# On-One Inbred for bikepacking?



## zanq (Feb 10, 2004)

I'm curious if anyone is bikepacking on an On-One Inbred? I have one of their older 26er SS-specific frames that I have really liked but my interests and _wants_ have been changing. It mostly sits on the basement collecting dust. I'm planning to go on a trip with some friends using my FS rig but I see myself really enjoying it and I've been considering changing up my stable for a while anyway. Something that is 29er and more versatile would be an attractive replacement.

I'm considering selling the frame and investing in one of their 29er Inbreds that can run SS or geared (similar to Surly). I'm looking at other 29ers with bikepacking in mind but component compatibility would nearly be guaranteed if I kept it in the family. So just looking for some feedback as I learn more!

Thanks


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## eugenemtbing (Nov 16, 2010)

I am close to having mine ready for some overnighters -- an older slot-dropout On One Inbred 29er. What a great bike! I got lots of miles on this bike, both SS and geared trail riding. Started the bikepacking thing recently and realized a good conversion for this was to put a Fargo V2 fork on this Inbred.

I am nearing a point where I have what I need for overnighters in terms of lightweight gear and a mix of homemade and purchased bags. This bike will be great for bikepacking. Hope to be doing so soon with our warm, sunny weather here in Oregon!









http://bikepacking.net/forum/index.php?topic=5307

http://bikepacking.net/forum/index.php?topic=5140


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## eugenemtbing (Nov 16, 2010)

A few more things:

@ I love 29ers and the Inbred geometry is great -- climbs well, descends great, has a good overall feel. It also has a decent-sized triangle for a frame bag.
@ On One/Titus/Planet X is great -- both the UK headquarters and the Portland branch. They make great stuff, have fantastic prices and are super people.
@ I am consistently migrating to wider/fatter tires on all my bikes. The Salsa Enabler fork would be even better than the Fargo because you would still have the Anything Cage mounts but could run a rear tire for swapping and would have huge clearance. Wish I had gone that route. 
@ My other idea is to get an On One Fatty and run it in bikepacking mode in the winter.
@ I did not have any lightweight camping gear or bags, so it has taken some time to pull together/make what I need. I am almost there, though!


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## eugenemtbing (Nov 16, 2010)




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## eugenemtbing (Nov 16, 2010)

Thought you were considering an Enabler fork on your Inbred. Saw this classified by someone selling one:

http://bikepacking.net/forum/index.php?topic=5650


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

I used an On One Scandal 29er for bikepacking before getting my Krampus. It has the same geo as the Inbred just made out of AL.

On One Scandal 29er - a set on Flickr

Worked just fine. The big tire clearance in the frame made me happy.

If I was getting another On One I would get a longer travel fork to slack out the front end. It's a bit more to the twitchy XC side of handling than I want/need. Not terrible in that regard though.


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## eugenemtbing (Nov 16, 2010)

Vik, I would like to hear your thoughts in the Krampus. I am drawn to the 29+ concept but have never ridden one.


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

eugenemtbing said:


> Vik, I would like to hear your thoughts in the Krampus. I am drawn to the 29+ concept but have never ridden one.


I'm loving the Krampus for bikepacking in my area. These are what I would call exploration rides. Resource roads in various states of disrepair, hike-a-bike between rideable sections and riding poorly maintained single/double-track.

So few well maintained dirt/gravel roads and no buff singletrack!

What the Krampus does well is mate a relaxed steering geometry [compared to a XC bike like the Scandal] to big comfy tires with lots of traction. The steel frame/fork helps as well.

I'm able to ride pretty confidently through just about anything I come across that you can get a bike through. I like to bomb downhill and the Krampus is far more relaxed doing that than my Scandal was despite 2.4" 29er tires and a 4" travel fork on the Scandal.

I also have a Pugsley and the big difference is that Surly nailed the steering geo on the Krampus so that it was nimble and light while being relaxed. The Pugs is a lot more tractor/bulldozer. The Krampus just feels like a mountain bike.

