Let's offroad / mountain bike / mtb / ride dirt

Be better off with the Disc brake version no?

If the brakes are truly awful, he could always stick some cheap Shimano hydraulics on it.

Need a fork. Designed for 440mm rigid forks or 80mm sus. 1 1/8" straight steerer needed. I can probably justify £100.

TM is trying to shift a Fox TALAS R which can be wound down to 85mm, I'm sure he'd bite your hand off if you offered him £100

...then hit me with it, considering the bar was only set at £185inc postage today!

£185 is frame and fork, hence why he'd surely happily take £100 for the fork

Neither of which prevents you from riding XC. Especially if you consider the straggler will happily take a 42mm knobbly.

Good morning. I assumed you were being sarcastic when you said "let's have a stupid discussion about what proper mountain biking is" but now I'm not sure. Let's forget the whole thing.

Anyway, I think an Inbred 29er is the perfect bike for your (dakin's) needs for the following reasons:

1. Cheap, tough frame.
   
2. Rack mounts and eyelets.
   
3. 2.4" tyres if you want them.
   
   

I use mine for commuting, XC/trail (although I do get off and walk the big drop-offs because I'm using a Ritchey carbon fork) and off-road touring and I think it's pretty bloody good. I just swap the cockpit out if I'm touring for a few days (from 60 Thomson/780 Crank Bros Cobalt bar > to > 100 Cobalt shallow rise stem and On-One Mary bar). I have a Surly ECR fork for that mythical 3-month off-road tour that's probably never going to happen.

Beware that the Inbred frames are not very well finished and need facing/chasing. Also commuting on tacky tyres wears them out very quickly, unless your commute is off-road (which mine mostly is n.b. this is not me, nor is is the trail I commute on, although it is on the same hill with the same view every morning, which is awesome).

Thanks for the help everyone.
I'm looking at the 26, simply because I'm not that big and always feel a bit dwarfed on 29er frames.

Which of these 2 completes would you say is best for what im looking at?

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CBOO26INTR/on-one-inbred-26-sram-x5-mountain-bike

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/CBOO456EVO2DEO/on-one-456-evo-2-shimano-deore-mountain-bike

I still think I'd put a rigid fork on but that would obviously have to be done on top of the complete.
Probably sell the suspension fork to cover cost.

The Inbred's more suited to general, all round riding. Better for use with a rigid fork too.

The 456 is more of what I'd consider a ''chucking about'' bike.

If you're going 26 utility bike stylee I'd say get a Surly troll.

Mounts for everything in the entire world.

Nice but over 400 quid more.
And I feel that the Inbred could be a through and through mountain bike as well

The Inbred's more suited to general, all round riding. Better for use with a rigid fork too.

The 456 is more of what I'd consider a ''chucking about'' bike.

Agreed - and the 456 is designed around a 150mm fork (from memory) - you'll be unlikely to find a rigid fork with an axle-to-crown length that won't upset the geometry (perhaps a fatbike for might work?). There is a 650b version of the 456 which might be something to consider... I think it still has rack mounts and eyelets. I can't advise on the 26" Inbred because I've never ridden one, but I'm sure if you ask around you'll find someone who'll let you borrow theirs for an afternoon.

All Inbred frames are designed with 1 1/8 headsets rather than tapered headsets, which is a bit of a bummer if you want to fit a modern top-end fork - I test-rode a Niner ROS9 with Pikes the other day and Christ it was good.

What frame size do you need, Dakin? I have a 16" Cannondale XC/Trail frame kicking around. Has mounts for shizzle. Same geo as the Cotic Soul which is pretty similar to the Inbred IIRC. Can sells for cheap.

Here's my 16" inbred 26er. Shitty pic, but should give you some idea. My only gripe is that they are quite long, am waiting for a shorter stem in the post...

I was in the same spot Dakin, really wanted a geared mtb/do it all bike. The last couple of months I've tried 3 frames: a Kona Caldera 18" but too small, ended up getting a nos 20" Inbred from here for a great price. Built them up with 455 rigid forks and 1x10 drivetrain. I rode the same lap twice on each bike, road,off road, gravel, singletrack etc.
The Inbred felt long and very sluggish, you should really see if you can borrow one for a test as personally I was so disappointed. I ended up putting a rear hanger on my single speed Cannondale and running a Zee 1x10. Most versatile bike frame by far, can run 700c wheels, 26", rohloff hub, or 1x1 and has all the fixings for racks etc. So I say forget the Inbred and snap off Howards arm for that Cannondale frame

@Dakin - If you can get a Dale at a decent price, then it's definitely worth trying.

Howard's should be in pretty good condition too.......

considering how he rides.

Hey Louie, yep I bought it! It's fast as fuck.

Maybe you could buy this off me?

I would love to, do you accept cycle to work vouchers? :)

What frame size do you need, Dakin? I have a 16" Cannondale XC/Trail frame kicking around. Has mounts for shizzle. Same geo as the Cotic Soul which is pretty similar to the Inbred IIRC. Can sells for cheap.

16-18 i think.
PM me some pictures.

Here's my 16" inbred 26er. Shitty pic, but should give you some idea. My only gripe is that they are quite long, am waiting for a shorter stem in the post...

Yeah thats my only worry. I don't like how low they are, but then a frame with a longer seattube would be WAY too long.
Other than that how do you like it?

Frame is ere

https://www.flickr.com/photos/magichow/sets/72157628057856096/

Buy pls. It's good.

Off to Swinley for the first time tomorrow, didn't realise how easy it was to get there via train. Looks like the weather will be pretty decent.

Off to Swinley for the first time tomorrow, didn't realise how easy it was to get there via train. Looks like the weather will be pretty decent.

Take some pics/summary. Never been and just finished gearing up my bike so itching to ride somewhere other than Epping.

It will be busy I suspect

It will be busy I suspect

and that, sir, is why I really enjoy days off middle of the week.

Late weekend evenings or middle of weekdays are good at swinley.

So like... Now?

Yep.