It has been built… my personal test sled for the season… an Ibis Mojo decked to the hilt with top-shelf parts just to show how absolutely sexy this full-carbon mountain bike can be. When it all arrived in various boxes, I was still worried how it would all come together, but when I got the call from the crew at Timpanogos Cyclery that it was done, I flew down to pick it up.
When they wheeled it out from behind the counter, my jaw dropped and all four mechanics stood as if at attention… this bike is something to behold. I couldn’t help but keep staring at it either… wow.
After a photography session fit for a rockstar, the Ibis Mojo custom build is now ready to hit the trails and get dirty. I’m anxious to see how it performs. The first dirt times are scheduled for later this week, so I’ll soon know if this bike is all looks or if it also packs some solid trail slayer moves under that sexy skin. The details on the build are as follows:
- 2010 Ibis Mojo with 2010 Fox RP23
- 2010 Fox 32 TALAS RLC with 15qr
- CrankBrothers Iodine All-mountain wheelset
- SRAM X.9 drivetrain
- Shimano SLX crankset
- WTB Wolverine 2.2 tires
- Ibis handlebars and seatpost, Syncros AM Stem
- ODI Lock-on OURY grips
More Photos: Visit My Picasa Album
Growing up in Seattle, Jason quickly developed a love for the outdoors and a thing for mountains. That infatuation continued as he founded 
First Ride Impression… this bike just feels fast. It rolls well and feels super-plush. I think I’ll throw on a little longer stem (60mm now, but I’ll switch to 80mm) and keep tweaking with the fork adjustments to get it just right.
Awesome ride!!!
HI Jason
Is it the 140 or 150 fork you have on it? i can’t tell from the photos.
what is the head angle on your actual bike?
It’s a 2010 TALAS 32 150mm with 15QR. I don’t know the head-angle exactly but I can tell you this… 150mm feels perfectly balanced on this bike for both climbing and descending. Not too raked out to induce wandering, but just slack enough to make the downhill feel absolutely balanced.
Add on top of that the travel adjust and on long climbs, the Mojo feels completely in its element.
Anxiously awaiting your ride report….which do you prefer for Utah singletrack: Ibis Mojo or Santa Cruz BLT2 Carbon?
Right now I really prefer the Ibis Mojo over nearly everything I’ve ridden. This bike is going to be hard to beat. However, I haven’t ridden the Blur LT Carbon, but I’m sure it would give the Mojo a run for the money.
Jason,
Great reviews. How does this compare to the Yeti 575 and the Blur LT. You have reviewed both of these in the past.
Thanks
Dave
thanks for the reply jason – i’m off to see about getting one of these (with a talas 150mm fork) tomorrow. Had been looking at the yeti 575 or la pierre zesty but that Mojo is just so pretty!
@Dave… compared to the 575 and LT, this one is lighter and faster both up and down. All three are phenomenal bikes, but I’m really liking the weight reduction offered by the carbon-fiber goodness of the Mojo. I’m guessing the Blur LT Carbon will be right inline with the Mojo. Oh yeah, the sexy good looks are hard to deny also.
Hi Jason,
I see you are using a Fox TALAS w/ 15QR. I didn’t know they had a 15QR adapter for Iodine wheels, I thought Crank Brothers only made them for Cobalts?
Reza… the Iodine’s come with 9mm and 20mm dropouts standard, but you can buy 15mm caps as well. Mine were machined incorrectly, so I had to do some hand sanding for proper fit, but they do offer the 15mm caps (hopefully the milling has been fixed!!!).
This looks really light. Kind of a dumb question but water bottle or hydration pack? Which is lighter. I see the IBIS does not have a space for a water bottle, but to reduce weight would it be better to have a water bottle on the bike or have a hydration pack on your back?
Dave… not a dumb question, but the answer is it depends. Depends on how big of a water bottle and how much stuff you have in your hydration pack. There are ultralight hydro packs that can be lighter than a water bottle (depending on capacity and how much stuff you have in them).
In general, however… a water bottle and cage will be lighter than a hydration pack and is preferable on quick rides, IMO. The Mojo does have cage mounts, but they are on the underside of the downtube just in front of the bottom-bracket… in other words… not very usable.
I’m going to mount one down there and let you know how it performs, but a mouthful of dirt is what I’m thinking.
I had heard/read that if you move the weight from the bike to the rider it is easier on the climbs. Make sense or is more likely weight is weight and it does not matter where you put it?
To me, static weight is static weight–no matter where you put it. On your back or on the frame seems about sixes to me. Where you can notice it is with rolling weight (e.g. heavy tires, tubes and wheels). Increased rotational mass will make a huge difference, but on the frame or on your body, I’m not sure if it makes much of a hoo ha.
