Ibis Ripmo AF vs Marin Alpine Trail XR

I This gives you a really comprehensive guide for setting it up on their website, gives you a good starting point and so they can get the most out of ...

You will need to either know how to adjust your suspension sag yourself or take it to a shop to have this done.

I've got to give it to Ibis for really putting a new perspective on what we can expect from this category. All right. So who is this bike for? Well, i...

would making those spec changes make this one of the top enduro bikes in the market? Or is the Alpine Trail Xr already there thanks to being such a gr...

Geometry and suspension are where the money should go, so I applaud Ibis for focusing on that with the Ripmo AF. All the Deore reviews say it works as well as the more expensive Shimano stuff, so it’s really just weight, which shouldn’t matter much for a bike in this category. A top end drive train might save you a pound or so—who cares? And the 4-piston Deore brakes should be great too, no big loss there.

While I did eventually adapt, I had a bit more trouble than David with how the bike handles in steeper terrain. For the first few rides, I struggled to keep the front end tracking in really steep and loose terrain, and I had a pretty big crash on my first ride when I lost the front wheel coming into a very steep corner. Coming from a bike with chainstays that are nearly a full inch longer than the Marin’s, I found that my weight felt much more rearward, and I had to be very intentional about keeping my weight forward to keep the front tire from surfing around and suffering from understeer. I think this is a combination of the short chainstays creating a rearward weight bias, the slack 63