Shand Launches Ioma Hardtail with a 60-Degree Head Angle

Sep 19, 2022
by Ed Spratt  
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Scottish brand Shand has revealed its new adjustable hardtail at the recent Tweedlove festival.

The hardtail is called Ioma, the Scottish Gaelic word for many/multi. It's a whole new design for the brand, with the aim of being adaptable from a 120mm bike to taking big hits with a 170mm fork (that 58-degree head angle is aimed at riders wanting to run a 27.5" fork). Shand's Ioma is handbuilt in Scotland with a mix of Columbus Zona and Reynolds 631 steel. The Ioma uses a PF47 bottom bracket with a Rideworks EBB. The rear end is 148mm Boost and uses Paragon Machine Works dropouts.

To make the Ioma really stand out from other hardtails, Shand has built the bike with a very slack 58-degree head angle in its lowest setting using an angled headset. The standard geometry does steepen the front end slightly to a still-slack 60 degrees paired with a 76-degree seat tube angle.

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Each frame is supplied with a Works Components angled headset and a Rideworks EBB.

As the name's origins in Scottish Gaelic implies, the Ioma allows quite a few different setups with the possibility of running the bike in full 29, mullet or 27.5 front and rear without any claimed change in geometry by adjusting the Rideworks EBB. Shand also includes a Works Components 2.0° angled headset to allow a change in head angle from 58 to 60 to 62 degrees. Alongside offering a choice of pretty slack head angles, we were told this adjustment is also for riders who may want to run the bike with shorter forks and not want to throw the geometry off.

In terms of sizing, there are plenty of options with sizes small through to XL. As Shand builds each bike to order within each size you can pick a different top tube length of either 640, 630 or 620mm and you can choose the exact location of your external cable guides.

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The Shand Ioma is available now for £1,195.00 and you can find out more here.

Posted In:
Reviews and Tech Press Releases Hardtails Shand Cycles Shand Ioma


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182 Comments
  • 693 7
 I always assumed the queen was just some unnecessary figure head. But I guess I was wrong, cause only a week after her death Britain has clearly gone off the deep end.
  • 34 6
 If this doesnt make comment gold then I dont know what will
  • 37 4
 They're Scottish. They have have been waiting for this for years. Another way to speed up the re-re-re referendum and then they can separate and make Ally McCoist their own king.
  • 21 1
 @BentonFraser: Died in Scotland. Coincidence? Who's to say?
  • 5 20
flag flipoffthemonkeys (Sep 19, 2022 at 10:56) (Below Threshold)
 i hear they might consider re-naming Balmoral Castle to Mortal Ball Castle, but that might just be some rubbish I saw on reddit...
  • 6 0
 @BentonFraser:If Ally McCoist passes Frankie Boyle has volunteered his services FOC.
  • 5 1
 No, you were right all along.
  • 1 0
 @Bitelio: I did think they should have called it the merengue.
  • 112 2
 The Brit Donut
  • 57 3
 Do the Brit's have donuts like us across the pond or would it be a Grimp Crumpet?
  • 9 1
 The grim up north!
  • 64 0
 The Grim Scone.
  • 6 2
 The Geezer
  • 4 2
 the bollocks
  • 2 2
 it'sa crumpet
  • 26 46
flag BentonFraser (Sep 19, 2022 at 10:10) (Below Threshold)
 @vondur: do Brits have donuts? What f*cking planet do you live on? Have you ever made it out of your back yard?
  • 65 0
 @BentonFraser: so do they?
  • 2 1
 @BentonFraser:
  • 39 3
 @artistformlyknowasdan: we do. But they're not a national icon like you. And we do prefer a good crumpet or scone generally, unless they're morrisons raspberry jam donuts which are beyond God tier. Kirspy kremes are overpriced diabetus.
  • 1 0
 @terrylm: Aptly hard as well.
  • 2 1
 @artistformlyknowasdan: yep....probably generally not very good ones compared with North American offerings though.
  • 35 0
 @terrylm: in Cornwall they would run it with 27.5 up front and 29 at the back. In Devon they would run it the other way around. Civil war would ensue.

