Just like its little brother, the 130mm Mojo that just got a version 3 upgrade to Boost and Plus, the longer legged Mojo HD3 has gone down the same path with the switch to fatter rubber and wide axle spacing. The already versatile Mojo HD3 gets even more capable with the upgrade of its rear end. Keeping the front triangle untouched the all-new swingarm (and sized up lower suspension linkage) updates the HD3 to the newest standards giving room for up to 2.8″ tires. Check in after the break for plenty of detailed photos, specs, build kits on offer, pricing, and availability…
With the light and capable frame as a base, Ibis sees the addition of Boosted Plus wheels adding flexibility to set the bike up for even more diverse riding styles, all built around a single set of wheels. As a all-around XC or trail riding bike you can drop some 2.3″ tires in and roll away with a light bike that climbs as well as it descends. If your trails are always a mud fest, 2.3″ mud-specific knobbies with get you through the muck and never pack up with all of that Plus-sized clearance. For those who want to point it downhill and never look back, a set of 2.5″ DH tires will hook up as you thrash through the rocks and off the drops. Then if you just want the extra plush and added grip from ultra-low pressures, get a set of the newest 2.8″ tires like those new High Rollers and Minions we just saw for the HD3 and crawl the bike up and over any type of terrain you can find.
The new HD3 sticks with the same 150mm of dw-link travel, so the handling and geometry don’t change, just the ability to add fatter tires and stiffer wheels. The big winner in all of this is of course current HD3 owners. Since the front end is untouched you can just swap a new swingarm on (and crank and wheels, ok and fork if you are going all in) to get all the same benefits. While most owners probably aren’t going to shell out for that upgrade right away, it is nice to see that Ibis isn’t making the previous HD3 obsolete. They’ll even be offering up a Boost/Plus upgrade swingarm retrofit kit for the current crop of 142mm HD3s for $900.
The retrofit kit will include the new HD3 Boost/Plus swingarm, a new 148mm Hexle, a new Boost-compatible lower link with hardware, and a Boost compatible front derailleur mount. Retrofit kits will ship in April, once they get everything in stock.
The new complete HD3s, they are in stock and shipping as of today in all three colors: matte black, this 917 blue, and green machine. The new frameset will set you back $2900 on its own with a Fox Factory FLOAT DPS 3 position shock with Adjust and the EVOL Sleeve and a Kashima coating. Outside of the new 27.5″ x 2.8″ tire compatibility, everything else on the bike stays the same.
As for complete bikes, Ibis has more than a dozen options on offer. Of those nine include the new Boost spacing, while the cheaper Special Blend builds will still stick with 100 & 142mm hubs. Ibis says the reason the Special Blend builds still stick with the 142mm swingarm is that they just don’t have availability of Boost cranks, forks, and wheels for their own individualized OE specs. But that statement does hint that as they get more options from the likes of X-Fusion, Race Face, Stan’s, and the like that the Special Blend will go wider too.
There is certainly no problem for spec with the complete groupsets from Shimano and SRAM. An XT 1x build will be the cheapest path into the new Boost and Plus setup at $6000, while the sky is the limit with XX1 and XTR double builds that push up really close to $9000.
