// ARFREERIDERS.COM | HOME OF THE ARKANSAS FREERIDE SOCIETY 2010

We’ve talked about highly anticipated products before. Hardly anything has had us biting our collective nails as much as the Truvativ HammerSchmidt. That’s the beauty of the bike industry — once we think we’ve seen the best and brightest, and that technology has taken us to the top, along comes a new model year and a slew of hot new products. Thankfully, some schools around the country, and the world for that matter, are graduating industrious and enterprising designers and engineers. HammerSchmidt is the first of its kind to hit the beaches here in the states, one of a group of at least three separate gearbox cranksets being talked about in the industry. “No way, Schlumpf has had one for sale for some time now,” you might be yelling at us, but who the hell has ever heard of Schlumpf? None of the people we ride with, nobody we know, and who knows…any U.S. distributors? Bionicon and Nicolai have the B-Boxx in the works, but what have they got…a nice drawing, an entertaining and informative website, and a few handmade prototypes? Enter the global powerhouse of SRAM. They have displayed that sometimes it pays to have vast resources to draw from in order to develop great ideas into actual production componentry.

The Truvativ HammerSchmidt has changed the way we think about front derailleurs. We don’t need ‘em. We made up our minds about three seconds into our test ride across the shop floor.

Read the rest of our review here…

Yo check it out. A Truvativ HammerSchmidt is in our possession. Eric and I work at Competitive Cyclist. Sometimes we get to benefit from the company’s resources and get our hands on some really sweet new toys! so to make a long story short, one of these highly sought after units is at the AFS world headquarters. We have examined it at length. A full and thorough testing will be done on it. We’ve poked it, prodded it, and completely disassembled it. We even gave it the anal probe, though results from that test were inconclusive.

Here is the HammerSchmidt bolted onto Kit’s most favorite bike in the whole world…an ‘06 turner RFX!

I gave it a sturdy test. No problem with a 36″ drop to flat, but we didn’t expect it to blow up. This thing is built to take a serious beating. We have the freeride version. Expect a full blown technical review soon…

-Ryan Wednesday’s Chief Technical Consultant

We are boys who like their toys. I’m not sure if we’ll ever grow up. To that end, we love to get our hands on new bikes and bike stuff to check out. We have an ‘09 Mongoose Nugget on the way. If you’ve visited our site before, you’ll know that we have just completed a huge three week push to get our dirt jump park onto the ground. Now that we have plenty of dirt, we need to finish it off — ride, dial, ride, tune, repeat. It looks like the forecast is callin’ for some serious fun. What would be better than riding a brand new DJ/slopestyle park? Doing it on a brand new bike is what comes to mind!

Here’s a video that Mongoose made to show the virtues of the Nugget. Hmmm, it’s pretty good. When we get the bike we’ll do an in-depth product review. Check back here or the reviews category for the down low…

-Ryan

This bike just got built up and is about to be punished on the streets. Full review coming in a few weeks.

When it comes to bike set up everyone has their own preference. As for me, I guess I’m a bit more particular about certain things than some. For my full suspension rig I turn to E2, Ryan and Kit for their input. These guys have the technical stuff down regarding leverage ratios, suspension set up and what works. As for my hardtail, thats a different story.

I originally had an 06 Specialized P-3. I set it up about as common as you would see one with 26” wheels. Nothing special about it until after a few rides being unseasoned I fractured my elbow doing 360s at a skatepark. After that I stuck to full sus’s. Plus me and that P-3 had bad JuJu. Then about a year ago all of us started riding more street, which for me was a blessing. I love street and actually prefer it to a lot of types of riding. But there is also a reason for that….

I started racing BMX in 6th grade and then went on to freestyling and eventually became a street rider up through college. Then as the scene here dissipated my riding slowed and I got into tournament paintball for the next 7 years. I rode a bit of XC for a while and eventually I was sucked into freeriding. Although I do enjoy XC riding, its not something I can do a lot of. Basically, I get bored. So then came the P-3 and you know the rest.

