A DESIGN CLASSIC IS BACK.
THE HUMBLE MOUNTAIN bike was born from
a love of blasting down mountain fireroads and Ibis’s Scot Nicol was there from
the beginning, laying it sideways round the turns. Thirty-three years later, Scot
still shreds and he’s still at the forefront of mountain bike design, having just
released the Mojo HDR – the latest incarnation of the stunning carbon fibre bike
that put Ibis on the map.
Plastic Fantastic
In his early days on the scene, Scot met Joe Breeze and Charlie
Cunningham, who were already established frame builders. He learned from them,
and when he built his first frame in 1981, it soon attracted attention. Ibis
Cycles were in business.
Ibis were early adopters of carbon, and in 1988 made a frame with carbon
fibre tubes bonded to machined lugs. Advances in suspension technology meant
that the use of carbon on mountain bikes took a back seat during the 1990s,
leaving further development in the hands of our roadie friends. When this
technology filtered back into MTBs, it was high-end XC frames that benefited.
But Scot and his team believed carbon was the wonder stuff that would produce
the ultimate bikes due to its strength-to-weight ratio and the different, sometimes
opposing, properties that could be achieved through different design and manufacturing
techniques.
Ibis spent around 1,900 hours designing the first carbon Mojo. Due to
its complexity, it took a long time to find a factory good enough to develop
the carbon-moulding technology. But it was worth it, because when the Mojo was
released in 2005, it transformed perceptions of what was possible with carbon
fibre in mountain bike design. The 133mm (5.25in)
travel bike was everything people hadn’t thought possible: stiff yet resilient,
incredibly lightweight yet seriously tough, and absolutely stunning, in a way a
conventional alloy mountain bike could never be.
Wolf in sheep’s clothing
In 2010 Ibis released a heavy-duty version – the Mojo
HD – that was stiffer, stronger and had more travel (160mm/6.3in) but was
barely any heavier. The HD was an incredible chassis that suited many riders –
it could be a long travel, uplift friendly rig, or a short travel, trail
smashing XC whip. We’ve seen some as light as 25lb (11kg) and others with 180mm
(7.1in) forks, coil shocks and chain guides.
The new HDR looks like the popular HD at a glance, but
it’s a refined frame that uses the lightweight techniques learnt from the 140mm
(5.5in) travel Mojo SL-R and improves on the strength of the HD. Its complex
design means the carbon bottom bracket lug alone takes as long to lay up as some
entire road frames.
As well as having future-proofing additions like
clearance for piggyback shocks, the HDR has a new rear end that accepts both
650b and 26in wheels and offers improved clearance for 11-speed cassettes. To
accommodate the larger wheel size without affecting bottom bracket height, it
uses a shorter shock in 650b mode, offering 130mm (5.1in) of rear wheel travel
and a planted 13.5in BB height. With 26in wheels, the HDR runs a slightly
longer shock to give 160mm (6.3in) of travel and a 13.8in BB height. The BB
heights end up roughly equal when you take suspension sag into account.
Combine this wheel size versatility with plenty of
room for any variety of shock, removable ISCG-05 chain guide mounts and compatibility
with angled headset cups, and you’ve got a bike that’ll appeal to a lot of riders.
It’ll suit anyone from an all-day adventurer looking for something sturdy and
light to an XC rider wanting a supertough trail bike or a gravity addict
looking for something light enough to winch to the top before pinning it back
down.
On top of that, the HDR has elegant lines that even
non-cyclists can’t take their eyes off – curves seamlessly flow into one other,
creating a stunning, organic look, yet it manages to maintain an edgy, tough presence.
A glance might make you think it should be treated nicely, but sling a leg over
it and you’ll realise it’s simply one of the gnarliest XC bikes around, and
begs you to crank up the longest and most technical climbs you can find, before
hammering down as recklessly as you dare.
WHY IS THIS A SUPER BIKE?
- Stunning frame, lovingly constructed by hand
- Accepts both 26in and 650b wheels (with a shock and chip
change), adding versatility
- Surprisingly light, yet exceptionally stiff and
strong