Is a cream tea 'joke' too niche for pinkbike?
  • 1 0
 @inked-up-metalhead: They also are not a breakfast food...
  • 3 0
 @inked-up-metalhead: if we went with ‘grim pastry’ then none of these sugary treats would get left out.
Pro donut tip if you live in North America, Kroger stores will sell dozen donuts for about 50% off after around 7pm. Put em in microwave for about 10-15 seconds and their soft and fresh
  • 4 5
 @kevinturner12: thing is, I've never found an actual consensus from either side on which way is 'correct'.

[It's cream then jam, because spreading cream on top of jam doesn't work]
  • 11 0
 It'd be The Dour Crumpet.
  • 4 0
 ...The Deep Fried Mars Bar?
  • 2 0
 The Bronut*
  • 1 1
 @vondur: Well, it's Scottish. So it would be a scone.
  • 3 3
 @Tambo: as an impartial resident of both counties (but currently the posher one), spreading jam on first makes the most sense ie. Cornish. But. That’s because we are a generation of folk that use a knife to apply jam, butter, etc. With a spoon it matters not.
Ultimately, live in Devon, day out on Cornwall, jam first.
  • 7 2
 @ilovedust: good luck getting cream to stick better to jam than it does to a spoon... lol
  • 2 0
 @Tambo: exactly, means someone never actually spread the damn thing...
  • 2 0
 The grim Yorkshire Pudding
  • 1 0
 @vondur: a CrimpCrumpet is a just a Pasty.
  • 1 0
 @vondur: the British have the best donuts. Fresh out of a deep fat fryer and covered in sugar at the seaside. US donuts just don't compare..
  • 27 3
 "To make the Ioma really stand out from other hardtails, Shand has built the bike with a very slack 58-degree head angle in its lowest setting."

That's a stupid reason to make such drastic geometry choices. Surely it's not just to stand out, but to suit some specific ride style/fantasy.
  • 65 10
 Telescoping forks essentially stop functioning at 62 degrees. Quite possible that the designers just wanted to experience next level bushing bind.
  • 22 0
 @DirtCrab: A rigid bike, but with all the creaking and maintenance of a fancy squishy fork. Where do I sign up?!
  • 23 0
 @DirtCrab: not doubting you here but can you elaborate or provide additional info on this? I'm interested to know where that "line" is between functioning fork and binding fork.
  • 37 0
 The geometry is optimized for shark jumping.
  • 48 1
 @DirtCrab: that must be an estimate, at best. There are too many variables.

For example, on a DH bike : you hop on the bike, rear sags 30% and front 15%, suddenly the actual HA goes from 63 to 61° (just guessing here).
On this hardtail, only front sags, and HA will go from 60 to 62°. Steeper than the DH bike in real life.

Also it is only a compromise... Flat trail, with the direction of your weight pointing straight downwards in a vertical line? That's 30° of angle creating bushing binding.
Riding a 30° slope? Gravity is in line with the fork. Breaking in the 30° slope? Bushing binding again, but one that would be helped by even slacker HA.
  • 11 0
 @Uuno: I have a bike with 63.5deg HA and my lyrik is buttery, not sure a few more degrees will have that performance destroyed. Something tells me they might have even tested it to see. But agree that once it's pointed down things are gonna be very differnt and no chance you buy this to cruise on flat land. Hardtails can go way slacker than squishy bikes and feel composed.
  • 15 2
 @dsciulli19: Unfortunately, the only worthwhile study I've seen on bushing bind vs HTA was subject to NDA (ie. I can't share it). The short version is that friction increases drastically and absorptiveness falls off a cliff at the inflection point (indicated at 62.0 degrees with no mention of sag IIRC). Interestingly, increasing bushing overlap doesn't fix the issue, which is (allegedly) one of the primary reasons that modern motocross bikes have settled at 63.5-64 degrees, with extra steering stability being sought via fork offset, weight distribution, and steering dampers, rather than slacker steering angles. As you might imagine, Honda, Yamaha, KTM, etc. have done far more testing in this arena than the entire MTB industry combined.

