I think that currently Deore vs SLX is more or less a difference without a distinction. The DVO vs 34 at your weight probably is a huge difference, especially with the drops you are riding. I would also say that the RIpmo AF suspension design is far ahead of the Siskiu. Essentially, the Polygon is a great bike at the price, the Rimpo AF is just a great freaking bike and worth the increased price if you can swing it.
Help which bike do I buy Siskiu T8 or Ripmo AF
TL;DR I’m 6’1” 285lbs and ride pretty hard on local northeast trails. I broke the frame on my last Canyon Spectral twice. I’m trying to decide between a Polygon Siskiu t8 or an Ibis Ripmo AF Deore build. Need advice.
I’m coming off a Canyon Spectral Al 6.0 which I broke the rear triangle (known weak point of this bike) on for the second time and haven’t had a bike for months AGAIN. I’m now done with Canyon. Aside from it breaking, I loved the bike and it felt like a great ride, although I don’t have a lot of experience with modern full suspension for comparison.
I’m on a budget and I’ve narrowed it down to 2 bikes which are actually available, seem like a good deal, get good reviews and I think would work for me. I’m looking at the Polygon Siskiu t8 ($2500) or the Ibis Ripmo AF Deore build ($3400).
I’m a big guy, I’m 6’ ½” and am currently at 285 lbs but am trending down weight wise. But even when I’m lean I’m still like 240. I mostly ride my local trails in the northeast, lots of roots, rocks and pretty decent climbs. I’m not the most highly skilled guy out there by any means but I have been riding for years and do ride aggressively and charge pretty hard. On any given day I’ll hit little 2-3 ft drops and occasionally dabble with stuff as high as 6-7 ft but not regularly. I do like to stop and session and play around with jumps, riding skinnies and other technical stuff too.
I’m really torn which bike to get but here’s my thinking for each:
Siskiu t8:
Pros:
-Great reviews, and seems like a fun playful bike.
-Probably a good amount of travel (140 front 135 rear) for trail riding but at my weight will I blow through it too quickly?
-Really like the SLX drive train
-Great price and great value
Cons/concerns:
-Worried about the fox 34 front fork flex and durability but I did speak to fox today and they said it should hold up ok and not have too much flex. They said the cheap 34 rhythm is actually stiffer than the more expensive builds.
-Mail order bike with no LBS support
-T8 owners complain about the rims and hubs being sub par and needing to be switched.
-T8 owners also say the rear shock isn’t great on that bike and at my weight I may have to switch it out.
-Less known brand.
-I’m sure it is difficult for warranty if that problem arises.
Ibis Ripmo AF:
Pros:
-Known quality brand sold by a great LBS with good support.
-Beefier DVO onyx fork probably better for my weight.
-Deore brakes (I always like shimano brakes but have not ridden anything lower than SLX in years)
-I’m sure the Ibis rims and hubs are better quality than the polygon house brand.
-Better rear shock but LBS said still may need to be revalved/custom tuned but I would try to ride as is.
Cons/concerns:
-Is it too much travel (160 front 147 rear) and too much bike for my local trails. Will it not be fun and playful?
-Deore drive train as opposed to SLX
-$1000 more expensive
At the end of the day I want the bike that will be most appropriate and fun to ride. I don’t want to spend more but I would if it is the right bike. Each bike definitely has its pros and cons. I’d very much appreciate any input. Thanks in advance.
I’m coming off a Canyon Spectral Al 6.0 which I broke the rear triangle (known weak point of this bike) on for the second time and haven’t had a bike for months AGAIN. I’m now done with Canyon. Aside from it breaking, I loved the bike and it felt like a great ride, although I don’t have a lot of experience with modern full suspension for comparison.
I’m on a budget and I’ve narrowed it down to 2 bikes which are actually available, seem like a good deal, get good reviews and I think would work for me. I’m looking at the Polygon Siskiu t8 ($2500) or the Ibis Ripmo AF Deore build ($3400).
I’m a big guy, I’m 6’ ½” and am currently at 285 lbs but am trending down weight wise. But even when I’m lean I’m still like 240. I mostly ride my local trails in the northeast, lots of roots, rocks and pretty decent climbs. I’m not the most highly skilled guy out there by any means but I have been riding for years and do ride aggressively and charge pretty hard. On any given day I’ll hit little 2-3 ft drops and occasionally dabble with stuff as high as 6-7 ft but not regularly. I do like to stop and session and play around with jumps, riding skinnies and other technical stuff too.
I’m really torn which bike to get but here’s my thinking for each:
Siskiu t8:
Pros:
-Great reviews, and seems like a fun playful bike.
