do and I tell her I ride "downcountry"....I'm pretty sure I'll then have to explain to her that I actually ride bikes in the dirt, and then she'll think I'm a douche for trying to seem cool with a nonsensical term.
I miss the category of "all mountain"...that covered all bases....the bike rides everywhere!
I should run twice the pressure in the negative spring yes? Say 150 psi in the negative and 50 psi in the positive to give me moar supports.
Then I twiddle all the dials while I'm riding untill it feels good.
Chill out. It’s Pinkbike. Laugh a little.
I've stopped using Strava and riding with Strava people because that takes all the fun out of riding!
Thanks for clearing things up for me and letting me know I'm missing the point
I use strava and find it fun to compete with my friends on. It’s not world champs. It’s just fun. I don’t even care if I have KOM unless it’s my buddy I’m competing for it with.
Downcountry FTW. Chill out. Charge hard but don’t get you panties in a wad.
oh, something is wrong!
Am ei Enduro ???
Anyone want to setup a real MTB website for real riders? Not brands.
MRP Marketing Intern: Leap before you look~
Downcountry is an apt term for what a lot of us do, especially folks who live in places where trails are out and back climb-to-descent. However I agree that we've already named this style of riding "trail". Kind of like "all mountain" came before "enduro" when you sacrificed climbing prowess for the ability to ride any obstacle on the way back down. As for Levy's appropriation of the term and the subsequent permeation of this "new" style of bike? I don't care.
As suspension design promotes geometry change, the trail bike has evolved. "Trail" bikes today can do so much more than "trail" bikes of a decade ago. Do we need to change the name? Probably not. But this is the bike industry...(sigh) If it will sell a fraction of a percent more product, its time for a "new" category. I just care that the suspension and geometry work together to make my ride faster, more efficient, and more fun.
IMO, the bike industry has maintained the same rate of progress that we've seen for the last 20 years, and I'll continue to upgrade my gear every 3-4 years to reap the benefits, regardless of whatever name you slap on the newest product.