Titus El Guapo Reviewed

The long awaited Titus El Guapo review is complete!  We've been telling you about this review for a few months now and there are not a lot of EG reviews so we hope this will give you a good sense of how the bike is.

My first bike test was the Titus Motolite II, which I gave a pretty good thrashing over about 6 weeks last summer. As a boutique-type, 5” travel trailbike; it is definitely a top contender. In fact, in comparison to my main ride (an Ellsworth Epiphany), it almost won me over. Its main deficiency, in my opinion, was a slightly less plush rear suspension; which reduced technical descending and climbing as well as overall rider comfort.

This year’s serving is the Motolite’s bigger brother: the El Guapo. This is Titus’ newish 6” travel, all-mountain platform which has replaced the Supermoto at the aggressive end of the lineup. At about 2 lbs heavier that the ML II frameset, this bike is definitely built to take some abuse. However, it lacks any unsightly gusseting and has done away with the interrupted seat tube design of the SuMo. This certainly enhances the visual appeal of the bike as well as the obvious practicalities of a full-length seat tube. The frame is also designed with the 1.5” head-tube, which enhances its compatibility with the burlier lineup of fork options. The downtube has a slight curve to it as it meets the headtube, which provides ample clearance for fork top-caps.

There are no water bottle mounts on the frame; which surprised me since there is obviously room under the down-tube. This is somewhat limiting for those who have water-bottle style batteries for their lights or like to carry a bottle of supplementary energy drink for those epic rides, without contaminating their hydration bladder.

I did not like the side-mounted cable routing on the top-tube. The two gear cables run on the right side and the rear brake hose runs along the left side. This effectively increases the width of the top-tube and it was not uncommon for me to brush one side or the other with the inside of my knees in technical situation. Despite taking great care to eliminate sharp ends of the zip-ties, I still managed to lose skin by brushing the central mounting bracket and I’m fairly bow-legged. If you are knock-kneed, this could be a deal breaker.

The bike came extremely well outfitted. Gearing was handled by the same SRAM X-9 system that was on last year’s MLII and the shifting was nothing shy of sensational. The bike also had the same XT cranks and BB as last year, though set up with 2 ring’s + bashguard. I cannot remember ever wishing that I had a big chain ring while riding this bike. Hope Mono’s provided braking duties with an 8” rotor up front and 6” in back. While these brakes are very aesthetically pleasing with all of their CNC’d goodies, I was honestly underwhelmed with their performance. I was initially worried that the 8” rotor was overkill, however they just weren’t as powerful as I had expected. They weren’t scary bad or anything, but they were significantly weaker than my 7” front 6” rear Avid BB7 setup that I have on my Epiphany. In addition, there was no engagement point adjustment and one of the reach adjusters was frozen. Furthermore, I don’t like their split perch at all, which looks like it was designed to take chunks out of your knees. (Editor's Note:  To be fair to Hope, these were a set of Hope 6" disc brakes we pulled from another bike and decided to get the Hope adapter to convert the front to use an 8" rotor but somehow the adapter that was sent to us made it so the capliper pads not hit the 8" rotor fully so that's why Dave was not able to get as much power out of the brakes as he expected)

The wheels were Atomlab DH rims laced to a Hope ProII rear hub and a generic QR20 front hub and shod with Kenda’s 2.35”, kevlar bead, Stickey Nevegals. I cannot stand the loud, incessant buzzing of some of the higher-end hubs like Chris King and Industry 9. The Hope Pro II, by way of comparison, is much quieter, albeit with fewer engagement points. In my opinion, these wheels were overkill for this bike (at least under my 150 lb frame) and their excessive weight was very noticeable under acceleration and while climbing. That being said, they saw a significant amount of abuse and stayed perfectly true for the duration of the test. Switching to Mavic 819 rims and running the tires with Stan’s would probably shave off more than a pound or rotating weight.

Suspension duties were served by top-of-the-line components front and rear. This was my first ride on one of Fox’s 36 offerings and I was not disappointed by the Vanilla RC2 which can has individual, tool free adjusters for both the low and high speed compression damping. The reviews for this fork on MTBr.com are not spectacular, with most of the complaints being directed to the linear feel of the spring rate, whereby the fork would tend to bottom out on really big hits or drops. Since I don’t do a lot of high speed riding, or catch a lot of air, this fork worked beautifully for me. I was able to virtually eliminate unwanted bobbing during out of the saddle efforts with a few clicks of low speed compression and keep the fork from diving on bigger hits by dialing the high speed compression damping about halfway to full slow. I did notice significantly more stiction than on my own 32 Vanillas, but I guess that’s the price you pay for the increased stiffness of the larger diameter stantions…and this fork was super stiff. It also took 2 or 3 rides before it fully broke in. My only other complaint about the fork is the QR20 system. While this tools-free system is a significant improvement to last year’s design, it reminds me of the Rock Shox Tullio, circa 2001 and is still a far cry from their newest incarnation: the Maxle.