Last year E2 was generous enough to let me ride his STP for a while and I fell in love with that bike. His STP is truly a fun bike to ride. As it got closer for me to build my hardtail (ie: get the money) I strayed a bit away from the rest of the pack on what I intended to build. That being said, this is my bike and this is why it is set up the way it is.

Regardless of the fact that I am indecisive, I can hold out until I get exactly what I want. Sometimes I change bike parts like I change my clothes… Searching for that perfect set-up to fit my riding style. It took my a while to build this bike deciding on exactly what I wanted and knowing why I wanted it. Originally it was full build front and rear brakes and some other stuff….. that was then,

Frame: Identiti P-45 - 24” Specific

I ordered this frame from Chainreactioncycles.com. Identiti is a British company that makes some cool stuff and at the time this was THE frame for me. First off, chainstay length: 14.75”. This is extremely short. Why? The shorter the rear end the less weight is placed behind the center of the bike and the leverage on the axle from pulling on the handlebars is much less than a longer bike. This makes the bike very quick on spinning 180s and 360s. It also makes the bike very easy to manual. So much to the fact that everyone who rode it in the beginning flipped the bike out on a manual attempt. And I will admit that it was a bit tricky at first to ride from E2’s STP, but the STP feels a lot longer now.

Top tube length: 21.75” effective. Once again, short. I am 5′10” with a 30” inseam and for me the bike fits perfect. Yes, the cockpit is a bit smaller. Whats so good about it? Once again, this is shortening the wheel base, easier to spin. Keeping you weight over the front of the bike during barspins is a lot easier as well. Do I ever hit my toe on the tire? No and the seat is no where near touching the bars.

Headtube angle: ? This one i’m not really sure about. The bike has a “recommended” suspension between 81mm and 100mm. I run a set of Pikes at 95mm. What I can say though is that it is steep making the bike steer very quick. Anyone used to riding a more slacked headtube angle would call this bike squirrelly. However an angle like this works very well for rolling out of 180s or half cabs. Barspins seem a bit easier as well.

Now here is the two big ones. I’ll catch hell for this.

The frame runs on v-brakes only. “OMG! You can’t run discs? V-Brakes suck!” Nope. “Why would they make a frame like that?” Because the rear dropouts are set up for a 14mm axle. “WTH? What does that have to do with the brakes?” The frame was set up to run a 110mm wide 14mm axle hub. If you don’t know, this is a standard BMX hub. And as for the brake issue… Discs and pegs don’t get a long. Oh shit. There, I said the four letter word: “pegs”. Pegs are ghey.

So the rear end of this frame runs a BMX hub, 14mm dropouts, and will only accept a v-brake. Why would anyone want that? For me there are two reasons. First, pegs. Yes, I ran one on the left. Did I use it, yes. Did I like it, yes. However, I did eventually remove it and there is another reason for that aside from no one wanted to stick around at a spot I was grinding…

Rear Hub: KHE Reverse Freecoaster

If you do not know what a freecoster is then today is your lucky day. Long story short, I can roll backwards without pedaling. The hub basically has a clutch which disengages as the bike rolls back so you roll backwards as long as you want, or in my case as long as you can and you don’t have to pedal at all. What is the point of this? This opens up a whole new world of possibilities. Without getting into it, just watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuLyDJCZqi8. And yeah its a BMX rider. He is also the one responsible for the design. Another thing about this hub is that I run a 9t or 11t cog. Both are tiny and carry a low profile which allows for a smaller chainwheel.

Drivetrain: Deity Vendetta Cranks

Nothing to say here. Strong as hell. Sexy. And light as far as chromoly cranks go.

Pedals: Atomlab AirCorp

I had a pair of these years ago and loved them. They are very thin profiled and very wide. I’m flatfooted and have wide feet, plus I like a grippy pedal. Currently I have all of the pins in the pedals with 4 syncros mental razor pins on the inside of each pedal… thank god for shin pads.

