Good observations, slc. I figured the Tracer would be a solid climber. I take it you did not feel much pedal feedback- one of the worst things about the old VPP designs. That is good to hear. Now it is time for a new 29er from them.
Tale of Two Bikes: Mojo vs. Tracer VP
2
So a child's size handful of you know that I had an issue with a cracked swing arm on my Mojo discovered while on my way to race the Tears, Fears and Beers event in Ely, NV a couple weekends back. Long story short, it was discovered late on a Friday night. I wasn't able to race. I panicked as I had two races coming up the following weekend and ended up with a brand new Tracer VP frame. Little did I know Ibis would turn a replacement swingarm around in a milisecond. Great customer service from those guys. They definitely went above and beyond and will get my business again in the future.
So here's my take on the two bikes after riding and racing each for a bit. Obviously the Tracer VP for only a couple weeks, but still. I have to say that I'm blown away by my findings as the assumption I had turned out to be the exact opposite.
With all of this, keep in mind that I'm not challenged height wise and come in at 6ft 4in tall. So most bikes tend to fit on the small size. This comparison is for the XL size in both frames. Exact same build kit.
Fit: I have to give the nod to the Tracer VP. With this frame I gained a half an inch in the top tube department. Slightly lower bar height. And a ton more standover room. Even being so tall, the Mojo's top tube was extremely tall and adding the cable routing it offered even less room. The Tracer's standover feels quite a bit more comfortable as I'm not thinking about hitting my garbage should I have to dismount on something steep and sketchy. The added half inch in the cockpit also helps a bit when climbing as I'm in a more natural position without having to run a long (read: unstable) stem.
I would venture to say that if I fell into the 6ft 2in realm my sentiments about the Mojo's fit as far as the top tube is concerned would be a bit more favorable. However, that would make the TT height feel even more high.
Climbing: Again, I have to give the nod to the Tracer VP. This just blows me away as I was under the impression that the Mojo would be a better climber. Could just be because the bike seems to fit better, but I would venture to say that the VPP2 suspension just works better both in and out of the saddle when climbing. With both bikes, I normally climbed with the Propedal turned on. I really needed it on with the Mojo, especially when standing. I don't find myself turning the Propedal on all the time on the Tracer as the suspension tends to firm up a bit more when out of the saddle and hammering.
Descending: Again, I have to give the nod to the Tracer. Just kidding. Seriously though, I have to say that the Mojo is noticeably more plush than the Tracer VP. When you consider that I'm running the Tracer in the 6 inch travel mode and it comes with the Fox HVRP23 in the Low Tune vs. the Fox RP23 Medium Tune on my Mojo, it speaks volumes for the DW Link. The Tracer definitely has a sweet spot in it's suspension that takes a while to find. It feels ok on medium hits, but on small or high speed hits it pales in comparison to the Mojo which has a more consistant feel throughout it's travel.
Having said that, I would give the Tracer a bit of a nod as it is quite a bit more stable on steep stuff. This is primarily due to a slacker head angle and lower stand over. Bottom bracket height on both bikes came in at 13.7-13.8 inches.
Bike Setup: This is a toss up. I wasn't too impressed with the cable routing on the Mojo's top tube and having to add another cable to hold the rear derailleur/brake housing together behind the seat tube. I also had some issues with squeaking coming from the cable stops on the Mojo. The Tracer offers about a hundred different cable routing options and has tabs for a Gravity Dropper style seat post. My only issue with cable routing on the Tracer was a VERY tight fit with the front derailleur housing coming through the upper linkage.
Originally I ran into some issues with chainguide compatibility on the Mojo. The large diameter of the down tube, coupled with a low driveside chainstay limited the number of guides unless you wanted to go to town on a grinder. I settled on the Blackspire Stinger, which worked fairly well while in the middle ring or bigger.
Running a guide on the Tracer is almost impossible. Right now I have the Stinger installed but all it's doing is keeping the chain from slapping the lower suspension linkage and provides literally no tension on the chain. The driveside chainstay is just way too low and there is little room for anything down there in the way of a chain guide.
The Mojo gets the nod for rear tire clearance. It just has a hair more space down there over the Tracer, which I've also noticed on some of Intenses other bikes. The way Intense designs their swing arms doesn't allow much room.
So there it is. I can't really say I like one bike better than the other as there are trade offs on each I like/dislike. At this point, I'd have to say that the final decision may just come down to customer service which would have to be just amazing to keep up with Ibis. I just hope I don't have to go there.
Speculate away....
2009 Tracer VP:
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2008 Ibis Mojo w/Lopes Link:
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So here's my take on the two bikes after riding and racing each for a bit. Obviously the Tracer VP for only a couple weeks, but still. I have to say that I'm blown away by my findings as the assumption I had turned out to be the exact opposite.
With all of this, keep in mind that I'm not challenged height wise and come in at 6ft 4in tall. So most bikes tend to fit on the small size. This comparison is for the XL size in both frames. Exact same build kit.