This EG came equipped with Rock Shox’s Pearl 3.1 rear shock. While I did not actually try this shock on the bike, I am pretty confident in all of the negative reviews that this shock has received from other riders. General consensus is that the Pearl is unremarkable to OK. However the real magic of the Titus’s rear suspension is unleashed with a more capable rear shock. As such, I absolutely was delighted to learn that the bike I would be testing came with a Cane Creek Double Barrel (DB) shock, which is arguably the premier long travel shock in existence. If you can get past the additional heft of a coil shock, and the considerable expense of the DB, you’ll end up with a damn fine shock. The reason why the DB sits heads and shoulders above most other shocks is in its adjustability. This shock has four damping circuits for high and low speed rebound and compression respectively, that are each truly independent (ie. adjusting one does not affect any of the others). Furthermore, all 4 circuits are easily adjusted trailside, albeit you need a 10 mm wrench for both high speed circuits and either a 6 mm wrench or small slot screwdriver for the low speed circuits. Titus has apparently listened to the complaints about the Pearl shock, as new frames now come with a specially valved, large diameter Fox RP23. Considering how easy it is to swap shocks, if this was your one ‘do it all’ bike, you could easily run the lighter RP23 for more XC oriented rides and a coil shock for the more free-ridey stuff.  

As built, the bike came in at 34.5 lbs, which is about what I expected. This could probably be reduced to sub 30 with an air shock (like the RP23), and air fork (like the 36 Float RC2) and a lighter wheel/tire combination. I hesitate to recommend a 36 TALAS, or any other travel-adjustable fork since this bike has absolutely top notch climbing manners as is (more on that a little later), and would not really benefit from the additional complexity of a travel-adjustable fork.

One more thing before I move on to the ride: the paint. This bike came with a light blue, powder-coated frame. I know color is a personal preference however, I’m guessing greater than 90% of the people I talked to agreed that this color simply did not suit this bike. Color aside, the durability of the paint treatment is terrible, almost like the frame is literally coated in powder. The paint flakes off far too easily (eg. a large chunk of paint came off the upper shock mount when installing the new shock). Furthermore, after only 2 rides, the paint was worn down to bare metal both at the head tube and top of the seat tube, where the gear cable housing made intermittent contact. Considering Titus’ historic issues with substandard frame coatings, it was surprising that this problem has yet to be totally resolved. On a positive note, Titus has been very good at warrantying this sort of issue, hence it should not be difficult to have them correct the problem.

Initial setup was pretty straightforward. It was obvious before I even got to the bottom of the driveway that the stem (as pictured) was too long and the handlebars were too narrow. I also cannot stand the larger diameter of most of the ODI lock-on grips. After a quick swap with stuff from my spare parts box, I was ready to roll. 

I kept it local and low key for my first ride, just so I got used to the bike in a familiar environment. So I headed to Guelph Lake, which is fairly undemanding. However there are a number of technical rocky sections as well as some extremely steep climbs if you know where to look. I live in a newer subdivision with lots of barren, undeveloped lots between home and the trailhead. So I rode through these lots (something I had never considered doing on my trailbike), first just hitting the smaller bumps. However, after about 2 minutes of this, if found myself going out of my way to hit the biggest bumps I could find. WOW! The cockpit was set up perfectly and this bike simply felt like an extension of my body, sucking up every bump like it was hardly even there. The following 2 Km of road to the trailhead revealed, that while the suspension was obviously very active over bumps, it was almost totally inactive to my less-than-smooth pedal stroke. Same goes for the fork, initial setup in the garage was almost perfect offering a smooth ride, but very little bobbing during out of the saddle efforts…NICE. Once I finally got to the trail, I began to really understand and appreciate this bike’s manners. I motored up every steep climb I could find…with ease….make-you-giddy kind of ease. The tight and twisty stuff took a little more effort than I am used to, but totally manageable (and totally worth it for its technical and downhill handling qualities). I also simply cruised through the short rocky technical sections in both directions. However, this is where I realized the most outstanding handling compromises made on this platform: low bottom bracket (BB).

I have ridden other bikes with low BB’s and I could never really understand the logic. I know it gives you a lower center of gravity, thus imparting more stability, but I have never really noticed much of a difference on the trail. I have pretty good balance to start with, so maybe it just doesn’t make much of a difference to me. Anyway, low BB’s are bad in rock garden types of situations, and I ride a lock of rock gardens. Despite this, a little self-awareness is all it takes to be a little more careful when pedaling through corners or navigating technical stuff. I smacked my pedals more than a few times on the first couple of rides, but by my 4^th or 5^th ride I had trained myself to just be a little more careful….most of the time. There was one pretty serious crash early on in the test that was at least indirectly caused by the low BB. It was on a set of stairs in the trail that are basically an array of parallel logs, placed about 3 feet apart on the hill and secured by iron spikes driven into the ground on the downhill side of each log. Anyway, I hung up on the top log long enough to pivot sideways a bit on the bashguard which sent me over the bars, superman-style, clearing the rest of the stairs and I basically bellyflopped on top of one of the metal spikes (which was sticking about 6” out of the ground) that was supporting the bottommost log. I hit the spike squarely in the center of my chest and then, based on the scar, rode it in a arcing trajectory down to my bellybutton. Fortunately, the initial impact was directly on top of my heart-rate monitor chest strap. This tiny little band of plastic is all that stood between impalement, and certainly a trip to the hospital. Instead, I got up, limped around for bit, initially too scared to peak at the torn flesh underneath my jersey. Five minutes later I was up and riding again, albeit a lot more timidly. If I was a cat, I would now be down to 8 lives.