Sprocket: Odyssey MDS (Million Dollar Sprocket) 25t

This thing is bulletproof. A small, lightweight sprocket with a built in bashguard.

Chain:

The front and rear chainwheels both take 1/8th “ chains. Originally it was a KHE chain. Broke it. Now its some KMC hollow bolt chain. Much lighter.

Wheels: Rhyno Lite 24s with Kenda K-rads.

Rear hub is the freecoaster, Front hub is a Marzochii 20mm for the forks. Nothing special. The Kenda K-rads are simply good cheap tires. As for the rims, the Rhyno Lites are lightweight and solid. Yes, there are stronger wheelsets. I choose these because of weight savings and the fact that I know I am hard on my rims, especially the rear and I would feel better replacing an affordable rim than if I destroyed an expensive one. Did I mention they’re light?

Forks: RS Pike 454’s

Rock Shox Pikes. I love these forks. Extremely light. 95mm-140mm of travel. Currently I run a heavier spring for a stiffer ride. I have the forks locked out on every ride, with the gate adjusted so that they stay rigid until impact. Having the front end rigid helps eliminate the front end sucking up a transition allowing you to get maximum pop. Having the gate set right allows you to land with a cushy front end, For me its a win/win situation and my wrist never hurt.

Seat: Macneil Pivitiol with post

Now here is something not many mountain bikers have seen. A pivitol seat has no guts. There is an insert on the top of the saddle where you insert an allen wrench and one bolt connects the seat to the post. The benefits: the seat and post together weigh in at 1.16lb. The seat is tough and stays put on the post. Macneil was the first company to do this and owns the patent. The cool thing about Macneil is that they are the only company making pivitol posts in a range of sizes to fit mountain bikes. Just recently Inspired Bicycles is starting to use this design for their trials bikes.

Headset: FSA Pig Unsealed

Normally I would say a headset is a headset. But in this case I will say that I run an unsealed headset for the simple fact that unsealed bearings spin faster. IE: barspins and such.

Stem: Deity 25.4

Once again strong, lightweight and sexy.

Bars: Blk Market BadaBing! 3”rise

I run a standard 25.4 bar. Until I break or really bend a set, I will continue to use that size vs an OS. For me there is personally no point. I will say that I have been picky about my bars. This is the third set on the bike, but I think I have finally found what I wanted. Originally I ran Deity bars. It wasn’t until I got to ride Kit’s 3” SIN bars that I had to have a 3” rise. Why a 3” rise? For me, a 3” rise bar is easier to control when pulling up the front end on bunnyhops and manuals. They also allow for a good height without having to stack the hell out of your stem. For an urban bike they also feel more natural in the cockpit. The second set of bars I had were AtomLab Pimp bars with a 3” rise. I really liked these bars. They feel great. The reason I swapped them for the Blk Markets was the weight. Chromoly bars are a lot heavier than aluminum and I went for the lighter of the two. As for cutting my bars I run all of my bars at 25” wide. Not too wide and not too short, but good for barspins and still having good leverage for pulling up.

Grips: ODI Longnecks with plastic bar ends

I have ran these grips almost 10 years of my time on a bike and I can’t run any other grip. They are soft and cushy and LONG. I like the length of the grips for any trick I let go of the bars on. Having that much more to grab back on to is what I like. Plus you can run your hands in or out on the bars depending on what you are about to do. As for the plastic bar ends: weight. I will explain the weight thing in a bit.

Brakes: Avid Single Digit 7 with Avid Speed Dial 7 lever.

Good brake. Works good and is lightweight. As far as the disc vs rim brake debacle: My v-brakes work just as well as any disc in the application that I am riding which is street. V-brakes also allow for much softer feathering on manuals than discs. Simplicity that works.

