olddbrider

I check out this channel every once in a while because for some reason I find it really interesting watching them start with a chunk of steel and end up with something cool, functional, and (usually) beautiful. I hadn't checked it out in a while and when hopped on this morning I saw that he's starting a project to build his own mountain bike. Based on prior projects, I expect he'll make a bunch of mistakes. But he's pretty meticulous, so it'll be interesting to see how it turns out. Based on his experience buying grips you'll quickly see that he is a total noob.

Really excited to hear this and see the continued progression of things out there. Can someone briefly describe what is meant by "intermediate slopestyle trail"? Particularly how it will be different than what is already out there...

I'm just under 6' tall. My problem with bike fitting is that I have a very long torso and very short legs for my height. I did a lot of research and went with the LG, which is definitely the right size for me. Because of my short legs, I did have to request a 150mm dropper instead of the 175mm that would typically come with the LG. I'm glad I did, because the 150 post allows me to extend the post fully and have it just the perfect height for pedaling. I couldn't have done that with the longer dropper post.

Oh yeah, I meant to also see if others thought it would be useful to have a Bike Reviews section? I know there are other places that have those, but I think it could be interesting here because it would be more specific to our terrain. Just a thought...

I mentioned a while back that I had ordered an AF and a couple of folks asked if I would post a review once I had put some miles on the bike. It's been two weeks since I picked it up and I've got 5 rides under my belt, which seems like enough to post some early impressions. The rides have been at Reveille Peak, Spider Mountain, Crystal Falls/Travisso trails, and Suburban Ninja/Christ Church twice. My previous bike was a 2017 Salsa Horsethief with 130mm of travel up front and 120mm in the rear. I really liked the bike, but I wanted to get something with a bit more travel, the ability to run wider tires (2.4 was about the max the Salsa could handle), and more modern geometry (slacker HTA, steeper STA, etc.). I got the NX build, but have since replaced the stock stem and bars with an Anvl Swage stem and Chromag BZA carbon bars (cut down to 760mm). I bought some Anvl Tilt pedals because they match the stem, get great reviews, and were $40 less than most other anodized pedals out there. I should also point out that my first 2 rides (Reveille & Suburban Ninja) were on "skinny" tires. When my bike was built up, it was inadvertently fitted with 2.35s instead of the spec'd 2.6s. A quick email to Wes at Velorangutan got that sorted out, but not before my first couple of rides. I can definitely say I'm a fan of the wider tires (Hans Dampf up front, Nobby Nic in the back, both 2.6). I feel like traction and overall ride feel are improved, and I honestly haven't noticed a difference in rolling resistance or how heavy the bike feels (it's not particularly light to begin with). Not surprisingly, the bike feels great going downhill. Whether doing the enduro runs at Reveille or any of the stuff at Spider, I instantly felt more confident and comfortable on the AF. It handles drops like a champ and really smooths out the rough stuff. I still haven't ridden the big rocky staircase at the bottom of Stinger, but it handled everything else out there with ease. I set the suspension up according to (mostly decent) instructions on the DVO and Ibis sites and I really haven't changed them much other than letting a few PSI out of the fork because I wasn't getting full travel after my rides. I'll probably tinker with it a bit, but to be honest I'm more of a set-it-and-forget-it kinda guy, so don't expect a deep discussion of suspension tuning from me... The AF has really surprised me in a couple of areas. First, it climbs like a champ. To be fair, some of that might have to do with going from 11spd with a 42t big cog in the back to 12spd Eagle with an 11-50 cassette. But even without the benefit of the gearing, it just feels more efficient when climbing. Pedal bob is almost non-existent and the rear wheel stays hooked up even when on pretty chunky terrain. The steeper STA is really noticeable and puts me more over the bottom bracket instead of shifted toward the back wheel, which also helps keep the front wheel planted when climbing. The other thing that surprised me was how poppy and playful the AF is. It's quite a bit longer than my old bike (~85mm) so I was expecting it to feel less responsive and playful. But that hasn't been the case so far for me. After getting used to the new feel of the front wheel being farther in front of me, I feel like my jumping is better on this bike and I have found myself hitting new features or old features in different ways. I haven't really faced any super-technical climbing or tight switchbacks going up or down, so I can't really comment on those aspects. Having said that, based on my experience so far I'm optimistic that the AF will handle those things well. There are some fairly chunky, twisty climbs out at Travisso and I did struggle with them at first. I realized it was a timing issue, as I wasn't used to having to lift my front wheel as early on my old bike. Once I got the feel of the new bike, I was able to clean most everything out there. All in all, I'm extremely happy with the new bike. I was a little worried about the NX drivetrain, but so far I have no complaints. For me, the AF has (thankfully) lived up to the hype.

Those guys made bike racks too?!?! Da-de-be-dip d-d-dip-ba-dip ba-dabo-deebo-dobba-dobba-dobba-dobba...