Ok, back to the bike review. I managed to put a boatload of kilometers on this bike, using it as my main ride for the best part of two months. I commuted with it back and forth to work. The heavy wheels and big, grippy tires are slow on the road, but bike pedals remarkably smoothly on the road for a 6” travel, coil sprung bike. Due to the unheard of amounts of rain this summer, and killer mosquitoes, we mostly avoided

Hilton Falls for the first half of the summer, which was a shame since the uber-technical, rocky stuff is what this bike was built for. Regardless, I got a lot of great singletrack riding on the bike. First up was the super steep and twisty hills at Waterdown (where this bike’s climbing prowess totally blew me away). I’ve never had such an easy time negotiating switchbacks (going up and down). This is not what I expected from a bike with a longish wheelbase and slack steering. Maybe this is where the low center of gravity comes in? As for climbing, whether it be technical or smooth and super steep, this bike managed to just put the power to the ground. There’s this one smooth but extremely steep hill, called Big Butt, which I have only managed to clean a handful of times (and have only ever seen one other person get up). Well, I got up it on the EG on my first try….and it was easy. There is another hill at Twin Ponds that has been badly eroded in the last few years, leaving this mangled mass of very exposed roots. I used to fly up it, but this year I have attempted it no less than 30 times on my trailbike without success. I cleaned it on the EG on my first try …and second…and third. Ok you get the point, this bike is a climbing monster.

I only let it all hang out a few times while going downhill (I’m getting a little timid after a rash of recent crashes). However, its downhill manners are fantastic and downright scary. It would be very easy for me to get in way over my head on this bike. Tracking is superb, the front end is plenty stiff and I am completely blown away with the lateral rigidity of the back end of this bike. I have never ridden such a solid feeling, flex-free chassis.

I’m not the kind of rider who likes to have both wheels planted on terra firma. So you’ll have to look elsewhere for this bike’s manners once airborne. Most of what I have read on the Titus forum about its handling on the stunts and jump is overwhelmingly positive. I can say that this bike is incredibly easy to loft over small logs and other trail debris. I also spent some time playing trials-like on some natural terrain. For a 34 lb, cushy, full suspension bike, getting up on the back wheel and pedal-kicking over gaps was also pretty easy.

 Hilton Falls was where this bike really shone the brightest.  Hilton Falls is characterized by long stretches of continuous, brutal rocks. Nothing is easy about riding here. Many riders opt to don full arm and leg pads, full face helmets and flat pedals. The rocks here are anything but smooth, with lots of tire-grabbing gaps, ledges, off camber sections and short steep hills. And once the rocks are wet (which is pretty much most of the summer because they ‘sweat’, they’re slicker than snot. Once I got adjusted to the low BB, this bike handled the hardest sections with remarkable ease. The wheels simply stay glued to the trail and the suspension isolates the rider from all but the biggest hits. I expected this bike to handle very well at Hilton and I was not disappointed.

 In summary, this bike pretty much totally kicks ass. It’s built to handle anything that any reasonably-skilled rider would ever face on the trail.  It is an insane climber and capable descender with a suspension that feels laterally rigid and plush, yet remains an extremely efficient peddler. If you are a skilled, aggressive rider and you don’t mind the weight, the EG is a top contender for the one ‘do it all’ bike. I think I’m in love.

Well, I think that pretty much sums up Dave's thoughts on the bike and I don't think I can possibly add more to it.  Thanks Dave for the great review.  If you have any questions and or comments, feel free to email us at info@spokewrench.com.

Comments

[jon]

Hye guys, i am 5 9 and was wondering what frame do you think would fit me best? I am thinking the small because i noted another review saying a size felt too big and made you feel on top of the bike, not in it.

[Jack Pittens]

After Dave had finished with the bike, Alan let me take it for a couple of rides and thought I could add a few comments.
First, after my first ride and comparing it this size medium EG to my size large SuperMoto, I was surprised how similar a lot of the handling characteristics were so measured up both frames. What I found was that EG's geometery matched Titus's published spec'd except in 2 important area's. The head angle was significantly slacker than the posted 68 degrees at just shy of 67, and the wheelbase was longer at just over 44". I am not sure if this is running change (I hope so) or a flyer (not likely) but I prefer the slacker geometry combined with the lower BB.
Second, Dave commented that the BB was low. I agree that it is on the low side, but I believe Dave was using a slightly softer spring then optimum which increased rear sag and lowered the BB further. The BB is a lot lower then my SM but with the right spring is not that much of an issue.
Overall I think Titus has gained a lot of all around capability with the EG over the SM and only given up a few things so this bike is far closer to a one bike for everything. I didn't get the chance but it would have been nice to do a few DH runs on it as well as I think it would be quite capable.