The Weight Issue:

I have never been a weight weenie about my bikes, until now. Now I’m not going to go buy ti bolts or anything but I am weight conscious of my hardtail. The reason is for the tricks I like to do and want to learn. Tailwhips, 360 bunnyhops, bunnyhop barspins, etc. The less you are throwing around the easier. Plus its going to be less exhausting. That reason alone has a big impact on my set up. There are some areas however that I will not sacrifice for weight, that being my pedals, cranks and stem. Any part of my bike that is directly connected to my body, ie grips and pedals I am very particular. I like a certain feel under my feet and in my hands. As for cranks, I broke a set back in the day, and I don’t want to do it again.

Whats next?

Well from where the bike started out to where it is now is pretty significant. It was a full build in the beginning and has gone through the following changes: front brake removed, handlebars swapped twice, seat and post swapped, peg removed, broken chain and some small adjustments here and there. Unfortunately, its time for the P-45s retirement. At least from me. And why? LOL The P-45 is a 6.8lb frame. The original build on the bike came in at almost 34lbs. The current build is right at 30lbs. There are only a few more changes in components that I can make that would have a significant impact on the weight… now its time for the frame to go. However, the weight is not the only issue with the frame. I really don’t like the high top tube anymore. I don’t even try no-cans on it. Not that I can do them, but I trip over the top tube doing them in a parking lot, go figure.

My next frame will be an NS Capital. This frame has very similar specs to the P-45 in terms of 24” wheel specific, 14.75” stays, 21.75” top tube, v-brake only and a 100mm x 14mm rear end. The key differences being the seat tube is less than 12” verses the 14” seat tube on the P-45 making the top tube much lower. The headset is integrated and the bottom bracket is spanish. The seat clamp is integrated into the frame also. And the weight: 5.2lbs. Very nice for a chromoly frame. Hopefully I can get the bike down to sub 29lbs. Not sure if its possible, but if 29lbs is as light as I can get it, thats still pretty damn light for the set-up. More than likely I will be replacing the stem with the new Deity Fathom stem as soon as its available. The MDS Sprocket will also be swapped for a Deity Termite 25t sprocket.

Where and why:

Now before I write this I guess I’ll put a disclaimer on the fact that this is what I think. If you disagree thats your issue. The urban (as well as dirt jumping) scene in mountain bikes is about to undergo a serious surge. In Europe there are new companies popping up focused only on the hardtail market. Companies like DMR and Atomlab have claimed their stake in the market by producing some innovative and stout products. Basically, the market is starting to boom, but more in other parts of the world than the US. Running rigid forks on a 24” bike, pegs, and even riding brakeless is not uncommon. Sound odd? Look at a BMX bike, then go watch BMX street videos on youtube. For urban mountain biking to go the direction of a BMX style is nothing short of dirt jumping on a mountain bike being a direct derivative of BMX dirt jumping. Mountain bikes didn’t start out to do what BMX bikes do. But the progression has been natural. Keep in mind I am referring more to urban riding and dirt jumping. All of the North Shore stuff is in and of its own….. even if a few barspins and tailwhips are thrown in at a slopestyle event…. hmmmmm. Regardless of how you may feel about 20” bikes, they are the predecessors of urban and dirt jump freeriding. And before you say “why don’t you just get a 20″ bike”, i’ve been there, done that, and i personally love the feel of a mountain bike… even if it is rolling on 24″ wheels with bmx components.

Here are some companies you may or may not have heard of:

Leaf Cycles
Last Bikes
NS Bikes
Duncon
DMR
Simtra
Union Street
Static Bikes
Flow Bikes
Halo
Gusset

Here are links to the parts manufactures on some of the parts mentioned:

Identiti P-45
KHE Reverse Freecoaster
Deity Vendetta Cranks
Atomlab AirCorp Pedals
Million Dollar Sprocket
Macneil Pivitol Seat and Post
Deity Stem
BlkMarket Bars
ODI Longnecks
NS Capital

Simply uttering the name of this bike makes me feel a little bit squirmy. I don’t think I could talk to my mom about it. It’s a different situation around the guys. You know how it is, “dude, my Bitch is sick!!!” Whore and slut become synonymous with its given name. The truth is, my Bitch is way too sweet to be called any of that. Maybe I’ll call her Molly or Lisa. I hope that the guys don’t make fun of me too much.

