Bike opinions: Rocky Mountain Altitude 750 vs. Ibis Mojo HDR 650 vs. Scott Genius 740

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Bike opinions: Rocky Mountain Altitude 750 vs. Ibis Mojo HDR 650 vs. Scott Genius 740
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flag ntmcmahon
Posted: Jun 23, 2016 at 5:37 Quote
I've got my eye on used models of the three following bikes:
- 2015 Rocky Mountain Altitude 750 (stock + dropper)
- 2014 Ibis Mojo HDR 650b (X1 build + dropper)
- 2014 Scott Genius 740 (heavily upgraded)
These are all about the same price and are in good used condition.

I mostly ride xc in PA, but as I've become a more aggressive rider, I've outgrown my 100mm 29er and need something more playful. I want something that can be confident on 4' drops and rocky/rooty descents, but also works well for the constant up-and-down roller coaster trails of PA.

I don't have any bike shops near me that would have similar models, so I'm looking for feedback from people who have ridden these.
flag foppe
Posted: Jun 23, 2016 at 11:26 Quote
If that is the case of your type of terrain, I would probably go for the Genius because of the twinloc remote lockout sytem to help you on those climbs and forgiving on the descents when needed.
flag PapaGordo
Posted: Jun 23, 2016 at 15:03 Quote
I have a 2015 RM Altitude and I think it's a great bike. I have no problems climbing with it all. I ride it in all kinds of terrain from XC style trails to the bike park. When I originally got it, I was living in the desert southwest. The trails there were mostly fast, loose, tight, natural flow xc trails. There were some rocky technical areas but not much in the way of rooty sections or drops. I would regularly go on 20+ mile rides on the weekends and 10 to 15 mile rides during the week with no problems. I now live in the inland northwest. Most of the trails I ride here are steep and rooty with plenty of opportunity to catch some air. I also ride it out at Silver Mountain Bike Park and it seems to handle all but the double expert trails without much issue. My rides have gone down to the 15 mile range on the weekends because of the steepness of the terrain. I think I cover about the same elevation gain/loss here in half the distance as I did in Arizona.

I have made a few changes to the stock setup to help get it dialed in for me. I added the dropper, went 1x11, shortened the stem, widened the bars, and upgraded the the suspension. I got the shock custom tuned (highly suggest this service) and beefed up the fork. The ride-9 system also makes a big difference in how the bike handles. If you end up with this bike, play around with this feature.

I really can't say enough good things about this bike. Sometimes I find myself going out to the garage just to look at it, even after a year or riding it. If I did have to say something bad about it, it would be that it is not compatible with the cane creek DB. I would have liked to try that shock out on this bike.

Good luck with whichever bike you choose!
flag ntmcmahon
Posted: Jun 23, 2016 at 15:41 Quote
Thanks for the input so far. I like aspects of all three, so it's hard to pick which will be the best.

1. The Genius has twinloc, which sounds like a good concept. I like the idea of a remote lockout and the ease of switching back and forth.
2. The RM Altitude has the Ride-9 chip, which gives tons of options for how it rides (although not while you're riding).
3. The Ibis has DW-link suspension, which sounds like it handles climbing great and is good for a "set it and forget it" approach to suspension - good for up and down trails where there's no chance to adjust the rear shock settings.
flag Xorrox
O+
Posted: Jun 23, 2016 at 19:25 Quote
I have a 2015 Scott genius 720 and honestly I would probably skip the 740 especially if it still has the stock Fox 32 fork. Giving a fox 32 150 mm travel and then expecting it to handle 4 foot drops without wobbling is pretty optimistic. I changed mine out for a rock shock Pike and the difference was amazing.

My genius is a pretty good seated climber with the rear twin lock in the middle position and it is good on fairly flat, rolling higher speed terrain, but it is not particularly playful or poppy and it sucks at steep technical descents, although I have learned to adapt to it. It definitely is nothing resembling a free ride or Park bike.
flag ntmcmahon
Posted: Jun 23, 2016 at 19:35 Quote
Glad to hear from your experience. Yeah, this one still has the stock fork. That seems to be a common complaint about this model. I could probably use something beefier.

Does the flip-chip on your Scott make much of a difference in how it rides?
flag Xorrox
O+
Posted: Jun 23, 2016 at 22:06 Quote
ntmcmahon wrote:
Glad to hear from your experience. Yeah, this one still has the stock fork. That seems to be a common complaint about this model. I could probably use something beefier.

Does the flip-chip on your Scott make much of a difference in how it rides?

Honestly I've never used it in anything other than the low / slack setting because the steep head angle on this bike has been one of my biggest problems on our local steep rocky and rooty North Shore trails. When I got the Pike I actually got the 160 mm to make it more slack. That might not be as much of an issues for other riding areas that are a bit more rolling.
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