Fit: I have to give the nod to the Tracer VP. With this frame I gained a half an inch in the top tube department. Slightly lower bar height. And a ton more standover room. Even being so tall, the Mojo's top tube was extremely tall and adding the cable routing it offered even less room. The Tracer's standover feels quite a bit more comfortable as I'm not thinking about hitting my garbage should I have to dismount on something steep and sketchy. The added half inch in the cockpit also helps a bit when climbing as I'm in a more natural position without having to run a long (read: unstable) stem.
I would venture to say that if I fell into the 6ft 2in realm my sentiments about the Mojo's fit as far as the top tube is concerned would be a bit more favorable. However, that would make the TT height feel even more high.
Climbing: Again, I have to give the nod to the Tracer VP. This just blows me away as I was under the impression that the Mojo would be a better climber. Could just be because the bike seems to fit better, but I would venture to say that the VPP2 suspension just works better both in and out of the saddle when climbing. With both bikes, I normally climbed with the Propedal turned on. I really needed it on with the Mojo, especially when standing. I don't find myself turning the Propedal on all the time on the Tracer as the suspension tends to firm up a bit more when out of the saddle and hammering.
Descending: Again, I have to give the nod to the Tracer. Just kidding. Seriously though, I have to say that the Mojo is noticeably more plush than the Tracer VP. When you consider that I'm running the Tracer in the 6 inch travel mode and it comes with the Fox HVRP23 in the Low Tune vs. the Fox RP23 Medium Tune on my Mojo, it speaks volumes for the DW Link. The Tracer definitely has a sweet spot in it's suspension that takes a while to find. It feels ok on medium hits, but on small or high speed hits it pales in comparison to the Mojo which has a more consistant feel throughout it's travel.
Having said that, I would give the Tracer a bit of a nod as it is quite a bit more stable on steep stuff. This is primarily due to a slacker head angle and lower stand over. Bottom bracket height on both bikes came in at 13.7-13.8 inches.
Bike Setup: This is a toss up. I wasn't too impressed with the cable routing on the Mojo's top tube and having to add another cable to hold the rear derailleur/brake housing together behind the seat tube. I also had some issues with squeaking coming from the cable stops on the Mojo. The Tracer offers about a hundred different cable routing options and has tabs for a Gravity Dropper style seat post. My only issue with cable routing on the Tracer was a VERY tight fit with the front derailleur housing coming through the upper linkage.
Originally I ran into some issues with chainguide compatibility on the Mojo. The large diameter of the down tube, coupled with a low driveside chainstay limited the number of guides unless you wanted to go to town on a grinder. I settled on the Blackspire Stinger, which worked fairly well while in the middle ring or bigger.
Running a guide on the Tracer is almost impossible. Right now I have the Stinger installed but all it's doing is keeping the chain from slapping the lower suspension linkage and provides literally no tension on the chain. The driveside chainstay is just way too low and there is little room for anything down there in the way of a chain guide.
The Mojo gets the nod for rear tire clearance. It just has a hair more space down there over the Tracer, which I've also noticed on some of Intenses other bikes. The way Intense designs their swing arms doesn't allow much room.
So there it is. I can't really say I like one bike better than the other as there are trade offs on each I like/dislike. At this point, I'd have to say that the final decision may just come down to customer service which would have to be just amazing to keep up with Ibis. I just hope I don't have to go there.
Speculate away....
2009 Tracer VP:
2008 Ibis Mojo w/Lopes Link:
1 - 20 of 33 Posts
7
_dw, I'm assuming you're refering to the new DW Link 5 Spot? Unfortunately, I have not owned the newer version of that bike but briefly had an '08 5 Spot early last year through a grassroots sponsorship deal with Turner. I turned around and swapped it out for an '08 RFX within a month and used that bike for Super D and some 'normal' DH races last season. With both bikes, there was little to no flex in the rear. My only real issue with both bikes was the tallish head tube lengths and I would have prefered the BB on the RFX to be a bit lower. Other than that, they were both solid builds._dw said:
I've heard some good things about the Mach 5 as a good friend of mine who races endurance-XC events (he was recently profiled in an issue of MBA) is seriously considering that bike along with the Mojo for next season. He's tested all three: Pivot, Mojo and new 5 Spot and he quickly ruled out the 5 Spot as he felt it had a dead spot in the travel. I haven't thrown a leg over that bike so I'm not certain what he's talking about. He did give rave reviews of the Mach 5 though. It will be interesting to see which one he ends up with.
On a side note; I know things didn't end too well with Iron Horse, but I have to say that my Sunday was probably the funnest, best performing bike I've owned to date. The suspension was just amazing. It really put me in as a big fan of the DW Link. The Mojo solidified my sentiments. Prior to this the old-old version of the Nomad was my tell-all bike. If this new generation of the VPP on the Tracer VP doesn't gel with me (I still have high hopes) I'll be going back next season and try a Pivot or another Mojo. Perhaps an RFX if Turner gets the BB below 14inches and keeps the head tube a respectable (read: shorter) length. Right now the 5 Spot as it sits just isn't catching my eye other than it aesthetically it looks beautiful.
Pictures are good.
Airborne Mojo:
1 - 20 of 33 Posts
