Having spent all of our time at Interbike proper indoors or walking the booths and taking photos, Cyclofest (aka Interbike East) offers the chance to actually get out and ride the bikes on proper singletrack trails. My pick was the new Ibis Mojo HD enduro bike, and here’s the one ride review…now with action footage!
Ibis doesn’t really use model years to label their bikes, they’re just new when they need to be, using numbers on the end to indicate iteration. In this case, it’s the fourth version. Ibis Mojo HD4 because it launched in May, but carries into 2018 unchanged. It’s their longest travel bike (for now), using 153mm rear travel with a 160mm fork. Standout features are:
- an incredibly stiff frame that keeps everything else doing what it’s suppose to do
- an efficient DW-Link suspension that lets you keep the shock in Open mode and really tune its performance for going downhill
- a clean look thanks to mostly internal routing and bearing design that should minimize maintenance
Max tire clearance is 27.5 x 2.8 depending on model, maybe smaller for some brands of tires…particularly when mounted to Ibis’ wide carbon rims. This particular combo of Maxxis Minion DHF 2.6 worked exceptionally well at the National Whitewater Center’s near-perfect dirt. Traction through the corners was inspiring, and they managed the rooty climbs well whether seated or standing. And the suspension worked equally well when pedaling in either position, too.
The Ibis Mojo HD4 frameset retails for $2,999. Complete bikes start at $4,099 with SRAM NX and run up to $7,099 with SRAM Eagle X01…but you can customize the builds with suspension upgrades and other bits along the way to suit your riding style, terrain and budget. Available in this gray fade or a red-to-maroon fade.
My take? If you want a bike that’ll climb well enough to make you forget you’re riding a long-travel enduro race bike, and then get the performance of a long-travel enduro race bike on the way down, this is it. Weight is respectable considering the build, and the performance hides it well. The 2.6 tire size is my sweet spot for a bike like this…go any bigger on the rubber and setup gets really tricky with (IMO) margin additional gains in traction, plus you get a big rotating mass penalty. Here, especially with a 160mm fork, there’s a nice balance between the work done by tires and suspension, on a bike tuned specifically for a single wheel size. Overall, Ibis maintains a reputation for high performing mountain bikes, and the Mojo HD4 shows why.