My 2007 NS Bitch came in Ice Blue, an awesome color that is a cross between baby blue and light grey. Everybody loves the color and the decals are sweet too. They have some nice flourishes that give them an artistic touch. The decals are buried under a smooth clearcoat. It’s a nice touch, surely adding to the durability of the finish. The frame is made of 4130 cromoly steel. I chose the Bitch because it was steel. I’m learning how to ride this bike downtown on all the concrete so it seemed that a steel bike would be way more durable. So far, the Bitch has proven itself super sturdy.

Building the NS Bitch was a cinch. I prep pro level frames all day long so I can appreciate a bike frame that comes from the factory in good shape. After some minor facing work on the headtube and bottom bracket, the Bitch was ready to assemble. The Bitch uses a European style B.B, so it accepts just about any off the shelf MTB components available. It’s made with a special sliding dropout/der. hanger so it can be run with or without gears ala. singlespeed, which is the way I prefer it. The Bitch is also configured to use disc brakes. There is no option for V-brakes.

With a 100mm Marzocchi Dirt Jumper fork, the Bitch had a 67.1° headtube angle. This relatively slack angle provides a stable feel to the front end of the bike. It’s no surprise really, since NS Bikes intended the Bitch to be their premiere hucking/freeride hardtail. Actually, they recommend a 150mm fork for extreme use, and the Bitch is built to handle dual crown forks as well. With freeride in mind, the Bitch has longer chainstays than the Suburban, NS Bikes more street oriented hardtail. The 15.9” – 16.7” chainstays offer enough variability for the Bitch to take on a different persona when adjustments range from short to long. For street riding and dirtjumping, I like the axle to be slammed as far forward as possible to ease the transition to manual.
The NS Bitch is easy to jump. It feels natural in the air. With a 50mm Thomson stem up front, the weight balance feels just right. The bike isn’t so long that it doesn’t feel maneuverable. As a matter of fact, I have begun to work my way towards 360’s over our dirt jumps. I’m almost there. The Bitch has given me the inspiration to try. When I ride this bike, I feel like I used to when I was kid on my BMX bike. It is simple, overbuilt, and ready for action.

The NS Bikes Bitch is a sweet, steel hardtail. I have full confidence that it will be tough enough to handle all the abuse I can dish out as I try to perfect my bag of tricks. What else can I say? I could tell you that it rides like I’m on a cloud of titties, but that would be a lie. It rides like it should, a tad heavy, but solid – inspiring confidence. The finish is surprisingly good. The design is clean and simple. The rear dropouts are simple and sturdy. It has gussets where it needs them. There is no wasted metal on this bike. NS Bikes have created a super tough hardtail MTB that can handle mucho abuse while looking good.

Build:

Frame - 2007 NS Bikes Bitch Ice Blue
Fork - Marzocchi Dirt Jumper 2
Headset - Chris King 1 1/8″
Stem - Thomson 6-bolt BMX 50mm
H-Bar - Bontrager Crow Bar
Grips - Ouri Lock-on
Brakes - Shimano LX levers w/ XT calipers
Seat - WTB Laser V
Seatpost - Thomson Elite Zero setback 27.2mm
Crankset - FSA Gravity single chainring 32t
Pedals - 26Products 6Foe Urban Camo
Hubs - DMR Revolver rear 32h, Halo Spin Doctor 32h 20mm front
Rims - Mavic 321 32h
Tires - WTB Weirwolf LT 2.55
Chain - ABU
Bar Plugs - Wooley Fab
Pedal Mod - Rubbermaid Kitchen board pedal grinder

I love this bike! Maybe we’ll get some good weather so we can all spend more time riding!!!

