Bike brand Identiti has realised that for a lot of bike buyers, the decision on whether to go with discs or stick to regular rim caliper brakes is a tough one, so to try and skirt the problem, it has designed a frame that has the capability of accepting both, the Initial-D.
There are any number of considerations that are involved in a decision between the two, relating to everything from performance and practicality to the effect on the way a bike looks. But the main reasoning behind the Initial-D is the banning of disc brakes in a number of amateur sportives around Europe. 'The Initial-D won’t hold you back from entering these events this summer,' says Identiti.
'Our Initial-D frameset bridges the gap for the cyclist looking to try out disc brakes, but with the option still being able to use traditional caliper brakes if desired.'
The Initial-D frame has a 130mm spacing between the dropouts, traditionally associated with non-disc wheels, and so to have disc compatibility as well, Identiti have used a custom hub from Halo, which is able to take a disc while still being 130mm wide.
Shimano 105 is the groupset of choice, with a caliper brake option (using Dia Compe dual pivot calipers) weighing 7.95kg. The bike is also available with Avid BB7 mechanical disc brakes, and by using an inline cable adjuster with an added outer casing extension and new, longer inners, you can make the switch from rim brake to disc.
From £1449.99