-Probably a good amount of travel (140 front 135 rear) for trail riding but at my weight will I blow through it too quickly?
-Really like the SLX drive train
-Great price and great value
Cons/concerns:
-Worried about the fox 34 front fork flex and durability but I did speak to fox today and they said it should hold up ok and not have too much flex. They said the cheap 34 rhythm is actually stiffer than the more expensive builds.
-Mail order bike with no LBS support
-T8 owners complain about the rims and hubs being sub par and needing to be switched.
-T8 owners also say the rear shock isn’t great on that bike and at my weight I may have to switch it out.
-Less known brand.
-I’m sure it is difficult for warranty if that problem arises.
Ibis Ripmo AF:
Pros:
-Known quality brand sold by a great LBS with good support.
-Beefier DVO onyx fork probably better for my weight.
-Deore brakes (I always like shimano brakes but have not ridden anything lower than SLX in years)
-I’m sure the Ibis rims and hubs are better quality than the polygon house brand.
-Better rear shock but LBS said still may need to be revalved/custom tuned but I would try to ride as is.
Cons/concerns:
-Is it too much travel (160 front 147 rear) and too much bike for my local trails. Will it not be fun and playful?
-Deore drive train as opposed to SLX
-$1000 more expensive
At the end of the day I want the bike that will be most appropriate and fun to ride. I don’t want to spend more but I would if it is the right bike. Each bike definitely has its pros and cons. I’d very much appreciate any input. Thanks in advance.
1 - 13 of 13 Posts
I have a 2021 Polygon Siskiu T8. 6'1" 220ish. New to MTBing this year starting on a hardtail and now this is first full sus bike so I can't help you much with that comparison to the Ripmo but the T8 has been great for me so far. Took it to Trestle bike park end of summer and it did great for me. Overkill on local trails for me but I'll grow skill wise into it.
The thing I can add to this discussion for SURE is that if you choose the T8 you will need to up the token size in the shock to a 0.8 volume spacer. It's a really light tune on that shock and bottoms out easily at my weight. The 0.80 spacer gave a great progressiveness to it at the end of travel for my weight and doesn't change the soft feel. Comes with a 0.40 spacer installed. It took me less than 5 minutes to unscrew housing and swap out the spacers and re-air it back up. Spacer kit assortment was $20 for the Fox one but you can buy 3D printed spacers individually for much cheaper and they should work fine it would seem to me. I realized this after the fact.
I added a couple 10cc tokens to the Fox Rhythm 34 fork too ($2.50 each) but I didn't see as drastic a difference in the fork as the spacers made in the shock. I'm not sending any huge drops/jumps yet though.
Oh.. and the only thing I don't like about the T8 was the dropper remote lever. It's trash. $15 ebay Ztto lever, while not being as nice lever as you can buy.. works WAY better than the stock one. Was the only thing on the bike that doesn't work awesome.
The thing I can add to this discussion for SURE is that if you choose the T8 you will need to up the token size in the shock to a 0.8 volume spacer. It's a really light tune on that shock and bottoms out easily at my weight. The 0.80 spacer gave a great progressiveness to it at the end of travel for my weight and doesn't change the soft feel. Comes with a 0.40 spacer installed. It took me less than 5 minutes to unscrew housing and swap out the spacers and re-air it back up. Spacer kit assortment was $20 for the Fox one but you can buy 3D printed spacers individually for much cheaper and they should work fine it would seem to me. I realized this after the fact.
I added a couple 10cc tokens to the Fox Rhythm 34 fork too ($2.50 each) but I didn't see as drastic a difference in the fork as the spacers made in the shock. I'm not sending any huge drops/jumps yet though.
Oh.. and the only thing I don't like about the T8 was the dropper remote lever. It's trash. $15 ebay Ztto lever, while not being as nice lever as you can buy.. works WAY better than the stock one. Was the only thing on the bike that doesn't work awesome.
The T8 is a very sweet bike. My cousin just bought one and loves it. However, at your weight, I would go for the Ripmo AF. I think the DVO suspension would work much better for you. It's also easier to tune the Topaz on the Ripmo than the DPS on the T8. The fork on the Ripmo is substantially better too. And yes, the suspension design is better as well.
Thanks for the input, I agree. I'm going to test out the Ripmo tomorrow and if it feels good I'm buying it.I think that currently Deore vs SLX is more or less a difference without a distinction. The DVO vs 34 at your weight probably is a huge difference, especially with the drops you are riding. I would also say that the RIpmo AF suspension design is far ahead of the Siskiu. Essentially, the Polygon is a great bike at the price, the Rimpo AF is just a great freaking bike and worth the increased price if you can swing it.
