Only in that I was compiling the ‘perfect’ list for my upcoming 50th birthday. Then in a moment of clarity I realised spending that much money on a vanity trinket was a spectacularly stupid idea. So instead of looking for a perfect bike, I found an ex-demo one that might be. And if it isn’t I’ll move it on without too much financial hardship or emotional trauma.

Anyway, it’s one of these:

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Sf5Mau]Ibis MoJo 3[/url] by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

The other lightbulb moment was that however much I love 160mm bikes, I never really use them properly. I wrote some more words here: http://pickled-hedgehog.com/?p=3828

Maybe age does bring a little bit of wisdom. Or honestly at least 😉

Nice! 🙂

Yes. That would do nicely.

Nice. I approve although I prefer my HD3 😀 …..but I can shuttle trails after work in the summer.

valves/logos

I’m turning 50 this year too, so have been going through similar deliberations. The pressure!

(Lovely bike btw)

Hi Mark- How’s Canada? 🙂 My mate has a HD3 – and it was him who put me onto this ex demo – and he loves it. I’d go back to my current view I don’t like riding those types of bikes as much as shorter travel ones. And we’re still riding all sorts of rocky / technical stuff here and abroad.

There’s 10% of the time when I’d rather be riding my Aeris but the other 90% not so much. Which probably means I’d better sell that one. It’s nearly two years old and that’s a lifetime in my bike ownership world!

Tyres/Valves – not my pic from the bike shop where I’ve bought it. Obviously that’s the first thing I’ll attend to when it arrives…. 🙂

I put you onto it so that I didn’t buy it and have to hide it from Lou!

Nice Alex! I’m having similar doubts over my carbon Jekyll. Too much bike for 99% of my riding. I love it though.

Looks Pinker in your Instagram feed. Nice looking bike, carbon though…With your reputation!

😆

You realise that the cycling industry uses you as a case study for the creation of the perfect MTB. One day a steed will last longer than 9 months in your shed and champagne corks will pop in the company concerned.

It reminds me of a guy at school who went out with every single girl in our year in search of satisfaction. He’s gay now.

Very nice, but by god I’m starting to hope you do eventually find a bike you love.

David are you suggesting that All will go through all the mountain bikes available and choose to ride a roadie?

@squealer – yeah but you might still own it if I don’t like it 🙂

@nickC – I don’t know what colour it is really. Have to wait for it to turn up. I do have some pink pedals from Jessie’s bike that could go on it. They’d look great. Wanted a carbon bike for ages. Never had one. Might never have another one 🙂

@davidB – bit unfair Dave. Only a bit tho. My Aeris is two years old and has been ridden 4500km across four different countries. I don’t think I’ve ever kept a bike for less than a year. Not kept that many beyond about three tho..

@tiger – I love all my bikes. Because they mean I can go Mountain Biking. And that’s always brilliant regardless of what you’re riding. I’m lucky enough to be able to chop and change but it’s not entirely random. Every since getting the fat bike, then the chubby hardtail, I’m pretty sold on the whole chubby experience. So the chance to get a carbon chubby bike was too good to pass on.

At some point my next bike will be an e-bike. Might as well have some fun o the way 🙂

David are you suggesting that All will go through all the mountain bikes available and choose to ride a roadie?

That made me laugh. But also to feel quite dirty. I gave my road bike away. It seemed the best result for both of us 🙂

[url=https://flic.kr/p/SCj4mH]Looks alright that.[/url] by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/SCj424]Looks alright that.[/url] by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

Well it arrived. Pretty much as described, few little scratches but nothing I care about. I’m about to embark on an evening of joy with baby shampoo and exotic materials. I am of course talking Invisframe 😉

Quick spin up the farm track confirms it’s a) light b) taut c) not too tall for my stumpy legs and not too short for my orang-u-tang arms. Tomorrow it’s going to get very muddy at Brechfa. Be interesting to compare it to the flare max on chubbies. Felt very different just on that short ride.

Nice and shiny. Never been a fan of how the older Mojo looks, but that’s a significant improvement.

If you’re flogging the FlareMax and it’s a large, drop me a line.

No and No 🙂 If anything goes, it’ll be the Aeris. But before doing anything precipitous or ill conceived, I’d better ride the new Mojo a few times….

If you’re flogging the mojo 3 at any point you know where my garage is……

Nice. Would love a HD3.

No and No If anything goes, it’ll be the Aeris.

Always worth asking.

If it’s a medium, may I ask how you find the sizing? I had a go on a medium last weekend and it felt surprisingly short for the quoted 445mm reach. I wondered if that was accurate, or perhaps something like the way the bar was set up.

@Squealer – indeed I do. But I think you’ll have to leave that wall space empty for a while 🙂

[img]https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3737/33120925891_ed0e93fd04_b.jpg[/img]

[img]https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3862/33120931271_92bf455466_b.jpg[/img]

Brechfa was unsurprisingly wet today. Rode the black and red so that’s 40km ish and 1250m of climbing. Obviously I had new bike glasses on and it’s far too early for any measured feedback but

– first carbon MTB I’ve had. First DW link. Climbs superbly. Some of this is low weight (compared to my other bikes), some is seems a very efficient suspension setup. Not much bob, never had the shock anything but fully open.
– The 2.8 NN’s have way more grip that I was expecting in the wet conditions. Except when they don’t and that’s pretty much a binary thing going on there. DHF and Rekon might take their place
– It’s a very neutral bike. This is not a bad thing. You get back what you put in but you don’t have to rag the ears off it (good job as Im not the man for that) for it still to be a bucket load of fun. So nice in the corners.
– Even with the big wheels, it’s very very precise and I’m a klutz. Maybe it’s because its’ stuff, dunno but it goes exactly where it’s pointed.
– I’m still in love with the chubby concept. Will try it on std 27.5 2.3s at some point.

