How about tape then foam? BTW, I purchased a long 'stick' of gutter foam at my local hardware store for about $5.

EDIT, it's $7 now. https://www.lowes.com/pd/GutterStuff-GS-K5-Foam-Gutter-Guard/1000202193

 

Another easier way to protect linkages



Here is a more tried and true way to fix this issue using pipe insulation.

See fix in action in previous post...

 

My new Ripley has a glued on flap that helps divert some of it, but I plan to tape the surfaces with Racers tape and then use some foam to fill the gap. Did just the foam on my Son's Ripley and it works perfectly.

Both bikes are already scratched up in there, wish I would have done it day one.

 

Tape then foam... good idea. That should do it.

 

See thread from regular ripmo:

https://forums.mtbr.com/ibis/ripmo-riders-hows-your-rear-end-1104115.html

 

I made I flap to cover link out of inner tube. zip ties it on tight above link. works great

 

Quick easy fix

View attachment 1285001

I figure this must be a common Ibis issue with their current linkage design. This is on a Ripmo AF with Assegai's which throw rocks constantly. Rocks get into this spot and get pinched by the linkage. I ride in the Sierra's so there's rocks everywhere. Does anyone have a fix for this? I was thinking of using some frame tape to just bridge across the area. I've heard of using a piece of foam but I think foam would just trap dirt and then constantly rub the dirt against the frame, causing damage as well.

I solved this problem on the Ripley 4 w/ pipe insulation foam. Once it is in place it never slips out. No Tape! No glue! I have 2.5 months of riding with it in place.

Easy cheap fix!

 

Good idea to put some protection on the seat tube, used helicopter tape on mine. I pinged Ibis and they sent me a flap/guard that works like a champ on my Ripmo, assuming the same one will work with the Ripley. Ping them about it and they will send you one. Curious that they have not made them available on their store yet

 

Could you post a picture so we could see? Thanks!

 

Reach out to Ibis. They have a piece of foam that they are getting custom cut to fit in there. They sent me one a few months back and it's been working great. I also put some helicopter tape on the surfaces before putting the foam in as an added layer of protection.

 

Yeah, no structural worry yet on mine but crunching rocks in there over and over isn't good for anything including the stress transferred to the bearings. A small plastic fender hanging off the seat tube and not touching any moving parts would be best. Like one mentioned, a piece of foam will trap sand particles and rub the alloy down over time. Protective tape under the foam would work though. The new Santa Cruz bikes have a little flap over the bottom of the shock. I might make something like that or the one above on the Ripley and adhere it with 3m double sided tape. It sure would be easier if it already came with it though!

 

crunching rocks in there over and over isn't good for anything including the stress transferred to the bearings.

Totally agree! It's a pain to have to solve for this, esp. when the og ripmo has had a similar issue, ibis is hopefully working on a guard or something.

Decided to clean the linkage up and have a better look and a decent part of the bottom edge of the linkage mount has been chewed up. I've had the bike for about a month, glad I saw this was an issue on here, or it'd be awhile before I noticed.

I'm trying a fender and see if that helps, might tape up the linkage too like other people have done.

 

They have only been making bikes for 38 years......Just give them a little time to figure things out.
I am sure they are working on it!!

 

That fender does look like it will take care of most of the issue.
I was thinking about something like this.

 

That fender does look like it will take care of most of the issue.
I was thinking about something like this. View attachment 1287325

The New HD5 appears to have the exact same fender on the lower link that Santa Cruz is using there. I wonder if it is going to make it on to other Ibis models? It appears to be screw-in though, so I'm not sure if that means they would need new carbon frame molds or not.

 

I have 175 miles on my Ripmo and while have no issues in the linkage I have noticed many scratches in the chain stay loop at the bottom of the rear triangle. I am getting rocks caught in the 2.6 nobby nic and dragged into the frame there. Many small scratches. Over time this will cause wear so I added some protection tape there. You don't notice it unless you pull the rear wheel.

 

I know that similar pictures were posted above but here are a couple more from a little bit back to see it on the bike. The first pic shows the plastic piece that Ibis is using for the lower part. For the upper link, they simply put a piece of tape. Hope this helps.

 

I'm aware Ibis is sold out of the lower link guard. I was thinking of using a piece of tube and double sided tape. I think that will be just as good.

 

Need help finding Mastic Tape or other solution for rock damage

I have the lower link guard installed but am running into problems with the space between the upper link and the seat tube where the rocks are killing my frame. Currently, the damage is cosmetic and I am going to be doing some smoothing out and repainting the area prior to replacing my helicopter taped areas with a frame wrap.

