Demo'd and Ordered My 2009 Mojo (long)

Yup, that's right I put in a order for a brand new Mojo. Ever since I got into Mountain Biking (only a few years) and started looking at new models and learning whats what. I always knew that the Ibis Mojo was a bad-ass bike. I read all about the DW link on the Mojo and the Turners and really liked what I heard, about the efficiency of the suspension design and the sturdiness yet light weight of the frame.

For the past 6 months I've been riding a XL 07 Stumpjumper with brain. It was too long and stretched out but I really like the Brain and Horst Link. I wanted a bike that was efficient pedaling but would be active as well. I was also highly concerned about the fact that my current bike had too long of a Top Tube and the Wheelbase was quite long. I found the measurements of the Xl Mojo were 25mm shorter Wheelbase and 18MM shorter Top Tube which sounded perfect. The suspension geometry was very close to my Stumpjumper as well which I really liked, perfect numbers for a do-it-all type of bike.

I have to say, the whole experience of buying this bike has been phenomenal. My buddy Wade over at Spokesman Cycles in Santa Cruz was really a big help. He had me come down and test ride his bike and even hooked me up with some killer trails close by the shop. He's an Ibis dealer and knows all the guys over at Ibis really well meaning I got great service and knowledge on this bike. His mechanic gave me a bunch of good tips on assembling the bike as they've assembled a few show bikes. I live all the way in Pinole, but the drive down to Santa Cruz was well worth it. I even met some people on the trail who were friends with Wade and the shop as well I told them I was test riding a Mojo and they already knew what shop's bike I was on. Real good vibe over there.

So now for the test ride; it was mostly double single track climb, and the descent was fast flowy and fun. Lot of fat logs across the trail that I had to jump or drop which allowed me to really test out the full 140mm of travel. The climbing was decent, I tried the shock both on open and on Propedal to see the difference. I did notice less bobbing and a tad more efficiency with the Propedal on but that was only on smooth trail. As soon as I got to some roots and single track the open shock and DW link performed quite well. My main gripe though was that I felt those Kenda Nevegal's were really freakin slow rolling, I know I'll get flamed but I think those tires suck for climbing totally in-efficient. The grip was good but not that much better than other tires that roll faster and grip. That kinda ruined the climbing part for me, however I did get to feel how active the rear suspension was on some of the single track.

The descents were awesome, I really enjoyed having that extra 20mm of cush. I definitely noticed that it was there but it was strange, the bike still was quick handling and nimble like my Stumpjumper but just with some extra cush in the rear. I hit a few nice drops off of some logs and I liked how the suspension "popped" off of obstacles. I read that the DW was lazy in this way but I found just the opposite. Even with too slow of rebound(shoulda adjusted it faster for the terrain) I found that the moment you started to pop off of things, the rear suspension would kinda unload and spring you up.

I should be getting delivery of the frame this coming week. I'll for sure post Pics as I get it and build it up. Can't wait to race this thing, it really is the do-all bike. With some lighter wheels/tires and a longer stem I can go XC race this thing no problem. And the day after put on my shorter stem and different wheels tires and go rip some descents! I didn't feel like the bike performed any miracles, most bikes these days are all pretty damn good. But I did feel like it did everything very well, it was a balanced and refined bike and so universal. I don't think I'll need another bike for awhile






Oh BTW can't wait to ride mine with the Joplin FTW