Built for a hiding: Identiti's new Dr Jekyll dirt jump bike lands
Tough and versatile 26" wheeled machine
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Identiti Bikes has resurrected the classic Dr Jekyll name for an all-new dirt jump, 4X, pumptrack and general messing about machine. While the frame is still made from aluminium, it's now rolling on 26" wheels and is much, much lighter than it's now 20-year-old predecessor.
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While the dirt jumping scene isn't quite at the heady heights that it was back in the late 1990s, Identiti has a long history with leaping over piles of dirt, so it made sense for them to put all that knowledge into a brand new machine.
The hydroformed aluminium frame is designed to use a 100mm travel fork and 26" wheels, plus it also gets adjustable dropouts so it's possible to run it geared or singlespeed, meaning you can build it up as a pure jump machine or a 4X racer or anything in between.
It's a particularly nice touch that the rear disc brake mount adjusts along with the dropout, ensuring perfect alignment regardless of where you set the wheel to. Other mod cons include an ISCG05 chain guide mount and a tapered head tube though, happily, the threaded bottom bracket is still there - it's up to you whether you go for 2kg of old-school three-piece steel crankset, however.
You can get your paws on a Dr Jekyll from £500 for a frame, while complete builds start at £1,300 for the base singlespeed, RST fork equipped R, head to £1,900 for the RockShox Pike DJ equipped RC and top out at £2,100 for the RCX, which gets the Pike DJ fork plus a 7spd SRAM GX DH drivetrain and MRP chainguide. All feature SRAM Level hydraulic disc brakes plus Gusset components.
For more info, head to the Identiti website, but words of warning for anyone that owned one of the originals: you are extremely likely to bounce as well as you did back then. Take it from us, we know.
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