[crashtoomuch]

I was looking for a new bike after being out of the game for a bit. I was holding out hope that a new Turner would be on the horizon, but I understand that it's not in the cards.

I've been riding my 2011 Sultan here in Colorado on the usual front range trails - suffer for 30-60 minutes climbing, then bomb down the dry rocky stuff.

I did the arm chair over-analysis looking for a new ride. I made a short list and set out to try some bikes. I rode a Guerrilla Gravity Pistola, an Alchemy Arktos, and then a short ride on a Ripley and a Ripmo.

The GG felt pretty hefty. The Arktos was a bulldozer. Both were fun and climbed surprisingly well. They both felt solid to the point that they had a heavy bias to downhill chunk.

The 26 pound Ripley had the precision of a scalpel. Obviously apples and oranges to the bigger bikes, and much racier than the Sultan. This was the bike that on paper should have been the best fit for an upgraded Sultan.

Yet, the Ripmo was Goldilocks for me - it has that DW trait where you're one pedal stroke from giving up on some rocky thing, and that last mash with the right foot shoots you ahead like you were cheating. My Sultan does the same thing. Downhill is fun without the tank feeling of the other bigger bikes. it has some beef with a fox 36 fork, but it's not going to fight if you change lines at the last second.

I've been riding it all spring and summer and I'll take the trade on climbing a bit slower than a super light bike for the margin of error I get riding my old ass down the rocky stuff

I still have my Sultan and did a short ride on it today. I may turn it into a commuter, or maybe find a way to put a motor on it. it'll be 10 years old next spring, so lots of miles left on that Turner frame.

 

[Sparticus]

Way to go -- I've heard nothing but positive comments about the Ripmo. Hope you enjoy it for many (s)miles.

I had an '11 Sultan, too. At the time I bought it, I figured, "This will probably be the last FS bike I ever buy -- it's SO good!"

And it was. Then boost happened. Thru-axles happened. Dropper posts became de rigueur. One-by drivetrains, frame geo updates, wide rims & tires, blah, blah. In '17 I bought a Guerrilla Gravity Trail Pistola and holy smoke -- I immediately realized that mountain bikes are far from done evolving.

I'm now on an '18 GG Smash and although I love this bike, if I was purchasing a new bike today it'd have yet another 10-30mm travel. I've found my calling and it includes take-offs, landings and seeking challenging lines. Weight be damned, I'm in love with capability. Give me travel and brute strength.

These days I never think, "this may be the last bike I ever buy," rather I wonder what my next bike will be like.

Anyway again, enjoy your Ripmo. Great bike.
=sParty

 

[Jayem]

I remember the Sultan was "long travel" for a 29er at the time, but I still felt like more travel on a 5.5 spot felt like "more travel". The Sultan was still very conservative in it's geometry and designers were finding it tough to fit front derailleurs in there without stretching the stays into infinity. I think 29er FS really started to explode in 2013/14 when specialized and a few others figured out how to shorten up the rear end to what "normal" bikes had and then 1x came out short after this and things just fell in line.