In other words, keep your eyes peeled for the return of Hopey Steering Dampers as the must-have fast guy accessory of the 2024 season...
  • 3 1
 @DirtCrab: I'm curious, if the main issue is basically friction, is it simply too difficult to use something else?
Cannondale used roller bearings in Leftys.
I am sure Honda etc have thought of it, so if it would help achieving some holy grail performance, which only the bushing solution is limiting, it just seems that slacker just isn't always better
  • 3 0
 @DirtCrab: This is very interesting! Now I'm even more curious to try it. I doubt this would be a new standard as that is gettin properly floppy, but wonder if part of the reason Moto gets diminishing returns after about 62 that the fork has to support way more weight.

Maybe what we really need is a 55 degree hardtail with a linkage fork.. (insert puke emoji)
  • 3 0
 @DirtCrab: BTR Fabrications has had their Belter hardtail for quite some time. 61deg HA with 150 or 160mm travel forks. Personally I'm running their Ranger hardtail with a more conventional 63deg HA with 120mm travel fork. Works perfectly fine. To say they essentially stop working is quite something. I'd say it depends on how they're loaded. If you only want to do low speed hucks to flats then yeah, you may be better off with a steeper HA from the huck-era. But if the incoming load is the resultant of a load from below (to counteract gravity) and the obstacle in front of you trying to slow you down, it may work out nicer than having a more vertical HA. Probably also depends on how you ride. Whether you still keep full weight over the front as you touch the obstacle or that you'd already unweight it a bit.
  • 3 0
 @DirtCrab: Cool info and too bad you can’t share the study. Wondering if the study compensated for the slope of the average trail that a slack bike like this is designed for (let’s say 5-25 degree slope). Wouldn’t that effectively steepen the HA, and even more so on a hard tail where all the weight transfer goes directly into the fork?
  • 2 0
 It's not. It's marketing strategy and it's working since we're talking about them right now. They only had to make one for everyone to remember their name and ridiculous head angle. Not dissimilar to the Doctahawk release strategy. Make one wild hardtail, run a PR campaign to get people talking, manufacturer locally on demand, use the hype to sell your other bikes.
  • 1 0
 @GTscoob: When sagged, the geometry of the Doctahawl wasn't too different to that of my BTR Ranger. The Ranger works well, no reason to assume the Doctahawk doesn't. Have you found a negative review about that particular bike?
  • 1 0
 @vinay: no, but it's really easy to make an attention-grabbing one-off bike that helps sell the hardtails that work better for the trails that you'd be inclined to ride a hardtail on.
  • 4 1
 Motocross bikes aren't used the same way that MTB bikes are being used. In the terrain they are being used on, they are still mostly level. An MTB built with DH in mind is mainly used pointed downward. Going down a mild 6* DH and that 62* head angle is no longer 62*.

Trail bikes that see less steep terrain have steeper head angles, and even more so with XC bikes.

Not defending this specific bike, or the idea of building a bike with such an extreme head angle, just pointing out that MX bikes are a different use case compared to what we are doing. Less apples vs oranges and more like comparing Granny Smith apples with Red Delicious.
  • 3 3
 @JSTootell: ha remains the same no matter the incline as it's relative to the ground it follows, ha has a direct effect on speed traveling , slow speed maneuverability regardless of incline, still sucks.
  • 3 1
 @adespotoskyli: Nah, the original comment is based on the notion that due to gravity, there would be a large bending component on the fork due to the angle. If the HA would be 90deg, in static condition (constant speed or standing still) with the bike horizontal all the force will be axial for the fork and there will be no bending. If the HA is 0deg, under the same condition there will be nothing compressing the fork but it will all lead to a bendig moment. Now if these same bikes would be on a vertical wall (and you somehow make the wheels stick to the wall so that you can actually apply enough braking force to keep the speed constant) the loadings on the fork will be the other way around. Now obviously we're not riding vertical walls and head angles aren't as extreme either. But imagining this may help you understand what @JSTootell is aiming at.
  • 2 0
 @vinay: good points sir.
  • 2 0
 @JSTootell: this is totally right. A super steep HA is only really good for steep DH.
DH bikes are built to descend not to pedal.

If you want a DH hardtail then good luck. The rest of us probably save the HT for pedally stuff and enjoying a livelier feeling steeper HA on mixed terrain.