Makes sense when you put it that way. I have made a few changes that direction as well. Went with less weight on the tires (switched out Nevegal for Mountain King 2.4 front and 2.2 rear worked very well over the weekend) next comes wheels. Iodine out of reach so may go Crossmax.
I heard several people opine that the Mojo is more XC oriented than the Ellsworth Epiphany and that it felt twitchier on descents. This didn’t make much sense to me given that the Mojo lists a slacker HTA but I haven’t had the chance to ride either.
I’m currently on a 5 year old Ellsworth Id that I’m finding is a bit too steep for comfort on steep gnarly descents (it is also a hair large for me). Have any insights for me until I can get some demo time in?
That’s what I had heard in the past as well, but the tweaks to the frame that have come since Brian Lopes has been onboard have turned this bike into an all-mountain slayer that’s capable enough for XC racing, but completely comfortable taking all-day abuse.
Quite honestly, in my 2-3 weeks of riding, this is by far the best trailbike I’ve ever owned. So smooth in all terrain and handles drops and sketchy terrain without batting an eye. I’ve got the 150mm fork up front… if you went with a Fox 36 TALAS, you could even take it into more challenging terrain.
Well that sounds like really bad news for my bank account. Thanks for the reply and I’m looking forward to the full review.
Is your Talas the 1.5″ Steerer or the standard 1 and 1/8″? Do you know the differences?
Dave
Standard 1-1/8 steerer. The Mojo doesn’t accept anything other than that, but I imagine they will have a tapered steerer option sometime soon.
Yes, the 1.5 is nice, but really unnecessary on this fork, to be quite honest. The biggest limitation is in stem choice because most 1.5 stems are FR or DH in style and shape. But, you do get extra stiffness, no question. I don’t think it’s necessary for this application.
Jason–beautiful bike. How do you like the Crank Bros. wheels? How loud is the rear hub? I’ve got Chris Kings on my Turner, and they make “stealth” riding quite difficult.
I’m loving the Iodine’s right now. They ride so smooth and track very well. How loud are they? Well, they are pretty darn loud… akin to Chris King hubs. No stealth riding with these wheels.
Another fabulous ride on the Mojo this morning in American Fork Canyon. Light rain made for fast, tacky singletrack and the trails all to myself! This is quite possibly the most perfect trailbike.
Jason,
have u experienced any jackhammering or bouncing when riding through stuttering bumps? I’ve read from 3 people who recently recieved their mojo’s fitted with 2010 rp23 that said they experienced this, one guy even said it sucked and had it shipped to push industries. He claimed when he got it back it worked good. Then today I called ibis directly and they all like the rpl better. The guy at ibis said most all of them ride the rpl including their downhill racers and crosscountry racers. They claimed the open position of the rpl is much plusher than the rp23, and the rp23 stiffest propedal setting is not as stiff as the 09′ and induces more pedalbob. I told them that I wanted to get the rp23 so later down the line i could ship it to push for a custom tuning, and the guy told me push didn’t really make any noticable difference to the couple of guys at ibis that had their suspension tuned with them. Do you have any experience with push tuned forks or shocks? Thanks for your time and advice, happy riding!
I did experience some high-speed compression issues in stutter bumps until I let a bit more air out of the shock. I went from about 170 to 140 psi and it’s much smoother now. However, it blows through the travel a bit faster and I feel more compelled to use Propedal.
I’ll have to inquire about the RPL’s performance as well. I didn’t even know the RPL was an option out of the box.
My girlfriend just purchased an Ibis Mojo SL about a month ago and we had opted for the Fox RPL shock. However, after riding it for a while she decided to replace it with the RP23 as the RPL was too plush and took away the crispness we experienced when demo’ing the Mojo with the RP23. The ‘crispness,’ or lack of pedal bob when pedaling at slow speeds, on climbs, etc, was what sold us on the Mojo versus the other bikes we demo’d (yeti 575, blur lt, stumpjumper, fuel ex8, mach V). The best way we can describe it is that with the RP23 the Mojo feels fast and firm like a hardtail, until you start hitting bumps and rocks and roots, and then it just soaks everything up without sapping your pedaling energy, unlike most of the other bikes we demo’d. Both of us are completely sold on the Mojo…..can’t believe how wonderful it is all around…..sprinting, climbing, descending…..we’ve hit up all our favorite trails and it takes whatever we throw at it. I’m just waiting for the Mojo HD to decide if I want a normal Mojo or the HD….
Indeed the Mojo HD looks like an even-sweeter trailbike package. 160mm travel front and rear and still in the 28 lb range… seems surreal.