Ragley MMMBOP what do people think?

Hi guys i have chance of a Ragley mmmbop just wondering what people think of these bikes, im only getting the frame, forks and wheels the forks are dt swiss exm 130mm

Great – you’ll love it. Very confidence-inspiring! Bit harsh as an all-day ride, but that’s not what it’s designed for.

Aye. Top fun. Singletrack destroyer! Nimble, flickable, loves getting wheels in the air. I love mine.

I started off with 140mm Revelations, now sporting 160mm U-Turn coil Lyriks & doing much more DH style stuff.

You do feel a bit sore after 25-30 miles xc though!

cheers guys plus the bike is from a friend at work so know where its been and i know its been looked after, may go for longer forks in future myself

In 4 words

Confident
Capable
Light
Harsh

Reevil hope you dont mind me asking but what components do you have on yours as i will need just about everything apart from frame forks wheels and seat post

Had one for about 3 months, sold it on as I found it way too harsh for even short flat xc rides. Ran it with 130 revs and it was fine. Climbed like a goat, seriously light and rode great in techy jumpy sections but not great as your only bike. Glad I had one for a bit and would still have it if the rear end wasn’t so evil. Get it, you’ll enjoy it for a bit 🙂

I don’t find it harsh have used it for 3-4 day trips round afan/ brechfa/cwmcarn without suffering too much ( most of the pain was from using a 9 speed with a 34t ring)

Be warned it is a bike that will get you in trouble, I found the limits of my ability and spent 3 months healing broken bones!

Still have it but wife doesn’t like me riding it. I,ve named her Christine…

Good idea but bad execution IMO- fantastic geometry, descends like a dropped bomb, climbs like a goat. But too stiff at the back, by a long way. And I don’t mean uncomfortable- comfort was never an issue, I’ve got a cast-iron arse and also I don’t sit down that much. Just constantly skittish at speed on anything but smooth, even with a 2.3 tyre in it.

So, love/hate but I really don’t miss mine at all. Got a C456 to replace it and a slackener headset, which doesn’t quite have the same brilliant handling but works much better all round. (Ragley Ti gets rid of all the bad bits of the Mmmbop and is, IMO, the best hardtail I’ve ever ridden)

Disclaimer: I don’t like overly stiff bikes, it’s not the only bike I hate that other folks like. Some folks hate softer bikes.

Mines been great, been to glentress and innerleithen had a blast on the downhills and climbs really well you won’t be disappointed, just fit some good brakes to stop you at the bottom of the hills.

Couldn’t get on with mine. Only bike I’ve bought that ive shifted on quickly. As above I found just to unforgiving. Made sense pointing downhill, but even with big volume tyres and carbon bars, felt beaten up after a decent ride. Only way to rife it was constantly out of saddle even on relative flat which becomes tiring.

Had one for the last year and have to say I haven’t found it too stiff or harsh at all – been using it with a high volume tyre though.

Spec:
1.5″ Chris King headset
1.5″ Lyric U-Turns 20mm axle.
Easton Havoc stem -50mm
Answer Pro 720 bars
SLX Drivetrain Double & bash
Hope Tech M4 brakes
Hope Hoops with Mavic EX721 rims
Rockshox Reverb
Nobby Nic 2.4s in summer
Maxxis Swampthing 2.35 in winter.

It’s not a cheap build, nor light, but it’s hard as nails. I love it.
It loved South Wales, particulary Cwm Rhader. Point it downhill & it comes alive!

Having said all that, I’ve robbed the forks, stem & brakes to go on my Nukeproof Mega build, contemplating taking the mmmBop back to Revelations or maybe X-Fusion 140mm forks, or possibly selling frame. (Mrs R & my head demand I sell it, my heart says no)

Thanks guys, that’s great Reevil just nice to know what other people’s specs are, the guy is asking 500quid for the frame, forks and wheels do u guys think that’s an ok price

Oh aye, spec, sorry.
Hope headset (very good 1.5 reducer)
Revelation Team uturns (usually at 140mm)
Easton Monkeylite DH bars and 60mm Gusset stem
Roval Traverse rims.
2.35 Nevegal on the front, 2.3 Eskar on the back (big and bouncy- I used a 2.1 Nevegal in my Soul but it was horrendous on the Bop)
Gravity Dropper, Charge Knife, and Formula Oro brakes

my spec is

Fox Float 32 140mm
mavic 719 rims on hope hubs
2.4 RQ on the front, 2.25 Crossmark on the rear
sunline 740mm bars with 70mm stem
reverb
slx drivetrain
hope tech m4 brakes

In the last year I have only used my Mmmbop on my Wednesday night rides but I have to say it rides as well as my Ti 456 only without the flex when really putting the power down.
I can’t think of a HT where I spend so much time in big ring!!
Taken this time last year when I swapped all the bits off my steel 456

Just got in from a very wet and muddy ride on mine.

Can’t say I find mine particularly harsh – use a Thomson layback post which may help.
130mm floats on the front, Mavic 717 xt/hope wheels, mountain king protections, oros, charge spoon, xt/slx/fsa 1×9 drivetrain, superstar XCR guide, fsa 710mm bars.

Thanks guys, that’s great Reevil just nice to know what other people’s specs are, the guy is asking 500quid for the frame, forks and wheels do u guys think that’s an ok price

Sounds reasonable. What are the forks & wheels?

