MRP - Questions if you have ridden them

Yo dudes, MRP helped me out w/ a spring last week and I started looking into them. I'm in the awesome position of being picky about my next ride and would love to support a *mostly* made in the USA product. 

I'd love to hear how the ribbon rides as well as the hazard shock. If you've ridden it, I'd love to hear. 

Secondly, can they be worked over by an at home hobby mech? I currently have DVO and love the ability to rebuild everything. 

Thanks in advance

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11/21/2022 10:28am

Glad we could help you with a spring! I'm obviously biased, but shoot me a private message and I'm happy to answer any questions – if you want my feedback. I don't want to come across as shilling here in the forum.

3
11/21/2022 10:40am
Glad we could help you with a spring! I'm obviously biased, but shoot me a private message and I'm happy to answer any questions – if...

Glad we could help you with a spring! I'm obviously biased, but shoot me a private message and I'm happy to answer any questions – if you want my feedback. I don't want to come across as shilling here in the forum.

Haha heck yeah. I'll definitely slide into your DM's....

Truth be told I'm looking to hear from riders who aren't affiliated or possibly influenced by the sweet sweet nectar that is clickbait, which is hard to find. Hopefully you being active in the forum won't dissuade someone from giving their true impressions on your products!

veefour
Posts
365
Joined
7/31/2016
Location
GB
11/23/2022 4:06am

I have a Ribbon Coil 29 (pre Chocolux) and I love it. Very plush and good performing fork. I also have a 2018 Fox 36 and a Mk1 Ohlins RXF 36, both air and I'd pick the Ribbon over either of these.  Lower leg service is very straight forward, but I do send it off annually for a damper service.

1
pdon
Posts
62
Joined
10/30/2014
Location
Cashmere, WA US
11/23/2022 3:28pm

My Canfield Lithium came stock with the Hazzard. It was great. Quiet, reliable, plenty of adjustment. I ended up switching to an air shock on that bike but I should have kept the MRP.

I’ve also had the MRP Raven and Ribbon over the years. Both solid forks 

 

1
Big Bird
Posts
2136
Joined
2/1/2011
Location
Oceano, CA US
11/23/2022 5:59pm Edited Date/Time 11/23/2022 6:45pm
Glad we could help you with a spring! I'm obviously biased, but shoot me a private message and I'm happy to answer any questions – if...

Glad we could help you with a spring! I'm obviously biased, but shoot me a private message and I'm happy to answer any questions – if you want my feedback. I don't want to come across as shilling here in the forum.

Well said Sir.

 

meloncat
Posts
12
Joined
4/21/2022
Location
IT
11/24/2022 5:14am

I have a ribbon air, the performance is awesome, i really love it. Maintenance is easy too. The only thing i can't get along with, is the flexibility in the steep tracks where you need to pivot on your front wheel to corner (may it's my fault...i'm heavy...92kg naked). For everything else the fork is perfect, works really well and stay high in the travel, ramp control works really well and helps with steep tracks and jumps.

2
JVP
Posts
63
Joined
4/20/2016
Location
Seattle, WA US
12/31/2022 10:09am

Also curious to hear how the Ribbon performs. I'm likely to go with Ribbon Air 140 on a short travel trailbike build (Norco Optic). I enjoy running something other than the mega-brands and the Ribbon looks about perfect for this build. Burly enough without being a tank, adjustable negative air, good amount of bath oil, etc. 

bugdozer
Posts
2
Joined
1/10/2023
Location
San Francisco, CA US
1/10/2023 8:06pm Edited Date/Time 1/10/2023 8:07pm

TL;DR Good forks, wouldn't hesitate to recommend

I've got a Ribbon and a Raven. The Ribbon is mounted to an Ibis Ripmo AF, and the Raven is on a Transition Throttle27 hardtail. I really like these forks.

Backstory: I work in a bike shop, and was able to purchase the Ribbon with an industry discount. I chose it because of the tunability of the air spring, the best in class weight, and the fact that it's mostly made in America. When I needed another fork, I went back to MRP and purchased a Ribbon even though the good days of industry discounts were over (something about a pandemic). 

