Most bike companies design their bikes for specific categories from ultra-light XC bike to burly DH bike but I, like most riders, am looking for "The One" bike that is great all around. Ibis of all companies seems to build the best all-around bikes for real riders, not for categories. Bike reviews always say something to the effect of "the Ibis doesn't descend as well as bike A with 66-degree HTA," or "it doesn't climb as well as bike B with 71-degree HTA, but it's a great all-around bike." With a dual position fork, you don't need to compromise. You can have both slack and steep. And what better bike to do that with than one that is designed right in the middle of those two extremes?
Granted, if I was an enduro racer, I'd get an HD3, and if I was trying to get the lightest M3 possible, I'd stick with a 140 mm fork. I've discussed the fork with Ibis over the phone and they didn't say anything about voiding the warranty, but if the longer fork did cause the frame to crack (e.g. behind the bottom of the headtube), I wouldn't expect Ibis to warranty it. That said, they are still very cool when it comes to out-of-warranty replacements, as I discovered when I broke my original 2007 Mojo, and they hooked me up with a new Mojo SL frame for a very reasonable price.
Scot Nicol checked out my bike at an Ibis demo. I pointed out the 130/160 fork and asked him what he thought about it. He gave the bike a big thumbs-up with a wide grin. There was no tsk-tsk or warning about running a 160 mm fork on the Mojo 3. Scot's only comment was, "You're gonna get those gold grip caps all scratched up when you drag your bars, with all the traction you'll get."
Wilks, you're of course right about Ibis expecting people to run a 160 fork on the HD3, but I've been building bikes for over 30 years and I understand how fork length affects handling and geometry. The M3 HTA was a bit too steep for me on the descents: 160 mm fork, problem solved. The M3 was also a bit too slack for me on the steepest of climbs: flip the lever on the fork to 130 mm and problem solved again. I spend most of my time in 160 mm mode and it handles a lot better than I expected it to, even while climbing, but it is nice to be able to drop it to 130 mm for the long, steep grinds that are a part of many of the rides I do.
I've been riding the Mojo 3 for over six months now, and if I had carte blanche to build a brand new bike again today, I wouldn't change a thing, other than to start with the heavier WTB Breakout 2.5 tires with Tough/Fast casing instead of the lighter tires that got holes blown through the tread (I tried Mountain King and Bontrager XR4 Team Issue 2.4s). I haven't gotten past 2.5" tires, but when I compared my 2.5" Breakouts to the 2.8" Rekons on my buddy's Switchblade, the size difference was negligible.
Anyway, I just thought I would share my positive experience. I still haven't heard from anyone else who has tried a 130/160 fork on the Mojo 3... Please chime in if you've tried it, so we can compare notes. Here's my complete build, with obnoxious photo shoot:
http://forums.mtbr.com/ibis/mojo-3-picture-build-thread-1004156-4.html#post12634021
:thumbsup:
