MRP Ribbon wins Pinkbike suspension product of the year

MRP's surprising victory is worthy of being called the Upset of the Year.

Why it's the winner: 

Historically, the Suspension Product of the Year has come from a major manufacturer, and it's invariably been a fork or shock that most riders are already familiar with. Fox, RockShox, and Manitou have made up the lion's share of both nominations and wins, as you'd expect to see in this category - big budgets, years of R&D, and plenty of manufacturing muscle are hard to beat. And that's why MRP's surprising victory is worthy of being called the Upset of the Year as well. 

We all know that if you're spending around a grand on a suspension fork, you're going to get something that will offer all the performance you might ever require - pretty much everything in this price bracket is going to impress. But thanks to its twin-tube damper that offers best-in-class action, as well as a unique end-stroke control system, the MRP Ribbon manages to outshine its more well-known competition. 

With its travel adjustable in 5mm or 10mm increments between 140mm to 170mm for the 27.5'' chassis, or 120mm to 160mm for the 29er fork that I've been riding, the $989 USD Ribbon can be put to work as everything from a brawny cross-country fork to being bolted to the front of an enduro race bike. It's probably most at home somewhere in the middle of that wide spectrum, however, making it an ideal option for how a lot of us like to ride our bikes. It's not short of adjustments, either, as the negative spring can be fine-tuned to adjust the action, and the clever Ramp Control Cartridge offers speed-sensitive ending-stroke control with adjustable bottom-out. The latter is a much more effective way to tune the stroke compared to the token system found in most forks that's position sensitive. You can even pick up a Ribbon with a coil spring inside of it if you'd prefer that over air. 

Click here to read the Pinkbike review.

Click here to see the fork.