Serviceability: The forks are fairly straightforward to work on at home, assuming that you have a decent setup with all the tools you'd need. I haven't done a damper bleed yet, but I've done lowers and air spring services a few times. Every time I run into a problem or have a question, the folks at MRP answer the phone right away to provide assistance. For example, I recently thought my Raven had developed bushing play; it felt just like the Sid forks that we've been sending back to SRAM for new lowers. I called the folks at MRP and they told me that 99% of the time that feeling was due to a bit of air in the damper, and walked me through the process of bleeding it. Boom, no more problem. Also, adjust travel is super easy. I've had my ribbon set at 170mm and 140mm, super easy to change with spacers on the air spring. 

Ride report: I'm not a suspension snob and spend most of my time on my hardtail. I really like how tune-able the air spring is on the MRP forks, but it takes a few rides to get pressures dialed in. I find the forks offer good support throughout their travel, offer decent stiffness (I weight 160lbs and don't send it super hard), and have great small bump compliance. 

Issues: I did some weird shit with my forks. I originally bought a Ribbon 27.5" fork for my hardtail, but when I got my full sus I bought a Raven 29" fork and then swapped the lowers and adjusted the travel so I could have the twin tube damper on the sendier bike. When switching the lowers on the Ribbon I took advantage of the moment to replace the wipers. I ended up installing the wipers wrong: if you bottom out the wipers on the shelf machined into the lowers, you've pushed in the wipers too far. Basically, they need to be installed just the right amount, and also not crooked. This was challenging for me, but I'm not a professional mechanic (sales guy at a shop, for the record). Additionally, the service manual didn't have any clear instructions on just how far to push in the wipers, nor did the videos show it. This most likely just reflects my inexperience with suspension service, but it could be avoided by machining a shelf in the lowers for the wipers to sit on, and still have there be room for the foam rings. Also, the Ribbon I've got has a slow air leak from the positive air chamber since I've had the bike. I replaced the valve cores per MRP's recommendation, but that didn't take care of it. If I let the bike sit for a while between rides I have to remember to add a bit of air to the positive side of the fork. It's not actually that annoying, but worth mentioning. The folks at MRP were happy to send me an air spring service kit, but I haven't followed up with them about it. 

Hope this is helpful! Great company, good forks, would recommend. 

 

2
1/17/2023 5:46am
bugdozer wrote:
TL;DR Good forks, wouldn't hesitate to recommend I've got a Ribbon and a Raven. The Ribbon is mounted to an Ibis Ripmo AF, and the Raven...

TL;DR Good forks, wouldn't hesitate to recommend

I've got a Ribbon and a Raven. The Ribbon is mounted to an Ibis Ripmo AF, and the Raven is on a Transition Throttle27 hardtail. I really like these forks.

Backstory: I work in a bike shop, and was able to purchase the Ribbon with an industry discount. I chose it because of the tunability of the air spring, the best in class weight, and the fact that it's mostly made in America. When I needed another fork, I went back to MRP and purchased a Ribbon even though the good days of industry discounts were over (something about a pandemic). 

Serviceability: The forks are fairly straightforward to work on at home, assuming that you have a decent setup with all the tools you'd need. I haven't done a damper bleed yet, but I've done lowers and air spring services a few times. Every time I run into a problem or have a question, the folks at MRP answer the phone right away to provide assistance. For example, I recently thought my Raven had developed bushing play; it felt just like the Sid forks that we've been sending back to SRAM for new lowers. I called the folks at MRP and they told me that 99% of the time that feeling was due to a bit of air in the damper, and walked me through the process of bleeding it. Boom, no more problem. Also, adjust travel is super easy. I've had my ribbon set at 170mm and 140mm, super easy to change with spacers on the air spring. 

Ride report: I'm not a suspension snob and spend most of my time on my hardtail. I really like how tune-able the air spring is on the MRP forks, but it takes a few rides to get pressures dialed in. I find the forks offer good support throughout their travel, offer decent stiffness (I weight 160lbs and don't send it super hard), and have great small bump compliance. 

