Ibis Exie USA Review – XC Racer or Trail Bike?

US-made carbon fiber full-suspension mountain bikes are a rare breed. Back in the day, Ibis made plenty of frames in California, but with the launch of the Ibis Exie USA, it was their first carbon frame to be made here. Built to be an XC racer with a little extra chutzpah, the Exie USA has cosmetic updates for 2025 and I’ve had the new blood orange color in for review throughout the fall as my XC trail tester.

2025 Ibis Exie USA Features (GX AXS Kit):

• Designed and made in Northern California
• 100mm rear travel via DW-Link suspension design and Fox Float DPS shock
• Fox Factory 34 SC Grip SL 120mm fork
• SRAM GX AXS Eagle Transmission drivetrain
• Shimano XT M8100 brakes
• Ibis 933 alloy wheelset
• Ibis Hi Fi 800mm carbon handlebars
• Bike Yoke Revive Dropper
• WTB Silverado saddle
• ~2000g frame weight
• Weight: 25.7 lbs (size large, as tested)
• MSRP: $6999

USA! USA! USA!

In 2021, the world’s supply chain was in absolute chaos and the bike industry was caught smack dab in the middle of it all. With the vast majority of carbon frame manufacturing in Asia, many brands found it increasingly difficult to land their bikes in the States. While the timing was fortuitous, the drive to move carbon frame manufacturing closer to Santa Cruz, CA had been in the works for years. Trying to figure out how to get back to building bikes in California, the Ibis team had just the bike in mind for their foray into manufacturing carbon frames stateside — the Exie USA.

While it would be incredible to make every frame in the USA, the Exie USA remains the brand’s lone model made here. As the price indicates ($3499 frameset), it’s challenging to deliver an American-made carbon bike in today’s direct-to-consumer market. But, the complete Ibis Exie USA builds actually aren’t that crazy and are in line with comparable builds made overseas, like the latest Cannondale Scalpel 2.

Ibis fully supports their local dealers and remains dedicated to delivering the finest bikes you can buy. The Exie USA is not only a beautiful bike, it absolutely includes a hefty dose of American pride. If you love supporting a great brand with a fantastic history and the country we call home, the Exie USA is worth a look.

Is Exie short for exciting? Maybe.

When the Exie USA hit the market, I was definitely excited. On paper, it looked to offer the ideal travel and weight for a daily driver on my backyard trails. It has the fabled DW-Link suspension that’s heralded for feeling like more travel than stated and it was made here in the States. Outfitted with 100mm rear and 120mm front, it does hit the sweet spot for being not overly-XC while having just enough chops to get into more technical terrain.

This is the second consecutive mountain bike on test with a SRAM GX AXS Transmission groupset (after the Trek Supercaliber SL 9.7 Gen 2) and it’s quite agreeable overall. Squish is handled by a duo of Fox shocks and the wheels are Ibis 933 Aluminum variety. It’s outfitted with the reliable Shimano XT M8100 stoppers, which Ibis stands by as the most optimal for weight/power. Admittedly, it does always feel odd to mix-and-match shifters and brake brands because cockpit space is more cluttered, but the XT brakes really are great and I respect their choice to go with best-in-breed solutions.

Back to the exciting part. Yes, I was thrilled to get the Exie USA on the trails — so much that I didn’t completely dial in the GX AXS rear derailleur. Doh! Yeah, that first ride was exciting, but not in a good way. Initial wiggles aside, I was able to get completely satisfied with the Exie USA in every way except the handling (which I’ll dig into later).

Right off the bat, the light weight of the Exie USA comes into play. This build kit doesn’t scream weight weenie, but being under 26 lbs. is nothing to scoff at. Swapping to a carbon wheelset would easily approach the 25 lb. mark and make the Exie USA even more rocket-like. That said, the Ibis 933 Wheelset has proven reliable, smooth and capable. They spin up nicely and offer a nice 28mm inner width that gives just enough width for better tire support. And, lateral stiffness is excellent as I maneuver the bike in/out of turns.

The test track has been the local trail system, which mostly consists of smooth singletrack with some gravel approaches and occasional punchy climbs and technical sections thrown in. On those gravel approaches, it’s an efficient machine. I can pedal hard and push through at a good clip. On steep, loose sections I was a little dismayed at the lack of standing traction via the Maxxis Rekon Race 2.4’s. I had to feather the bike a little more than usual to maintain proper tire contact. It’s worth noting that I kept the compression damping at Medium most of the time and Open on some technical descents. Firm mode was really only used for kicks and giggles.

