When Ibis released the Exie, there was a lot to get excited about. The carbon fibre frame is handmade in Ibis’ new, sustainably powered Santa Cruz, California headquarters. It takes the proven DW-Link suspension design and puts it to use on a 100-mm travel frame (120mm) fork. And the Exie just looks fast.
Sometimes high expectations can lead to an underwhelming experience in the woods. Over a couple of months of pushing Ibis’ new cross country race whip, exactly the opposite happened. The Exie is immediately impressive, both light and responsive but also stable. Over the entire test period, it continued to exceed my expectations for how a cross country race bike could, and should feel. Here’s more about the bike, and exactly how it sets such a high bar.
Ibis Exie: the bike
Ibis designed the Exie to meet the standards of World Cup racing and more aggressive cross country riding. It is light, with a sub-2,000 gram frame and it is efficient on the pedals. But Ibis also ends up making a bike that is very fun to ride hard and ride at the limits of XC bikes. The DW-Link suspension design, proven on longer-travel trail bikes, adds stability and predictability to the Exie’s 100-mm of rear wheel travel. The Exie ships with a 120-mm fork, though the frame can be used with a 100-mm fork for a more pure XC feel.
The Exie’s performance is helped along by solid geometry. The 67.2-degree head angle is reasonably slack for cross country. Size-specific seat tube angles, ranging from 73.8- to 75.9-degrees, are intended to keep the rider in a powerful position over the bottom bracket and also help keep weight on the front wheel while riding seated.
There are all the details you’d expect of a high-quality hand-made frame, too. Super clean internal cable routing, clearance for 2.4″ tires, space for long-travel dropper posts and room for two water bottles in the front triangle. The paint, minimal colour with most of the carbon fibre showing through a clear coat, shows off the handiwork of Ibis frame makers and looks great in the sun.
Riding the Exie
Having ridden longer-travel DW-Link bikes before, I both had high expectations for the Exie and was also curious how the design would translate to a cross country platform. On bigger bikes, the design creates a bottomless feel that is also, somehow, snappy in corners instead of wallowing deep in the suspension or deadening a trail.
Applied to the Exie, the DW-Link has the added benefit of an excellent mix of…
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