Having ridden a bit more regularly during covid, I was questioning more changes to the old bike, a Scott Genius plus, that I was running overforked and overwheeled (29er), but dropping more money into it seemed a bit pointless.
I've always been curious about DW link, and what started as an innocent enquiry to the Ibis LBS resulted in the information that an unallocated XL Ripmo was landing in Aus in a few weeks..
I was a little tentative in that the RIPMO is a lot of bike, and I'm not the most aggressive trail rider... But...
With COVID craziness, I knew that selling the old Genius (and spare parts) would be easy, so decided to pull the pin and put my name down to secure the Ripmo .
I was originally planning to buy the frame only and transfer parts, but the cost difference was too minimal so the full Deore build it was.
Finally picked it up this weekend, variations from the standard build were my own change from the stock Exo+ Assegai tyres to DHF/DHR for a slight adjustment in weight and rolling resistance and adding on the Crank Bros Stamp pedals to try.
My bike box came with some changes over stock, being SLX instead of Deore brakes, and a 170mm dropper instead of 150mm. Pleasantly surprised with both.
I had a quick* play with the suspension settings in preparation for a short and gentle ride (have been off bike for 2 months due to various injuries).
*This is relative as there are many adjustments on the DVO fork and shock, not to mention variances between the IBIS setup guide and DVO setup guide. I daresay this will take some time to dial in.
Throwing the leg over the bike felt immediately comfortable (I'm 6ft3.5).
First trail of the day was a easy climb, suffice to say all the reports you hear about the DW link and climbing are correct, no need to touch the shock adjustments.
Going from a 67.5deg head angle to a 65deg head angle was noticeably different on the switchbacks, and this is something I'll need to adjust my riding style for to prevent understeer.
My main issue was the amount of hand pressure on the bars, which was somewhat unexpected due to the Ripmo having a higher stack height than the Genius. Unsure if this is the Seat Angle or the bar/grip combo. Having been off the bike a while I will give this some time and see if it's me, or some changes to be made.
With the wrist injury still healing descending was a little restrained, although the Ripmo felt quick, confident and comfortable. Again, a little bit more body english is needed in the turns with the slacker HA but that's for me to work on.
Still need some time dialing in the fork and it's many adjustment being, OTT, HSC, LSC, LSR and the pressure (IBIS recommend 20PSI less than DVO..)
Other comments;
Unsure I'll ever need the full range of 10-51 so may drop to a 10-45 cassette.
Miss the XT shifting a little.
Rage-i dropper lever is pretty firm but may need some time.
Unsure about the Stamp pedals, but the bigger platform is certainly a plus.
Pretty damn happy so far, can't wait to ride more.