Short history. My V1 Ripmo is three years old. Even a serial bike swapper like me would need it to be pried from my cold, dark hands. It's a beast tho, slackened off, over-forked, 2.6 tyres, brilliant but a bit much for the FoD/Yat most of the time. So I keep looking for a 'trail' bike
Tried a v4 Ripley. Never got on with it. A friend did and bought it off me. Loved my original Mojo3 (Ibis gateway drug), so bought the Mojo4. Nope, no idea why but 750km since March and it's all a bit meh.
So I stripped that and bought this. It's a Revel Rascal. In purple because..well.. purple. I do have grey decals for the forks but the orange is growing on me.
Not being entirely stupid, I'd kept the 29er wheels and forks from the Ripley and everything else swapped across.I was also looking at SC Tallboys, Norco Sights, etc but reading a few reviews and being a fan of complex not British winter approved linkages, I went for the Rascal.
140 fork/130 out back. Fox shock came off my Mojo, as did XT transmission, SLX 4 pots, Bar, Stem, etc. Had to shorten the one up post to 200mm. 31ish lbs in old school money. It does have 2.5/2.4 tyres with Rimpacts. Doesn't feel heavy riding it so far.
Ridden it exactly 2km. Still, that did involve chucking it down the 'suspension test alley/church steps' a few times. Passed that test with flying colours.
Proper ride tomorrow, shall report back 🙂
Ohh that looks really good!
Been intrigued by these so look forward to hearing your thoughts. Am I right in thinking these are a lot more expensive over here than they are in America?
Isn't everything! I think they are $2899 direct from Revel with the Ultimate shock. I did get a decent discount on this one but it certainly wasn't equiv to US prices 🙂
Second hand Mojo4s are going for more than I paid for mine. It's bonkers at the moment.
Very very nice. And purple too. 👍
That purple is the 'love your brain' colour Revel did when teaming up with that charity.
https://www.revelbikes.com/our-bikes/loveyourbrain-rascal/
Which is another reason to buy a purple one 🙂
Nice.
Nothing beats new bike day.
Looking forward to pics of it being ridden.
Looks great. Be interesting to see how the CBF suspension compares to the DW links you've ridden.
Looks great.
Be interesting to see how the CBF suspension compares to the DW links you’ve ridden.
It's the first non DW link I'll have ridden in nearly 4 years. I really like DW bikes even tho it does cause issues for mud room with the complexity of the linkage. This CBF ^^^ is no different.
Initial (very initial) impressions suggest it's going to maybe feel a bit plusher on small bumps, but bob more on stand up climbing. That Float X needs setting up properly as well so it's going to take me a while to form any useful impressions.
Lovely bike! Keep the orange, i reckon.
I don't get how the suspension design is that different to a DW bike - it still has a rear triangle moving on 2 short links connected to the main triangle. Much like a Santa Cruz VPP does, which also isn't a DW design! Not that it's a problem - my Turner does the same 🙂
I watched the video from Chris Canfield three times and I was none the wiser. There was something about instant centre v curvature centre, at which point I kind of lost interest 😉 They obviously made it different enough to patent it (and hence license it), but how it feels compared to similar designs I'm looking forward to finding out later.
I'm also going to find a local bearing supplier 😉 I don't think that bike is going to do much winter mileage....
Keep the orange, i reckon
That's my current plan. Mainly because I'm lazy 😉
Do you hold the most 'new bike day' threads record 😉
I would still be on my Bird Aeris if it hadn't been nicked a few weeks ago. I think you must have had about 7 bikes since then!
That purple does look good though 🙂 I give it 10 months haha
Mmm few more than 7. I have a spreadsheet. I try very hard not to look at it.
Sorry to hear about your Aeris, what are you going to get instead?
"I don’t get how the suspension design is that different to a DW bike"
It's more like a linkage driven single pivot in many ways - the instant centre barely moves, it just tracks a small arc of the chainring. On a DW Link the instant centre drops more, reducing the pedal anti-squat and brake anti-rise as you go deeper into the travel.
Sorry to hear about your Aeris, what are you going to get instead?
I was tempted by lots of things (Propain & Orbea being 2 examples) but had a deadline of a holiday and there was very little availability. So I gave Ben at Bird a call to see if they could piece anything together from the parts bin and we came up with an AM9 in raw with Lyric and Coil shock and a mishmash of Shimano.