Well boys and girls this review has been a while in the making- not as long in the making as the arrival of the frame on our loading dock here at Competitive Cyclist….but a while indeed.

Lets start with the intended design and usage of the bike- the bike was originally going to be called the 6.6 Slope Style but Intense re-thought the name and considering the vast differences in the 6.6 and this new bike they decided it would be better to give the bike it’s own name (slope style) so as to not add any more confusion and have consumers hung up on which one to buy for thier needs. This is the bike designed to be ridden in about every imaginable facet of mountain biking ( well okay maybe not lung busting chase Hap or Craig through the woods and up the hill cross country rides) it caters more to the bomb down the trail, hit that rough line, or drop off of this, or launch yourself off of that crowd. Intense designed the SS with a lower leverage ratio 2.6:1 same as the SOCOM which was one of, if not THE most sought after DH World Cup level race bikes of 2007 which was almost as guaranteed to get you on the podium as it was to turn heads on the way to the trail head. Nigel Page is the man who takes credit for designing the SS, although T-Money and myself experimented with the notion of putting an Uzzi rear end on the 6.6 front triangle (when the 6.6 first came out!) so as to alieviate any noticeable flex or wiggle from the rear of the 6.6 when pushed hard on the trail into turns or when jumping and landing a little sideways, I even went so far as to call Jeff Steber (owner of Intense Cycles) and toss this idea around with him. At the time Jeff admitted that he had never thought about doing this before so I told him our reason for wanting to try this and he was in agreement that it made sense, I proceeded to ask him if he would be interested in making me a 1-off rear end which would utilize the replaceable dropouts of the Uzzi and the same tubeset for the rear triangle, it was a no go Jeff explained to me how busy he was, but said he would think it over at a later date.

I sent quite a few emails back and forth during the prototyping phase of the SS recomending cable stop options, geometry numbers etc. Maybe it was a collaboration of my ideas and Nigel Page’s which really set the wheels in motion either way-Low and Behold a star was born. Darren Pokoj rode prototypes of the SS during the Qashqai events of last season, so I was constantly teased when I would go to pick up the latest issue of Mountain Biking UK, or someone would post new info they “heard” about the SS on mtbr.com. As with any Intense product finding out exact release dates is like getting the government to admit there is something going on at Area 51. Not that it’s a bad thing most everyone who sets their heart on wanting an Intense is willing to wait to receive a Handmade in the USA work of art, everything aside from paint is done in-house in Temecula California.

Geometry on this thing feels absolutely dialed I honstly can’t think of one thing I would change on it. The Bottom Bracket sits at a mere 13.5″ off the ground this translates into a rock solid, very planted feel. When sitting behind a 66.5 degree head angle you will be eyeing up every steep line around you and looking at it and saying to youself “I got that”. The chainstays are tucked up nice and short at 16.75″ so sit down wheelies happen almost effortlessly, stand up manuals are a breeze too, and switchbacks- man this thing can rail some turns. As with any VPP design it gobbles up rock gardens and roots better than any other design I’ve ever ridden. I guess the one downfall would be that it doesn’t bunnyhop as well as some other full suspension designs do i.e. an El Guapo or a Bullit, but that’s not as important, I’d much rather the rear end soak up a big hit before getting hung up on a square edge hit. As for being able to bunnyhop onto a picnic table…..that’s what my Hardtail is for:). I am completely in love with this bike, yes in love……..when I’m not able to ride I go out to the garage and sit on it and just admire the craftmanship! Much thanks to everyone at Intense for providing me with such an awesome piece of equipment, thanks Jeff, Marv, Paul, Chad, Andrew, and Rick the Welder keep up the good work.