Still it gets them headlines and publicity and hundreds of people gossiping on here about it so I really think the actual aim is achieved.
  • 2 0
 @BentonFraser: Never try to make sense of an aggro hardtail. They just are what they are and you get it or don't. Like music.
  • 1 0
 @vinay: going down a mild 6* dh and that 62* head angle is no longer 62, as per JStootell indicates the change in terrain incline is related to ha, the steeper the slacker, but that's not the case, a 90 deg fork would not budge moving forward because bump hits will be pushing it backwards binding it instead of moving up and out of the way, an almost horizontal fork will also bind from the systems weght instead of the bumps but still won't budge. Some fork designs (UD) tolerate slacker ha some less, but you can strike a balance between handling/stability with rake, mx bikes haven't changed much from a ha perspective in many years but have been substantially expiremented with different rakes to acchieve different handling caracteristics. There's that much slackness that a mtb fork can take
  • 5 0
 @BentonFraser: Apparently a hardtail is different for different people. I think bikes with rear suspension lend themselves better for pedaling over rough terrain than hardtail, where you're better off playing with loading/unloading and pumping to preserve or gain speed over such terrain. I don't think hardtails (or at least the likes we're talking about here) are chosen for their pedallability. Whichever way you look at it, we're most demanding on our forks when descending. Descends don't need to be long or fast, they'll help you too on slower descends with steep sections. And I definitely believe that the slacker head angles work really well there. As for the climbs, demands on front wheel suspension are lower. Rear wheel suspension would help for traction, but simply isn't there. Some claim a long front center (with respect to the rear center) caused by a slack head angle may cause a wandering front wheel, but that's simply because of a wrong weight distribution. A full suspension rider may like to sit down on a climb, but that's not going to work well on a hardtail. Stand up and you can always distribute your load properly for climbing. Sure, rear wheel traction is always going to be a challenge on a hardtail. But that's better than to have it sorted by rear suspension and all you're left to do is sit, suffer and pedal.

Look, if one thinks a bike (whichever bike) isn't for them, then just don't buy it. These bikes are bought by those who actually ride and appreciate them.
  • 1 0
 @vinay: superb Wink
  • 4 0
 @vinay: aggro hardtails are like classic muscle cars, they do everything objectively worse aside outside of out of the saddle pedalling on flatter ground (vs a big enduro bike) but they have a serious charm about them. On long fast tracks that aren't to gnarly I love them for keeping things exciting. If I'm doing legit terrain they are far more painful.
  • 1 0
 @Uuno: as the fork compresses on a hardtail your head angle gets steeper. So if it's 58° with a 160 fork when it's fully compressed it'll end up been something like a 64° head angle. But yeah I agree they've been saying for years that if you slacken bikes HA but a.couple of degrees the fork will bind and it's probably true but they were saying that when head angles were 68°
  • 1 0
 @Uuno: In the case of riding a pretty steep 30º slope, the ground would actually react with a force PERPENDICULAR to the slope of 86.6% of what it would on a flat terrain so it's roughly the same . Personally, I can understand that hardtail angles steppen when sagged but don't forget a hardtail goes much slower than a DH bike and any of the benefits from a super slack head angle apply. As others said, the fork may eat some bumps, roots and rocks decently but it will act like a rigid fork in pretty much all landings. So it's a bit silly. I wish standard geometry made a comeback. For most of us bike control and fun factor > straight line speed!
  • 1 0
 @Zeeroone: The normal force component is perpendicular to the surface indeed, but if you want to keep your speed steady on a descend you'll have to brake, which is a force component parallel to the ground. If you rely on the front brake exclusively, the resultant (of normal and braking force) would be parallel the fork if HA=60deg. Sure people will use a bit of rear brake too yet then again you'll also have to deal with square hits which would act like a parallel force larger than the brake force required to keep speed steady.

As for your wishes, I'm sure there are hardtails available with your preferred geometry too. No need to wait for any comeback!
  • 2 0
 @jesse-effing-edwards: what a great analogy! They (aggressive hardtails) aren't for everyone, they aren't the fastest, but they are a hell of a time. Just don't accidentally run too much rear tire pressure. Or too little.
  • 1 0
 @dsciulli19: And don't ride into a rock garden like you're on your enduro bike hahaha

I think steel HTs look the best, too. Still stare at mine. The old Ripmo gets most of the riding, but it's just a tool.
  • 2 0
 @briain: well... Yes. The HA steepening on a hardtail is what I mentioned. I didn't make accurate calculations though.

