My Ibis Mojo is tougher ounce for ounce than any aluminum frame in the same class of bike. It's stiffer, lighter, and - yes - more durable. The thickness of the build-up and the resin in the right places makes the thing a damn tank, and it's STILL lighter than aluminum frame of the same type.

Ibis does a test where they take a vertical pole and thread it through the Mojo BB so the frame is horizontal. Then, a 200+ pound man can stand on the head tube and bounce up and down. (They do more actual testing, and the weights the Mojo XC-style frame can handle surpass most pure DH bikes.)

To give you an idea... Brian Lopes races Ibis frames. He does 8-foot drops. Races pure downhill. Beats the crap out of things that are prototypes. He's only cracked one frame in all of his time being sponsored by Ibis. Just watch his racing, you'll see why he's far more brutal on frames than you'll probably ever be.

People keep thinking carbon is fragile... it's not really, it's the fact that weight weenie companies aim for some marketing term at the expense of strength. Once you factor that in, then the only thing that carbon suffers from RE strength vs. other materials is clamping force, and more susceptibility to chain suck, but that's handled with a few metal bits here and there. You just have to buy the right bike.

Do not get me wrong but I used to be a fibre glass laminator. C.F.- Kevlar and other such materials do have strength behind them but they also have a fault. A sharp knock and although it may not appear on the outside- It can be severely damaged internally. That damage can make it fail at any time-even months later.

Now it is possible to make C.F. stronger- even strong enough to take knocks- and that is by making it thicker or incorporating other materials in the construction. Defeats the main object of having C.F. for lightness though.

And I do have a C.F. bike- a road bike. Even have a lightweight version of one. I don't think it handles any better than a good quality aluminium frame but that is probably down to preference.

http://www.sevencycles.com/mountain/zeal_slx.php
http://www.ifbikes.com/OurBikes/Off_Road/Steel_Deluxe/
http://www.covebike.com/bikes/handjob.html
http://www.voodoocycles.net/bizango.htm
http://www.voodoocycles.net/erzulie.htm

I no longer race- and when I did it was just to make up the numbers. BUT- when I was racing- I had a Kona Explosif with Project ll rigid forks. This was a Steel frame and was lightweight and it was not till I used aluminium frames that Suspension forks became a necessity. Couple of those and I went back to a lightweight Steel frame and rigid forks again. Even had it custom made and Frame and forks weighed in at 4lbs. Best bike I ever had but eventually the body could not take it.

Aluminium frames are a lot better than they used to be- they handle and are light weight. And the best bit about them- in comparison to CF or Titanium- they are cheap.

Well, I ended up with a cf bike, after all. Not the SJ expert I was looking at, though. I got a brand new 2006 S-Works Stumpy for an amazing price at a bike show in Toronto.

http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/...=06Stumpjumper

They made me an offer I couldn't refuse.

WOW U Saw through the 90 + percent that never rode a carbon mountain bike? Awesome... you won't regret it.

OMG, Jealous! Have fun!

This made me think and I'd like to get the expert opinions...what happens to the shock and fork seals if they weren't used for four years? Do you guys think they would kind of dry out and wear out prematurly?

It is possible if they are rubberized that they might dry out, shrink and crack.. other issues are the hydro brakes taking on moisture and in general the oil settling in the forks/shock. There is a time element to scheduled maintenance for those reasons.

Don't buy old elastomer forks that is for sure!

I have no experience with hydraulic brakes. But from what I've read, I was expecting these brakes to be more "grabby" than they are. I think I will change the fluid.
Now I just have to do some reasearch on how to do it. I guess I could take it to a bike shop, but i prefer to be self sufficient as much as possible.

The bike only cost me $2999.00 CDA , so I'm not going to quibble about any minor initial maintenence I need to do.

There are various bleed kits on the internet for $50... but that is just above the price a shop will charge todo it once... so if you have to bleed the brakes again you will be saving cash. The brakes will feel weak for the first 10-20km until the pads wear in... but after that if performance doesn't increase and they still feel mushy then you'll need to bleed them,.

Thanks for the tip, electric.

The guy who sold me the bike told me to bring the bike into their store in about two weeks to see if anything needs tweaking. So I'll get them to check out the brakes and fork while I'm there.

Would you buy an AL frame with a dent. AL and Carbon are quite similar in that they're both quite fragile to an extent. I've got and ridden AL, Ti, Steel, Scandium and Carbon bikes and love them all for certain reasons.

If you like the carbon frame over the AL then get it for the weight saving alone, if you want durability then get a Ti hardtail. If money is the main factor then the AL will be a very similar ride but a bit heavier, certainly no more durable in a big crash.

Choccy...

It's been a year and a half, Choccy. I think a decision has long been made.

Oh, & I bought a dented frame off ebay that I still ride. Nothing wrong with dents as long as it's a quality frame and there's no creasing.