In other news, the invisitape kit is superb. So well made and while laborious (a mate did it, he told me it was laborious while I drank beer) it’s the best system I’ve come across. Good job we did it as well otherwise it’d be bare carbon now.

The bike shop I bought it from told me they’d serviced it. Hah. 9 loose bolts (including the front caliper pair), bent mech hanger and non functioning front brake. All easy fixes but…

Just want it to dry up a bit now…

Nice. You know a Float X2 works really well with Ibis bikes….. 😀

I think I’ve probably spent enough for now 🙂 I’m impressed with the Float DPS EVOL, Feels very supple and nicely damped. Not had a fox shock since the original Floats back in the day. It’s certainly a lot easier to set up than my Cane Creek!

Sorry missed this

If it’s a medium, may I ask how you find the sizing? I had a go on a medium last weekend and it felt surprisingly short for the quoted 445mm reach. I wondered if that was accurate, or perhaps something like the way the bar was set up.

It’s a large. Ibis seem to be on the small side in sizing. That’s why they were never on my list until I looked at the Mojo 3 geom. It’s very similar to my medium Flare Max in terms of reach and stack. I’ve always struggled with sizing due to 31.5inch inseam and the rest of my 5ft11 frame being in my arms. I wouldn’t want to Mojo any shorter but having ridden it for 4 1/2 hours yesterday it wasn’t uncomfortable at all. I’ll drop the front end a bit as that’s quite high as loads of spacers under there currently. I also fitted a spare RF SIXC bar which is 20mm longer so that might have opened out the reach a little.

My Aeris is longer in the reach (also a M frame) and more roomy but that does make the front wheel a long way away!

Biggest concern with the Mojo was getting a 150mm post in as the C-T on the seat tube is 18.7 inches. It’s fine tho and that’s without going to 170mm cranks which I’ll probably do as it’s a low BB.

I have all the reach/stacks in a spreadsheet for lots of lovely bikes if you want a copy.

Cheers Alex, I was talking about the FlareMAX sizing though.

Medium is supposed to be 445mm reach but felt shorter than that for me. Perhaps the bar was a bit high on the demo bike.

Does your spreadsheet have seat tube lengths as well? That’s the thing that rules most bikes out for me!

Ah sorry fella. I’ve not measured it on mine but it didn’t feel particularly short either when I demo’d the flare max or bought it. I couldn’t get on with the L at all. It was what Cy recommended but it felt massive. Probably more too high than too long.

I’ve generally gone for smaller bikes lately as the TTs have got longer. I remember I had a 19.5in 5 Spot that was brilliant for length but it was like I’d nicked my Dad’s bike!

Spreadsheet has seat tube lengths where available. Drop me a PM with preferred email and I’ll send it over. I was also using https://geometrygeeks.bike/ – just added the Mojo and if you like I can add the FlareMax.

So the Wednesday night ride was the muddiest one we’ve done for ages. I decided to field test the internet assertion that the Nic 2.8s were rubbish in mud. They aren’t. They are beyond rubbish. You’d be better of riding on the rims. The only thing they were good at was crushing mud and trail crap into the chainstays. Not enough clearance for UK clart.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Rw4fnd]Shades of Red[/url] by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

It ended up looking like this. Took me about 30 mins to rescue it from that mud entombed state

So much as I love chubbies – and I really do – even I accept that they aren’t much use in the messy seasonal conditions we have. So I could have fitted some standard 2.3s (riding group is raving about magic marys) but instead – in my quest to investigate every new standard – procured a pair of Wide Trail Maxxis tyres from the ever helpful Steve at next day tyres. 2.5 DHF on the front, 2.4 DHRII on the rear.

Not a bad size.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Rw4cV9]Shades of Red[/url] by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

Now we’ve got some mud clearance. That’s massive with a 2.4 tyre in there.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Rw4eq3]Shades of Red[/url] by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Rw4bmC]Shades of Red[/url] by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

I’m fully aware of the shocking state of the fence 😉

Nice profile on the same rims. Went up tubeless with an airshot first time no drama. See how I get on this weekend and at BPW on tuesday. I really want to ride chubbies when we have a week with Ciclo Montana end of April but not sure they’d stand up to a week of pointy rocks even with a Tough WTB ranger rear and Rekon or DHF front… guess I’d best see first how much I like these.

An update: http://pickled-hedgehog.com/?p=3832 mainly showcasing the shonky state the bike arrived in. It’s all fixed now and with 200km on it, I’m starting to really get used to it. Very different to the flare max even tho from an angles/travel POV it’s pretty similar.

It was brilliant at BPW. Me, less so but that’s a bike that wants to travel fast. Hopefully put some stouter chubbies than the Nobbly Nics if we get some more dry weather.