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Bought myself a second hand inbred 29er last year. Love riding it. Tend to do a bit of everything ie big hills and trails, trail centres GT/Inners, messing about in the woods. However after a decent ride ie 3+ hours I tend to feel beaten up on it. As I type this my hands are going kind of arthritic after a 4 hour ride in the Borders on Sunday. Don't feel the same when I ride my Giant Anthem. Is there something inherently punishing about the inbred or 29ers or steel frames?
hardtail vs suspension....... 😉
It's still a hardtail.. Unlike your Anthem...
Less pressure in front tyre, carbon bars & ESI extra chunky grips - job done 🙂
It's anathema on here but I've always found the inbred to be basically a big dead lump. Good handling etc but it doesn't exactly cosset the rider.
Still I wonder if you're maybe a bit tensed up, making things a bit harder/rougher than it needs to be- lots of people stand fairly stiff on their bikes which unintuitively means you get beaten up more, it's better to be soft on the bike. SPD pedals? (it's not something that full suss or SPDs causes but it's something that you can't get away with as easily on flats or a hardtail)
It's anathema on here but I've always found the inbred to be basically a big dead lump. Good handling etc but it doesn't exactly cosset the rider.
Still I wonder if you're maybe a bit tensed up, making things a bit harder/rougher than it needs to be- lots of people stand fairly stiff on their bikes which unintuitively means you get beaten up more, it's better to be soft on the bike. SPD pedals? (it's not something that full suss or SPDs causes but it's something that you can't get away with as easily on flats or a hardtail)
Hard tail or rigid?
Have a look at the set up of your forks and Hold on less tightly.
Northwind, thou shalt pay for thy heresy. The great Lord of Brant shall truly smite thee in the bottom bracket
Your wheels are too big 😉
Are you running it fully rigid ?
I changed the bars on mine for non O/S carbon low risers. I figured the smaller dia & extra bend would introduce a bit of flex. Lizard Skins North Shore grips help too, being quite thick. A big tyre, I like 2.35" Ralphs, run quite soft.
Tried running it fully rigid initially but that was an absolute killer. Got some rebas on now which seem very plush compared to other forks on 26ers I have owned over the years. As for other stuff. Running Smorgsbord tyres which I would have thought were fairly comfy. Am I too tense? Not sure really. When I used to hammer round Mugdock on my Emmelle fully rigid horror machine I can't remember feeling this bad. Am I just getting old or do I need to start changing bits of cockpit kit ie bars, grips etc. Or could it be that the inbred is a bit of lump and I need to invest in a Cotic Solaris or something?
Inbred's aren't the most springy of steel frames.
You could look at trying a more expensive steel frame with thinner tubes or maybe one of the cheaper Ti ones like a Titus Fireline? Maybe even one of the cheap on-one carbon ones although they tend to be fairly stiff too.
Having said all that, I found a Ti seatpost in my Inbred made the ride very comfortable and it's cheaper than a new frame...
I had an image from the thread title of you being pursued caught and beaten by a mob of 26ers wearing white hoods and brandishing pitchforks and torches, just for being different.
I might have been pursued but I would obviously not be caught as everybody knows 29ers are much faster and roll over everything and you don't need to pedal up hill... Actually I am very happy with how it rides, it just beats the crap out of me or maybe that would happen whatever.
Brake lever set up?
Tubeless tyres at low pressures?
Just bought some ESI grips. May try the tubeless/lower pressure route.
replace your inbred with a lighter & more comfortable aluminium frame?