Softail titanium MTB 29/27.5+ (all mountain - bikepacking)

[QuentinLL]

I tried with a cut spoke. Not magnetic enough.
I bought a "campagnolo magnet"

[carbonazza]

I tried with a cut spoke. Not magnetic enough.

Or buy a stronger magnet 

[ottoreni]

My order is officially in!  Now the wait .....

I will post pictures and info on a new thread when I receive any.

[Flying Trunk Monkey]

I finally make a decision and decided to order a custom softail titanium bike.
Asked walty, xacd and titan products. Titan is the one I chose.

Hi, I'm currently at the point where I need to choose a manufacturer as well. Is there a specific reason you chose Titan?

[ottoreni]

I chose Titan because they seemed much more attentive to my build questions and requests.  I spoke with Walty, I have had two frames built by them previously, but this time their responses seemed really dismissive.  I know they’re busy with small batch orders, for that reason they may not be so interested in individual frames.

Titan seems to be busy too, as the have an 8 week build que from drawing approval, but still offered great up front service.  I did not deal with XACD.

[jannmayer]

I chose Titan because they seemed much more attentive to my build questions and requests.  I spoke with Walty, I have had two frames built by them previously, but this time their responses seemed really dismissive.  I know they’re busy with small batch orders, for that reason they may not be so interested in individual frames.

Titan seems to be busy too, as the have an 8 week build que from drawing approval, but still offered great up front service.  I did not deal with XACD.

Have you received your frame yet? I'm really interested to see another bike of this style built up.

[ottoreni]

My frame came in ... I have been riding it close to two months.  Rides spot on!

I will be starting another thread shortly with pictures.  Thanks for reminding me.

[MTBiz]

Are you still liking it, ok also getting one made with slightly altered geo.

Whats the actual rear travel youre seeing?
Do you do any jumps/drop offs with it ?
I was almost considering 8mm thick plate

[QuentinLL]

Yes, i still like the bike.

In rocky / roots trails with a lot of speed, the suspension doesn't work well. The titanium flex is slower than a bearing pivot => on several high speed bumps, it feels more like a hardtail than a fully.
But it works well on jumps / drops, the suspension is OK in this situation because there is only 1 hit to absorb.

On slope trails, i can feel the rear triangle lack of rigidity.

If i had to do it again :
- shorter reach
- no sliding dropouts
- UDH
- ZS56 / ZS56 to make internal routing

For the measured travel, i forgot, i will do it again
I bought a propain spindrift (180/180) in sept 2022, this is the bike I mainly ride now because of its versatility and performance.
The softail rides on the snow  and mud conditions

[MTBiz]

Awesome!   mines set to ne completed sometime next week.
I already have a couple Minor regrets.
Should of requested straight Seat tube
 32T chain ring instead of the 28t
Should of did UDH
Thinking I should of did 83mm BB  to give me the option swap in fat tires/50mm wheels

I did 480mm reach, wit 31mm stem, still hope its not too long of a reach
I did 80°STA and 61° HTA

[ottoreni]

Question about the rear shock ...

Is there a trick or way to remove and install it?

I have been riding the snot out of my frame, and my rear shock needs service.  When I installed it on the frame it was such a pain in the arse to get it in.  I ended up putting a little scratch at the bottom of the stancion.

Here is what I did the first time.
When I installed my rear shock I removed all the air and placed it on the lowest compression and rebound.  Then I compressed it. Followed by installing it, but even doing this took two or three tries!  As I mentioned, I ended up making a light scratch because the shock would start to rebound before I had it set in place.

Would appreciate if there are any pointers. 

Thanks!

[QuentinLL]

To install the shock, I recommend that you use an expander on the front shock mount on the frame to make it a bit wider.
You can manipulate your shock easily and don't scratch it.
I mounted the shock several time for servicing, all good.

[ottoreni]

Okay,

To be clear, you mean to expand this part?

[QuentinLL]

yes.
you need to mount the lower part first, then the upper part (with the help of a little piece of wood or a tool to expand so that you can insert the upper part of the shock easily)
When i read the you scratch the bottom of stanchion, i guess you put in the upper part first (front of bike) ?

[ottoreni]

Thanks, I will be servicing my rear shock within the next couple of weeks.  I appreciate your information.