With the hardtail frames that were bought up we figured it would be a nice idea to write some reviews on the bikes once they were complete. The way our crew is no one hardly ever buys the same as the next person except in the case that its just that nice. We are all so much into riding that it’s kinda like “you buy this one and I’ll buy that one and we will both get to see how they ride.”

Ryan finished his NS a few weeks ago (and it is sweet) and my Identiti was completed this week. So catching Ryan sleeping I’m writing the first review. The bike is an Identiti P-45 dubbed “The Omen” by E2.

I went after this frame for two reasons. First I wanted the shortest chainstays I could get. Second, I really wanted to run pegs on the back. Pegs? Yeah pegs. I come from a BMX background and loved grinding back in the day and jumped at the opportunity to do it again. Plus the frame was 4130 steel with 1/4″ laser cut drop outs fitted for a 14mm axle. Note that there are very few urban hardtails that are built to run pegs on the back. The p-45 is one of them. The only drawback to this is that pegs and disc rotors do not get along, so the frame is fitted for a v-brake on the wheelstays. This was perfectly fine for me as my brakes have never worked that well on any street bike I have had (more disregard than negligence).

The first thing I noticed about this bike before anything was ever bolted to the frame is the size. The frame is short, period. Identiti speced the chainstays out at 14 ¾” minimum, with a 21.75” top tube. Once everything was bolted together I found out real fast that the bike doesn’t feel like you think it’s going to. The cockpit is tight but not cramped and the rearend is almost nonexistent. The Deity bars, stem, cranks and seat are what’s to be expected from Deity: the parts look sick and are solid. The 2008 Vendetta Cranks are probably the sickest part on the bike, in my opinion. Identiti specs the fork travel at 80-100mm recommended with 130mm the max. I went with a RS Pike 454 to give myself a window of adjustable travel while saving weight and using the maxle 360.

One of the things mountain bikers will find interesting about the build is the drivetrain. The bike is speced out to accept BMX parts, so the Deity cranks sit in a 19mm American bottom bracket by Profile. The chain is a 1/8” KHE Collapse with a halflink to push the wheel as deep into the dropouts as possible. One thing I enjoy about the frame is the built in chain tensioners. They fit right in front of the axle and make wheel alignment quick and easy. The chainwheel is a 25t Odyssey MDS. I was bit worried that the MDS sprocket would be a bit heavy and bulky, but with only 25t its extremely light, small, and bombproof. I only ran one side with a bashguard not seeing a need for one on each side of the chain. Plus the teeth are so thick that removing the chain is done by masterlink and masterlink only. The rear hub is a KHE Reverse Freecoaster (the frame is made to accept 110mm hubs) with a 9t cog. The hub cam in with max slack so riding was bit sketchy at first until you got used to it. E2 and I adjusted it to minimal slack right before I wrote this so it should be a bit easier to get used to in the future. With the peg finally attached to the 14mm axle on the back left, the bike weighs in right at 33lbs. Not bad at all.

First jumping on the bike everyone noticed one thing: if you pull up on the bars too much the bike is coming out from under you. This makes manuals effortless. Bunnyhopping the bike was a bit different. After getting used to the slow progression it takes to bunnyhop a full sized mountain bike, this bike made be a bit nervous. If you do not snap and tuck the rear end quick, once again, it’s coming out from under you. After some thought I realized that this was exactly what the company wanted this bike to do. Quoting Identiti: “Developed for the MTB-Xer that wants the MTB riding position combined with the ease of maintenance of a short tail 24″ BMX frame.” The bike is as nimble a 20” and just as squirrelly. The only thing I was concerned with was what seemed like a high top tube (in reference to other urban hardtails). After riding it a bit, I found out this is not an issue at all. The geometry is so snappy that nothing on the bike gets in the way. If the frame was longer the top tube may have been an issue.