I could build up a faster/lighter Scandal 29er which might be a better bike for racing or well maintained buff riding, but those are situations I don't find myself in.

I posted some Krampus pics here.

I posted a recent Krampus bike tour here.

On One built a fatbike so we'll see they may well build a 29+. I like the quality, cost and weight of the Scandal 29er. I also liked that it had swappable dropouts and accepted a dropper post easily. I'd probably like it better with a 5" fork vs. the 4" fork I had on it.

One nice thing with the Krampus is that if you have a 29er it will take all your normal MTB parts as a swap across so you can just buy a frame/fork if that appeals to you. I ran the 29+ tires on some Stan's Flow rims which are much narrower than the Surly 50mm rims or even the Velocity P35s that Surly says are okay. Although I noticed some improvement moving to 50mm rims eventually I would say you get 75% of the performance with narrower rims and no real problems.

So I basically stripped down my Scandal and moved the parts to a Krampus frame.


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## zanq (Feb 10, 2004)

vikb said:


>


I continue to mull over the Krampus as well. My next frame needs to be versatile (e.g. easily run geared or SS) and the Krampus does this along with adding pseudo-fat tire capabilities. I know that as soon as I settle on a "standard" 29er frame (like an Inbred 29er), the desire or opportunity will be presented for a ride that will require fat tires (or fat tires would make life exponentially better).

One issue that I've learned with the On-One Inbred 29er frames is that mech disk brakes have trouble fitting in the rear triangle without modifications (lower profile pinch bolt or larger disk rotor).


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

zanq said:


> I continue to mull over the Krampus as well. My next frame needs to be versatile (e.g. easily run geared or SS) and the Krampus does this along with adding pseudo-fat tire capabilities. I know that as soon as I settle on a "standard" 29er frame (like an Inbred 29er), the desire or opportunity will be presented for a ride that will require fat tires.


I understand. Hence why I have a Scandal 29er frame hanging up in my office and a Krampus rolling around. I could put "normal" 29er tires on the Krampus, but haven't felt the need yet.

I should note these are not fat tires though. Extra traction = yes. A little bit of float = yes. Anything approaching fatbike performance = no.

The Krampus is a big 29er not a small fatbike.


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## zanq (Feb 10, 2004)

vikb said:


> I should note these are not fat tires though. Extra traction = yes. A little bit of float = yes. Anything approaching fatbike performance = no.
> 
> The Krampus is a big 29er not a small fatbike.


Thanks for your thoughts. Maybe I'll stick with my current list of frames and keep the Krampus on the fringe. Frames I'm comparing include:

- On-One Inbred 29er
- Soma Juice
- Salsa El Mariachi
- Surly Ogre
- Surly Krampus

The Soma and Salsa frames have jumped in the lead as my top 2 picks.


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## eugenemtbing (Nov 16, 2010)

I have some of the same indecision regarding 29+ vs fat capabilities. My friends have said what Vik just wrote: that 29+ will offer more cush and some float on certain surfaces (compared to standard 29ers) but won't be able to conquer snow, sand, mud, etc. like a true fat bike.

And a point of clarification on brake mounting on the Inbred -- I have built up a handful of Inbred frames (26er and 29er), and the only brake caliper fit problem I am aware of is with small frame sizes (16" 26er frame in my case -- one of my kids' bikes). 

In that instance, the rear triangle of the chainstay/seatstay intersection is acute, so the BB7 caliper swing arm could not travel completely. A switch to a 180mm rotor fixed the problem.

I know other people have used larger rear brake rotors on small Inbred frames to avoid this issue.

Zanq, as for your list of bikes to choice from, I ride with guys who have Somas and Salsas and I have a lot of On Ones, and we love them all. All great choices; just pros and cons with each frame. And in my mind, those are simply reasons to build up yet another bike!


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

One more thought - if a fatbike is something you are keen on - most of them can accept a 29er/29+ wheelset. So with a 2nd wheel set you can repurpose your fatbike to a 29er bikepacking rig when desired.


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