Really happy with it apart from maybe the weight. I couldn't afford carbon wheels this time around, and each component is a little heavier than my original, so it's come in at 33.75lb.
Doesn't pedal like it on technical stuff, but noticeable on fire road grinds. It's my first 29er and I didn't get to test ride, so I'm still getting used to it. Was amazing in Scottish trail centres, but on my local trails it's significantly faster (as seen on Strava), but not necessarily more fun (I like skipping about the place and jumping off every tiny lip). Still playing with the suspension though.
I might borrow some carbon wheels off someone to see if it changes the feel.
Photo album here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tryingtimes/albums/72157719512046211
Edit: ooooh - that's a fancy new forum flickr gallery feature!
Not being entirely stupid
well, I laughed at least.
@alexsimon - you do take a good photo 🙂 I like the raw finish and the coil. I also looked at Propain and Orbea but stock, support, etc put me off.
I think my Mojo4 would have suited you. It's that kind of riding it excels at. Sadly I don't excel at it. I'm more point it in the vague desired direction and travel hopefully 🙂
In some seriousness, I think riding 29er for the last 5 years made going back to 27.5 more difficult than expected. Or that could just be an excuse. Anyway, hopefully someone else will get lots of fun from it.
@nickc - careful use of the word 'entirely' there 🙂
Things are crazy. Listed two Ibis ripmo 2021 frames and no takers. Both with cascade links on the side. Found the links made a big difference to the jade X on my XL ripmo.
Sweet bike OP
Thanks. I'm in no rush to sell it. I just want to see it get used. Surprised the RipMo didn't sell - might be less of a market for the XL maybe?
Love a purrrrrrple bike. That looks great.
Keep the orange+1
What makes you say it won't do many winter miles?
There's a lot of bearings and at least 4 of them are right in the firing line of the rear wheel. I also am guessing it might be a bit mud-shelf-y. And we do get some proper mud here!
Certainly had issues with DW link bikes. I mean they work, but you do need to keep on top of enduring wetness in potential rusty bearings. Mostly I'd rather ride the HT in winter anyway. Save the 'nice' bike(s) for trail centres or frozen ground.
I know there are lots of FS designs that work way better in winter. I just don't like them as much 😉
Fair point...
Inaugural ride done. Perfect conditions. Bike is unsurprisingly fab. And quite different to my last four (!) Ibis's. More on that later....
Pub was also excellent 🙂
Very nice. Most interesting new bike I've seen on here in a while.
First ride review with the caveats of NBG (new bike glasses) and mildly informed guesswork on shock setup. Route was a few mellow trails, then some faster ones with plenty or roots and some rocks, then lots and lots of steps 🙂
Climbing: Very efficient, lots of anti-squat, push harder on the pedals and bike goes forward not down. Similar to DW link but feels maybe a bit better. Hit a bump and it doesn't feel quite as plush as my RipMo. But found loads of grip on sandy/loose trails. Definitely rewards putting the effort in on any surface.
Descending: Feels more than 130 especially if you're going quickly. Amazingly plush and grippy, feels super composed over rocks/roots/etc. Felt good/bottomless of a couple of drops. Seems to jump okay but I'm rubbish. Slower to turn in that Mojo (but that's more about 27.5 v 29 I think, Mojo does have crazy short offset fork tho) but changes direction quickly enough and feels super planted. Conditions were fab tho.
On slower stuff, esp square edged, don't think it's quite as good as the RipMo. There's a lot of guff about anti-rise under braking. It's good but not better/worse than my other DW link bikes.
It's a bike that kind of disappears which is a good thing. The Mojo (and to a lesser extent my Ripley) felt like they needed riding all the time. Rascal still gives lot of feedback but doesn' feel as jiggly as - esp - the Mojo.
TLDR; early impressions very promising. The Ripley and Mojo are not mini RipMo's. The Rascal kind of is. Which is a good thing.
Lovely bike, did you rob the money tree at symonds yat to buy it ;o)
money tree at symonds yat
🙂 Assume you mean the Saracens Head? Still as busy as ever but down from 7 chefs to 2, and not serving anywhere near as much food.
