Ibis Mojo HD5 Review
Overview:
The HD5 is Ibis’s “enduro race bike” which I found quite shocking due to it’s 27.5 inch wheels which now seem better suited to airtime instead of speed. But this bike didn’t feel that playful, instead more like a cornering machine. Anyhow, the Mojo HD5 is the longest travel bike that Ibis makes but surprisingly only has 153mm of travel in the rear and 170 in the front. On the Ibis website you can customize many of the components so I won’t get into detail on those. Prices range from $4,399 to $10,439 with a frame-only option for $2,999. As you can see it’s pretty expensive.
Climbing:
The Ibis is definitely a great climber with its good pedal platform and steep sea tube angle. Because of it’s shorter travel numbers it climbs much better than many other enduro bikes out there and there isn’t much to complain about here!
Descending:
As I said before this bike is not a 29er. So, while it won’t be as fast over chunky terrain, Ibis hopes to make up for this in the bikes cornering performance and it shows. As long as you lean into the turn, it’s very easy to maintain speed on this bike. However, it’s probably the least playful 27.5 bike I’ve ever ridden which makes me wonder why they didn't just spec this with big wheels since its already a race bike. Another negative is that the bike just felt fragile the whole way down the mountain as if one rock hit it the bike would just fall to pieces. For this reason I don’t think it’s as much of a park bike as many other enduro bikes and the Ibis should probably have a category of its own.
Verdict:
I think the Ibis will make most riders happy since it’s basically a trail bike that can handle more than any trail bike, plus it’s faster too. However, if you’re a park rat and obviously a cross country rider, look elsewhere.