Bicycles
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Had a fantastic day today riding around one of the offroad trails in South Wales called Cwmcarn with one of the lads from Mojo Suspension.
The owner of Mojo, Chris porter, has some pretty interesting ideas ( and as it turns out good ideas ) about MTB geometry. He experimented with very long bikes with conventionally speaking, very slack head angle ( 63.5 degrees ) and steep seat tube angle ( 77 degrees ). He has put his money where his mouth is and is now selling these unconventional geometry frames.
I am 5ft 11" and took out the medium ( longer ) size and got on very well with it. I was waiting for it to be a pig in the tight stuff but nothing of the sort, it felt very good. Pointing it downhill and it is a beast, loads of traction and you need to remember to keep your weight on front of the bike over the bars. Most regular MTB's you generally need to hang off the back of the bike when the going gets steep and technical, not the Mojo GeoMetron, it was a very confidence inspiring bike, loads of traction!
I am about to break up and sell my Yeti SB6c frame and fork and move the bits over to the GeoMetron frame, I was that impressed with it!
http://www.mojo.co.uk/mojo_nicolai_geometron
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@DanielAFC the bike did indeed climb very well and it was to do with the steep seat tube angle and also relatively long chainstays. The bike was running a Fox X2 air shock with no lock out and it did not need it. The Mojo design has slightly changed the linkage size and pivot position on the downtube to optimise the antisquat part of the suspension action. At no time did I feel I wanted a shock lock out.
The test bike I took out had the exact same tyres I run on my Yeti. Super Gravity Rock Razor rear and Snake Skin Magic Mary front. This was perfect as it allowed an identical back to back traction comparison with my Yeti. There was significantly more traction on the GeoMetron compared to the Yeti. I did back to back trail laps on the two bikes to compare. The GeoMetron felt more stable and offered more grip on what was a wet and muddy trail.
I had an interesting discussion with Chris Porter ( Mr Mojo ) regarding the geometry and how it sits within the industry. The big bike companies, Trek, Specialized, Giant etc have been getting longer and slacker every year but in minimal increments. However for one of these companies to go dramatically longer and slacker on their bikes would be a difficult proposition as they have admitted that they would likely need to do it across all ranges which would be an expensive proposition. The other factor that would maybe stop them from such dramatic geometry changes even on a single line of bikes is that it would almost look like an admission that the 'standard' geometry bikes are not as good.
I suspect the smaller brands who offer a more limited range of bikes may start to experiment more with similar long / slack geometry. Canyon, Mondraker and Orange are already getting close but have not yet gone as extreme as the Mojo design.
If you get a chance to test out one of these bikes then go for it, ignore the geometry numbers and ride it without any preconceived ideas and you may well be pleasantly surprised.
Some interesting reading on Mr Porters Geometry ideas:
http://www.mbr.co.uk/news/size-matters-why-were-all-riding-bikes-that-are-too-small-321374
http://www.mbr.co.uk/news/bike_news/size-matters-part-2-finding-limits-geometry-sizing-323289
http://www.mbr.co.uk/news/bike_news/size-matters-part-3-bicycle-geometry-sucks-324160
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Update: The Yeti and Fork sold pretty quick and I am now in the process of building up the new Mojo Nicolai.
Here are a couple of pictures of the frame down tube graphic that I got made up. Collecting the frame and fork from Mojo this week and will get building.
Enve wheels have provided incredible customer service. I had a old pair of carbon Am rims, the rear rim had a very small patch where the outer cosmetic carbon finish had delaminated from the rim. Enve offered to exchange the rims and rebuild the wheels with the new 60/40 High Volume rims, for free!! I was expecting some kind of replacement offer for the rear wheel only but Enve did not want me riding on mismatched front and rear rims. Happy days, brilliant upgrade that has only cost me shipping.
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Just placed an order for a Mondraker Dune R Carbon. Wanted something a bit more aggressive than the Rumblefish for the upcoming season, planning to do a few enduro races this summer. Have to wait until march to get it though
Originally I was planning to upgrade the frame only but it seems longer travel 29ers are phasing out and 27,5" seems to be taking over pretty much everything. Would have needed to swap the fork too for all the available options so decided a new bike would end up more cost effective even if I sell off the old one cheaply.
Wanted something that can cover all my mtb needs, trailriding, bike parks and enduro races and according to the reviews the Dune might be the ticket. Probably not as good a climber as the Trek but loads more fun on the way down. Looked at the YT Capra and the Devinci Spartan too but decided to buy locally. The same friend who sold me my Treks (and my Ellsworths way back) imports Mondraker too so I know I get backup in case there's problems. A few friends of mine ride aluminum Dunes and I've had the chance to test ride so I pretty much know what I'm getting into. I was way too cramped on the L sized one so going for the gargantuan (on paper) XL. Geo should be pretty spot on for me. I'll switch the dropper post for a Race Face one because the Reverb sucks in freezing temps but otherwise I'll go with the stock build. Haven't had Avid brakes in a long time but I'll give them a chance and switch them out if I don't like them. Probably the wheels too if they give me grief.
That Nicolai does look interesting though, hope it'll be a lot of fun!
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I've been riding on the coast for the last 5 weeks in the rocks and roots(and thanfully will be back there permanently June 1) so it was fun to rip some wide open laps at the bike ranch to make the best of my remaining time in Kamloops. This place is a city maintained bike park that is free and absolutely unreal in terms of the trails and jumps lines it provides
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So jelly!
Bike update. Mondraker was all sold out of carbon Dunes in my size so bit the bullet and ordered one of these:
In a totally different league but still a very very nice bike for the money. Point it downhill at let loose. Surprisingly nice to pedal uphill too! The Yari seems to be a really good fork too based on the little time I've spent on it, can't find anything yet that would justify upgrading to a Pike.
Also spent a week in Spain training for the upcoming race season with my team. Had good luck with the weather and got some proper tan lines to cultivate
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Nice one, and a lot cheaper than the Dune I guess. In fact YT is made real Close to where I come from, strange to see them spread all over the world (and sponsoring guys like Lacondeguy & Gwin).
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Just saw the last post, that bike is absolutely beautiful Giles. I love the craftsmanship of a well made steel frame, not to mention the feel.
I spent today doing an amazing 45km 1700m tour of Squamish with a long time local. Rode a mix of Squamish classics, fresh loamers and slabs galore and had a great time with the rain just holding off until the end, the temp at 12C and the dirt being just about perfect.
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Only two holders for BEER?
