MRP Ribbon Fork (Air & Coil): Product Review [Video]

Overview

When you think of MRP, the first thing that might come to mind is chainguides. It’s probably a lot less likely that a suspension fork will come to mind when talking about MRP. Well, that should change, especially after you read this review between two absolutely stellar forks from this small brand. The MRP Ribbon fork is offered in both air and coil options and travel ranging from 120-170mm. We will break down the individual differences in a bit. MRP really came out swinging with a solid fork ready to battle with the big dogs and we are super impressed with the performance. Everything is very thought out and executed well, from the reversed fork bridge that avoids dirt build up, to the kind of pressure release valves you see on DH forks. MRP has given the suspension world a great new option.

MRP Ribbon Air Specs:

• 35mm stanchions
• 27.5” travel (140, 150, 160, 170mm)
• 29” travel (120, 130, 140, 150, 160mm)
• 27.5” offsets (39 or 44mm)
• 29” offsets (41, 46, 51mm)
• Positive and negative air chambers
• 8 low-speed compression adjustments
• 16 position Ramp Control cartridge
• Boost 15x110mm only
• 180mm brake mount
• 27.5” tire clearance: 2.6
• 29” tire clearance: 2.6
• Price: $989.95

MRP Ribbon Coil Specs:

• 35 mm stanchions
• 27.5” travel (150, 160, 170mm)
• 29” travel (140, 150, 160mm)
• 27.5” offsets (39 or 44mm)
• 29” offsets (41, 46, 51mm)
• 3 coils, soft medium & firm included
• 12 turns of preload adjustment
• 8 low speed compression adjustments
• 20 position Ramp Control
• Boost 15x110mm only
• 180mm brake mount
• 27.5” tire clearance 2.6
• 29” tire clearance 2.6
• Price: $989.95

The Similarities

The Air and Coil Ribbon share a lot of the same DNA. The same chassis makes it possible to swap between air and coil options with the same fork! Between the two, you pretty much have the same adjustments, just in different spots or feel. With the Air, you have separate positive and negative chambers making it super easy to dial in sag and “small bump” feel. By adding more air to the negative chamber, you make it easier for the fork to move into its travel, or in other words, you add some small bump compliance. You also have the Ramp Control to help dial in the air spring ramp on the fly. The same aftermarket cartridge you can buy for your Fox or Rockshox fork is already installed here!  

Adjustments

For the Coil fork, you have three coils to choose from: a soft, medium and firm. There are extra soft and extra firm options as well to buy aftermarket if you fall into that range. Depending on fork travel, these three coils will fit riders from 145lbs to 235 lbs, fitting a very large range of riders. With the Coil fork, you have 12 turns of preload to help dial in the sag even more. Lastly, you still have Ramp Control, which for a coil fork is a pretty amazing feature. It's not an insane amount of adjustment, but the 12 positions certainly help you can dial in the ramp up to your riding style.

One last feature of both forks is that you can adjust the amount of travel between the listed strokes. To adjust travel on the air, you add or remove spacers in the air shaft. The cool part is that these spacers are available in 10mm or 5mm sizes. So you can adjust travel in 5mm increments, setting a fork at 145mm or 155mm, if that is what you choose. The coil is very similar but instead of spacers, you have a threaded rod with lock nuts. On the MRP website, you can find the measurements you need to set the lock nuts at for a certain travel. By getting a measurement in between the two you are able to get the same 145mm or 155mm of travel. You can even take things one step further and fine tune that into a seemingly random 143mm or 148mm if your setup OCD is kicking in.

Since they have about the same features and adjustments, the rest really is about ride feel. Swapping between the two for about two months of riding, I have some favorite parts of each fork.

