Celebrating twenty years of hardtailing it around
The new Identiti AKA hardcore hardtail and Identiti Dr Jekyll dirtjump bikes were on display at this week’s Cycle Show at the NEC.
2018 sees Brit brand Identiti celebrating twenty years of designing bikes. They’re taking this opportunity to release two new bikes: a 140mm forked hardcore hardtail called the AKA and a 26in wheeled dirtjump bike called the Dr Jekyll.
Those of you who can be carbon-dated back to 1998 may remember that Identiti’s first bike was a dirtjump bike called the Dr Jekyll. After that model they went on to produce a trail riding hardtail called Mr Hyde. Mr Hyde gradually turned in to the AKA sometime around the new millennium.
Let’s have a quick look at the Identiti AKA first…
2018 Identiti AKA
It’s a strong but not ridiculously OTT trail riding hardtail. Aluminium tubeset. 27.5in wheels, with tyre clearance that’ll easily swallow one of the new wave of 2.6in tyres. The cabling is all external (and proud) apart from the stealth routing for dropper posts.
There are bottle bosses on the down tube like most hardtails but unlike most bikes there’s three of them.
Geometry time. 64.5° static head angle (sags to 66° when you’re on the bike). 73° seat angle on most sizes but steepens to 73.5° on the Large. Reach is very reachy; 470mm on the Large (which effectively ‘grows’ by approx 7mm when the fork is sagged).
Chainstays are 420-435mm. Why the variation? Sliding dropouts. These can be used to adjust wheelbase or if you wanted to run the bike singlespeed, say as a dirtjump bike.
It’s also going to be available in blue as well as dark red.
Prices. Subject to confirmation but the frame will be £499 or thereabouts with complete bikes starting from £1,500.
2018 Identiti Dr Jekyll
#26aintdead. At least not in dirtjumping circles anyway. The bike name that started it all for Identiti back in 1998.
We’ll not pretend that we know much about dirtjump bikes but suffice to say the new Dr Jekyll looked pretty damn cool.
And how short can you make 26in wheel back ends?! Well, 395-410mm chain stays is the answer.