It sucks that this place is closing down as it sounds like they had a real passion for gravity and lots of potential. I didn't see anything in the article alluding to what you mention above. While that seems to have been the case for Kingdom Trails, it seems like Welch Village was more a victim of competition from other trail systems than from being overrun with unruly bikers... "The announcement stated that Welch feels that the mountain bike operation is not able to compete with the increased number of government-funded trail systems and publicly-funded downhill bike parks in the state of Minnesota. The resort has been unable to build a customer base that would justify investing more capital into the mountain bike trails."

(Chain) Whip it. (Chain) Whip it good!

Shakedown ride on the new Ripmo AF at RPR.

I know this Corona thing has been tough on everyone, but Fred aged 4 years in a month! All kidding aside, whether he's 84 or 87 this is amazing!

I know Team Trail Party has done clinics in the past and I believe the founder (?) does private lessons as well. I think his name is Jeremiah (or something like that).

So... you're referencing a 14-year old article to back up your claims about your bike not being antiquated? I'm sure the reviews of the Model-T were glowing, but that doesn't mean it would compare favorably (in terms of performance) to any modern car.

Here I go playing matchmaker again...

IMHO, people who own i9 hubs are full of hot air. (I also could not resist.)

I am in the process of moving from a 130mm to a 160mm travel bike. For me, it wasn't solely about travel, but also about moving from a bike with slightly outdated geometry to something with "modern" geometry. Since you are trying to choose between 2 new bikes you really don't have the issue of modern vs. dated geometry, so it's really going to boil down to personal preference and what trade-offs you are willing to make. Longer travel is going to be heavier, probably a bit less efficient, but is going to give you the possibility of hitting bigger features without bottoming out or stressing the limits of your suspension. Even though I'm going to a longer travel bike, I rarely felt like I was being held back by my suspension on my old bike. Granted, my travel indicators were maxed out after just about every ride, but I never really felt like I was bottoming out. I love Spider and bought a season pass early on, so I've probably made 15+ trips out there over the past year. If I was only going out there a few times a year, I certainly wouldn't worry about getting a bike that's better suited for that style of riding. As for your question about upgrading, it's hard to answer because the options you mentioned are pretty different, price-wise. Suspension and wheels are pretty costly upgrades ($1000 range), but brakes and drive train components are relatively cheap in comparison. Are you thinking you will upgrade from the manufacturer, or are you thinking you'll do this once you get the bike?

Congrats on the new bike! See you on the trail... someday... from a safe distance, of course.

Maybe reach out to Quixoft? He's been posting about his journey in the Brushy Creek section and might have a hardtail for sale soon...

Forgot to mention... Wes mentioned that they are making smoking deals on the Ripmo. They just came out with a new version of the carbon frame that has the same geo as the Ripmo-AF so they are blowing out the previous version. Still a great bike, just a slightly different frame geometry.

I've got one of these on the way and I am hoping it lives up to the hype. I'm coming from a Salsa Horsethief which is more of a trail bike (130/120mm) and the Ripmo AF is definitely more in the All-mountain/Enduro category. From what I've read and watched, Ibis has always been known for making frames that are great climbers and the AF seems to be following in that tradition. Before the lockdown, I was making 2-3 trips to Spider Mtn per month, so I wanted my next bike to be something that was better suited for that style of riding. It also seems like just about every trail system in the area is starting to integrate more jumps, drops, and flow trails so I think this bike is going to be just the ticket. It's a bit scary to buy a bike without even sitting on one, but with the wealth of info out there (youtube, mtbr.com, etc.) I feel pretty confident in my decision. It's also true that you can often get bikes for less than MSRP. Wes at Velorangutan gave me a great deal and all it took was a phone call...

I'm not on FaceBook, but the FaceBook Marketplace seems to be a good place to look for used bikes. I just sold one there a few weeks ago after a friend posted it for me.

Welcome, quixoft! If you haven't already discovered this on your own, upgrading a fork can be a very expensive project. Have you tried tuning your current fork at all? I don't have any firsthand experience with that particular fork, but from what I can tell you've got an air spring and rebound adjustment. Are you familiar with the concept of sag in regards to suspension? It's basically the amount your fork (or shock) compresses under just the weight of you being on the bike. A good starting point is typically that you should have about 25-30% sag. If you sit on your bike and you have more sag than that, you might consider adding air to your fork to see if that helps with the bottoming out problem you described. You might also be able to find some published settings for your fork.

Is that a ramp or a landing?

Years ago while riding Lake Georgetown, I saw a tall blond in a bikini walking up the trail toward me. As I got closer, I realized it was a dude. I think I've only ridden there once since then. Not because of the dude in the bikini...

I ordered one of these from Wes at Velorangutan. https://www.ibiscycles.com/bikes/ripmo-af