Staff Bike Review: Neil's Ibis HD6

A long term valley fixture and keen rider, Neil has been playing and building on the off-piste trails of the Tweed Valley for many years now. In that time he’s been lucky enough to ride bikes of almost every travel  from most of the major brands, so he’s in as good a position as anyone to know what suits our local riding. 

At the start of this year he built himself a stunning custom Ibis HD6 to serve as his longer travel bike for his guiding, off-piste and uplift riding and with 9 months of use behind him, we thought it was a good time to check in and see how the bike has been working out.

Let's go through your custom build first, then we'll get onto the ride. Have you been happy with it overall?

In a word, yes. Everything was chosen to be mechanically simple, reliable, easy to work on and keep the overall weight as light as possible without compromising durability. The whole bike has worked out really well and if I were to do it all over again tomorrow, I think I’d build it more or less the same again.

Your suspension is just the same setup as the stock bikes?

It is, I went with a Factory Fox 38 fork matched to the Factory X2 shock that the frame comes with. Despite the slight negative rep the X2 shocks have, I’ve had them on two bikes in a row with absolutely no issues at all. They’re super adjustable, incredibly plush and ride really well. I did consider a coil shock briefly, but the ability to easily make small adjustments keeps pulling me back to air. The 38 out front is just brilliant. I wasn’t sure how it would be at 180mm but I don’t feel any real negatives to the longer travel and it’s very impressive what it will devour, I think it’s the best single crown fork I’ve ridden all in all. 

Still on your trusted Hope Tech 4 brakes?

Yep, these are the same Tech 4 E4 brakes that I ran on my Megatower last year, they were still in perfect order so they just moved across to the new bike. The smaller brake might seem out of place on a long travel bike but being relatively light at a little over 70kg, I prefer the less grabby feel of the E4 compared to most of the big DH brakes. They’ve got plenty of power for me and it’s easier not to accidentally lock a wheel with them, which is useful for the slippy conditions we so often get here. Their Tech lever is excellent, with loads of bite point and reach adjust built in I can set my preferred position close to the bar, and maintain it consistently as pads wear down. 200mm Floating rotors at both ends, that size seems a good balance between power and control at my weight.

Carbon wheels are new for you?

On the long travel bike they are, I rode Reserve HD alloys last year on my Megatower (I have Reserve XC 28 wheels on my Tallboy). This bike has the Reserve 30 HD carbon version, which provides a relatively lightweight wheelset at 1850 grams, while still being incredibly tough. This set actually came second hand from Dirt School Head Coach Andy Barlow's retired Santa Cruz Bronson and had over 5000 km on them before I started using them. They’ve now racked up almost another year of riding and are still both perfectly true and on their original spokes, which is quite the testament to their durability. Stiffness is obviously good and while I wondered if I might find them a little harsh being smaller I haven’t really noticed any negative to the ride quality at all, they just feel solid and precise at all times. 

Still no batteries on your bike..

Haha, not yet! The drivetrain is SRAMs X01 mechanical group, with a Hope 170mm chainset. Despite the drivetrain no longer being the latest thing, I’m still totally happy with it. It’s super light, shifts well and I can’t forget to charge it or lose the batteries (Neil is not the best suited to small parts requiring memory and organisation). The Hope cranks are another indestructible thing that came over from my previous bike. They’re decently light, nice to look at and will last basically forever so you can’t really go wrong with them.

Anything else that stands out?

I really like Burgtecs' various finishing bits. The Cloud saddles seem great for me, and their Enduro bar shape is similarly excellent. I’ve had their alloy bar on two consecutive bikes now and I don’t see myself switching any time soon. It's tough, clamps with less force needed than carbon and has a comfortable sweep.

I’ve never got around to experimenting with different tires this year, it’s just been the excellent combo of Maxxis Assegai Maxxgrip in 2.5 out front paired to a DHR II Maxterra 2.4 for the rear all the way. That pairing just works so well everywhere that it’s hard to want to try anything else, but I might give a High Roller 3 a go this winter once the muck returns. The Exo+ casings have been fine for me at home this year, but if I were to go abroad or to a rockier place, then I’d switch in a DD tire out back for extra toughness. 

Talk us through the ride then, how has the HD6 been?

Let's start with how I use it. I do also have a short travel bike for XC (Neil rides a Tallboy as well) so the HD6 is my dedicated big bike for all my steeper riding, uplift days and guiding when we’ll be taking on rougher ground. That still definitely includes long days out which is why it’s not set up with heavier tires or a coil shock, as it commonly sees 1500m+ pedalling days with only my limited engine propelling it. It also still needs to work reasonably well when the descents are less gravity fed as it will often get used in a mix of terrain over a day's riding. It’s the first MX / Mullet bike that I’ve owned, though I’d ridden quite a few through work previously, so it was also a good chance to get to know how that wheel size mix performs. 