Wow that was me about 3 weeks ago. I put a pre-order in for the T8 and while I was waiting found a 2020 ibis ripmo AF nx build for 3k on PB that was basically brand new...not a scratch on it. I just got back into mountain biking because my son signed up on his high school team. Your skills are probably far ahead of mine but I ended up purchasing the ibis ripmo and getting a refund on the T8.
So far after riding it half a dozen times I am still adjusting to it. I have spent a lot of time trying to dial in the DVO suspension and am probably going to drop the lowers in the next few weeks to check oil. I read through most of the ibis ripmo forum and saw a lot of reports of people not having enough oil and it made a huge difference so we shall see. I also purchased a new tire for the back because the stock assegai tire is too much and would like to be a little faster keeping up with the high school team lol. I have been very impressed with the climbing and the descending so far, for my skill I think the bike should last me awhile as I dial it in.
One thing that is really bothering me so far is the pedal strikes on the bike...maybe it is just my lack of skill but I am looking at getting 170 or maybe even 165 cranks to replace the stock 175s.
So far after riding it half a dozen times I am still adjusting to it. I have spent a lot of time trying to dial in the DVO suspension and am probably going to drop the lowers in the next few weeks to check oil. I read through most of the ibis ripmo forum and saw a lot of reports of people not having enough oil and it made a huge difference so we shall see. I also purchased a new tire for the back because the stock assegai tire is too much and would like to be a little faster keeping up with the high school team lol. I have been very impressed with the climbing and the descending so far, for my skill I think the bike should last me awhile as I dial it in.
One thing that is really bothering me so far is the pedal strikes on the bike...maybe it is just my lack of skill but I am looking at getting 170 or maybe even 165 cranks to replace the stock 175s.
Ripmo AF, 100%
The DVO suspension alone is reason enough to buy it over the Polygon. A bike designed to take bigger hits will go a long way to keeping you from staring at a broken bike.
The DVO suspension alone is reason enough to buy it over the Polygon. A bike designed to take bigger hits will go a long way to keeping you from staring at a broken bike.
Too easy. Let's make it harder and add the Orbea Occam H20 LT for $3659. The fork is a Fox 36 with a Grip damper.
www.orbea.com
New for 2022 model. The old one got top reviews.
OCCAM H20 LT
Still an easy choice...
The Ripmo with the DVO suspension package, hands down.
DVO stuff rides amazing, is highly adjustable, tunable and repairable at home. DVO support is second to none, I will never again choose to spend money on Fox suspension.
The Ibis DW link is also a great suspension platform for a bike that can climb and be pointed right back down the trail.
The Ripmo with the DVO suspension package, hands down.
DVO stuff rides amazing, is highly adjustable, tunable and repairable at home. DVO support is second to none, I will never again choose to spend money on Fox suspension.
The Ibis DW link is also a great suspension platform for a bike that can climb and be pointed right back down the trail.
I completely agree that suspension is far more important than the drivetrain. The Deore is quite decent too.I think that currently Deore vs SLX is more or less a difference without a distinction. The DVO vs 34 at your weight probably is a huge difference, especially with the drops you are riding. I would also say that the RIpmo AF suspension design is far ahead of the Siskiu. Essentially, the Polygon is a great bike at the price, the Rimpo AF is just a great freaking bike and worth the increased price if you can swing it.
The only thing I would probably swap on the Deore drivetrain before it wore out is the cassette. The XT cassette is something like 140 grams lighter and it's not unreasonable in price (IMO).
It has less to do with being a weight weenie, I just like to keep un-sprung weight reasonable when it's attached to suspension. If this were a HT, I would ride the Deore cassette till it was toast.
It has less to do with being a weight weenie, I just like to keep un-sprung weight reasonable when it's attached to suspension. If this were a HT, I would ride the Deore cassette till it was toast.
Rimpo, without a second thought.
So you went and rode the Ripmo guessing no follow up to this thread because once you rode the Ripmo you purchased and now have been using any free time riding rather than posting? Full Disclousre never owned a Rimpo but have owned a previous Gen Ripley and DW link is just going to be a better all rounder the the T8.
1 - 13 of 13 Posts
- This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Mountain Bike Reviews Forum
A forum community dedicated to Mountain Bike owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about bike parts, components, deals, performance, modifications, classifieds, trails, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Top Contributors this Month
View All
ilmfat
853 Replies
DIRTJUNKIE
446 Replies
Sparticus
385 Replies
Recommended Communities
