Last week we hit the road for the Cycle Show at the NEC and were treated to a first look at the new Identiti AKA hardtail.
The Identiti AKA is a hardtail with some decently modern geometry and has been built in a very similar vein to the Identiti Mettle. It’s big, long and slack and it’s been designed by Identiti’s rider-turned-brand manager Pat Campbell Jenner and industry legend Michael Bonney.
Best bits:
- Designed in house in the UK by Identiti
- Designed with the help of industry legend Michael Bonney
- Geometry designed to stay aggressive even when the fork is under sag
- Designed for 1 x gearing and works with gears or single speed
- 27.5″ wheels up to 2.6″
- £500 for a frame kit
There’s a few fine details on the Identiti AKA that we think are worth talking about.
The most interesting thing about the AKA is the geometry. When you ride a hardtail the geometry is – of course – affected by the terrain. As you ride over a bump, your fork compresses and the bike rolls forward and down causing your head angle to steepen and your weight to pitch forward.
Identiti have, they say, designed the bike with this in mind. Leaning on your van in the carpark the bike has a slack 64.5d head angle. At 25% sag the bike rides with a 66d head angle – about the same as many bikes offer with the fork fully extended. The aim is to keep your weight central on the bike even when you’re ploughing rough terrain.
The AKA offers plenty of options for wheels and gears. It’s 1x only but can be run single speed thanks to some neat sliding drop outs that are hidden away inside the back end. You can also run up to 2.6″ 27.5″ wheels, giving plenty of options for big or less big tires.
An interesting touch is that the components from the Identiti’s full suspension Mettle will swap straight onto the AKA and vice versa. We’re not sure why that’s useful but it could make upgrading from hardtail to full suspension easier. You might also, maybe, be able to run two bikes with one set of components if you really needed to.
There’s no sign of the AKA on the Identiti website just yet, but you can visit it here regardless.
If you want one they’ll be available in March / April 2018. There’s two colours to choose from and three sizes.
The frame will cost you £500.
