My new ibis Mojo SL taking its first shower
My last post on my blog was all about our Kangaroo valley camping/kayaking trip. It was great fun but unfortunately the bad news was over the weekend some f&%ker stole my cherished mountain bike I’d had for nearly 3 years which I absolutely loved and a lot of spare parts and bits and bobs that I’d built up over time, in total nearly $6000 of my stuff.
I’m awaiting from my home contents insurance now and hopefully I’ll get it all back in the form of cash minus the $300 excess. In the mean time I needed to replace the bike as its my only form of exercise and hobby of 3-4 times a week.
I was going to get the same bike as before but one model up the Trek EX9, but then I looked at the ibis Mojo which I’ve always wanted one and is a bit famous in the mountain biking world as being a small quantity boutique mountain bike brand from the US making hand laid carbon fibre mountain bikes in small quantities.
The carbon fibre weave shown all through the frame, with no paint on it its called ‘naked’
Ian who knows a lot more about the sport than me helped me spec up a medium to high spec components list for the bike over a week which I then emailed to the importer to agree on the spec and the price. All of the parts are brand new but some of them are 2010 year spec which lowered the price quite a bit and made smart sense. Sourcing the deal through the importer and not a retail outlet further helped reduce the price. RRP was $6,200 but we got it down to $4,700 fully built price, that was a saving of 24% great.
For any bike fans here is the components list:
Frame: Mojo SL medium Black carbon clearcoat
Rear Derailleur: Shimano RD-M772, DEORE XT SGS 9-Speed Top-Normal, Low Profile
Front Derailleur: Shimano FD-M771, DEORE XT 34.9 Band Clamp Down-Swing Dual-Pull
Headset: Cane Creek IS2 1-1/8″ Black
Cranks: Shimano FC-M770, DEORE XT 175MM 44X32X22
Brakes: SRAM ELIXIR CR Carbon 180mm Front Rotor, 160mm Rear Rotor
Shift Levers: Shimano SL-M770 DEORE XT
Cassette: Shimano CS-M770 DEORE XT 11-13-15-17-20-23-26-30-34T
Chain: Shimano CN-HG93
Handlebar: Easton MonkeyLite XC CNT 26″ 660mm 31.8
Grips: Ibis Foam grip with clamp / Ibis laser logo
Stem: Ibis 3D Forged 31.8 Bar/28.6 Steerer 7075 90mm 120g
Saddle: WTB Rocket-V
Seat Post: Easton EC90 Zero CNT 31.6 400mm Weave
Tires: Kenda Lopes DTC 26 x 2.1″
Fork: 2010 Fox Talas 15mm with fit damper cartridge
Wheels: Sun Ringle Black Flag Pro Black rim with gold hubs, tubeless ready to go with stans tape, stem and solution
Pedals: Shimano XTR race pedals
Very strong disc brakes and Gold hubs for that extra bit of bling in the bush
She’s a beauty alright, 90% of the bike is made of carbon fibre for the strongest and lightest material. My old Trek bike was made of good quality lightweight aluminium but this is even lighter and just as strong, carbon fibre is an amazing material.
I’ve taken it out for a off road lap of the bike park just today and there are a few things that need to bed in so are a little bit ‘sticky’ in feeling like the brakes and the suspension, but I know this is going to be a truly awesome bike to own and ride. It has an extra inch of travel front and rear compared to my old bike so I have to get used to that. I look forwards to taking it for its first real bush bash with friends.
The detail of the rear suspension linkages is amazing, this piece is called a ‘Lopes Link’ named after the famous world cup winning mountain bike racer ‘Brian Lopes’ who helped design it.
The carbon fibre even goes through to all the brake levers and brake fluid reservoirs made of the stuff
7/4/11 update
I’ve been riding it for around a week now doing some light off road rides and its starting to loosen up a bit. The brakes are still not biting so still need more time to bed in but overall I feel compared to my old bike im about 10% faster and 10% less tired. Im really impressed so far, it is a small but genuine step up in feel from the Trek Fuel EX8. Cant wait to get it out in the bush for a proper heavy ride.
