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Ripley V4 with Angle Headset

5002 Views 15 Replies 12 Participants Last post by endo.alley, 7 mo ago

jaks

Discussion Starter · Dec 27, 2021

Anyone try a slacker headset on the Ripley V4 carbon? Thoughts? Notice any negatives from doing so?

1 - 16 of 16 Posts

410sprint

· #2 · Jan 1, 2022

I don't have a Ripley V4. My two cents (its the internet, everyone has an opinion):

Positives and negative's of changing the head tube angle on the Ripley 4 depend on how much you change the angle. A slight change like over forking to a 140mm fork or a 1deg HTA change gets you close to Ripley AF geometry. If you go more than 1deg, you might run into some issues with handling and stability. if you change the HTA 1.5deg to 2deg now you have a HTA close to the Ripmo, BUT... but your wheelbase, seat tube angle and trail will be different than the Ripmo. Hard to say what that would do to the handling.

The good news is if you do you own wrenching on the bike, experimenting with an angle-set will only set you back $100 and some time.

BmanInTheD

· #3 · Jan 1, 2022

I put one on mine last year but reversed, steepening it for local trails that are tighter and flatter. It worked fine, no issues with the Wolf Tooth one. I've heard of creaking problems with the Cane Creek one. But don't be fooled by people who say they did it and it was better for the downs with no difference in climbing. It's ALWAYS a trade-off, just depends on what you care about more. The bike is already pretty long and slack for what it is, I wanted a shorter WB and steeper HT. I went back to the regular headset when I took it to the mountains, got used to it, and just left it as is.

Prognosticator

· #4 · Jan 1, 2022

I went from a 130 to 140 fork. While not a dramatic change and not an angle set, it did slacken the head tube slightly. The difference in handling character was slight. The increase in capability and confidence was great.

Reactions: 1

ridetheridge

· #5 · Jan 26, 2022

I just put a Works angleset on my Ripley, to slack out 1 degree. I'm running a 140 fork so it puts the HTA at 65 degrees. I haven't had a chance to ride it yet and it may be awhile. I do like the look of it though, much more aggressive.

My reasoning for making this change was to gain a bit more stability in the bike at higher speeds and steeper descents. My terrain is more wide open, long climbs with long descents. I suspect climbing steeper terrain the front end may want to wander a bit, but that's a small portion of my riding. The BB is a bit lower but not much as the 140 fork offsets it a bit. We'll see.

NWfreeride

· #6 · Jan 26, 2022

ridetheridge said:
I just put a Works angleset on my Ripley, to slack out 1 degree. I'm running a 140 fork so it puts the HTA at 65 degrees. I haven't had a chance to ride it yet and it may be awhile. I do like the look of it though, much more aggressive.

My reasoning for making this change was to gain a bit more stability in the bike at higher speeds and steeper descents. My terrain is more wide open, long climbs with long descents. I suspect climbing steeper terrain the front end may want to wander a bit, but that's a small portion of my riding. The BB is a bit lower but not much as the 140 fork offsets it a bit. We'll see.

Sounds like a great build!

Reactions: 1

17j

· #7 · Apr 1, 2022

I thinki I'd be more inclined to go .5 degree steeper on a v4 to be a touch more xc and raise the bb maybe 5mm?

16HH

· #8 · 8 mo ago

ridetheridge said:
I just put a Works angleset on my Ripley, to slack out 1 degree. I'm running a 140 fork so it puts the HTA at 65 degrees. I haven't had a chance to ride it yet and it may be awhile. I do like the look of it though, much more aggressive.

My reasoning for making this change was to gain a bit more stability in the bike at higher speeds and steeper descents. My terrain is more wide open, long climbs with long descents. I suspect climbing steeper terrain the front end may want to wander a bit, but that's a small portion of my riding. The BB is a bit lower but not much as the 140 fork offsets it a bit. We'll see.

