Giant Glory vs Ribisu Psycopath: Big bike duel in the bike park - Giant vs Ribisu

A big bike duel Giant against Ribisu - that is, the largest bicycle manufacturer in the world competes against perhaps the smallest bike forge of a Swiss inventor. But the bicycle industry is known for its tinkerers and mavericks. Technology enthusiasts who are convinced that they can do better than the established manufacturers. Need an example? Jakob Lauhoff, 18 years old at the time, invented a disc brake with water instead of oil in the hydraulics. Brakeforce One put the fear of God into the competition.

Or Cornelius Kapfinger from Freiburg, who gets top marks in magazine tests with his Intend suspension forks. Or Adrian Summermatter with his Ribisu brand. The Swiss downhill enthusiast earns his living as an IT administrator for a pharmaceutical company. He has now reduced his workload to 80 per cent so that he can devote himself entirely to the production of his baby: the big-bike Psychopath.

The stark opposite is the bicycle giant from Taiwan, which lives up to its name. Giant is considered the largest bicycle manufacturer in the world. While Summermatter produces in small series and has only sold 20 downhillers so far, Giant has nine factories of its own and produces over six million bikes a year with 13,000 employees for four own brands and several partners. A duel at eye level? That's exactly what we wanted to find out.

The bikes: Giant Glory vs Ribisu Psychopath

The Giant Glory is already in its 5th generation. Giant presented the last Glory almost ten years ago (!). Now the new edition in 2023. Prototypes have been in use in the World Cup for many years. Now the Glory is finally available again for hobby downhillers. The full carbon bike is initially only available in one equipment variant and as a frame kit.

The Ribisu Psychopath is sold in an exclusive small series. Ribisu boss Summermatter has been offering the carbon frame since 2020. At that time only in frame size M, for 2023 the Swiss invested in a larger frame shape, which cost Summermatter 20,000 Swiss francs.

The Ribisu Psychopath comes in two equipment variants, with either Fox or Rockshox suspension. When it comes to components, Summermatter is happy to fulfil customer requests. Anyone who orders a bike from Ribisu automatically phones the boss.

Same goals, same dates, same bikes?

Both bikes are designed for downhill use and are intended to support the rider with comfort on rough terrain. Ribisu boss Summermatter also emphasised lively handling in the design. Striking: The L-frame looks very short. The super-short chainstays (432 mm) are intended to provide the necessary agility. Summermatter normally sells his Psychopath as a Mullet, but he supplied us with a bike with 27.5-inch wheels due to a shortage of parts.

The Giant Glory is more consistently trimmed for racing. The geometry is long, low and flat. The carbon frame is available in All-29 and Mullet. New: three adjustment options via flipchip - on the rear triangle, on the chainstay and on the headset. This allows the customer to adjust the geometry to suit their preferences. We chose the middle setting and rode it very well.

In practice

We have beaten both bikes over the rough trails in the Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis and Leogang bike parks. But also over jump trails. Let's start with the brand new Giant Glory.

The modern geo positions the rider securely on the bike and immediately increases the feel-good factor. The bike can be controlled very intuitively, with pleasant counter-pressure on jumps and in turns. When the trail gets steeper and rougher, the rider benefits from the stretched geometry. The suspension harmonises, but only when we tune the Fox 40 significantly softer. However, the Giant Glory doesn't become a sedan chair, as the suspension doesn't generate enough comfort and plushness for that. The Glory cuts a fine figure both on DH trails and in the park.

Unfortunately, the Ribisu Psychopath quickly had to admit defeat to the Glory. In root passages, the super-light carbon speedster (15.1 kg!) had no flubber feeling, instead it stumbled through the tangle of roots, swayed and lacked traction. The small front wheel and the compact geometry emphasised the feeling: more super enduro than big bike.

But we didn't want to leave anything untried and fitted the new Rockshox Boxxer with a 29-inch front wheel. And lo and behold, the Psychopath was much better: more speed, more control, more big bike. On jump tracks, the bike rolled extremely fast thanks to the lightweight carbon wheels - great! Annoying: the loud background noise. Perhaps due to the resonance body of the frame.

Conclusion: Big bikes in a duel - Giant vs Ribisu

No surprise. The new Giant Glory is the clear winner. It is modern, can do park and downhill and has clever features such as the versatile geo adjustment. The Ribisu Psychopath is more of a light big bike and suffers from dusty geometry. Victory for Giant. - Laurin Lehner, FREERIDE editor

The duel test winner

Giant vs Ribisu duel: what the testers say

It's a shame, I would have liked the mini forge from Switzerland to give the big player a run for its money. Unfortunately not! The Ribisu Psychopath is more of a super enduro bike than a big bike.
Laurin Lehner, tester (1.78 m | 73 kilos)

The new Giant Glory is not a downhill plough, but pleasantly lively. I had just as much fun on the park tracks as I did on the downhill track.
Dimitri Lehner, tester, (1.79 m | 75 kilos)