Ibis

Mojo HD - 2012

Remember when Brian Lopes transitioned from dominating BMX to dominating mountain bike racing in the late 80's/early 90's? Since then he's gone on to win 4 World Championships, 6 World Cups, and 9 National Championships with titles in every gravity-oriented discipline. So when Ibis Cycles signed on as his sponsor, the writing was on the wall for a model to support his efforts. The result is the Ibis Mojo HD -- a 160mm rear wheel travel carbon beauty that steals its swoopy curves from the Mojo SL, yet has been totally designed from the ground up. The most remarkable part? Ibis managed to build it burly enough to sustain Lopes' thrashings, yet keep it at a svelte (and category leading) 6.3 pounds.

The Mojo HD shares more than just good looks with the Mojo SL. It also relies on the dw-link to soak up the bumps. The position of the linkages creates resistance in the suspension to the rearward transfer of mass and subsequent compression (squat) of the rear end as you stomp the pedals and accelerate. This anti-squat trait means that the dw-link rear suspension allows the use of a more lightly damped shock. Instead of heavy compression damping and a reliance on the ProPedal lever, the linkage creates the pedaling platform. So even on a long travel bike like the Mojo HD, dw-link makes it pedal like it's a race bike. The more lightly damped shock means you'll experience the best bump sensitivity, traction, and control in all trail situations whether stomping out of a berm, coasting across off-camber roots, or churning through braking bumps.

The Mojo HD is built entirely from carbon fiber save for alloy inserts at the headtube, bottom bracket, and pivot locations. The monocoque construction assures that smooth transitions in the material occur at the tube junctions so that it is as strong, as stiff, and as light as possible. The stiff and light theme is carried through to the front of the frame where it has a 1-1/8"-1.5" tapered head tube. The forged and CNC machined aluminum links are beefier than those found on the Mojo. The lower link received most of the attention and has new, bigger and wider bearings to handle the expected torture of the HD. The 160mm travel rear suspension (20mm more travel than the Mojo SL) relies on low leverage rates and a Fox Float RP23 with Boost Valve air shock (View our set-up video) for tuneability on a variety of terrain. The air spring preload is easy to set and compression, rebound, and boost valve settings offer a wide range of adjustment to suit personal tastes. The Mojo HD has a 67 degree head angle that is optimized for a 160mm travel front fork, but if you find yourself on nasty trails more often than not, or prefer airtime over lunchtime, then a switch to a 180mm fork would be a good idea to give the obvious increase in travel and a resulting slackening of the head angle to an even more stable 66 degrees.

The Mojo HD uses a 12x142mm Maxle thru-axle, and all our frames come stock with one, as we testify to the advantage it provides. The left side dropout is forged magnesium and is designed to accept direct post-mount disc brake applications. With the appropriate adaptor, you can run up to a 200mm rotor. While it is not ISCG compatible, Ibis partnered with MRP to create a clever custom bottom bracket mounted backing plate that also attaches to the fixed front pivot bolt for the lower link. Not to worry, it offers all the security and strength that you would expect to need for a single ring setup and aggressive riding. All of the cable and hose guides are removable for a cleaner look should your forego a front derailleur, including the guide for remote adjustable seatposts.

The Ibis Mojo HD comes in small, medium, large, and X-Large and is available in White/carbon, Matte Black/carbon, and Vitamin P. It takes a 31.6mm seatpost and uses a direct mount top-pull front derailleur. Please note that the top bearing will be inside the headtube. So it requires mixed tapered headsets like the Chris King InSet Mixed Tapered or the Cane Creek 110 ZS/110 1.5. The claimed frameset weight is 6.3 lbs (2863 grams).

The Mojo HD is also available in 140mm RP23 air and 160mm RC4 Coil sprung versions. Please call for details or to place an order.

Ibis Cycles offers a 3 year warranty on the Mojo HD frame. Please follow this link to register your new Mojo.

Note: Not all front derailleurs will work with this frame. Please check the compatibility here. For those of you choosing to run 2 x 10 drivetrain on your Mojo HD: the Mojo HD is compatible with the 26/39t SRAM or 26/38t Shimano double chainring configuration only if you use the Shimano XTR Traditional Triple Front Derailleur FD-M981. It will only work with 166Q factor SRAM XX crank.