Mojo SL-R Test Ride
20 Jun 2012

Mojo SL-R Test Ride

There were some seriously cool demo bikes available at the Melrose Fat Tire

20 Jun 2012

There were some seriously cool demo bikes available at the Melrose Fat Tire Festival including none other than the Ibis Mojo SL-R, the newer 140mm ‘little brother’ of the Mojo HD. There are relatively few (in any!) chances to demo an SL-R in Victoria, and with Ibis one of the festival sponsors there was nothing else to do but take one for a spin!

After 18 months on my Mojo HD I was more than a little curious to see how the SL-R compared, especially given that its geometry is essentially identical to the more XC suited (and reasonably older) Mojo SL.

First impressions after back to back runs down Dodging Bullets?

The SL-R feels like a light, stiff, tight, nimble, responsive race whippet. Like the kind of bike you’d want if you were racing XC, 6 hour, 12 hour etc races. Get out of the saddle and it wants to go. But it’s not without compromise – with its steeper head angle and shorter wheelbase the SL-R isn’t the confidence inspiring Mojo HD at speed. On a HD you can relax and enjoy the fun, the faster you go the better the HD feels. It just hunkers down and wants to go. On the same descents the SL-R felt twitchy and nervous… flighty is another word that comes to mind.

Something that really did stand out on the SL-R was how noisy an MTB drivetrain is without a Shadow Plus derailleur. I’m super happy with the XTR Shadow Plus upgrade on the Mojo HD, and great to see that technology trickle down in 2013 components.

The SL-R test ride left me a smile on my face, wanting another go, and wondering what the bike would be like with an angleset installed to slacken the head angle a little and perhaps as importantly set up to suit me – bars, stem, dropper post, tires etc. Maybe I’ll get to back to Melrose sometime and take one out for a few days for a better look see.

No sweat though – my HD is just such a fun bike to ride and perfectly suits what I ride for… fun! 🙂

Mojo SL-R Test Ride

Mojo SL-R Test Ride

Mojo SL-R Test Ride

Mojo SL-R Test Ride

Mojo SL-R Test Ride

Mojo SL-R Test Ride

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