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11/5/10 - Ibis and Mondraker - The Lowdown
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At Head For The Hills, we like to keep our fingers on the pulse of the cycling world, and bring you the best products available. For 2010, we have introduced two new bike brands to enhance your enjoyment of riding in the Surrey Hills and beyond. Ibis Firstly, we have Ibis. Ibis hail from the US and have been making bicycle frames from a variety of materials for many years. They currently make all of their frames exclusively from carbon fibre. And for those doubters out there, carbon fibre is no more likely to break than alloy or steel, and frames can actually be made stronger. There are currently six different frames in the Ibis line-up. We start with the Ibis Mojo. The Mojo provides 140mm of rear wheel travel, from a frame and shock weighing a mere 5.9lbs. If that’s not light enough for you, there’s the Ibis Mojo SL, using a slightly different carbon weave and Ti fixing bolts throughout, shaving a further 0.7lb off the Mojo. That’s 5.2lb for a frame and shock, and with the amazingly competitively priced build kits available, this can easily be built into a sub 25lb rig. Do you require a bit more travel from your bike? Take a look at the new Ibis Mojo HD. Designed with multi title winner and Ibis’ only sponsored rider, Brian Lopes, the HD gives you 160mm of superbly controlled suspension. Weighing just 6.1lbs for frame and shock, this builds into a bike capable of taking the biggest hits and winning many a DH race, while still capable of being ridden back to the top of the hill. Other frames available include the Ibis Tranny, a hardtail MTB frame with an adjustable rear triangle/chainstay length, providing enormous versatility for singlespeed or gear hub set-ups, or simply customisation of geometries for you, the rider. There’s also the Ibis Silk road frame, and the wonderfully named Ibis Hakkalugi cyclocross frame (see the frame colour for an explanation of the name) We currently have the Ibis Mojo available for you to test. Our complete demo bike, built with Fox suspension and Shimano XT build kit weighs in at a whisker over 26lb. Remember, that’s 26lbs for a 140mm travel trail bike!! But don’t be fooled. This bike is no lightweight out on the trail. Utilising the much talked about DW link at the lower pivot (created by Dave Weagle) and the new Lopes link at the upper pivot, the Mojo will absorb the harshest of impacts, leaving you feeling as though the lumpiest of rock gardens is a simple flat track. Small bump sensitivity is outstanding, and this bike will provide one of the most comfortable, all day rides around today. Although we only have the Ibis Mojo to test, in a medium size, if there’s a different model or frame size that you would like to try, please don’t hesitate to get in touch, as the importers, 2Pure, will have a comprehensive demo fleet available. Just give us a call or drop us an e-mail to discuss your needs and we’ll make sure there’s a bike for you to ride. Mondraker Our second brand for 2010 is Mondraker. A relatively young brand from Spain, Mondraker has been making waves in the world of World Cup Downhill racing, and now have an enormous range of full suspension and hardtail bikes available. We focus on XC and trail riding at Head For The Hills, so for that reason, we give you the Mondraker Factor RR and the Mondraker Foxy R to test in the real world. The Mondraker Factor RR is a 120mm travel, XC bike, built with Fox’s well loved suspension front and rear, a mixture of Race Face and SRAM drive and Mondraker’s own brand, On-Off, for the hubs. It’s a lightweight bike designed for all day rides, yet strong and agile enough for a mess about at the local bomb holes. This is a great bike with sharp handling that suits the huge amount of technical singletrack that snakes around our North Downs. If you like your riding on the burlier side, The Mondraker Foxy R provides 140mm of rear wheel travel, again controlled with Fox suspension fore and aft, and utilises Mondraker’s own patented Zero Link suspension, a variable pivot point, allowing enormous control of the rear wheel when hitting the harshest of tracks. With a long wheelbase and slack headangle, this is an amazingly stable bike when travelling at high speed, coupled with a short(ish) top tube making it very nimble in the technical stuff. It even climbs like a whippet, so you should be at the front of the pack, wherever you’re riding. Both of these bikes are available to demo now, so call or e-mail, and any of our friendly staff will be able to discuss your needs with you, and set up the perfect bike for you to get out and enjoy the trails. Happy riding and we’ll see you out on the trails.
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