@Zeeroone: what? As @vinay says, we have to brake, and going at a steady speed, the ground force acts perpendicular to the ground, and the braking force acts in the slope direction. In the end, the sum going downwards.
What gives you 86,6%?
I am merely pointing out how "under 62° forks don't work" is, at best, a rule of thumb.
I haven't ridden a 60° HA hardtail, I'm not trying to convince anyone about their usefulness.

@vinay: whether you use the front brake, or rear, or a combination of both, as long as you don't lose traction it's all the same. It's just that we automatically assume the front brake is what makes the fork dive, because grabbing a handful of rear brake just leads to a skid, not an "anchor dropping down" feeling.
  • 1 0
 @jesse-effing-edwards: yes...but you probably did not get the mtb habit to avoid pain!
  • 1 0
 @Uuno: Nah, I didn't mean to talk about fork dive. But if one theoretically would manage to brake with the rear brake only, there is no brake force acting on the tire hence there will be no force acting on the fork parallel to the ground. The fork will definitely dive when you brake with the rear brake only. The thing is of course, most of the time people will lose rear wheel traction when they do that, which in turn implies that the deceleration will be less and the fork will dive less. That's for decelerating at least. If you use (whichever) brake to keep the speed steady (so not to decelerate) the fork won't dive unless you're putting more weight over the front than you'd do when riding on level ground.
  • 26 0
 i'd throw some supermonsters on it
  • 2 0
 best choice by far!
  • 25 1
 Wouldn't feel confident casing a jump on this bike :-) I feel sorry for the fork.
  • 22 2
 HI Guys and Girls,
Brad here, Operations Manager at Shand Cycles.
WE JUST NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE ACKNOWLEDGES THE HEADANGLE IS 60° STANDARD, IT IS ONLU GOING TO BE 58° WITH THE WORKS COMPONENTS 2.0° ANGLESET, THE PURPOSE OF THIS IS MORE SO TO GIVE SIMLIAR HEADANGLE TO THOSE RUNNING 27.5 SPECIFIC FORK OVER A 29ER FORK.

