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Ibis Launches New 29er Tranny Hardtail – Exclusive Photos & Actual Weights

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Ibis Tranny 29er Glamour Shots (9)

As with any industry, there are several different approaches to selling a product. Some companies ooze cool, others try to undercut their competitors, while some actually try producing products their customer base actively desires. For Ibis, their brand new Tranny 29″ hardtail was the result of customer demand.

In development for a number of years, the bike incorporates a number of new features, which make it one of the most versatile hardtails available.

Ibis Tranny 29er Glamour Shots (2)

While the Tranny has an XC pedigree and was designed around a 100mm travel fork, that isn’t to say it doesn’t like to get rowdy. The bike is also available with a 120mm 32mm fork from the factory, which slackens the frame out slightly, and doubles the fun when pointed downhill.

This trail prowess is evident by the stock 740mm wide carbon handlebars. Available in either low or high rise, the handlebars are much wider than what is standard on most XC bikes.

Ibis Tranny 29er Glamour Shots (3)

In addition to a $1,699 frame only option, there are seven different build kits: Special Blend, Tranny Unchained, Deore XT, XTR1x, XTR2x, X01, and Xx1. Most of the build names speak for themselves, but the Special Blend and Tranny Unchained require some explanation.

The former is a budget build which starts at just 3k, while the latter features a single speed gates drive, and retails for $3,999. Prices top out at $6,199 for the XX1 groupset, and $6,699 for the XTR 2x.

Ibis Tranny 29er Glamour Shots (15)

All of the cable routing is internal, with the exception of the rear brake. There is no internal tubing, but all the ports have a removable cap, which leaves a larger opening to aid in routing.

Ibis Tranny 29er Glamour Shots (4)

Ibis offers their port holes in three different configurations, so there are several different ways to route the frame. For internal routing, the ports pictured are necessary and will require the use of full housing, but the company is also offering port caps with stops, and blanks.

Ibis Tranny 29er Glamour Shots (13)

What makes the Tranny unique among carbon wonder bikes is it’s ability to be easily taken apart and packed up small. This feature lead customers of the original Tranny to ask Ibis to incorporate Gates Drive compatibility.

Ibis Tranny 29er Glamour Shots (8)

According to Ibis, Trail and Enduro riders tend to clamor for threaded BBs, while XC riders prefer PressFit BBs. That’s why you’ll find a traditional threaded setup on their popular Mojo HDR, but this model has a BB92/PressGXP.

Ibis Tranny 29

 

The backend of this bolt is a flush nut, so you can remove the back end of the frame without pulling off the cranks.

To make this possible, Ibis engineer Colin Hughes rethought the “Slot Machine.” Removing this bolt and another above, allows the frame to be pulled apart to it in a suitcase, or opened to slip in a belt.

What’s more ingenious is that by adjusting the bolt, the mechanism slides back, so you can lengthen the chain stays to tension a single speed setup. This system is lighter (and less finicky) “than an eccentric bottom bracket, cleaner than using a chain tensioner, and unlike sliding dropouts, can be adjusted with one bolt.”

Ibis Tranny 29er Glamour Shots (7)

All of the Slot Machine hardware is titanium, which helps keep weight low.

Up top, teardrop shaped hardware holds the frame together. On the previous 26″ model, this mechanism was reversed, but flipping the orientation of the joint allows the seatstays to open far enough to slide a Gates Drive through.

Ibis Tranny 29er Glamour Shots (6)

Tire clearance is claimed to be big enough for most 2.3.” In the stock configuration, there was plenty of room for a 2.25″ Racing Ralph to breathe, when mounted on a Stan’z ZTR Rapid 29er rim.

Ibis Tranny 29er Glamour Shots (11)

The front triangle shares some of the same design language as the Ripley, but the rear triangle has been carefully sculpted to achieve certain ride characteristics (laterally stiff, vertically complaint, you know the drill).

Ibis Tranny 29er Glamour Shots (12)

The chainstays are asymmetric because this allowed Colin to lower the location of the Slot Machine in relation to the BB, to help shorten the chainstays.

