Pro Bike Check: Ibis Factory Rider Gary Forrest’s Ibis Ripley 29 LS
It’s fair to say that Scottish Ibis Enduro Team rider Gary Forrest has had a tough year. Breaking his ribs in practice for the opening round of the EWS series in NZ was never the start he wanted, but it was trumped when he broke his back during practice for the Scottish EWS round (video interview here). Gary is now almost fully recovered and training hard for his 2016 campaign, and he has a sweet new ride to keep motivation high. We caught up with him to check out his team issue Ibis Ripley LS, with a rather unique addition.
The original Ibis Ripley was a great bike with a really composed feel through the turns but it soon felt outgunned when the terrain turned more technical. More aggressive riders were looking for something with a little more grunt, the latest LS version is Ibis’s response. Longer and slacker than the standard bike (which is still available) it adds a dose of burliness to the refined DW link chassis. With his trademark smooth style Gary has been pushing this bike hard on the Tweed Valley trails and thinks it is just a beast.
One thing that immediately caught our attention was the small device fitted to the frame. Suspecting there was some electronic trickery afoot we found out it’s in fact a new Scottoiler S1 prototype automatic chain oiler, a project which failed to raise enough funds on its Kickstarter campaign. The device features an accelerometer that activates when the bike is ridden, oiling the chain every 30 – 150 seconds of riding time (user selectable) at the lower jockey wheel. Weighing only 210g when the system is full of around 30 hours of lubricant it ensures that the chain is always running smooth, and Scottoiler claim benefits of up to 12 Watts increased performance. This is the first time we have seen this device being tested by a racer, and maybe Scottoiler are still considering producion. Gary was certainly a fan “we were riding yesterday and my mates chain was all bogged up in the mud, mine still felt silky smooth and efficient, it would be great over a long race weekend”.
The new Ripley also features improved clearance for bigger rims and tyres, allowing Gary to run the huge Ibis 941 rims with a monstrous 35 mm internal width (you can find our review of the Ibis 741 rims here). This does make tyre choice a little trickier as not every tyre profile suits the wide rim, but Gary is enjoying the Schwalbe Magic Mary on the front and Maxxis Highroller II 2.3 tyre on the rear inflated to 20 psi front and 22 psi rear. In the cockpit, Gary has cut his Joystick Analog 35 mm Carbon bar down to 770 mm for tight turns in the Tweed Valley trees and runs his SRAM Guide RSC brake levers screwed quite close to the bars but with the bite point wound out for a sharp response.
Gary has only just received the bike and is still setting up his X-Fusion suspension, but he will run a setup with a slightly faster rebound on the forks to keep the bike stable at the higher speeds he can hit on the 29 inch wheels. He will run a slightly slower rear suspension to soak up any big square edged hits without kicking back. The 120 mm of rear travel is controlled by an X-Fusion O2 pro shock, and the 140 mm Trace forks give the bike an aggressive stance. Gary has never been one for super firm setups and runs the rear sag at around 30%, at 182cm tall he chose the size Large frame with a 50 mm Joystick Builder stem.
We look forward to seeing Gary back on the race circuit again next season.
Words and photos: Trev Worsey
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