SO IT IS A 60° HEAD ANGLE HARDTAIL THAT CAN BE ADAPTED.
  • 3 0
 @Webradders
Pinkbike sacked it once again…
Can we please get your comment to the top?
  • 9 0
 Hey Brad i think 58 is too slack, you should've gone for 60
  • 1 0
 @n734535: you may want to read again what Brad wrote Smile .
You can go totally bonkers and go with 62 even!
  • 1 0
 @sorrymissjackson: It doesn't say 52 anywhere, wtf
  • 1 0
 @n734535:
> Shand also includes a Works Components 2.0° angled headset to allow a change in head angle from 58 to 60 to 62 degrees.
  • 1 0
 @n734535: but you are right, nobody said anything about 52°.
  • 3 0
 No need to shout...
  • 21 2
 A hardtail has no business in terrain where a 58* HTA is useful and that aside you aren't getting any traction on that front wheel when it's that's far ahead of your hands regardless of any other factors. This is maximum stupid for bike geo.
  • 2 1
 I agree
  • 21 0
 Feels like I'm just being trolled with these numbers.
  • 19 0
 Long low slack is really getting out of shand
  • 22 5
 Pressfit BB? Really? I thought we got over that already!
  • 5 1
 Pressfit eccentric BB allows for a cleaner SS setup.
  • 6 0
 Softest hardcore bike ever. Hard no.
  • 9 1
 @8a71b4: Pressfit eccentric BB also allows for a lot of noise.
  • 13 1
 @makkelijk84: Not if the BB shell is manufactured to the proper tolerance. The only reason why pressfit BB's suck is because they're put on frames that suck.
  • 5 1
 @c-radicallis: #HambiniFanboi
  • 15 0
 58° HTA paired with a 160mm rear rotor...
  • 51 0
 you brake by riding into things, fork stops you like a buffer
  • 1 0
 @SickEdit: ahhhhh... I wondered how they would retain some level of compliancy. But riding into a wall or tree head on should definitely overcome bushing friction. Thanks!
  • 1 0
 Gotta keep it interesting, I guess.
  • 1 0
 Brakes only slow you down.
  • 2 0
 @JSTootell: Coward levers*
  • 11 0
 In the early 2000s I put a Hanebrink 7" dual crown fork on my Azonic DS1 alu hardtail. It was super fun for a few months until I cased and blew the head tube off the bike. Seeing this bike is giving me some smiles.
  • 10 1
 I just bought 2 BMX bikes with head tube angles of 73 and 74 degrees respectively. I'm definitely not rad or cool.
  • 23 0
 Not yet,but after a while you can brag about having a BMX background. Well played.
  • 7 0
 Username doesn't check out.
  • 5 0
 Guys and girls, I'd genuinely like to thank one and all (apart from donut jibes and of course Scots predudice Smile ).
This feedback and opinion is exactly what we were looking for, as after all you lot ride them (some possibly tamer than others).
There is much more to come.......
  • 1 0
 Send me one and I'll give you all the feedback you ever dreamed of Brad Smile . Honestly, I think it looks rad and I applaud the stubbornness to build a bike like that. Only riding will tell if it works or not (I suppose that was part of the development) - so let the smarty pants be smart.
  • 2 0
 @sorrymissjackson: that's actually quite tempting.
  • 10 0
 Pop goes the bushings!
  • 8 0
 I don't know what type of hit requiring 170mm of front travel I would want to take with 0mm of rear travel.
  • 28 0
 bong hit
  • 9 2
 Clearly you have never ridden a hardtail
  • 6 0
 Lot of negativity, but who from their personal experience has ridden a bike like this before? It seems like too much, but I would reserve judgement until it is reviewed.
  • 4 0
 Mine is 61.5°. Not sub-60° but quite slack for "usual" standards. I love it. It's a Hardtail, mind.
  • 5 0
 I’m into radical interesting shit, I can’t believe how conservative and stuck in their ways most of these comments are. We’d still be on soft steel clunkers with 1.25” tyres if bike makers purely listened to you lot
  • 3 0
 OG clunkers had fat tires, geometry close to a modern enduro bike except for slack seat angles-and that was a compromise to keep the seat out of the way.

It was the “I don’t like how that looks” crowd that led to the dark ages of 71/73 geometry hardtails with small wheels and narrow tires.
  • 1 0
 Some of us have been riding around on HTs with 61deg head angles since 2011...
  • 4 1
 We’ve seen the Grim Donut. Now we have the crusty cruller??

Yeah, you’ll be able to roll through anything on this battleship-right until both ankles snap.

If your car has a carburetor and an ECU, your race stiff skis have tele bindings, and you play your techno records on a tube amp-this is your bike.

A particular kink, but kind of neat.
  • 3 1
 PF47? Is that a typo for T47? Because I've never heard of this standard and it's not on any list of standards I can find.

The Shand website also says the BB can be supplied for 24 mm Shimano (exists) or 30 mm DUB (does not exist; should read 28.99 mm). Making me question their attention to detail.
  • 1 2
 A T47 bottom bracket is a PF30 BB shell with an internal thread. You can basically thread any PF30 shell to accept T47. (any metal shell, I wouldn't attempt to thread a carbon one.) Rodeo Labs was offering this as a service to their PF30 equipped bikes. Most companies won't advertise this, since they'd rather sell you an entire frame.
  • 6 0
 @BikesBoatsNJeeps: So... does the Ioma have a T47? Or a PF30? I think you're agreeing with me that PF47 is not a thing?
  • 2 0
 @barp: unless someone changed the naming convention while I was sleeping.
  • 5 0
 I can't help reading Shand in Sean Connery's voice. It will never go away now....
  • 4 0
 He went to the beach and now he's got some stuck in the crack of his arse.
  • 5 0
 At first I read 58 and thought, man, that's pretty steep/outdated. Then realized we have entered an entire new decade
  • 3 0
 Ha, so I wasn't the only one!
  • 4 0
 This bike is cool for the same reason a 600hp corolla is cool. Can it put down even half of it's power? No. But that's not the point.
  • 4 2
 My hardtail has a 63 deg HA and my full-sus 65 deg. They both have 160mm forks, with the full-sus having 157mm rear travel.

