British brand Identiti, today, launches the new Mettle with progressive updates increasing the stability when stood up and thrashing downhill and help the bike to be more efficient on the uphills. There are spec changes too, including a 170mm fork and tubless setup out of the box.

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Identiti say the Mettle is their much loved but often abused bike of choice that lives its life covered in mud, used for taking on all day epics in the mountains, uplift days, or just thrashing around. It has just got a load of updates for this year including a slacker head angle by half a degree, a steeper seat tube angle by a whole degree and a longer reach on all sizes. The size small gets a reach of 450mm, the medium is 477mm and the large has a massive 500mm reach, the steep effective seat angle of 76 degrees means the effective top tubes aren't super long either which should make for a comfortable seated position for most riders. 

Identiti says "We don’t believe in changes for changes sake, but if we can make a change for the better, we will. Here’s how it helps you...As a combined package all three geometry changes mean that our sat down sizing (effective top tube length) remains almost identical to the previous generation Mettle, yet your mass is more central and balanced between the wheels. But the stood up, foot out, berm slapping sizing-the kind of riding you’d buy this bike for-is more confident and ready to get loose when you are, simple."

Some things are the same, the brands says they've kept the same kinematics, using a progressive suspension design that pedals well. They say the bike can be ridden with a coil but works just as well with an air shock with minimal volume reducers.

From today you can get your hands on a frame only for a custom build, or two different complete builds. For 2020 Identiti also upped all the specs to have 170mm forks, 200mm front rotors, and ditched the inner tubes, so you get Halo tubeless valves and sealant out of the box! All of the bikes come with 5 year warranty, with 2 years on the bearings. Available TODAY in select UK dealers, for full features and spec information visit - www.identitibikes.com

• www.ison-distribution.com

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