What I would like to do with this area is to apply some rubberized tape. I'd like to use some of the same tape that comes stock below the bottom bracket, but am unsure what brand/type it is. I was looking at Scotch 2228 Mastic tape 2", would really like something similar that is wider than 2". Does anybody know of a replacement or another solution?

 

I just let it be on my Ripmo V2, war wounds. It also happened to my Mojo SLR and to my HD3. The rocks fall down from above as the wheel rolls them around. Ibis said that the carbon is "extremely thick" at that point, so nothing to worry about.

 

The 3M 2228 works pretty well on my HD4.

I just overlap two pieces and get a couple of months at a 3-4 rides per week out of it before the linkage movement breaks it down and creates a hole in the tape.

I think you could probably buy something similar from Pivot - https://store.pivotcycles.com/en/dw-link-protector and cut it to fit maybe.

The other possibility would be a rear fender.

I did try a Mucky Nutz and it was tricky to get it to stay where I wanted it to stay and was getting buzzed by my rear tire.

IIRC the Mucky fender didn't connect at four points on the frame which might have been part of my issue as far as getting the fit correct on the fender.

 

I made a flap out of Mastic tape to cover that area but it didn't last very long being attached to the frame and linkage. Might try and make one that only attaches to the frame and see how it does. Kinda surprised Ibis doesn't put more effort into making stuff to keep this from happening.

 

Kinda what I was looking to do, however, I am only looking into protecting the frame. Hopefully, it will last longer without having to deal with the motion. Took a look at it this morning and it occurred to me that I could just use black Gorilla Tape and change it as needed. Will check into the solution from Pivot as well.

 

Ripleys ship with a thick protective material applied to the top of that upper link mounting boss on the frame, some sort of reinforced tape or something similar. I want to say I remember Roxy on a podcast recently talking about figuring out a pattern and material for that application. It also takes the abuse if you run fat rear tires that rub on bottom out.

 

View attachment 1285001

I figure this must be a common Ibis issue with their current linkage design. This is on a Ripmo AF with Assegai's which throw rocks constantly. Rocks get into this spot and get pinched by the linkage. I ride in the Sierra's so there's rocks everywhere. Does anyone have a fix for this? I was thinking of using some frame tape to just bridge across the area. I've heard of using a piece of foam but I think foam would just trap dirt and then constantly rub the dirt against the frame, causing damage as well.

One thing I can tell you learning the hard way - frame damage that occurs from rocks getting kicked up into the linkage is not covered by warranty. It does meet the 'no fault' warranty claim to get a new rear triangle for $500 but I'm pretty bummed by this.

Googling 'rear triangle linkage rock damage' seems this is semi common for Ripley/Ripmos. I worked with Clay from Ibis and he said this is not considered a design flaw past the Ripley 1 because they added a little rubber flap to help prevent rocks from falling down there. This rubber flap fell out a long time ago (I didn't even know that was there and to check on it) and had a 'nut cracker' action happen going down a blue trail in Bentonville and punctured the rear triangle.

Not much else I can do but cough up $500 and warn others that are considering a Ripley / Ripmo. I love my Ripley, but the design seems to make these more prone than other suspension designs and wish I had though about this before dropping 6 grand on a bike.

 

Damn man. Bummer for sure. I have an AF so it won't crack the frame there as it's a solid piece but a rock could still jam and put a lot of pressure on the pivots. The best "bandaid" for this might be to add a fork style flexible plastic fender to keep rocks from even getting there in the first place. Seen it done and it looks like it would work well. The zip ties are ugly but you also get the side perk of reducing how much dirt and debris the pivots are exposed to.

 

Similar config, I used some tape, it lasted years without ever doing anything. Worked perfect.

 

This is my latest ghetto iteration for the top link flap. My previous versions were made out of entirely mastic tape but the last one didn't last long so this time around I played around with a piece of Teflon sheet using the old mastic flap as a template, then cut off some new mastic tape to affix the top and bottom ends of the new flap to the bike. Dirt and dust should glide off Teflon better than the mastic flaps as they were more porous and basically a dirt and dust magnet.

We'll see if this holds up. [emoji1696]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Made a similar out of an old tube. Cut a piece and taped it to the seattube and ziptied it to the link. I hope it works.

 

Is this something people do on most bikes? Or is this just particularly an issue for Ripleys and Ripmos? I haven't seen any other bikes out on the trails needing some macgyver fixes like this

 

Yep, kinda a janky byproduct of certain frame designs. Not many designs that combine a solid rear triangle with linkage that's out of harms way. Maybe the Evil bikes but not sure which others.