[moozico]

Hi everybody, I haven't had a chance to ride any of these frames, but after reading all the reviews, these are the 3 that I am looking at.

I currently have the SC Heckler 2004, but it's up to 36 pounds, and I am looking to upgrade to a better climber and lighter frame.

Has anyone here had all 3 of these frames? The Intense has the VPP. Is the Intense the most effecient climber? They all have great reviews, so it's hard to decide, especially without riding them myself. I might consider doing the demos, but then I'll be spending a few hundred more just to do that.

I will use this for all mountain, mostly climbs, trails, single track, not many jumps, getting too old for that. My cousin has a 5.5 and it's hard to keep up on my 36 pound Heckler. I think climbing is my issue since going downhill / flat is so much easier.

Thanks for the input!

 

[IPA]

Where is Turner??

Why isn't the 5.5 Spot on this list? Seems like you are putting together a somewhat solid list (leave the Ibis off---unless you are a world class XC racer, a carbon fiber bike is a shaky proposition) but you seemed to have left off the 5.5 spot. Heck, I have an RFX that weighs in at 33.5lbs and I climb everything on it. You could easily drop a few pounds off my build and go with the lighter 5.5 Spot and have yourself a 140mm travel bike at front and rear that weighs in at @29 lbs. Not to mention the Turner's easy, DIY maintenance and impeccable customer service....

 

[EnglishT]

As already said, im not sure id prefer a carbon frame (I guess im just paranoid of catastrophic failure) and would prefer alu.

Unless you intend to race, carbons weight advantage isnt worth it.

Further, for the riding you suggest, check out things with a standard 5inch of travel (rather than more)...

If you want REALLY good climbing ability, check out the Rocky Mountain ETSX - ok, im biased because I own one, but they climb really nicely, wile still having 5" for the way down

 

[ScottW]

Gotta call BS. My wife is on a Mojo, she rides hard, lots of rocks, occasional crashes and the bike is holding up just fine. There are lots of reasons to go with one bike over another but the whole catastrophic failure of carbon, especially the Mojo, is not based on fact.

 

[EnglishT]

Sorry, but you are wrong.

IF you crash on Alu, you will dent or scratch it - generally, with monitering, you can tell when the frame will fail (or even if its close to it or not).


With carbon, the frame can fail due to things you cannot see - if you crash, you are no more likely to make the frame fail-worthy -even less so- but you are less likely to know that it is possible that your frame is close to failure).



I dont trust carbon for my riding (I ride hard, occaisonally crash, and do not want to be massively out of pocket), but that doesnt mean it doesnt have its application - for people that dont risk crashing (or are so skilled they dont crash, or are less aggressive so dont crash), sure its worth saving that weight.
However, if you're looking to ride your bike without perpetual fear that it could fail due to a crash/scrape, that you didnt even know (or couldnt see) had had an impact on the frames integrity? Sorry, I cant accept that - It would drive me mad, and reduce my confidence and so my ability to ride harder things (maybe its just me, but without confidence, I really suck as a rider)

 

[moozico]

Hmm, the Mojo has a 3 Year Warranty. I assume if the frame cracks, then they will cover it. My cousin's Intense broke and Intense covered it, but he had to wait 6 weeks. I don't ride so fast that I get out of control, so I'm not so concerned about the frame breaking when I crash. I weigh about 210 with water.

I haven't heard of the Spot, I'll have to check that out.

 

[budgie]

Sorry, but you are wrong.

Making definitive statements like this, especially when they are followed up by poorly substantiated opinions, makes you sound like an idiot. The fact that the ETSX is being discontinued due in no small part to its impressive record of breaking, added to the fact that two years after introduction the Mojo is redefining reliability when it comes to failure rates of carbon frames, makes you sound even more ill-informed.

But back to the original poster's question. The three bikes you mention all have pretty different ride characteristics, and there's no substitute for test riding them. You'd also be doing yourself a disservice not to check out the Spot, the Motolite, and the BlurLT2, just to name a few. The only one I'd not be psyched to own is the 5.5, just because of bearing maintenance issues and its steep, XC-oriented geometry. But maybe that's exactly what you're looking for!

 

[petercarm]

Sorry, but you are wrong.

I dont trust carbon for my riding (I ride hard, occaisonally crash, and do not want to be massively out of pocket), but that doesnt mean it doesnt have its application - for people that dont risk crashing (or are so skilled they dont crash, or are less aggressive so dont crash), sure its worth saving that weight.
However, if you're looking to ride your bike without perpetual fear that it could fail due to a crash/scrape, that you didnt even know (or couldnt see) had had an impact on the frames integrity? Sorry, I cant accept that - It would drive me mad, and reduce my confidence and so my ability to ride harder things (maybe its just me, but without confidence, I really suck as a rider)

There are a lot of things in your explanation that dwell on your own level of confidence in the material technology. I'm sure you appreciate that any debate on confidence levels is far from universal. There are the carbon-trusting and the carbon-suspicious. If you're carbon-suspicious, no amount of debate will convince you otherwise. It is a bit like fear of flying. Statistically, flying is a very safe mode of transport. However, when it goes wrong...

A lot of people fly. A lot of people get by with carbon frames and do what they like with them. I don't know the stats.