After a test ride on Saturday, I got some sleep for a hard ride on Sunday. Taking the bike downtown was my ultimate test. At this point I was used to the front end and could manual on command. I felt like I could bunnyhop over whatever was in my way but remained calm wanting to get a bit more used to the geometry. Feeble grinds came quick as I was able to bunnyhop the bike and stick it where I wanted to. Very nice considering one miss on the front wheel and the front brake rotor is toast. (Still unsure whether to keep the front brake but I wanted to have a full build first) The freecoaster is going to take some getting used to but I was able to get a few 180’s and keep rolling for a while. Without the slack adjusted, stepping down on a pedal and having my leg fall half of the pedal rotation was very sketchy, but not having to pedal backwards makes a huge difference.

After a quick session downtown we headed to the AFA for some dirt jumping. That’s when everything changed. I personally would rather ride street, but don’t mind a good dj session. As of now I like dirt jumping almost (only almost Kit) as street. But that is because of this bike. The 25/9 gearing makes the bike really good for our jumps. Its a bit of a push getting started but once the bike is rolling gaining speed comes quick. In the air I felt like I could throw the bike any direction and bring it back. It felt a lot lighter than 33lbs. This bike truly jumps better than any bike I have ridden. 360’s are cake with the short rear end. The bike is severely stable in the air so take a foot or hand off; the bike is staying where you want it. The back end comes around quick on tail whips as well. This bike loves to jump. In one day on the jumps, being my second day on the bike I felt a lot more confident than jumping other bikes in the past.

I think Identiti definitely pulled off a hybrid MTB/BMX bike with the p-45. The geometry is dead on. I am 5′10″ so I’m not sure how the bike would feel to someone really tall but for my size its perfect. The only thing that I would really like to see are some decal options. I would just hope for something a bit more “edgy” and maybe with some color. The frame came in with a set of black decals and a set of grey. But if thats my only issue, I can more than live with it.

Bottomline: I love this bike.

So if you want a BMXish style hardtail check out the P-45: IDENTITI BIKES.

P-45 “Omen” Build:

• Frame: Identiti P-45
• Forks: Rock Shox Pike 454
• Headset: FSA Pig Unsealed
• Rims: Rhyno Lite 24”
• Rear Hub: KHE Reverse Freecoaster 36 hole, 14mm axle, 9 tooth
• Front Hub: Marzocchi 20mm 32 hole
• Tires: Kenda K-Rad 24”
• BB: Profile 19mm
• Cranks: Deity Vendetta
• Sprocket: Odyssey MDS
• Chain: KHE Collapse w/halflink
• Pedals: Atomlab Aircorp
• Seat Clamp: Identiti
• Seat Post: Identiti
• Seat: Deity
• Stem: Deity
• Bars: Deity
• Bar Ends: Deity
• Grips: ODI Longneck
• Levers: Avid Speed Dial 7
• Rear Brake: Avid Single Digit 7
• Front Brake: Avid BB7 08
• Peg: Odyssey JPG Light with Gland MkIII hub guard

E2

2008 Intense Slope Style Frame
Rock Shox Lyric 2-step
Industry Nine Hubs and Spokes, Syncros Rims
Syncros Bar and Stem
Thomson Seatpost
Twenty6 Pedals and Levers
Formula K-24 Discs
etc….

with parts anodized by Industry Nine to match the wheels.

With the cold weather and daylight savings time the crew has been doing more urban riding. In lieu of that a few new hardtails are being built. Mark is building up a Specialized P-3. Ryan just welded together his “Rock City Special”. And the rest of us are trying to get the dough to complete our rigs. Below are some pics of new bikes…. Ok maybe a pic of Kit’s new bike and our frames that will soon be bikes… Enjoy.

Kit’s GT Ruckus with its new RS Argyles (more info…)

Mettler’s Addict Frame (more info…)

Chris’s Identiti P-45 Frame, sitting next to E2’s “intenstp”, without a visual reference you would swear this was a 20″ frame (more info…)




….. what about T-Bird?