Bicycling USA – July 2019

Bikes

IF YOU FOLLOW current mountain

bike trends, the changes Ibis made

to its 120mm 29er Ripley trail bike

were death-and-taxes inevitable.

This new, fourth-generation

Ripley is longer—reach grows by

45mm and wheelbase by 38mm—

and it’s one degree slacker at the

head tube. The chainstays are

12mm shorter, while the seat angle

is now 76 degrees and shorter to

fit longer-travel droppers. The

frame weighs 295 grams less but is

as stiff as the company’s 150mm

RipMo enduro frame, Ibis claims.

While the previous Ripley felt

like a longer-travel XC bike, this

one rides like a shorter-travel

enduro bike. The new geometry

trades some low-speed nimbleness

for better high-speed stability.

This version feels more settled

on wide-open trails and handles

better on steep terrain—you can

f ly on this bike. The front wheel

can be a bit unwieldy on walking-

speed climbs, but I quickly

adapted to and managed the f lop.

The suspension is excellent.

It pedals crisply and is sensitive

and controlled. I think the stock

tune is too linear, which I fixed by

installing a larger-volume spacer.

While the geometry sometimes

writes checks that the Ripley’s

suspension can’t cash, overall this

is an excellent trail bike. It comes

alive with speed, darting up and

down hills and carving up corners.

Grins are inevitable.—Matt Phillips

IBIS RIPLEY V 4

PRICE: $7,599 (w/ SRAM X01 AXS) / WEIGHT: 26.9 LB (M)

THE $796 MOTOBECANE Gran
Premio Elite isn’t a new bike,
and it has stuck around for good
reason: The steel-framed roadie
is lighter than many aluminum
competitors and delivers superb
vibration damping. The Gran
Premio also has a sweet-shifting
Shimano 105 drivetrain that’s
better than what you will find on
many rivals. And as a matter of
opinion, those sporty Shimano
RS11 wheels look splendid on the
classic steel silhouette.
In other words, the Gran
Premio Elite is an excellent value
proposition on paper. On roads,
the bike makes crack-laden pave-
ment feel a lot less jarring, and the
steering is sharp. Its Tektro rim

brakes are underpowered—one

of the few places the budget build

shows—but shifting from the

Shimano 105 drivetrain is fast and

crisp, and that makes the Gran

Premio Elite feel more expensive

than it is. It’s not explosive under

hard pedaling, so if that sensation

of stiffness and immediate power

transfer is important to you, then

an aluminum bike might be better.

Motobecane sells direct, which

keeps the cost down, but also

means you won’t be able to test-

ride before you buy (although you

have 30 days to return it and get

a full refund). If you’re okay with

that, you get one of the smoothest-

riding bikes for the money that

we’ve ever tested.—Dan Roe

MOTOBECANE GRAN PREMIO ELITE

PRICE: $796 / WEIGHT: 21.4 LB (59CM)

LEGENDARY

REYNOLDS^

STEEL^ TUBES

THE NEW

FRAME^ WEIGHS

A HALF-POUND

LESS.

90 BICYCLING.COM • ISSUE 5