Ibis Tranny 29er Glamour Shots (5)

The company is still waiting on their single speed hardware, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed that they decide to produce this….Ibis Tranny 29er Glamour Shots Prototype Bottleopener
A bottle opener hanger. Yeah, real men can open a bottle with anything, whatever. This is awesome.Ibis Tranny 29 2015 geometry w: 100 fork

Ibis Tranny 29er 2015 geometry with 120mm Fork

Ibis is one of the few companies that offers the versatility to switch between 26″ and 27.5″ wheels on some of their bikes. For this model, they also attempted to build in the ability to switch between 27.5″ and 29″ wheels, but couldn’t get it work to their standards.

Ibis-Tranny-29er-Scale-Weight

Ibis-Tranny-29-Scale-ShotOn the scale, a size medium Ibis Tranny 29er with a Tranny Unchained build kit weighed 20.12 lbs (9.13 kg). We’re pretty certain that by ditching the lock on grips for some ESIs, removing the lock out lever on the fork, and a few other touches, it would be fairly easy to push this bike into the sub 20 lb region.

Special thanks to Jenna, Jeff, Colin, and Scot, for giving us the lowdown!

For More, Visit Ibis

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53 Comments
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K11
K11
9 years ago

ibis, looks interesting. the design/engineer language looks clean also, a little turner czar”ish” in a hard tail. and a bonus with very minimal side view graphics through design. would be great plane travel bike.

Chunky
Chunky
9 years ago

No internal cable sleeves = rattle rattle clang clang….

CeeJay
CeeJay
9 years ago

Couldn’t they have given it another name?

Dr. Sartorious
Dr. Sartorious
9 years ago

@Chunky

They should be building them up with foam sleeves/talcum powder, like Specialized ICR bikes.

Al Boneta
Al Boneta
9 years ago

Is that a Szazbo in the background?

El Geeb
El Geeb
9 years ago

@CeeJay I guess they were going for cringe-inducing.

Jason K
Jason K
9 years ago

Saris, you wrote “clamber” where you clearly meant “clamor.” Your editors should know that spell check is not a substitute for proofreading. Maybe Saris isn’t the best speller, and that’s ok. But cleaning up a bad speller’s copy is a big part of an editor’s job.

To those who will point out that, “dude, Bike Rumor is free!”: do you stop paying attention to detail when you wrench on your own bike? No one is paying you, so it’s okay to leave off the cable ends, right?

Ck
Ck
9 years ago

I just cancelled my order for an El Mariachi because i’m getting one of these. Definitely excited to finally own an Ibis.

Ck
Ck
9 years ago

Curious if this will fit a 2.35 Ikon in the back though.

The Guy
The Guy
9 years ago

WANT! And yes, that does look like a Szazbo back there.

Tire clearance looks a bit tight on that chainstay.

GROSS
GROSS
9 years ago

Name choice is right up there with the time Kuat named a rack after a date rape drug. Good luck to Ibis with the relabeling after the (rightfully) angry emails start rolling in.

Kyle
Kyle
9 years ago

@jason K
How long you been waiting to use that analogy?
Serious question.

TL
TL
9 years ago

@Gross – Ibis had a 26 inch wheeled Tranny they sold for years. I imagine if they would’ve been innundated with angry emails and bowed to public pressure they would’ve changed the name prior to this release. How do you know Tranny isn’t short for Transformer (i.e. – single speed to geared) and not what you seem to be thinking it means?

AbelF
AbelF
9 years ago

“while XC riders prefer PressFit BBs” Dont know many XC riders that prefer pressfit over threaded. I sure as hell dont.

GMB
GMB
9 years ago

Any luck this would fit into an airline case without being oversized? Rear triangle comes off right? Tires deflated, fork and bars off? Oversize kicks in at 62″ (L + W + H).

Adam
Adam
9 years ago

Why would Ibis need to relabel anything? The Tranny is not a new bike for them. I applaud any company with a backbone in today’s ultra sensitive society.