One of the pleasant surprises was how well the bike climbs. Having come from a full 29’ bike previously in the Megatower, I thought it might feel a bit compromised on the climbs but the Ibis absolutely holds its own uphill. The HD6 is really light for a long travel bike at 14.6kg for my build and between the seat angle and the way the DW link deals with rider effort I think climbing performance is about as good as it can get for the category. You can tell you’re not on a 120mm bike with fast tires, but for what it is it’s hard to fault. 

With the stock tune from Ibis on the Fox X2, it’s a reasonably active bike so traction when climbing chunkier sections is excellent. There was initially a tiny bit of pedal bob while fire road climbing with the shock set full open, but over the first few rides I gradually added a few clicks of low speed compression to calm that and with once that was set correctly there is enough support from the linkage that I literally never use the shock lockout. Oddly enough, the MX wheel setup might actually be better for me when the climbing gets really steep as the smaller wheel does give an easier gear ratio in the granny gear for crawling up the most horrible sections. 

Descending, it’s up there as one of the best bikes I’ve ever ridden. I’m between Medium and X-Medium on the Ibis chart and chose to go down to the smaller size (Neil is 5,9’ / 175cm) and I’m definitely happy with that decision. The 455mm reach and shorter wheelbase make it easy to keep weight on the front tire cornering and when riding steeper trails and I don’t struggle for stability at all in the faster sections, the bike is still braver than me. It also leaves more range of motion available which again is good when wrestling through tight corners and consecutive drops. 

Support from the DW-link suspension is excellent and considering it’s a 165mm bike with a 180mm fork, the HD6 is unusually agile and responsive to rider input. On lower angle trails it can still pump and generate speed well from the ground and it’s one of the best cornering bikes I’ve ever been aboard. Linked steeper corners are its speciality with the Ibis both super quick to make direction changes and easy to thread onto wide and high lines. In a similar vein, it picks up off the ground with an ease that’s normally reserved for shorter travel bikes, a characteristic that really lends itself to the technical rooty trails of the Tweed Valley where a wheels down and plough often doesn’t work out so well.

On faster, higher impact sections, it still works really well. The chassis has a nice, neutral and balanced feel to it, always keeping its shape no matter what’s going on under the wheels. The big 180mm Fox 38 probably contributes here, it’s impressively calm and composed through the rough and is as good a single crown fork as I’ve ever ridden. Heavy landings and bigger hits are no problem either with enough progression from the linkage deeper in the stroke that you’ll rarely be aware of having reached bottom out. 

All that said, if there is a trade off from the MX wheel setup somewhere, then it’s when monster trucking through fast lower angle sections where I am just a bit more aware of impacts compared to a longer travel full 29er. Overall though I’ve really got to like the Mixed wheel setup when paired with a mid to longer travel frame. It just gives a slightly more lively feel, braking traction a touch earlier which is nice when cutting the back wheel around and makes for a bike that rides steep ground super well giving that little bit more room to move around before the tire buzzes you. 

Looking at the bike as a whole I struggle to know what I’d change. Considering how hard it can charge (especially with better riders aboard) the HD6 stands out as a bike that still works exceptionally well at lower speeds, in tighter terrain and on mellower trails making it a very well rounded package. I don’t race any more, but I think it would make an excellent choice for an enduro race bike, with no obvious weaknesses, especially once you factor the lightness and ease of climbing it offers too.

Talk us through how it’s held up?

It’s a bit of a non-review here, as there’s not much to report. I like that the frame is all tube in tube routing to make cable swaps painless, the threaded BB would also be my preference and the fact that the bike uses actual headset cups rather than integrated bearings is another rare but welcome choice when considering longer term longevity. None of that affects the ride experience but all of it is good from a maintenance and lifespan perspective and there are surprisingly few manufacturers that get all of that right. The lower link bushings have also been completely hassle free staying both tight and free of play all year. 

Seatpost insertion is good, which won’t matter to everyone but being able to comfortably run a 180mm dropper in a Medium bike is a nice bonus for someone like myself who’s not especially long legged. There’s plenty of space for a water bottle too.

Overall then?

It’s a great enduro and long travel general purpose bike. It pedals, sprints and climbs well, can be absolutely smashed downhill and somehow still also manages to not feel too overbiked when on easier terrain. The frame is full of simple well executed details and it's a fun and lively bike to ride. For anyone out there looking for a versatile longer travel bike that can take on a bit of everything, the HD6 is very much worth putting on the list of bikes to consider. 

Interested in trying out an HD6 for yourself? We've a Medium demo bike available to ride and stock bikes in most sizes and builds.

☎️ 01896 831429

📧 shop@tweedvalleybikes.co.uk