Haven't ridden the Yeti or Evil, but I have been on the Sentinel.  It basically monster trucks everything.  I rode it in Pisgah and it's perfect for the tougher trails.  Definitely overkill for anything in Charlotte.  I was set to buy one as a second bike for Pisgah and some bike park duty (I have a hard tail that I ride locally).  I ended up buying a Commencal Meta TR 29.  Geometry is almost identical to the Sentinel but the HTA is a little less slack and it uses a different offset fork.  My only complaint about the Sentinel is that it is cumbersome on climbs due to the slack front end.  It has a good amount of wheel flop from side-to-side making steep uphill switchbacks a little tricky.

If you're only going to be riding locally it's definitely not worth it for a longer travel bike.  If you want something that can slay anything around here you should look into the new Ripley.  It's a killer bike that can actually handle some rough stuff too if you get to the mountains every once in a while.

I've got a SB5.5, which is in between the SB130 and SB150.  I would say the the SB150 is a whole lotta bike for Charlotte trails.  If you plan on riding Pisgah and Wilson's a bunch, you would enjoy the hell out of it.  But if you're looking to ride CLT trails more w/ an occasional trip to the mountains, I'd opt for the SB130 instead.

my 2 cents.

Anyone on a Ibis Ripmo ?

WWC, Rocky River, Poston,  with occasional Trips to Asheville  -

de49192 wrote on 05/21/19 at 6:39pm:



I'd look at the new Ripley, a Smuggler, Following or similar 29er with 120-130mm.

120-130mm with a proper Geo. and parts can shred the ever living s***out of pretty much anything and its less bike to horse around on the old Flat and Twisty you find in Charlotte.

Those bikes are equally at home in WNC and are a blast to ride here. I'd ride a proper built 130mm bike over a mega-slack 160mm bike that weights 35lbs.

The new crop of short travel bikes are insanely capable.

My buddy has a RipMo and I will say for a longer travel bike it pedals extremely well and doesn't feel as burly as it is. He did have to warranty the frame after 5 months tho...

Built a Evil Offering @ 140mm with DVO suspension this winter and absolutely love it. Eats up the rough stuff like it’s nothing and pedals really well too. This new geometry thing is pretty amazing.

I'm on an Offering. it is the first bike that I've owned in a long time that feels like a true all around bike. It doesn't do anything horribly. It does everything above average. It feels like "my bike". it does RIP downhill though. I've ridden it with 140mm (low position) and 160mm (xtra low position) fork. I prefer it in 140 form if you have to climb techy stuff. I'll throw a 160mm Lyric on it for park days this year. I'm also running an 11.6 rear and the suspension feels dialed. I typically go through an enduro bike a year but this one will stay for a few years. I really like it and don't feel like i'm compromising in any way.

Do you feel like the geo of the Offering is too slack for WWC type trails, even with 140mm fork in Low mode?

I just picked up a 2018 Fuel EX 8 29er.  It should be a good balance for local and Pisgah type riding.

Would like your guys opinions on:
Evil Following
Ibis Ripley


Ya?