Ragleys were all the rage after release, don’t hear much of them now.

I liked mine a lot and now kind of miss it for shorter spins.

As above – got rid (after about 6 months) due to the skittish / harsh rear end (I’m old and like my comforts me!). Now seriously considering a C456 as it’s replacement.

Spec – Revs, hope h/s, various wheels, slx gear. A carbon post may have helped.

Ragleys were all the rage after release, don’t hear much of them now.

Yeh, its all about them On One carbon 456’s n that these days. Dunno why that is.

Ragleys were all the rage after release, don’t hear much of them now.
Yeh, its all about them On One carbon 456’s n that these days. Dunno why that is.

Cheap fun way to get a new frame innit! My mmmbop was £150 new and I think I sold it for (or damn near) what I paid for it.

I built one for my lad. He loves it to bits. It’s robust, not a lightweight build, but suits a (second row forward) teenager down to the ground
Spec
SLX double’n’bash, incl Stinger
9 spd slx
Hope Tech M4 203 185
Hope Pro2 on DT Swiss EX500
Minion DHF 2.35 front and rear
Magura Thor 100/140

£500 quid sounds OK…. what wheels and forks come with it?

cynic-al – Member
Ragleys were all the rage after release, don’t hear much of them now.

Well the Mmmbop was discontinued so not that available anymore.

Oh go on then, whilst we’re doing photos.

With Revs:

With Lyrics

Wheels are mavic rims on hope front hub and xt rear forks are Dt swiss exm 130mm

I really liked mine. I couldn’t decide between the 16″ which was too small and the 18″ which was a little too big. I eventually went with the 18″ and fitted Rev U-turns… for me 130mm forks were the sweet spot. I never felt the frame to be harsh even when running an I-beam seat and post, but I ended with a reverb and big 2.2/2.3″ tyres tubeless at 25-30psi…

I decided the 18″ was a little big as the top tube was where my knees hit, and I found the limits of the bike and forks so upgraded to a 17″ Troof with Fox 36 forks… which is a bit of a beast but suits my riding style better.

Summary – Fantastic frame and very light for what it’s capable of.
I’ve provisionally sold the frame to a friend but I’m tempted to rebuilt it for more XC stuff now I have the Troof for hooning.

Get it.. IMO its a classic in the waiting. Superb bike that forgives all my clumsiness and mistakes.
I see Brant is morphing the 456 that way now..
Drop it into the knarl and it attacks..
Run a 2.4 Nobby Nic on the back at low pressure and you’re sorted.. I’ve got a Thudbuster on mine for longer rides.
Love it!

There was quite a nice one for sale on here a few months ago £900 for complete bike, so £500 is ok if wheels and forks are decent. It really depends what sort of bike you’re looking for as to whether it’s good value.

Nimble, flickable

I’ve not ridden a Bop, but I have ridden a Blue Pig and a Ragley Ti – same geometry – and I’m not sure that ‘nimble’ is quite the right word. They’re very slack at the front which means they tend to be, erm, ‘carvey’ rather than lightning quick steering, but the pay-off is steam-roller stability going down. You kind of adjust to it anyway, but don’t expect lightning-fast steering on more nadgery stuff.

Love mine.

Would agree with BWD – on twisty singletrack stuff, with Pikes at 140mm, it can feel a bit unwieldy as they’re quite long and slack. Better with the forks wound down a bit.

But point it down something fast and rocky (like most stuff in the Peak) and it comes into its own. Stable, fast and fun.

I see a few of you guys have slx double drive with bash I thinking of that route, do u recommend? Thinking 2×10, also not sure what brakes and what size rotars

I see a few of you guys have slx double drive with bash I thinking of that route, do u recommend? Thinking 2×10, also not sure what brakes and what size rotars

good tough bike ideal for big clumsy riders on rough terrain.
i liked mine.

I will be mainly riding at gisburn forest, grizedale, whinlatter and lee/cragg quarry, so I thought it would be a good bike for those places

Whilst we’re having an mmmbop love-in, does anyone know of anything comparable new?

mmmbob is discontinued
C456 is ugly
Steel 456 is heavy (compared to an alumninium bike)
Everything else in the genre seems to be steel.
I’d buy another steel bike if it was sub 2kg and stiff, but that’s never going to happen.

Loved my MmmBop. It was so much fun to ride that my Trek Fuel EX stopped getting used. Was great on my local shortish XC rides with a bit of DH mixed in and I never noticed a harsh back end until I rode Afan earlier this year on (not as smooth as it used to be!). I decided then I wanted a full suss which rode like the MmmBop but with some give in the back end (I mean as in suspension rather than steel flex), so got a Five. If I didn’t have to sell it to pay for the Five, I would definately have kept it!

Ragley did put up their FB page a few weeks ago a sneak-peak shot of the MmmBop replacement, called the Marley which I think is due out later this year.

I see a few people bunging big (160mm) forks on Mmmbops, but I found it worked best at 130mm, anymore and the bottom bracket height and slack seat angle started to affect how it rode (IMHO, YMMV etc etc).

If your looking for a hardtail to take a 160mm fork have a look at the Ragley Troof. It’s a bit beefier than an Mmmbop but it rides awesome with a big fork; when I’m riding mine I’m too busy laughing to tell if the back end is harsh 😉