Ordered the frame direct from Ibis on Wednesday night, frame arrived via DPD this afternoon and it was free delivery!

I was only expecting it on Monday, so I’ve been caught short with a few components. I decided to start building the rear end up while I wait for cables, headset, bars and stem.

First impressions of the frame… it’s a chunky bugger! Feels lighter than it looks though, which is a bonus. It ticks all the boxes for me for a simple build too (threaded bb, boost, 31.6 seat tube and externally routed rear brake).

Decided to use my carbon Hope post rather than the dropper for now as this is more for mile munching than anything techy!

Finished spec will be:
Fox 32 SC Performance Grip
Sram GX Eagle (with DUB NX crank)
Santa Cruz Reserve 27 with Vittoria Barzo tyres
Ibis 60mm stem
Ibis 760mm carbon flat bar
Superstar Headset
Sram Level TL brakes with 180mm rotors

Going to go for a cleaner bar look too by having a GX grip shift on one side and a Rockshox Twistloc on the other side for the fork. This will be next month though as I’ve spent up!

If I keep this long enough to wear anything out, I’ll be planning to replace with something lighter 🙂

Looks very nice! I’m rather jealous!

Thank you 🙂

It was a toss up between this and a Niner, but this was cheaper with a less of a racy edge. If I was planning on racing, I’d have probably gone for the Niner.

It’ll be late next week until I have the rest of the parts now. Just want to get out on it and give it a good test. I’ll probably take more pics. Just waiting for Rapid Racer to release the direct mount mudguards so I can put one on the 32.

Zooming in, the attention to detail on the frame design looks bloody excellent.👍

Also, you can’t see the messy chaos behind it 🙂

That’s a nice looking hardtail. It’s a bit of an odd one from Ibis, as it’s very XC derived. If it rides as well as their other bikes, it’ll be fantastic. I hope they make another one that’d be more a HT version of my RipMo. I’d probably have one then.

Nice, but I’d stick a 34mm fork on it.

Very nice 😎

Did you order direct from the US?

If I’m guessing import and vat were kindly added …..

Looks much nicer in those pics than on their website!

Lovely frame.

I very nearly went with one for my hard tail, but the seat tube is a bit too long and I’d have had to change forks travel.

Hard to say it’s value for money when it’s £1000 for a frame although it isn’t far off.

No VAT, ordered from the UK website. Looking at the labels on the box, it was shipped from Germany to the UK overnight, then sent to me via DPD next day. I wasn’t expecting it till Monday 🙂

Sticking my Fox 32SC on it because I’ve already got one, and a 120mm 34 is more further away than what I’m building the bike for. I’ve already got an Intense Spider 275c for trail duties. Not even bothering with my dropper (yet)…

I’d never heard of them till a few months ago when someone on here was asking about them, and I’ve never seen anyone riding one. I love the look of Ibis bikes and this is my first one. I’d love to build up a Ripmo AF with a coil one day.

I’ll update with more build pics hopefully next week and some ride pics from Gisburn.

Hopefully, I’ll finally be able to finish my build tomorrow. Ordered a Superstar headset last weekend and I’ve got a feeling that it’s lost in the post 🙁

Bit the bullet and ordered a Chris King headset from Merlin this morning for a next day delivery. Soon as I get home from work tomorrow, I’m finishing the build!

Current spec is as follows:
Fox 32 SC Performance Grip
Sram GX Eagle (with DUB NX crank)
Shimano XT SPD Pedals
Santa Cruz Reserve 27 with Vittoria Barzo tyres
Ibis 60mm stem
Ibis 760mm carbon flat bar
Chris King Headset
Hope Carbon Seatpost / Brand X Dropper
Sram Level TL brakes with 180mm rotors

I’m still on the hunt for the perfect saddle too and it looks like I need one with a cutout or a deep middle channel.

I also might look at different brakes eventually. I’ve never had Magura, so maybe that would be an option to explore. The easiest thing would be more Shimano as most of our bikes are on them now.

Anyway… updated build pics tomorrow for anyone who is interested 🙂

I’d like to see some pics when you’ve got it built. I’ve owned two bikes from Ibis and they were excellent. Enjoy your first ride!

Gutted!

Finally got my shiny CK headset on… fork steerer is too short (at 185mm). Looks like I’ll need at least 200mm of steerer without spacers!

Not sure what to do now as a new fork is a big expense, but it means that I don’t get to test it tomorrow 🙁

Anyone seen any 100-120mm boost 29er forks with at least 200mm steerer? I still don’t know how much I can afford yet! Proper rookie mistake, as I didn’t account for the external cup along with the slight increase in head tube length compared to the Spark.

The only “progress” picture I have at the moment. You only live once, so bugger it I’m ordering a Fox 34 stepcast 🙂

Good choice! I’m sure you can get a bit for the old fork to offset the ‘upgrade’ 😁

Yeah I suppose. I was gutted when I offered the fork up and could tell it would be too short!

I’ll clean the 32 SC up and get it listed once I have my new fork. Double annoyed because I ordered custom graphics for it too! 🙂

You could look at a new CSU but that’s probably the same price as a new fork.

I did briefly think about that to be honest, but like you said, I’ll be well on my way to a new fork. Plus the 34 will probably suit my powerful stature hehe.

