Chinese Carbon MTB > Metal Frames

Titan Hardtail 2024

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nicklej:
I couldn't finishing get everything put onto the bike on my break and had to finish it off at the end of the day. Really happy with how the bike came out. It weights about 10.4kg in total so not unhappy with that. Sub 10kg would be possible by replacing saddle, grips and bars for carbon. In fact, I intend to get carbon bars anyway but not yet. I will also replace as many bolts with Ti as possible. I just want the bike to be as corrosion resistant as possible since I am committing this to be my last bike for some time (he says!)

The fork steerer could be trimmed a smidge. I rode the bike home and back to work today. Only about 30 miles total. I have to say everything feels great. The frame is solid and the 34.9mm ISP is not as unforgiving as I had expected it to be!

I have not ridden non-lefty suspension fork for years and its odd - my balance feels slightly off. On the second ride, I didn't have the feeling nearly as much as the first ride. The geometry was meant to be an exact copy of the Cannondale Flash but i am running a 100mm stem instead of 110mm and the axle to crown on the Flash was a little shorter than this bike so my position feels a bit different but certainly not uncomfortable.

As with all builds, I need to make a few tweeks. Saddle nose needs to come up a degree or two and the saddle needs to come back a tiny bit too. I think I could also trim another 10mm off the ISP so that I have adjustment. I cut it perfectly and with the seatpost topped bottomed out my position is correct but it means I can only increase the saddle height from here and cannot lower it at all.

I will also get a carbon rigid fork at some point. I don't ride off road nearly as much as I should and when I do, even on rigid forks, i'm alright. Plus it'll lightly the bike up a chunk for commuting and nipping around the New Forest.

I've not had good luck with bike frames. 5 of my last 6 have cracked or snapped so I am hoping for better news here. I suppose there is always a gamble when buying something which will be hard to warrant, purely based on distances involved. However, my experience with Titan have been great and hopefully the only thing that goes wrong with this bike will be due to an accident instead of workmanship.

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