Ibis showed a prototype Ripley 29er last fall at Eurobike, and it’s still in development. Pro Evan Plews raced it this weekend at Sea Otter, but founder Scot Nicol said they’re in no hurry, they want to get it just right. That said, it’s likely to come out this fall at the tradeshows as a production bike. Travel will 120mm.
While that project plugs along, they’re also experimenting with 650B on their Mojo HD using some of the early new forks from Fox with an AngleSet to play with geometries. No particular timeline, but Nicol says they’re open to the wheelsize and thinks there’s a place for it. Like most other brands, he says 29ers reach functional limits around 130mm of travel.
As for the beast above, it’s the Ibis Maximus 59er. Check out the details on it here. It’s 1,000 pounds and had to brought in on a flatbed an forklifted off. No word on where it’s going after the show.