Issues: I did some weird shit with my forks. I originally bought a Ribbon 27.5" fork for my hardtail, but when I got my full sus I bought a Raven 29" fork and then swapped the lowers and adjusted the travel so I could have the twin tube damper on the sendier bike. When switching the lowers on the Ribbon I took advantage of the moment to replace the wipers. I ended up installing the wipers wrong: if you bottom out the wipers on the shelf machined into the lowers, you've pushed in the wipers too far. Basically, they need to be installed just the right amount, and also not crooked. This was challenging for me, but I'm not a professional mechanic (sales guy at a shop, for the record). Additionally, the service manual didn't have any clear instructions on just how far to push in the wipers, nor did the videos show it. This most likely just reflects my inexperience with suspension service, but it could be avoided by machining a shelf in the lowers for the wipers to sit on, and still have there be room for the foam rings. Also, the Ribbon I've got has a slow air leak from the positive air chamber since I've had the bike. I replaced the valve cores per MRP's recommendation, but that didn't take care of it. If I let the bike sit for a while between rides I have to remember to add a bit of air to the positive side of the fork. It's not actually that annoying, but worth mentioning. The folks at MRP were happy to send me an air spring service kit, but I haven't followed up with them about it. 

Hope this is helpful! Great company, good forks, would recommend. 

 

Nice dude! thanks a ton for the info

JVP
Posts
63
Joined
4/20/2016
Location
Seattle, WA US
2/20/2023 5:59pm

I pulled the trigger on a Ribbon 140 for the Norco Optic I just picked up. Got a couple good and varied rides on it so far, and can confirm that it's as good as any fork I've ridden. Even felt good just above freezing, which is impressive. I'm 195 lbs and my other fork is a Mezzer 170 on a 27.5 Patrol that I have set up so I don't find bottom unless things get a little spicy. 

I set the Ribbon up 2 psi over their recommended, did the negative pressure at +10, LSC at -5 from closed, and the ramp control right in the middle. I run my rebound slightly faster than average. Felt really good from the first ride, maybe a little less LSC than I prefer. I'll probably firm up LSC and add a few clicks of ramp control once it's a bit warmer/dryer and the trails speed up.

It's a bit more supple than the Mezzer off the top (the Mezzer's only weakness), is well controlled through the stroke, and I'm finding bottom about the right amount for these trails, though I haven't pushed it on anything super rowdy yet. Feels like a lighter tune than the Mezzer, but that'll give more usable clicks. 

I opted for MRP's shorter offset crown, which is custom milled in-house (or something along those lines). The MRP guys said that particular crown has really tight tolerances and resists creaking exceptionally well. That's good, since all CSUs seem to always get creaky on me within a year. Time will tell.

I'm really impressed so far.  Buttery, good support and control, tuneable air springs, stiffness seems about right for a trail bike, easy to set up, and feels like sturdy and quality piece of kit. I bought it just to try something different, but I'm pretty stoked with the decision.

1
2/22/2023 6:26am
JVP wrote:
I pulled the trigger on a Ribbon 140 for the Norco Optic I just picked up. Got a couple good and varied rides on it so...

I pulled the trigger on a Ribbon 140 for the Norco Optic I just picked up. Got a couple good and varied rides on it so far, and can confirm that it's as good as any fork I've ridden. Even felt good just above freezing, which is impressive. I'm 195 lbs and my other fork is a Mezzer 170 on a 27.5 Patrol that I have set up so I don't find bottom unless things get a little spicy. 

I set the Ribbon up 2 psi over their recommended, did the negative pressure at +10, LSC at -5 from closed, and the ramp control right in the middle. I run my rebound slightly faster than average. Felt really good from the first ride, maybe a little less LSC than I prefer. I'll probably firm up LSC and add a few clicks of ramp control once it's a bit warmer/dryer and the trails speed up.

It's a bit more supple than the Mezzer off the top (the Mezzer's only weakness), is well controlled through the stroke, and I'm finding bottom about the right amount for these trails, though I haven't pushed it on anything super rowdy yet. Feels like a lighter tune than the Mezzer, but that'll give more usable clicks. 

I opted for MRP's shorter offset crown, which is custom milled in-house (or something along those lines). The MRP guys said that particular crown has really tight tolerances and resists creaking exceptionally well. That's good, since all CSUs seem to always get creaky on me within a year. Time will tell.

I'm really impressed so far.  Buttery, good support and control, tuneable air springs, stiffness seems about right for a trail bike, easy to set up, and feels like sturdy and quality piece of kit. I bought it just to try something different, but I'm pretty stoked with the decision.

Dude, hell yeah. That's awesome. Sounds like you got a great fork that's working well for you! Since starting this thread, I ended up pulling the trigger on a DVO Diamond, I'm very familiar w/ the fork and love the ability to rebuild. Next time around a lot of the positive feedback here is going to help me see if MRP is the right way to go!

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