As far as climbing goes, the Exie USA gets good marks. It’s not quite the rocket ship, but it’s no slouch and ascends with the capability I would expect from it. I can easily maintain proper speed through uphill switchbacks and work the terrain to my advantage to get to the top with admirable times. I wasn’t ever blown away by the way the Exie USA climbs, but it does maintain a strong line and has an excellent way of making climbs fun — there are definitely more zippier climbing bikes. It ascends predictably and smooth with the natural platform the DW-Link suspension settles into. Never did I wish for a lockout and always appreciated the active suspension while seated on climbs. It’s also quite easy to get your weight out front when needed to quell any minimal front end wandering. I could comfortably climb all day on this bike.

When it comes to downhill sections, I can easily get up-to-speed and let the balanced front/rear suspension do its job. While some bikes suffer from a disjointed front and rear suspension feel, the Exie USA excels at providing a unified squish. It definitely won’t blow you away with its terrain-absorbing capabilities, but what it does do is provide a consistently-predictable ride feel. At all speeds, it remains maneuverable and does appreciate high-speed angulated efforts. I can manual pretty well, but never really nailed the proper leverage point to enjoy drops and jumps.

All that said, it’s definitely not a sled and don’t count on it being a “point it” type of a bike. You do have to choose your lines, but it can handle more technical bits when called upon. Still, I did wish for just a touch more travel at the end of a long, demanding season as my aching back started talking to me. On the most challenging drops or rock gardens, I never once felt the suspension bottom out as it ramps up progressively.

On rolling terrain, the overall feeling of the bike is simply “planted.” There isn’t anything it doesn’t do with some maneuvering. Again, on comparable segments that included lots of up and down, the Exie USA didn’t hit the podium, but I felt refreshed while pushing it with all I could. When hitting small kickers or drops, I didn’t ever feel like this bike was playful. Don’t get me wrong, I can whip it around as needed, but there was just something lacking in that regard. I did call it predictable and that’s definitely a fitting description. It’s not flashy, but gets the job done.

I have no complaints about the SRAM GX AXS Transmission. It isn’t the fastest shift, but it is reliable and consistent. Many times the shift would be absolutely silent. It’s durable and just plain works. I’m surprised how much it sips on batteries too as it’s still solid green after several months of riding.

I do also love the dual bottle cage mounts, even though I really only used one of them. If I had tackled longer rides, that extra bottle would come in clutch. The one stored on the seat tube isn’t good for on-bike use and really just sits at the ready to be swapped forward when you run out. Side loading cages are a must, but I’m not a fan of the Arundel Sideloader cages that were provided and found them kind of finicky on the trail. I prefer a cage that can be truly side-loaded instead of side/angle loaded. But… two water bottles!!! Huzzah!

Some not-so-exciting bits

Where I didn’t quite feel comfortable was the downhill handling at speed. I wouldn’t call it twitchy, but I felt like it suffered from oversteer. The head angle is a little steep at 67.2, but it’s not old school steep. I did mess around with the stack and reach — even putting on a 60mm stem and dropping the spacers but it never felt just right. At the end of the test period, I put the 50mm stem back and increased the stack height by 5mm and it felt better than any other iterations. Your results may vary, but I’d definitely suggest playing around with the stack to see what feels best. Alternatively, a little wider front tire could increase the trail just slightly to slow things down just a touch.

This was my first time using a Bike Yoke Revive Dropper and overall it was a great experience, but this German dropper comes with a learning curve. I’m told that Ibis swears by them and has had no issues and I didn’t either after I figured out the manual reset process. In the middle of one ride, I tinkered with the reset lever — wondering what it did. I proceeded to ride home on a pogo stick — bouncing all the way.

After the short bounce home, I Googled the reset procedures and figured it out. By depressing the lever at the top of the post and pushing the saddle down, it releases any air in the system. If you wait ~30-seconds and release with the bar lever, it returns to the top without any bouncing. I did notice that I had to reset it before every ride just to remove even the tiniest up/down movement it would develop while hanging on the garage wall after a few days. Outside of that, the dropper works great on the trails and always provided reliable drop and rise as needed.

And… the 25mm aluminum bar ends on the Ibis Hi Fi bars tended to wiggle loose just slightly and allowed the end of the ESI foam grips rotate enough to be noticeable. Oh, and the cable routing out front did make for endless hose clatter. I tried to minimize it with zip ties, but I would have slapped some rotating S-hooks on there to eliminate it completely if it were my own bike.

Fit: I’m 5’11” and 175 lbs and comfortably rode the size large Exie USA. For comparison, I also ride a large in Santa Cruz and Yeti. Tires were inflated to 24 psi. front and 26 psi. rear and the sag settings were set up according to my weight and riding style. Rebound was just about in the middle for both fork and shock — maybe one click towards slow. 

Buy Now: Visit IbisCycles.com