This sexy beast is the Ibis Ripley 29, a bike that has had the industry so excited, Outside magazine named it best of show at the 2011 Interbike; unfortunately for anyone who wanted actually to ride the Ripley, it didn’t exist, other than as a few prototypes, a frame mockup on the Ibis website, and promises that it would eventually appear. Now, after the better part of a decade in development, it looks like the Ripley is finally coming to market — an unmarked countdown timer on the Ibis website suggests March 18.

The primary reason for the lengthy development is that Ibis switched from the dual-link setup it uses on its 26-inch Mojo models to a dual eccentric design. You can read all about the use of eccentrics here (and designer Dave Weagle’s thoughts on suspension here) and still not get them, but you really don’t need to understand how they work, just what they do — keep the Ripley rear end snappy and stiff while keeping frame weight down.

Wanna keep an eye on Ripley’s arrival? Ride over to ibiscycles.com.