Rich H
Rich H
9 years ago

I don’t get why the top and down tubes have been designed to look damaged. Other than that, it looks like a nice bit of engineering.

CXisfun
CXisfun
9 years ago

I’m way into this, entirely possible this will be my next MTB. I’d much prefer a threaded BB as well, though, and I certainly align myself with CX racer since I don’t own a single pair of MTB baggie shorts and really only hit the trails in lycra.

Tim
Tim
9 years ago

I will be interested when someone makes a 16.5″ or shorter CS carbon hardtail with external cable routing and a threaded BB. I don’t think that will ever happen, though.
There’s a 20″-24″ trials bike in the background.

Nathan B
Nathan B
9 years ago

Nice looking bike, poor choice of name.

Come on Ibis…. are you going to call your next bike The Queer?

Topmounter
Topmounter
9 years ago

I seriously don’t expect the “Tranny” crowd to be aroused in a displeasing manner regarding the name of this bicycle. That would of course be opposed to the people who had nonconsensual experiences with date-rape and took offense at Kuat’s naming choice.

El Geeb
El Geeb
9 years ago

I think this frame is cleverly designed, but the name makes me embarrassed for them. Whether or not any trans people think a smallish-scale bike manufacturer’s frame name is a problem worth spending energy on doesn’t really change the fact that “tranny” is generally considered a slur.

Phill
Phill
9 years ago

I had an old 26″ Tranny for a couple of years its was great…apart from the slot machine to bolts always working loose. In the end I glued the back end on!

Kyle
Kyle
9 years ago

Add to cart

K11
K11
9 years ago

who gives a f@k about the name of this model, y’all get over it.

it’s kind of ibis’s way- think their “hand job” cable stop.

Topmounter
Topmounter
9 years ago

Where does it say “tranny” on that frame anyway?

skip
skip
9 years ago

Hoooooooly CRaaaaaaap!
super excited about this bike. original trannys were bad A.

But really brah, I’m insecure. Are you sure my bike will make my friends think I’m gay?
I’m pretty sure this is someone elses fault….

Drew Diller
9 years ago

Ilikeicedtea got it right!

Also, modular frames for the win. I’m working on essentially the same thing. Ibis gets big points for this one.

Hmmmmm
Hmmmmm
9 years ago

Not for me. Frames arriving without correctly ‘glued’ in place headset cups for the bearings and two friends who have been through between 4 and 5 rear triangles each b/c of ‘micro-fractures’ on their Mojos. Keep ’em thanks… no amount of supposedly great customer service extends to excuse 5 replaced rear triangles. Can’t wait for Ibis to chime and deny the above! BR needs a photo submission feature.

rgeniec
rgeniec
9 years ago

Please build a long travel Ripley. That is all.

Randy Harris
Randy Harris
9 years ago

I don’t at all like the bolted on rear triangle.

Rob
Rob
9 years ago

So I can no longer abbreviate transmission?

aaron
aaron
9 years ago

– hell no, its 2014. i no longer take my coffee black, it’s additive free.

Questions
Questions
9 years ago

My next hardtail build was planned to be a Soma Juice or B-Side, but I’ve been thinking about this Tranny all day… Can anyone with personal experience provide insight on the reliability and durability of the slot machine assembly? Any failures?

Bluefire
Bluefire
9 years ago

Pinkbike user chiming in – in dirt cycling disciplines, “tranny” is short for “transition”, which refers to the space between the ramp-up to a jump and the landing following it.

Jon MacKinnon
9 years ago

As Bluefire said, tranny is a term that’s commonly used by dirt jumpers/park riders as an abbreviation for transition. Maybe that’s what they’re going for since it’s a frame that’s built for XC but can take longer forks for a bit of a more “hardcore hardtail” type ride.

Tim
Tim
9 years ago

By choosing this name, Ibis outsourced advertising to buyers. You’re all doing a good job remembering the name by repeating it to each other and becoming upset or meta-upset about it.

Eastman
Eastman
9 years ago

I’d love to see the features of this bike on a 29+ option.

