Ibis has a new mountain bike. Except, it’s a copy of an existing bike – just made somewhere else.
That’s not all that surprising given that the original Ibis Exie was the product of Ibis’ Carbon 831 Lab. The purpose of that lab and the original Exie was to improve their prototyping and development. Technically, the project started to see if they could produce a single-size run of small Ibis Ripley frames.
Those frames were a success and led to their first model that was built entirely in-house: the original Exie (now called the Exie USA).
Ibis took the bulk of what they learned in the layup process for the Exie USA and took that to the factory in Vietnam to replicate the process. The result is the new Exie (just Exie, not Exie USA. Got it?). The Exie will now be sold alongside the Exie USA, just with a slightly different weight and very different price.
Starting with the World Cup-winning Exie USA as a template, the new Exie still offers a carbon fiber frame, only one that is about 250g heavier. That, and a combination of an affordable Shimano Deore or SRAM NX/GX drivetrain means Ibis was able to drop the starting price for complete builds by $3,000 compared to the Exie USA ($4,999 vs. $7,999).
Ibis Exie Geometry
Running an identical geometry chart, the Exie is built around 100mm of rear travel with a 120mm travel suspension fork, 29″ wheels, a 67.2º head tube angle, a moderate 73.8-75.9º seat tube angle depending on the size, and longer reach numbers built around a shorter stem.
Like all Ibis mountain bikes, the Exie is built to accomodate long travel dropper posts with a low standover height. Complete bikes will include either a KS Rage-i (125, 150, or 170mm) or Bike Yoke Revive (125, 160, or 185mm) dropper depending on the model and frame size.
While the Exie is meant to be a go-fast race machine, it’s also built to tackle all-day downcountry epics and has clearance for 29 x 2.4″ tires to get it done.
Additonal (and welcomed) features include an integrated upper chain guide, threaded bottom bracket, molded rubber chainstay guard, and downtube guard, plus mechanis-friendly internal routing (full tunnel, and not through the headset). All frame sizes also have clearance for two water bottle cages.
Ibis Exie Pricing, Colors & Builds
Offered in either Bug Zapper Blue or Cheat-O orange, the Exie will be avaialble in three build kits ranging from $4,999 to $5,499. Those that are wanting a frame-only will have to upgrade to the Exie USA. Complete builds of the Exie USA will continue to be sold for $7,999 to $12,799.
