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Ibis
Mojo 3 Carbon Mountain Bike Frame - 2016

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Uber-trail.

Ibis is pitching the all-new Mojo 3 Carbon Mountain Bike Frame as the "little brother" of its Mojo HD3 enduro sled. While this comparison might initially strike you as being overly restrictive and prohibitively niche, the opposite is true. The Mojo 3 tempers the extremes that make the HD3 so good in apocalyptic terrain in favor of a chassis that's lighter, more playfully agile, and still capable enough to handle everything this side of gravity loops. It's Ibis' nod to the 140mm Mojo of old, and — despite its shorter travel and steeper geometry — it's actually more versatile for more riders than the HD3.


The HD3 was designed for the athletes operating at the tippy-top end of the enduro rankings; the Mojo 3 was designed for everyone else or, in the enthusiastic words of Ibis' founder, Scot Nicol, "ME!" If you happen to clean the steppiest lines like they're paper-smooth fire roads, then you don't need us to tell you that the HD3 is probably the right ride for you, but if your ambitions and local trail furniture aren't all World Series fare, then the Mojo 3 is far more appropriate — and fun — choice. And when we write "fun," we don't mean it's for casuals only. Rather, we mean that our own hyperbolic, expletive-laden reactions of pure joy at testing this bike are unprintable here.


The Mojo 3's spirited kick starts with the shock tune and DW-Link suspension. Ibis claims it tuned the shock so its initial stroke rides on the "plush" side, but our firsthand experience with the bike tells us that generous small bump compliance doesn't keep it from feeling firm off the top. It's responsive and changes direction quickly while navigating switchbacks at climbing speeds, and the anti-squat pedaling platform maintains past the sag point. The Mojo 3 wasn't specifically built to be an XC race bike, but we'd gladly line up with it.


It also wasn’t designed as a park bike, but spending a few minutes on it makes it obvious that the Mojo 3 is built to get rowdy. Ibis describes the shock's tuned ramp-up characteristics as "robust." We describe it as the kind of big-hit confidence that can often be the key element in determining which side of the ragged edge you find yourself on. When run with the plush cushion of 2.8in tires, the travel feels around a full inch deeper than it actually is, and tire traction enjoys a similar boost. Regardless of the tires you choose to run, the shock tune and suspension keep the bottom bracket height at the sag point the same.


The shock's tune doesn't require a high damper handicap, a fact that Ibis credits to the shock rate and DW-Link's steady pedaling platform. Since it naturally reduces bob without needing a damper handicap from the shock, DW-Link's ramp-up stays smooth throughout its suspension arc. It also suffers less heat build-up than heavily dampened models, so its ramp feel isn't significantly affected during hard, fast descents where the shock is working overtime.


Two years ago, five-inches of travel would have caused most grizzled trail denizens to nod knowingly and declare, "yeah that's a trail bike, bro." As we've alluded to above, nothing could be further from the truth with the Mojo 3. In Ibis' own words, the stubby chainstays and low claimed frame weight make the bike feel "taut," and we think that's a wonderfully succinct way to describe the responsive aggression the Mojo 3 exhibits on the kind of climbs that would send the lumbering gravity crowd in search of a chairlift. But we've also seen a steady stream of recent releases that challenge this trail axe axiom. When run with a 140mm fork, the Mojo 3's 66.8-degree head tube is on par with standard slack enduro standards and situates it squarely at the foremost tip of the advancing phalanx of all-mountain machines that drop in as well as they climb out.


One unfortunate side effect of this kind of trending uber-trail geometry is that most slack, low bikes running five inches of rear travel and 27.5+ tires are also ditching the double drivetrain. But not the Mojo 3. Ibis insists that there's still a place for an extra chainring while navigating this brave new world of ever-blurring boundaries, and the Mojo 3's removable front derailleur mount means those of us who aren't quite ready to commit to chain ring monogamy can still go to the dance with multiple partners.


The tapered head tube further increases stiffness up front, which makes for yet better tracking across terrain, and the inclusion of Boost rear spacing let Ibis slam the rear wheel up for the above-mentioned stubby stays — which are approaching XC standards — while still leaving room for tubby tires and a front derailleur. That clearance also means that the frame is forward compatible with the kind of 2.5 and 2.6in trail tires that we think are going to dominate the market in the years to come. Ibis agrees with that assessment, and over the two years of development it poured into the Mojo 3, its own in-house testing suggested that any tires bigger than 2.8in became bouncy, unwieldy, and too sloppy for anything other than bikepacking and snow rides.


The frame itself is what you'd expect from Ibis: a full carbon monocoque affair that incorporates the construction pedigree of the HD3 but at a drastic weight savings, shedding a claimed 0.4lbs compared to the enduro brute. The final product is actually the seventh carbon lay-up schedule that Ibis tested —yet another indication that the Mojo 3 was carefully and meticulously developed rather than being rushed to market in order to capitalize on the 27.5+ hype. It's fair to say that the original Mojo re-invigorated the Ibis brand in 2005; we can see the Mojo 3 not only having a similar impact on Ibis, but on the industry as a whole.


Frame Material
carbon fiber
Suspension
DW-Link 5
Wheel Size
27.5+
Rear Shock
FOX Factory Float DPS EVOL
Rear Travel
130 mm
Head Tube Diameter
44/56mm Zero Stack
Bottom Bracket Type
68 mm BSA threaded
ISCG Tabs
yes, ISCG 05
Cable Routing
internal
Front Derailleur Mount
direct-mount removable
Brake Type
160mm post-mount disc
Rear Axle
12 x 148mm Boost
Claimed Weight
[size medium, with shock] 5.45 lbs
Recommended Use
trail, all-mountain, trail
Manufacturer Warranty
7 years

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