Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Ibis just released all the details (and a lot of photos) of their new Exie, a cross-country bike with a sub-2,000g (4.4lb) frame touted to offer the perfect combination of pedaling efficiency and downhill performance. Designed, built, and tested in their solar-powered Santa Cruz factory, there’s a lot to like about it…
The Ibis Exie is the company’s brand new World-Cup-capable cross-country race bike that they claim is just as at home on the racecourse as it is on backcountry trails. What makes it special is that its sub-2,000g (4.4lb) frame is designed and built-in Ibis’ new Santa Cruz factory, which is powered by a solar array. You may have seen the brief announcement we posted here a few weeks ago, but today they released all the specs and details. Scroll down to learn more.
The Ibis Exie is the first carbon fiber full-suspension bike that Ibis has developed and manufactured entirely in house. According to Ibis, it’s the culmination of a seven-year project to rethink every aspect of their process. The Exie is also the lightest bike they’ve ever produced, at more than a pound lighter than the Ripley. The Exie has the same DW-link suspension as the Ripley with the following frame specs:
Frame Facts
- Clearance for 29 x 2.4″ tires
- 120mm front travel
- 100mm dw-link rear travel
- Made in the USA
- Carbon front and rear triangle
- Available in four sizes S-XL, fits riders between 5’ and 6’6
- Frame weight of medium 4.4 lbs with shock
- Available with Fox Performance DPS shock with remote lockout
- Complete builds starting at 22.6 lbs / 10.29 kg for a large (with generous tire sealant)
- Threaded BB (73mm BSA)
- Integrated upper chain guide
- 44mm Fork Offset
- Seat tube angles that get steeper on larger sizes
- 2 Bottle cage mounts inside front triangle
- Size M-XL compatible with 170mm+ droppers, 125-150mm for smalls
- Molded rubber swing arm an lower link protectors
- IGUS bushings in lower link, bearings in upper link
- Metric 190 x 45 shock
- Post mount rear brake
- 180mm max rotor size
- Two piston rear caliper only
- 1x specific design
- Boost spacing
Specs
The Exie is available in “Cheat-O Orange” and “Bug Zapper Blue” with the three build kits starting at $7,999 with a frame-only option available in the near future for $4,500. To celebrate their 40th anniversary, the first 50 bikes shipping from Ibis’ new American factory will have a special build kit that retails for $11,799. Learn more over at IbisCycles.com.
Manufacturing Process
A lot of the folks behind the Ibis brand have roots in manufacturing, so it was only fitting for them to want to make things in house instead of sending schematics off to a factory to be built far away. The roadblock to manufacturing carbon bike frames in the US is competitive pricing. The costs of labor in the US (especially in California) is up to five times higher than it is in Asian factories. Ibis tried their hand at in-house manufacturing a few years ago by making a single frame in their Santa Cruz, CA, facility—the size small Ripley. And now they’re going full steam ahead with a brand new bike model, the Exie. Ibis’ new factory is located in Pajaro, CA, about a half-hour drive from their Santa Cruz headquarters. The entire operation is powered by a solar panel array. Watch a behind the scenes video on the manufacturing process below.
“For us it’s an opportunity to reduce the energy consumption… anything you can do to lessen the impact on the planet, as cyclists and outdoor enthusiasts, we’re always going to put that at a top priority.”
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