 

[flafonta]

I would definitely try the Mojo and not discount it because it is carbon.

I tried many bikes before ending up buying a Mojo. And I love it.

If you break your frame (which is very rare), Ibis will take care of you. Great customer service.

 

[GreenBonty]

I have a 575 and have ridden the Intense. To me, the Yeti is a far better climber but that is not a scientific fact and depends on many aspects. The Intense feels solid and confidence inspiring but as mentioned may have maintenance issues (as may the Blur LT).
The Yeti has 5 yr warranty and AFAIK it's the max you can find in the list.
I agree that the best way to decide is based on a demo and even the $ amount spent on demos is justified if you can afford it (otherwise Yeti is the cheapest on the list I believe)

 

[james beaumont]

I had to make the same decision as you, I wanted a light bike that I could fly on downhill. I was never much of a fan of the Intense, the reviews I read were not quite as positive as they were for the Mojo and 575, also Im not so sure about the design, but thats a personal thing. That left me with 575 v Mojo. I spent a long time reading reviews and on each forum as i could not demo either bike as Im in Scotland. The general opintion seems to be that the 575 is slightly plusher but the Mojo a better climber but I have heard of people racing downhill on their Mojo. I eventually went for the Mojo, it feels a little bit more specail to me, looks a bit better, weighs less, has the great DW link suspension and as mentioned fantastic customer service. Either of the bikes would make you very happy Im sure. Have you considered lightening up your heckler? Bearing in mind if you built up a 575 or Mojo to the same spec as your Heckler they would still weigh 35 lbs!

 

[keith13]

Have you considered lightening up your heckler? Bearing in mind if you built up a 575 or Mojo to the same spec as your Heckler they would still weigh 35 lbs!

I ll say the same thing, couldn't you just lighten up your Heckler? I thought the Heckler was one of the lighter 5-5.5 travel frames and that it could be built sub 30 lbs?

 

[sherijumper]

Ya , stay away from the ETSX ! "check out the RMB forums and you will know why"
And I am a big RMB fan !

Two months ago I purchased a mojo and so far have been very impressed , I have never had so much fun on a bike my whole life , and the bike looks so damn cool !:thumbsup: These bikes are bombproof ! I used to be very anti carbon, but now I am a believer . Carbon is very strong , alot stronger than aluminum . The thing I think that has people so uptight is when it fails it shatters , where aluminum will just break . The carbon vs aluminum debate is something that probably won`t end !

Anyways if I were to do it all over again it would be a mojo ! I looked at Intense , moots , santa cruz and even the Etsx , and alot of others . If I were you I would look at a Blur LT as well ! good luck !

Does EnglishT know thatalot of ETSX`s have a carbon rear end ? maybe his ! Ha that would be funny !

 

[petercarm]

I just picked up a 575 frame today to build up for a friend. I have to say it is a lovely thing and of course it has a carbon rear end.

 

[kamikazee ideki]

personally i would go the yeti but all of those bikes are great. Intense is replacing the 5.5 soon with a new bike called the tracer vp so you might want to look into that. Try and test ride all the bikes first. Good luck!

 

[IPA]

My own thoughts on the matter...

As previously posted, I'm leary about carbon fiber for the application that you are talking about. I owned a Cannondale Raven way back when and the frame blew up on what could be considered a very routine crash. Two days ago, to hammer home the point, I saw a brand new Mojo in a bunch of tiney pieces halfway home on a ride. Not to say that the crash wouldn't have catastrophically bent an aluminum tube---don't know, didn't witness the crash---but I'd rather take my chances w/ alu vs. carbon on AM rides.

 

[airs0ft3r]

"(leave the Ibis off---unless you are a world class XC racer, a carbon fiber bike is a shaky proposition) "

No.

Just No.

How many people on the Ibis forum complain about frame problems, ever?

 

[bigrich]

Look at the Ibis forum, they have the greatest customer service. I just purchased the Mojo and there is no competition. It is an incredible ride. There are lots of great options, at least demo the Mojo, you wont be sorry. It is durable, I have one, not talking about something I dont know or heard like others.

 

[ecibis]

Try the ibis...

I have a heavier all mountain build and I ride it hard. I have had several bad crashes that only left scratches in the clearcoat that definitely would have dented or bent my steel or aluminum bikes of the past. I think I read on the ibis forum somewhere that over 1000 mojos have been sold, yet I have only seen a handful of people that had issues with the frame breaking. CF can be repaired, but you won't have to worry about that. If there is a break Ibis is reknown for handling issues quickly and they go above and beyond when it comes to warranty replacements. The last thing on my mind when I crash is if the frame is going to get damaged. After several pedals breaking, a rear cassette breaking, and a rear derailer bending and breaking the frame has come through unscathed. Also, the mojo is very versatile. I had it as a 25.5 XC bike and it rode like butter on the rocky trails. Now it's 29.5 lbs. with a fox 36 and beefy parts and it eats almost anything up and still pedals awesome. Definitely give it a test ride!

 

[sharpshooter]

Okay so if you bend or dent an aluminium frame is is rideable? not so much carbon is. A testament to the strength of the mojo is Brian Lopes racing dh and winning on one, The Intense is a cool bike but seems to be a bit expensive, my buddy went through three rear ends on his before selling. Test ride a mojo!