One of my fav places in the world to have a post ride beer 🙂
Nah, i meant the tree that's got all the coins in it on the way down from the viewpoint to the village, there were several coins missing when i saw it last week ;o)
Never even knew about that! I shall have to ask the (even more) locals 🙂
That purple is absolutely fantastic! I have a stealth black alloy hardtail that I've been thinking of getting repainted once the hideous WeeRide seatmount is no longer on it (think I'll splash out on one of those smaller removable seats once no. 3 is a bit bigger) and that colour is now my top choice.
I know you're more of a words person but the graphs here are quite enlightening about your Rascal vs your Ripmo:
Rascal has pretty "ideal" curves for a good pedalling bike that's calm under braking without locking up totally (rear squats a bit to balance the fork dive), good progression it isn't squishy in the middle, you don't need to fill it with volume spacers or run lots of pressure to avoid bottoming out, and can use a coil if you want. Ripmo will be softer in the middle which probably hides that it has more brake-squat, and the extra travel makes up for the lack of progression later in the stroke.
Where did the link go? I'll try again:
https://linkagedesign.blogspot.com/2019/09/revel-rascal-29-2019.html
Hi Alex,
Saw this bike on one of your other posts and thought it looked nice.
I'd have to put the grey decals on to match the downtube. Orange looks a bit dare I say it, cheap, to me. Completely personal taste though.
When reading your description about it above, I was thinking it sounded like a mini Ripmo and that it might not be different enough to it for what you want but it sounds like you might have found your sweet spot.
Again personal choice but I think I'd put some lesser tyres on. The DHF and Dissector are great and grip like poop to a blanket although they feel just a bit too tractor ish for something not quite as tractor as a Ripmo. I had a DHF and Minion SS on my hard tail after messing about with wheels. Changing them to Rekons totally changed the feel of the bike and gave it more of an edge. Not as sure footed but that isn't always a good thing on a bike you want thrills on.
Might be spouting rubbish if you don't feel the same about tyres however it could be worth thinking about if you want to take it slightly further away from the Ripmo.
@chiefgrooveguru - thanks for that link. I kind of understood the pictures 😉 Even though the Ripmo, Ripley and Mojo have the same suspension design, for me anyway it works best on the RipMo. Might be because it has more travel, might be something about the other two bikes. But neither ever felt as composed even on stuff that shouldn't trouble a mid travel bike.
But to be honest, probably more about the rider 🙂
@twonks - I now have the grey decals. They came with the inivisiframe which was fitted last night. Just as much fun as it always isn't! To change decals, I need to strip the inivisiframe off the forks which might happen. Just not for a bit 😉
It feels different enough from the RipMo but has that RipMo calmness I didn't get from the other bikes. Those tyres are what were on those spare wheels. 2.4 is the biggest I'm getting in the back whatever I choose. I might go to a Rekon rear, but I do like a chunky tyre up front. Will ride it a bit more first. When I switched my Mojo onto lighter tyres, it definitely made a difference.
Off out again later. Very much looking forward to it.
@Alex I had a bit of a brain fail there regarding the leverage curve on the Ripmo - it's firmest in the mid-stroke, not softest (I've always felt that leverage curves are upside down!)
I had a look at the graphs for some other Ibis bikes and they're all quite similar (other DW Links vary more, so it's clearly a design goal for Ibis). The brilliant pedalling characteristics must come from the combination of high anti-squat plus firmest suspension in somewhere between sag and halfway. But the fact many of them tend to soften a bit through the rest of the travel means they'll go deeper into the travel more easily and/or run out of travel. The Ripmo has more travel and big wheels so that's less of an issue.
I don't think Ibis get enough kudos for their packaging on the recent bikes - the straight and short seat tubes mean you can run far longer droppers than most. Not easy to do on bigger wheeled full-sus bikes. Looks like the Revel gets the highest pivot pretty far down the seat tube though!
More importantly, I wonder what colour that purple officially is?
Very true about Ibis packaging. Excellent attention to detail as well. Wish the internal cable for the rear brake was on the right side tho (Revel is the same). I'm 99% sure the problem is me as all the reviews of their other bikes are pretty stellar.
The Revel is pretty good. I couldn't quite slam the post but still got enough in to only drop 10mm from the 210mm drop. That's pretty damn good for a bike with a lot of linkages.
The colour is the same as the "Love Your Brain" charity they partnered with for that frame. Details here:
https://www.revelbikes.com/our-bikes/loveyourbrain-rascal/