This has escalated from a simple frame swap to a blingy hardtail build. Funny how that happens 🙂

Right, been thinking about fork options.

Looks like it’s going to have to be a new fork as I need a massive steerer!

Option 1: Fox 34 SC Factory (51mm offset) £807 – Most expensive option, but seems the perfect choice for this bike.

Option 2: Rockshox SID Ultimate 100 or 120mm (51mm offset) – £775ish – Second most expensive, but the Blue would look really good!

Option 3: Fox 34 Rhythm 120mm (44mm offset) – £299 – Cheapest by far, but heavier and shorter offset. Read that the DV9 was designed with a 51mm offset, but I have no idea if I’d be able to tell the difference.

Anything else I’ve missed? I’m a bit paralyzed by choice at the moment.

SID can be had cheaper

https://r2-bike.com/ROCK-SHOX-Suspension-Fork-29-SID-Ultimate-SA-DebonAir-120-mm-BOOST-OneLoc-tapered-blue

Ohh you bugger, you’ve made it worse now! Now I’m right on the fence… On one hand, I’m wondering if the 120mm SID will be stiff enough, but then it doesn’t have to be mega stiff as it’s an XC bike.

Plus that price is miles cheaper!

Those blue SID’s would look awesome on that. 😉

That’s all. 🙂

Yep, I think the Blue SID is winning now.

Hopefully I can order Monday and it’ll be here before the weekend 🙂

Where have you seen the rhythm at that price?

It’s an ex-display one. I was tempted, but I’ll pass on it.

https://brink.uk/fox-34-ex-display

Cheers.

Finally, it’s finished! Downside is that I don’t get to ride it for another week due to being away at the weekend.

After I ordered the SID Ultimate from R2 Bike, they emailed me to say that the stock was wrong and they didn’t expect it till the end of November! Luckily, they had the non-remote version that was a bit cheaper.

Few bits to finish it off. Going to order some Ergon GA2 grips as I’ve never tried them before. I still may fit my Brand X dropper, but I’ll see. Would also like some better brakes than the Level TL eventually.

Really pleased with how it’s turned out, despite being about £600 over budget 🙂

Ignore the mess if you can please hehe.

Very nice, the blue definitely suits it.

Weight? I’m guessing 23lbs/10.5kg? Maybe a bit less even!

Yeah, I’m well impressed with the fork. Sleepless nights waiting for that 🙂

I’m rubbish at guessing weight, I thought it was roughly the same as the Spark it replaced (about 11.4kg), but my missus is sure it’s lighter. Gave my dad his fishing scales back, so I can’t weight it.

I’d guess a conservative 11kg. Could get lighter cranks and posher than GX cassette to get it down a bit more… maybe in the future. Going to feel like a lifetime waiting for the weekend after now though.

Finally got have a quick spin on the DV9! First impressions… it feels quick, agile and quite comfortable to ride.

In comparison the Pace RC529 was a lot harsher than this feels. Handling feels very snappy and it changes direction very quickly. It wants to pop off every little lip and imperfection. I like how it is in between an XC race bike and a trail hard tail.

There’s two things that need investigating however. I can hear a slight knocking, but I’ve not managed to replicate it on demand. Also, the back brake is howling like mad so need to give the disc a good clean and rough the pads up a bit to see if that helps.

That is a stunning looking bike. Thanks for sharing.

Looks fab. I have a Tranny that I love so I haven’t thought of replacing but seeing yours is giving me thoughts.

Thanks 🙂 I’m chuffed how it turned out to be honest. Think I’ll stick my dropper on it soon though.

Need to put some tokens in the fork as well. Missus just got her SID back from warranty work and hers is the same. Both blowing through travel on very tame/flat stuff at 25% sag. Very plush set up though!

That’s awesome, glad you’ve got it built! My Tranny used to handle the same, a great mix of XC and trail. The blue sets off the white perfectly.

It’s a stunning build.

What size frame did you got for, what height are you?

Cheers, I’m between sizes and looking for some feedback.

I’m 6’2″ and went for an XL.

The reach might seem short, but the seat angle is only 72deg, so the top tube is quite roomy when sat down. The top tube is actually longer than my Trek Slash with nearly 30mm less reach.

I have short legs for my height though (around 33″ inseam) and due to the longish seat tube, I can only fit a 125mm dropper.

I’m actually in the middle of turning it into more of a trail hardtail rather than an XC bike. Fitted chunkier tyres, shorter stem, bigger bar and I’ve got a Manitou Mattoc Pro 3 on the way to replace the SID Ultimate.

You can build it up burly or light as it’s such a versatile frame. I might end up swapping it eventually for something more burly though (would love a Banshee Paradox 3).

Ok thanks.
I’m 5’8 and right between the med and large. The reach is really short, which is what’s throwing me.
Think if I’m building it up as a 100mm bike I’ll go medium frame, and large if I’m going for a 120mm fork otherwise the reach is way to short. Need a 90mm stem…

I was initially worried about the short reach, but to be honest it’s not really the whole picture.

Because of the slacker seat angle, the top tube is actually longer than my XL Trek Slash! They feel like a similar size despite the DV9 being about 30mm shorter on reach (both with 50mm stem).

Easily the best hard tail I’ve owned so far! Going to try some wider rims once I’ve got my new fork on.

Thanks for the info!