Jibb "BC Dreams" - RAAW of the Month June

June's RAAW of the Month is about to embark on a big trip. Namely from the United Kingdom to Vancouver. After talking to his rider Ryan, we are sure: Both he and his Jibb are ready for the Canadian dream trails.

Ryan, who currently lives in Nottingham in the UK, has only been mountain biking for four years, but can look back on around 10 years on BMX. Things really took off for him during the Corona Lockdown: “ For a while I was casually riding but covid 19 hit that's when I really got into it. Since then it's been a major part of my life. ” is how he describes his path. So crucial, in fact, that he will emigrate to Canada in early 2023, where he will have the world-famous trails of British Columbia on his doorstep.

Not that he has an acute lack of trails back home in the UK: “ I live in Nottingham, UK, we have some decent trails local to me, mainly jump lines and single track. Most weekend's I will travel a bit further afield to places like Wharncliffe and other trails around the peak district. My favorite places to ride are definitely the bike parks (DYFI, Revolution Bike Park, Black Mountain Cycle Centre). I also make the occasional trip up to Scotland which never disappoints, The Golife being my favorite ”

As a bike park and airtime fan, Ryan's decision between Jibb and Madonna wasn't easy at first: “ I did initially want a Madonna but after some careful thought I decided it would be too much bike for my local trails, on which I spend most of the time after all. I think a lot of people get drawn into the idea that more travel means better but unless you are smashing down world cup track or competing in EWS, do you really need all that travel? ”, he elaborates. “ A lot of the current bikes are designed to flatten out the trail, but you find with shorter travel bikes such as the Jibb the trail has a completely different feel, making you want to pop of roots and rocks rather than just charging through them. In my opinion a shorter travel bike will make you a better rider. ”

To avoid getting into trouble even on the toughest trails, Ryan then opted for a slightly more rugged setup with Rock Shox Deluxe Ultimate Coil shock and a RockShox Lyrik RC2 Air suspension fork with 160mm of travel.

160 mm fork, Crankbrothers Dropper Post

For the first 5 months he rode his Jibb with 27.5" wheels, instead of as intended with 29". (By the way, we strongly advise against this, the Jibb is designed through and through as a 29er bike!) In part because this way he could continue to use the wheelset of his previous bike, but also because he was still somewhat skeptical of 29" wheels: “ My biggest worry with 29er wheels was that the bike would feel a lot bigger and I wouldn't be able to throw it about like normal.” But far from it, now Ryan even mentions the first ride on 29er wheels as one of his highlights with the bike. “ I was pleasantly surprised! I have been riding them for nearly 2 months now and they haven't held my back at all, they have just made me faster. ” At some point he still wants to try a Mullet setup just out of curiosity, but since the switch to 29" his Jibb feels so good, that this has no priority for now. Here, too, our recommendation is to stick with 29" wheels - you can find more about the Mullet setup here in our Knowledge Base.

Ryan has built the new wheels himself and using Hope Pro 4 hubs and DT Swiss EX511 WT rims. The front wheel is fitted with Maxxis Assagai EXO Maxx Terra 2.5 WT, while the rear is fitted with the classic Maxxis Minion DHR II EXO+ Maxx Terra 2.4 WT.

The rest of the equipment is sound too and shows that you can put together a chic and excellently performing bike even without high-end components. The bike is propelled by SRAMS GX 11-speed group with 170mm cranks, a set of Magura MT5 brakes with MT Trail 1-finger brake levers provides plenty of stopping power.

Full Specs of this build

Ryan is super happy with the result: “ I love that when I'm riding the bike it feels like I am sitting slightly into the bike, I've ridden bikes before that feel like you are on top of them. This combined with the short rear triangle makes the bike super playful, hitting berms at speed and popping off lips is really natural and takes almost zero effort to move the bike about. I just can't wait to get my bike to BC and start ripping some of the best trails in the world. ”

When developing the Jibb, we placed a lot of emphasis on a versatile character and wanted to create a bike that you can build and move in very different ways. Nevertheless, we of course had a type of rider in mind who we wanted to make extra happy with the Jibb and that's exactly who we recognize 100% in Ryan. Accordingly, we are particularly pleased with his enthusiasm for the Jibb. We know from our own experience that the Jibb is also the perfect tool for Canada and are looking forward to the first pictures of this RAAW of the Month on (or above!) the trails of BC.

Does your bike have what it takes to be "RAAW of the Month"?

Since we founded RAAW, one thing has given us a lot of pleasure: seeing where, how and by whom our bikes are ridden all over the world and how you use our frame kits to create different, individually optimized works of bike art. That's why from now on, every month we'll choose a particularly successful and exciting bike build from the community as "RAAW of the Month" and present the bike and its rider in detail on our website. In addition to glory and Insta-fame, a 100 € voucher for our online shop awaits the lucky winner. Does your bike have what it takes to be "RAAW of the Month"? Check out this page to find out how to apply.