Mojo boss Chris Porter has stretched geometry and suspension tech way beyond conventional limits, hoping to create the fastest descending bike that still climbs well.
Available in three sizes – long, longer and longest – it extrapolates current geometry trends years into the future.
But has he created a masterpiece or a monster? We’ve been riding the aptly named GeoMetron on a huge range of familiar trails to find out. It’s been an eye-opening experience.
Function over form
Despite its outrageous 520mm reach, the industrial-looking alloy frame feels exceptionally stiff under power and when wrenching on the bars. The Horst-Link rear suspension is tweaked to boost initial sensitivity and midstroke support, thereby complementing air shocks.
The Fox Float X2 shock works a treat in Nicolai’s Horst-Link housing
As Fox’s UK distributor, Mojo has access to top-class dampers. The Fox 36 RC2 fork is one of the best there is, but once it’s been boosted to 180mm travel, then been fettled by the experts at Mojo, it’s the best single-crown fork this tester has ever ridden – supple yet supportive defined.
Fox’s sensitive and highly adjustable Float X2 shock more than matches the fork, especially since the clutch derailleur is disabled to minimise suspension friction.
A small fly in the Fox’s ointment is the DOSS seatpost. It was occasionally awkward to drop down, and the remote is not the most ergonomic. Such a capable descender could benefit from more seatpost travel too. I lowered the saddle an extra inch to access the full potential.
The 180mm Fox 36 RC2 fork offers a superbly sensitive beginning stroke
The rest is a well-chosen, reliable mix of Hope, Shimano and Mavic. There’s also a choice of bars, treads and wheels to suit your riding style – Mojo is an expert in accommodating the needs of different riders.
Once you go slack, you never go back
If you get on board the GeoMetron thinking such a long and slack bike won’t climb well, you’ll be in for a shock. While the 62.8-degree (with 180mm fork) front end was slightly slow to respond in tight trail centre switchbacks, the head angle has surprisingly little bearing on how a bike climbs.
Instead it’s the radically steep 77-degree seat angle that defines the way up. Combined with a long-ish chainstay length (445mm), this makes it dead easy to stop the front wheel lifting on steep efforts. There’s also less strain on the back of your thighs, there’s no need to perch on the nose off the saddle, and we never wanted for a lockout.
Shimano XTR gives a 40t crawler gear for getting up brutal climbs
Meanwhile, the active suspension works busily underneath you, softening terrain as you attack technical pitches with dignified ease. I was often surprised at the slippery sections I managed to get up, and how easy the 32-40t lowest gear felt on otherwise brutal climbs. The suspension doesn’t respond well to out-of-the-saddle sprints, but it’s otherwise an effortless climber. At 14.6kg (32.2lb) in the ‘Longest’ size, it’s not as heavy as you might think either.
While climbing was a breeze from the get-go, descending – perhaps surprisingly – took some getting used to. At first, I found myself too rearward on steep descents, especially when riding sections blind or nervously, causing the front end to lose traction. It takes a conscious effort to weight the front wheel and attack the trail, and this took practice.
Similarly, I found myself running wide in tight bends until I got used to the lazy steering. Both issues diminished the more I rode it, but it’ll never be the best choice for super-tight alpine switchbacks.
It's necessary to consciously weight the bike's front end on descents in order to maximise traction
On certain familiar stretches though, the bike simply shone. The steep and rocky ‘Jawbone’ trail at Innerleithen, Scotland is one my favourites – I've ridden it literally dozens of times aboard a range of different bikes. Only the GeoMetron managed its slippery, rocky corners in a manner that felt totally calm and in control, not to mention effortlessly fast.
The slack head angle, long stays and overall wheelbase (1310mm) make slipping through random rocks, roots and ruts incredibly manageable, while the supple suspension retains composure and generates traction like nothing I’ve ridden before.
Confidence booster
Set up with input from Mojo, the fork was ridiculously supportive in the midstroke, allowing me to push hard through the bars to weight the front wheel with authority as my confidence grew. The GeoMetron carved through hardpack berms at Cwmcarn, in Wales, with an exit speed that often surprised me.
Before long, I needed higher pressures in the front tyre than I'd normally get away with, suggesting I was weighting the front harder than normal once I learned to trust the geometry. For this reason, it could be worth considering a wider-rimmed wheelset than the 23mm Mavic Crossmax Xl stocked to support the tyres better during hard cornering.
The rear suspension was very active over small-medium hits, yet with six volume spacers fitted, extremely progressive towards the end of its travel. I added four clicks of low-speed compression to sacrifice some of this suppleness for responsiveness when pedalling or pumping through the lumpy, bumpy trails of the Tweed Valley.
Completing the impressive specification is Hope’s new forged crankset
As mentioned above, the GeoMetron does feel lazy when stamping on the pedals or negotiating super-tight switchbacks, but it's otherwise ruthlessly quick, confident and stable. It goads you to let the brakes go and attack the trail like never before.
It was able to plough through technical rock sections at speed without fuss, but if you look at the geometry, that’s not surprising.
Once you've acclimatised to the GeoMetron, most other bikes start to feel slow
What surprised me most was how it calmly carried speed through even pretty tight corners, the low BB allowing fairly rapid changes of direction, and the long, slack geometry making it easy to correct things if it all went wrong. The longer wheelbase had me looking for new lines to widen out corners, but that’s all part of the fun.
The more I rode the GeoMetron, the more I liked it. Now, most other bikes (with the exception of Pole’s Evolink 140 and Mondraker’s Crafty) feel cramped, nervous and slow.
It won’t suit everyone, but Mojo offers a demo service for £200, so you can see if it’s to your liking, and it’s refundable if you decide to purchase. We reckon most who taste it will get their downpayment back.
We test pole's insanely long and slack evolink 29er