When I’m riding them the full-sus feels slightly slacker because it sags more at the back than the front (who doesn’t run more sag at the back than the front - plus rear travel is near vertical, front travel is only 90% vertical). And the hardtail only sags at the front so it steepens. The more travel, the more this static vs sagged (vs dynamic) geometry varies.

A 58 deg HA hardtail will have similar sagged geometry to a typical downhill bike and be less slack around the dynamic ride height.
  • 2 2
 Yep think that didn't need saying - we're all there
  • 4 1
 @BentonFraser: you might be but most MTBers are clueless about the difference in dynamic geometry between full-sus and hardtail bikes - “why would you want a hardtail that’s as slack as a downhill bike?” “because it isn’t once you’re riding it”.
  • 2 0
 While I will concede that maybe their sizing chart is simply wrong, like many others I'm struggling to understand why this bike exists for a few reasons:

1. Reach is actually very small compared to the current competition with similar (effective) seat tube angles. 458mm for an XL - about the same as my 2016 trek stache. ETT is 640 or 650, hard to tell as I think there are errors in the sizing chart - but also almost the same as the 2016 trek stache... I know that reach grows with fork compression on a hardtail - but the reach seems too small for a STA of 76° and the ETT is too small full stop, unless designed for a 90mm stem...

2. If the bike was intended to have variable angle headset, why not ovalise the headtube so it is (much) easier to align? I understand that there is an aftermarket for this product and works do make a nice version of it, but if intended from the factory, this seems to be an obvious thing to help customers ride with aligned bearings

3. Cables running under the downtube. I think I would even prefer internal cabling to this.

4. Standover is not mentioned however it appears no attempt has been made to minimise this

5. I'm not sure an EBB can deal with 20mm of wheel radius difference - I think a more suitable solution is two different dropouts.

6. Pricing seems very high, I think there are better deals in the UK for similar bikes (with functional geo charts even). Could buy something from the competition and your own angleset... or your own custom frame. I have a custom frame on order and while I think I have actually made some mistakes from it, I can get another one made and both will still be cheaper than a ioma.

I must admit I have not heard of shard before, only looking at the Ioma I thought the bike was a joke however their shug does look like quite a nice hardtail indeed! Strange that the ioma has (much) worse cable routing than the shug.
  • 1 1
 The cable routing is completely at your own choice (written in description)
www.shandcycles.com/shop/frames/ioma-frame
  • 2 0
 @Webradders: Fair enough, I missed that in the text. To be honest with the EBB text I zoned out pretty quickly!

Might be an idea to update your geo chart? At the moment the S and M have a longer wheelbase than the L...
  • 1 0
 @DaveRobinson81: done
  • 2 0
 @Webradders: Geo chart on your hp is still missleading, or wrong.
  • 2 0
 @Webradders: Hi there, I'm not trying to be a d!ck, but @Muellbeutel is right - geo chart still not consistent. I wish I could help you but I have no idea how! Good luck sorting it out.
  • 1 0
 @Muellbeutel: it's in process of being rectified, it's all quite complex as tube length options aren't all in there.
  • 5 0
 my Kona Bike Hot Rod has em all beat by a longshot..........
  • 3 0
 Like another famous Scotsman, Colin McRae, used to say: "to know where the limit is, you first have to cross it". Mission accomplished!
  • 2 1
 love the comments section.
Its like when bikes went from 67 degrees to 65 then 63 in the last 15 years.
Its like when wheels went from 26 to 27.5 to 29 to mullet
So much push back about people pushing the boundaries.

People bashing the shorter frame after what Jack Moir just did at the EWS (again).

Wouldnt buy one myself, wait for others to refine things then buy something.
  • 4 1
 I know, it's quite entertaining watching the highly experienced engineers give feedback along with their evolutionary progress through bike styles Smile
  • 5 1
 This is honestly such a stupid design for so many reasons...
  • 3 0
 Is that 58° with a 2 deg headset in and 150mm travel forks sagged? With the same size wheels, or when run mullet?
  • 1 0
 No, 60° fixed frame, Pinkbike have not made not clear that it can be 58° with an angleset.
www.shandcycles.com/shop/frames/ioma-frame
  • 4 0
 We need bikes. Twice as long as a man.
  • 4 0
 Some men are longer than others.
  • 1 0
 There’s lots of R631 hard tails with steeper head angles and have a need for gussets.