Curious how the 1 deg slacker rides. This makes the geometry almost same as the Ripley AF (which rides downhill really well, but is heavier)

ridetheridge

· #9 · 8 mo ago

16HH said:
Curious how the 1 deg slacker rides. This makes the geometry almost same as the Ripley AF (which rides downhill really well, but is heavier)

Definitely more planted and stable, but I did experience a few more pedal strikes.

BmanInTheD

· #10 · 7 mo ago

Yes, it makes it more stable going down with a slight increase in pedal strikes. But it also affects climbing a touch, making it a tad more wandery on the steep trails. Most people don't care about this or claim it doesn't affect this at all, but of course it does. Geometry change are always a trade-off. Just depends on what's more important to you...

beastmaster

· #11 · 7 mo ago

I threw on a 10mm longer airshaft on my Pike taking it from 130 to 140. Still same climbing ability and agility with a little more cush for the drops. Whats not to like and my slightly slacker front end comes with the added bonus of a few mm more BB height. Haha!

16HH

· #12 · 7 mo ago

beastmaster said:
I threw on a 10mm longer airshaft on my Pike taking it from 130 to 140. Still same climbing ability and agility with a little more cush for the drops. Whats not to like and my slightly slacker front end comes with the added bonus of a few mm more BB height. Haha!

Do you have the Ripley or the AF? Do you love the bike?

beastmaster

· #13 · 7 mo ago

I have a carbon Ripley and yes, its a superb bike.

michaelandk2

· #14 · 7 mo ago (Edited)

64.5 to low 65.5 is the sweet spot for me personally. Our Ripley rides significantly better for semi aggressive riding at 65.7~ with a 140m 36 on there than it did with the stock fox 34 at 130 and 66.5.

We have a shared transition sentinel that we just took (wolf tooth headset) from an eye watering 63.6 to 64.4~ and the improvement is absolutely surprising. I thought it wouldn't make a big difference but would at least make a bit more intuitive, ya its easier to jump/pump/turn/bunny hop/climb and take even midspeed turns.

The point being, at least in the midwest where we ride (kansas city, bentonville, stuff like that, short with some steep stuff, and some not so steep stuff) past that in either direction has some pretty big downsides if you ride in a way that pushes the bike at my level (intermediate rider, jumps, 3-6 foot drops, semi fast, will do most blacks, but nothing insane)

Ive ridden off the top of my head (and I know HTA is just one piece of the geo puzzle, but it's a pretty big one and is pretty instantly recognizable imo). Heres my notes no one probably wants... but if your interested.

68 - Hardtail
67 - Hardtail
66.5 - Ripley
65.8 - Ripley @ 140mm - Pretty sick. Light fast, high stack, and fairly capable. I wish it had a bit more progression personally.
65.5 - TB4 Stock
65 - TB4 140mm fork - Favorite
65 - RSD MC HT - Rides more like 66+ due to being a HT (sag geo and all that)
64.7 - Ripmo V2(dvo fork) - Favorite
64.4 - Sentinel + 1% headset - Just a beast.
63.6 - Sentinel stock - You could point this down a cliff, just dont turn.

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woodyak

· #15 · 7 mo ago

Yup! 1 degree slackset with [email protected] on my Ripley V4 matched up with a DVO Topaz3 on the rear. Bike is a serious shredder! Rode it for a bit w/o the angleset and I found it dove a bit too much when my weight shifted forward, which is easy to do with the short wheelbase on these things. I like the forgiveness of the lower and slacker on this bike. I live in a very rocky area with lots of steep ups and downs and didn't find any issues with the geo change. Rock strikes do happen but they always have.

For those of you that say why don't you just go Ripmo with that build? I got one of those too. Similar build but with a 170 fork (no angleset). Completely different bike, despite them both being set up as a do-it-all kinda bike. Nice to have a quiver like this!

endo.alley

· #16 · 7 mo ago

I have a 140mm fork and a Cane Creek Anglest headset on my V4 Ripley. 1 degree or maybe just over that slacker. I love the way the bike feels. Feels comfortable descending at a faster pace than previously. We have a couple of local techy switchbacks which are ultra narrow diameter. They are admittedly a little harder to get through since the wheel base has increased. Otherwise the change was a total plus.

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