Best Enduro Bikes: Head To Head Comparison
Rocky Mountain's Altitude and Ibis' Ripmo are enduro bikes with a few distinct differences in features and ride quality. We compare and contrast the two big travel bikes to help you decide which ride is best for you.
Ibis Ripmo
Go big and go roam is what Ripmo is all about. This sled from Ibis is revamped for this year with a new flip chip for MX sessions, a cubby hole, and meaningful tweaks to the geo and suspension to give you a more satisfying rip down the trails.
How’s It Ride?
Ripmo is renowned for being the bike to pick up if you're headed to an unknown trail. With a depth of talent and skillsets, it's the unflappable MTB that ensures you'll have the most fun on just about any ride. With the new flip chip, you could even switch wheels out at the trailhead to decide what shenanigans you want to get into. Ripmo slaps, jumps, and hits right on every note up and down the mountain.
How Ours Is Equipped
Also new this year is the cubby hole in the downtube with bags supplied by Cotopaxi. It's a small feature, but it shines in the modern world where convenience is everything. This Ripmo is set up with Shimano Deore, Fox Factory Float X shock, and Marzocchi Bomber Z1 fork, all of which adapt well to a set-and-forget tune and make for insane fun on the trails without floating the price to cringe-worthy levels. Of the bikes in our guide, this may be the easiest one to simply unbox and go ride.
Rocky Mountain Altitude
Rocky Mountain's Altitude enduro bike is an absolute slayer and one of the most adjustable bikes in our guide. We did a custom number on this one, so be sure to peep the specs for inspo on your build and chat with a Gearhead to unbox a one-of-a-kind on delivery.
How’s It Ride?
Altitude has long been an enduro-racing rig, which is true with this latest version as well. It feels better the faster you push it, fluttering over small trail chatter and ramping hard as you dip deeper into the suspension. It also features insane versatility in its geo, thanks to Rocky Mountain's Ride-4 engineering. With it, you can alter geometry just enough to grind out climbing days more efficiently or roll more control down aggressive trail sections. You can prioritize the ride characteristics you need for your trail ride. Also, you can opt for an MX wheel day and unlock a completely different attitude of Altitude.
How Ours Is Equipped
Our custom build includes SRAM's X0 Eagle Transmission groupset and the brand-new, ultra-powerful Maven Silver brakeset. With those, we have the gears needed for demanding enduro courses and the ability to maximize the late-breaking ability inherent to Altitude. We've also opted for the ultra-versatile Zeb Ultimate fork, which has a suspension tuneability range in line with Altitude's expansive, geo-morphing nature.
Watch Our Full Review
Unbox and play or get something you can tinker with? There's a whole lot more to unpack when deciding which of these rides is for you. Check out our in-depth video review as we debate the pros and cons before you choose
