Inside Line: Ibis Releases New Tranny 29 Hardtail
Originally posted on June 30, 2014 at 11:01 am
In this day and age, a new 29-inch hardtail often isn’t big news. But with a company like Ibis (which has a very small bike line up) and a bike like the Tranny, this is more than another “me-too” bicycle.
The 26-inch version of the Tranny was recently retired, and this 29er replacement has been in development for years, but the full suspension Ripley took most of the lion’s share of Ibis’ development power. Now that the Ripley has left the nest, it leaves room for this new carbon fiber hardtail.
As a true baptism by fire, the Tranny was entered to race the Tour Divide, a 2,745-mile race from Canada to Mexico, mostly on dirt roads and completely unsupported. As I type this, the news is Ibis’ man on the Tranny, Jefe Branham, just finished the race with a winning time of 16 days, 2 hours and 37 minutes. That is very, very fast.
Don’t worry though, while the Tranny makes a fine bikepacking race bike, it is a mountain bike, first and foremost.
Designed around either a 100mm or 120mm fork, the Tranny has 17.2-inch chainstays, an 11.9-inch bottom bracket height, and 70 or 71 degree head angle (depending on fork). There are four sizes: small, medium, large, extra large. Top tubes are on the short side compared to modern trail bikes, which helps to keep the wheelbase short and snappy.
The coolest part about this frame? The Slot Machine! The seat and chainstays of the Tranny are molded separately from the front triangle, and attach via the Slot Machine, a system that allows for adjustment in chainstay length. That means easy single speed set-up and belt drive compatibility.
The other big benifit? Packablity! This frame can fit in non-oversize bag for (hopefully) fee-free flying. This is not a small thing for those who travel regularly with a bike.
Frames come in Marine Layer gray, or Matte Black/Chalk Blue. A bare frame is $1,699. Complete bikes start at $2,999 and go up to $7,366 for an XTR 2×11 build with the carbon wheels and dropper post options.
Lots more info on the Ibis website.