How has Shand managed to make one without the need for them?
  • 5 1
 Shand = hand shandy?
  • 5 2
 Publicity stunt. Probably a one-off frame they won't intend on selling
  • 6 3
 Sorry, we already are; www.shandcycles.com/shop/frames/ioma-frame
Wink
  • 3 0
 @Webradders: Let us know how many you actually sell!
  • 3 0
 well this is a grim discovery
  • 3 0
 1200 for a steel frame with a headset that came out a decade ago
  • 3 0
 First impression, Front Wheel Flop from Hades.
  • 2 0
 this makes a lot of sense, as with hardtails steepen a lot through the chunder
  • 2 0
 Surely if you are going to the effort of debuting a new bike you could at least sort the cable lengths and routing out
  • 2 0
 Where’s the Schwinn Chopper bike when you need it!
  • 2 0
 Some of y'all have no love for your ankles.
  • 3 1
 Steering is....under rated.
  • 2 0
 Only one whaubohtl holder???
  • 2 0
 For once, it doesn't look like a session...
  • 3 0
 The Grim Haggis
  • 1 0
 Lovely stuff. My HTs 65 deg has is way too steep once you sit on the bike...
  • 2 0
 This bicycle is SICK
  • 2 0
 58!! What's next, 45?
  • 8 3
 This is not where the industry is going, just because you can make it, doesn't mean you'll sell it.
But you are right,
how far will they go?
how far can they go, before the bike becomes completely useless?
  • 4 0
 @Rexuis-Twin: Id reccomend riding a super slack hardtail before you solidify your view on this one. I've been running a 62 degree HT on my Marino Hardtail with a 170mm travel fork. Its a very different experience but surprisingly functional. Maybe This particular bike is a bit outside of the limits. But it's nice to find these limits all the same :-D
  • 3 1
 @Phaethon85: Lotta hardtail experts out there although very few have ridden once since their first bike in 1998 or ever in the case of many younger people. RS-291 owner here and it's my go-to on anything not really rough. 63.5 head angle with a 160 and climbs just fine.
  • 1 0
 @Phaethon85: I ordered my Marino 4 weeks ago, but not as slack as yours. Looking forward to building and riding it this winter.
  • 2 0
 @AppleJack76: Congrats on the purchase. Marino and his crew are super rad to work with. I'm sure you're going to love it.
  • 3 6
 in my opinion..experience 63.63.5 degrees which is borderline on a hardtrail the fun factor is lost... the stupid SICK has forced the radical geometry which makes no sense 64 degrees is best on a hardtrail or 63.5 but 63.5 degrees is very bad when blurring, downhill gives good confidence but climbing is not good but everyone likes different settings ...
  • 4 0
 BTR fabrications started offering a HT frame with 61deg HA in 2012. My personal HT has 62.5deg HA and I wouldn't change it. There is no magic number...
  • 4 2
 horrendous
  • 1 0
 Slack AF hardtail. Very, very British bike.
  • 5 3
 dumb af
  • 1 0
 Wow, that's pretty slack!
  • 2 0
 That's a bit too much...
  • 2 1
 No gussets what so ever? Curious to see if it will hold.
  • 4 3
 With Reynolds 632 front triangle it isn't heat treated, thus therefor, a much more generous welding footprint can be used, mitigating gussets (which by the way on any heat treated tubes can weaken the metallurgy of the steel)
  • 1 0
 @Webradders: The tubes do seem to be of generous dimensions,it makes it look good and do love the fact there's no tube gusset on seatpost allowing for big droppers, still every comparable longn travel hardtail I've seen has head tube gussets.Time will tell.
  • 2 1
 @Webradders: again, in my good ear, please?
  • 2 0
 The Bleak Scone
  • 1 0
 If ever a bike needed some gussets at the ht/dt & ht/tt junctions...
  • 1 0
 Just noticed the pedals, wow.
  • 1 0
 It's the GRIM-NO-NUTS!
  • 1 1
 Pressfit bottom bracket is an instant NO
  • 1 4
 Going where BTR Fabrications went 5+ years ago.
I suppose imitation is the sincerest etc etc.
Only there was a method to Burf’s madness.







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