Tom
Tom
9 years ago

Tranny: Transitions from geared to single speed with a minimum of fuss.

Tom
Tom
9 years ago

Tranny: Transitions from geared to single speed with a minimum of fuss.

Not in the same weight range at all, but my next hard tail, if ever, will be a Chromag Surface!

i
i
9 years ago

want! Reasonably priced, light, chance it’ll travel without baggage fees… where has this tranny been all my life?

recall on the 26″ version, Ibis did you sensitive types a favor by calling the color “matte carbon” instead of black, they said they did this because ordering a “black tranny” would get you put on a watch list.

chasejj
chasejj
9 years ago

OK the name is stupid. But the bike looks pretty cool.
Anyone notice the XL has an “almost” acceptable TT length. Almost as 25+ is what most tall guys are wanting.

So when is Ibis going to change the molds on the FS bikes to have an XL with a 25-26″ TT? So that The big guys can ride them w/o needing a stupid 100mm stem?

The Guy
The Guy
9 years ago

People are so damn sensitive these days. Why do y’all have to automatically jump to conclusions that the name is meant to be a hateful term? It’s about mountain biking, for f*ck’s sake.

Padrote
Padrote
9 years ago

17.3″ isnt short for chainstays. Long top tubes are boring. much easier to remedy short top tube than long.

Sarah
Sarah
9 years ago

The name is and has always been about trans women, not transmissions, not transformers, and not transitions. For proof look at Ibis’ web site design for the 26″ Tranny, in particular the quote at the bottom right: “Trannys don’t just hang around Soho – I saw one in the woods the other night.”

http://web.archive.org/…//www.ibiscycles.com/bikes/tranny/

And yes, it’s real problem, as you can see in other comments right here, the name encourages people to belittle, demean and abuse trans women. Ibis needs to apologize and change it, but they’re not going to do anything unless decent people in the mountain biking community step up to tell them that this kind of thing is not OK and is not going to be tolerated. Great bike, unacceptable name.

Sarah / trans / mojo SL / faster than you

LevelHedd
LevelHedd
9 years ago

Not the slur? Well… Ibis says:

“Trannys don’t just hang around Soho – I saw one in the woods the other night.”

http://www.ibiscycles.com/bikes/past_models/tranny/

And Competitive Cyclist and MTBR…

“No, this isn’t something conceived under surgical lights in Trinidad, CO….”

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/ibis-tranny-frame
http://www.mtbr.com/cat/bikes/xc-hardtail/ibis/tranny/prd_416820_1527crx.aspx

We’ve heard from the trolls. Want to hear from Ibis.

Dan
Dan
9 years ago

As if they don’t mean the slur. Get real. They have Trannys don’t just hang around soho” on their web site and even Colorado Cyclist has BS about Trinidad CO. If they get slammed they deserve it. It’s 2014 hello.

aeryn
aeryn
9 years ago

^ +1 on what she said. Maybe they’ll release an Ibis Fl!d or Ibis N***er next…

Aeryn/slow but enthusiastic
x

JasonK
JasonK
9 years ago

I have to admit that Sarah has a point. I agree that the name is about trans people, but I’m not sure it targets trans women in particular.

I wasn’t aware that “tranny” was offensive until Neil Patrick Harris got called out for using that term in a joke on the Oscars broadcast a few years ago. Now, Neil Patrick Harris is an out gay man, and not someone generally inclined to throw around slurs about minorities.

If he didn’t know, I don’t feel too bad that I didn’t know. But now that I DO know, I want to respect the wishes of the trans community by avoiding the use of that term.

Scot Nicol is a smart and reasonable guy. He’s made a great bike; I hope he changes the name.

Colin M
Colin M
9 years ago

I’m a redhead and I am offended by the cookies called Ginger Snaps!!!

GD, tranny is an offensive word now? The few thousand of transsexuals in this country somehow got together and pushed their agenda? I doubt it. I’m pretty sure the folks posting here have been brainwashed by feel good movies and TV shows. Turn off your TV and turn on your brain.

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