There was a time when ‘affordable’ was a word that never got used when talking about DH bikes, but thankfully the past few years have seen the introduction of a few complete bikes that can almost be described as such, especially when you compare their prices to the majority of offerings. All that said, there’s still little to choose from when it comes to affordable DH frames. That’s why Identiti decided to branch out from their hardtail roots and produce just such a thing in the shape of this Mogul.

A full build from the likes of YT who are selling direct may offer slightly better value, but then again even the cheapest option is going to set you back twice what this frame costs and a lot of people just don’t have that kind of money hanging around, whereas they might well have a load of OK parts hanging off an old frame that has come to the end of its life. Chuck those parts onto this frame and you could well be onto a winner.

The frame has been in development for a few years (I think we must have seen an early prototype about two years ago) and during that time they have taken feedback from their team riders who have raced and ridden the frames all over Europe, and then tweaked the frame accordingly. The most noticeable change compared to when we first saw the frame all those years ago is that the head angle has been slackened off considerably. It now sits at a very respectable 64°. We think Identiti have also made a sound move by keeping the travel to 7.5″. Realistically that’s enough travel for anyone, especially if you’re going to be mainly using it in the UK where often less is actually more. They’ve made another sound decision by fitting the RockShox Vivid R2C shock. It’s a quality piece of kit and Identiti told us that they’ve done a considerable amount of work with RockShox to make sure that they’ve got the best possible tune for the frame design. There’s nothing too crazy going on with the suspension design either, it’s more of a tried and tested kind of thing so we’re actually hoping for good things from this frame. The fact that it comes in three sizes is also a great thing. So often companies save money on lower priced options by limiting sizes, so those at the tall or short end of the spectrum will be pleased that Identiti haven’t gone down that route. Oh, and it is available in far more subtle colours if neon yellow isn’t your thing.

Ison Distribution are going to build us up one of these frames for a proper test, so watch this space…

Here are the full specs:

-6061 Aluminium
-Tapered Headtube: 1 1/8” – 1.5”
– 64 degree head angle
– Weight 2.9kg (6.4lbs) w/out shock
– BB: 83mm
– ISCG05 Tabs
– Inc. Rock Shox Vivid R2C coil shock
– Shock Length 222/69mm
– Dropout: 12mm x 150mm e-thru system
– Tyre: 26” x 2.40”
– Seatclamp: 34.9

Price: £1099.99
www.ison-distribution.com
www.identitibikes.com

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