Ibis Mojo 3 Carbon Mountain Bike Frame - 2016
Ibis is pitching the all-new Mojo 3 Carbon Mountain Bike Frame as the little brother of its Mojo HD3 enduro sled. While this comparison might initially strike you as being overly restrictive and prohibitively niche, the opposite is true. The Mojo 3 tempers the extremes that make the HD3 so good in apocalyptic terrain in favor of a chassis that's lighter, more playfully agile, and still capable enough to handle everything this side of gravity loops. It's Ibis' nod to the 140mm Mojo of old, and -- despite its shorter travel and steeper geometry -- it's actually more versatile for more riders than the HD3. The HD3 was designed for the athletes operating at the tippy-top end of the enduro rankings; the Mojo 3 was designed for everyone else or, in the enthusiastic words of Ibis' founder, Scot Nicol, ME! If you happen to clean the steppiest lines like they're paper-smooth fire roads, then you don't need us to tell you that the HD3 is probably the right ride for you, but if your ambitions and local trail furniture aren't all World Series fare, then the Mojo 3 is far more appropriate -- and fun -- choice. And when we write fun, we don't mean it's for casuals only. Rather, we mean that our own hyperbolic, expletive-laden reactions of pure joy at testing this bike are unprintable here. The Mojo 3's spirited kick starts with the shock tune and DW-Link suspension. Ibis claims it tuned the shock so its initial stroke rides on the plush side, but our firsthand experience with the bike tells us that generous small bump compliance doesn't keep it from feeling firm off the top. It's responsive and changes direction quickly while navigating switchbacks at climbing speeds, and the anti-squat pedaling platform maintains past the sag point. The Mojo 3 wasn't specifically built to be an XC race bike, but we'd gladly line up with it. It also wasn't designed as a park bike, but spending a few minutes on it makes it obvious that the Mojo 3 is built to get rowdy. Ibis describes the...