Jason's ride - and first impressions

Well, here it is.
Frame: Ibis Mojo HD 160 Medium - 160mm of rear travel via DW link suspension
Fork: Fox Talas FIT RC2 100/130/160 20mm bolt through
Shock: Fox RP23
Wheels: Crank Bros Iodine
Tyres: Maxxis High Roller 2.35 LUST running tubeless
Drivetrain: Shimano XT triple cranks running 2 rings with a Gamutt bash, XT rear & front Mech and 9sp cluster
Brakes: Avid Elexir CR 185/160
Bars: Easton Monkelite Carbon XC 685mm
Grips: Lizard Skins
Post: Crank Bros Joplin 3. Hopefully we'll have the bits to fit a bar control by the end of the week!
Seat: SDG Belair (is there any other?)
Stem: RaceFace Evolve 70mm
Pedals: Crank Bros Mallets

That should cover it. It's a bit of a mish mash of 2Pure demo setup and my own parts.

I will naturally be comparing my ride to other bikes in my stable
- Giant Anthem 2009
- LaPierre Zesty 2009
- Yeti AS-X 2004 (?)

The HD as built above weighs in at 14.5kg or 32lb, so it's not going to be easy pedalling/pushing/climbing for long periods but I have to say despite the weight it climbs like a goat. Drop the forks down to 100mm and get my weight over the front and I can climb up anything I can climb on my Giant Anthem (although not for as long I'd say...)

So far I've had a bit of a hack around the local woods, and a run down a very wet spooky woods at Glentress. When I first threw my leg over it I got a similar feeling to that of my Zesty. You sit "in" the bike rather than on the bike, but you can see the 20mm bolt through front axle in front of the bars which always puts a smile on my face.

The cockpit is a little short, which I like so no problem. It pedals pretty efficiently although when I stood and pumped, it was a little spongy. Setting up the RP23 should fix this though, but even then it was better than expected. You get the feeling your driving a tank but without the extra weight and flippy floppy front end of a "big bike". Well that's about all I can say for the moment. Bring on Morocco!

It's a nice night tonight and Brad says he's taking his out for a street ride in the Burgh. He's testing out the GoPro camera so we might have some footage to add later.