Riding the Ribbon Coil:

I am going to start with the Coil as that is what I rode first. MRP sent us this fork at 145mm, which is just above the recommended travel for my Transition Smuggler. I started off with the soft spring as I am about 145lbs, which is nearly as low as you can go with the soft spring. I found myself running about 6-10 turns of preload out of the 12 total. After riding, I found that the small bump and first 50% or so of the travel was so smooth and easy on the hands. It wasn't until I had my first big hit when I felt the fork bottom pretty hard. Turning the Ramp Control all the way so I had the most ramp possible, I still found myself getting into that last 10% of the travel a bit too often. Not that it is that big of an issue, but I would like to save that 10% for the oh-s**t moments. I then went and changed the spring out for the medium, even though that is about 20 lbs more than recommended, I ran zero preload and full ramp with the medium spring. I found this still provided me with enough sag and small bump yet I didn't get into the last bit of the travel as much.

Where this coil really impressed me right away is with fast bumpy sections. From rocks and ruts to braking bumps, the Ribbon Coil really held the ground and provided some of the best traction in those situations I have ever felt. Staying extremely composed on chattery sections and now with the stiffer spring providing some big hit support, this fork is just as dialed as any other brand I have ridden. There were a few times I felt the fork dive into the mid-stroke a bit too much, but with some of the trails I ride that are damn steep with nearly vertical slabs and chutes, just about any fork with the right amount of air will experience some dive. With The Ramp Control, it certainly works, but a bit different than your normal air forks like a Rockshox or Fox. On the MRP it seems like the Ramp Control affects the last 25-30% of stroke where normally you find most other fork’s progression systems (tokens, chips, etc.) affect about the last 40-50% of stroke. I think this has to do with the fork sitting in the mid-stroke more than normal, but it was only on extremely steep stuff that I noticed it.

Riding the Ribbon Air:

Setting up the Ribbon air is a bit easier than the coil, but about one more step than your average air fork. You start by letting out all the negative air from the lower negative chamber located on the bottom of the fork, then add air into the positive air to the desired pressure. I added about 59 psi to the positive, then about 65 psi to the negative. MRP gives a chart with body weight, and then positive and negative air pressure. One nice feature of the air chart is they have two negative air settings, one for neutral and plush. I went for the plush as I wanted to really test the forks small bump compared to the coil. This is about the pressure I ended up after weeks of riding. I started with almost no ramp up on my Ramp Control, but quickly dialed that in to almost full. I think I was about 12 positions in, or 4 out from closed.

The Ramp Control works pretty similar to the Coil Ribbon, but along with natural air ramp you get it a bit sooner, about 30-35% of the travel the Ramp Control starts to have effect. Once again the MRP Ribbon air has a very similar curve like the Coil and sits in the mid-stroke a bit more than other forks. This isn't always a bad thing especially on really bumpy chattery terrain, where you are actually using more travel and creating more control and traction than if your fork was only using the first 30% of travel in a certain section.

Comparing the Air vs. Coil:

While the Ribbon is offered in two versions, I found they have very similar riding traits. The Coil does offer more small bump traction and has a more linear curve, making it easier to get into the mid and end stroke. The Air offers some great small-bump traction, almost as good as the Coil. However, because the Air naturally has more progression built-in, you do not reach the end stroke as fast and have to put more force into the fork for it to bottom. That is pretty normal for an Air vs Coil comparison.

Getting more into the forks, I would say the Coil really shines with quick small bumps. If the trail has a ton of baby rocks, ruts or braking bumps, the coil does an amazing job at sucking them up. I had some of the best traction and confidence with this fork going full speed down some good trails, even better I found that this helped a ton with reducing arm and hand fatigue. For the Air, it also does a great job with these small hits, but I think is even better at handling the bigger hits. When getting into the last 20-30% of travel, the Air holds its composure better than the coil although you do lose a little of that amazing control from the Coil.

Final Thoughts:

Both the MRP Ribbon Coil & Ribbon Air have really impressed us. Both have some great features and are really aiming to compete with the big dogs. Are they comparable, heck yes! Are they better, not necessarily… Are they worse, NO!  If you looking for the most compliance in a fork and one that feels different in the best way, the Ribbon Coil is an amazing option. The MRP Air strikes a balance between the Coil version and other air forks on the market. Giving you both the small bump traction, while also holding is composure in the big hits. If you are a rider who rides trails with jumps, drops and g-outs, the air might be a better option. If your trails are very rocky and bumpy but might not have too many big compression spots, the Coil will give your hands and front end a feeling they might have never experienced before!