Inbred or Scandal?

Cheeky
Cheeky Posts: 113
edited April 2010 in MTB buying advice
Just come back from a weekend at Afan and just about had enough of my Cove Handjob beating me up and lifting its front wheel at every opportunity! To be fair to Cove I may well have bought the frame one size too small but for a steel frame its as hard as hell.

I just want to replace the frame and was tossing up between the On One Inbred or Scandal; most of my riding is XC with the occasional trail centre day and I do like a "real steel" ride. How much like steel can Sacndium be?

Welcome any suggestions/comments, Thanks.

Comments

  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    They can be exactly the same in feel if designed so. The scandal was designed to give a compliant ride.

    Note that it is not Scandium anymore (not that it makes any difference to feel - the new frame and old are aluminium alloys with different compositions).
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    I'd go with the Scandal... I keep accidentally slagging mine but that's just because I wanted it to do a job it didn't want to do, as a racey XC bike it was fantastic but I wanted a longer travel trail bike and it wasn't all that good at that. It had a nice compliant ride, not so massively different from my Soul in rear end feel- I reckon if you put Inbred stickers on one, most people would believe it's steel. And it's a fair chunk lighter of course.

    There's a price difference of course but I reckon it's worth it.
    Uncompromising extremist
  • stubs
    stubs Posts: 5,001
    +1 for the Scandal a bit lighter than an Inbred handles the same and to me feels the same. My mate has an Inbred set up singlespeed and he reckons it is a bit stiffer than my Scandal but I cant feel it. If I was buying a new hardtail to replace my Scandal I would buy another Scandal.
    Fig rolls: proof that god loves cyclists and that she wants us to do another lap
  • Cheeky
    Cheeky Posts: 113
    Thanks for the words fo wisdom friends.

    Hey Northwind, do you struggle taking yours to places like Afan et al? I only go oncer or twice a year so next time I go I might have the FS option, but interested to know where yoru Scandal struggled?

    Thanks
  • joshtp
    joshtp Posts: 3,966
    out of interest what tyres were you running.. people laugh when i say i run a 2.5 on my HT on the back, but in rocky area's like down here in S. wales (i live right by afan) big tyres are a must on a HT. just for the cushioning they provide. also, and i know it sounds funny, but its true, try thinking about technique, i dont know where your from, but often a rider from an area with mostly smooth trails can struggle with the rocks that they simply arnt used to. try a bigger tyre, and get a bit more practice at hitting reall bumpy stuff before splashing a wad on a new frame.... if you are gonna get a frame though, a scandel is the same but lighter, so scandal. personaly, other than for ss's and for the price i dont think the inbred has too much purpose, the 456 and scandal though.... now they are awsome
    I like bikes and stuff
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    Cheeky wrote:
    Hey Northwind, do you struggle taking yours to places like Afan et al? I only go oncer or twice a year so next time I go I might have the FS option, but interested to know where yoru Scandal struggled?

    Well, I sold it after I rode a Soul... But, I have to say it didn't struggle anywhere, I'm pretty sure I had it with me the first time I went to innerleithen and it did glentress and drumlanrig blacks for sure, and it did OK, just that the Soul or a 456 would have been better. I ended up giving up on the 130mm setting at drum even though I'd have liked it, because it was so frustrating on the really nadgery stuff, it just felt unstable and about a mile long at lower speed.

    I would still ride one absolutely everywhere I'd ride the Soul! Or a PA or 456 for that matter. But I'd just enjoy it less and probably have more trouble riding stuff.
    Uncompromising extremist
  • Pudseyp
    Pudseyp Posts: 3,514
    Cheeky...silly question but what lenghth of stem you running...if a short one try a longer stem that may help..
    Tomac Synper 140 Giant XTC Alliance 1
    If the world was flat, I wouldn't be riding !
  • Cheeky
    Cheeky Posts: 113
    I'm on a 110mm stem already, just tried flipping it over but its a low rise anyway!