Following Ian's review, I feel that I should offer my take as well after having been riding the Pivot Mach 5.7 for sometime and having a good feel of how the bike handles in a number of different type of trails. If I can say something about this bike is that it is fast, the DW Link really enables it to stay at speed and really pushes the rider to go faster. Comparing to the Moots Cinco, this bike is not a XC bike with its long travel 150mm fork and 5.7" rear travel but it's definitely not a Firebird so for certain trails where it's super techincal with big drops and large boulders, it wouldn't be ideal either, travel or otherwise. So that's why there are so many arrows in the quiver. In this day and age of specialization, it's difficult for one bike to excel in all conditions.
Hill Climbing - As with Ian, I found the front end with the longer travel fork to wander a little bit while doing technical climbs. What I found however is that if I lifted the front end and gave the bike a bit of a push, I was able to easily ride over the obstacles rather than around or through them. So the important thing when climbing with this bike I found is to be in the right gear to attack the hill so to speak. Just found out that the Fox Float has 150mm travel instead of 140mm so that would contribute to the higher/lighter front end feeling. May get the travel reduced to see how it feels.
Downhill - I can't comment too much here as the bike's abilities are higher than what I'm comfortable with. All I can say is that this bike doesn't feel nervous or sketchy downhills, I didn't feel like I was going to get tossed over and the bike felt stable and in control. It felt confident and felt like I could go faster. So there is definitely room for me to grow here. So this is where the extra travel would help so it's always a balance and what you value as a rider.
Rock Garden - The suspension performed really well in these type of trails. I did not find the rear suspension losing momentum or wallow in pockets while riding and it felt very effective. The bike felt stable and I was able to pedal through as though the bike floated over the rocks. The pedals did hit from time to time but I would expect that of any bike but not so much so that it was annyoying and so the BB height did not cause any problems for me. I really enjoyed the bike over the rock garden sections of the trail that I was on.
Fast Fire Roads / Flat Sections - Why is this important? This is important for the fact that the industry as a whole has been working very hard so that the full suspension bike you ride works well here (well, not just on flat sections but it's easy to see the problem on flat sections) from lockout to various anti squat, VPP, NRS, Pro Pedal,Brain and everything else that that the collective industry can think of. The whole idea being to eliminate or resist pedal induced feedback. This has sort of become the holy grail of sorts for the bike industry so it's important to note that different designs solve it to various degrees. If you take it too far, it becomes a hard tail and that's not the perfect rear suspension design. When I was riding on flat fast sections where I was constantly peddling, I did not notice much bobbing or other traits of bob/squat while accelerating or braking. I didn't feel any brake jack which I've only felt once on the Moots Cinco. It is very important to set the sag right with DW Link designs so Pivot has come up with a neat collar around the rear shock that helps you measure the sag properly regardless of rider weight. The first time I rode a Mach 5 last year, I was blown away. I couldn't believe how effective it was. Parts of the trail I was expecting to be bucked off the bike I found I was able to ride seated and pedal through. It was eye opening.
Conclusion - If you're looking for a bike that handles well, not too heavy, effective rear suspension, then you really owe yourself to put this bike on your short list. There are a lot of companies licencing the DW Link rear suspension for a reason. It just works. Now then it becomes who implements it well so that the overall package works well together. A good rear suspension design is one that you don't even feel working and that's how I feel about the Pivot implementations after trying the Mach 5, 5.7 and Paul's impression of the Firebird. At the end of the day, I felt like I can ride longer harder and isn't that what we all want?
Enjoy the Ride
Spokewrench
Our Testers
Photo Gallery
Manufacturers
Spokewrench Contact Info
- By eMail
By Phone: (613) 325-5546
Pivot Firebird Review
I just got Paul's review of the Pivot Firebird and so I'll let the review speak for itself.
I am a firm believer that you need different bikes for different types of trails. I ride a variety of trails from fast, flowy cross country to the occasional downhill but what really floats my mountain biking boat is ultra technical rocky rides or rides full of steep technical climbs - I know, it's weird. For these two quite different types of trails I have an all mountain bike and a longer travel, big-tire'd, slacker-angled bike. The 2011 Pivot Firebird is making me question my logic. Can the Firebird be the ultimate do-everything mountain bike?
I was very excited to test ride this bike as I have heard fantastic things about Pivot's other offerings and I really wanted to see if this rendition of the DW link(R) suspension is as good as it sounds. It doesn't hurt that this bike is eye candy. The welds, black anodized frame, carbon rocker and laser etched markings are nothing short of beautiful. It also looks to me that the frame has been peened. I am a Structural Engineer and have been designing jet engines for over 20 years and we peen many parts because the increase in fatigue life is remarkable. I think that this level of detail is what separates your average mountain bike from a bike of this calibre.
Another interesting little detail that Pivot has done with this frame is incorporate a floating front deraileur that pivots away to avoid hitting the chainstay as the rear end cycles through its travel. This means that Pivot doesn't have to make a radically asymmetrical chainstay which improves stiffness in the rear end. This is easily the best shifting bike I have ever ridden. Shifts are clean and crisp and it's impossible to loose a chain off the granny because there's nowhere for it to go since the ISCG mount and floating deraileur hardware is there. The chain will rub the front deraileur when it's running in the lowest and highest gears at the back. Shimano and SRAM really need to incorporate some sort of micro adjust feature for front shifting. The downside of this arrangement is that it might be a little more prone to chain slap on the chainstay but a chainstay protector quietened things up.
There's a lot going on in the rear linkage area of this frame which means there is plenty of real estate for mud to hang out if you do take it out in the mud. I really like the full length cable routing and I think there should actually be a law against non-full length housing. There is also a nicely gusseted seat tube / top tube area for strength.
Tire clearance is amazing. This is an important factor to me if you are planning to do a lot of riding on slimey limestone rock and I usually run 2.5" Nevegals. You should be able to get 2.7" tires in between the seat stays yet the stays themselves are slim enough that your leg isn't rubbing against them. If you ride in the snow you'll also like the ability to run big tires.
The frame was built up with a mix of fairly high end parts with the vision of being light but not stupidly expensive; an RP23 shock, a 170mm travel 2011 Fox Float RC2 fork, SRAM X.9 rear derailleur and shifters. Formula brakes (8" front, 7" rear), DT Swiss EX500 rims with Hope Pro II hubs, Maxxis DH 2.35 Minion tires, Raceface crank and bars, Chromag stem and saddle, and Lizard Skin lock-on grips . A Shimano E-type deraileur is the only option for the front. At 30.5 lbs it is about the same weight as my 5" travel all mountain bike! Wow.
The frame features a 1.5" headtube so you'll need one of those reducing headsets if you'll be using a tapered steerer tube fork. You might be able to use one of those fancy head angle adjusting headsets too. The Propedal valve is easy to reach when you are riding. This is the 4th shock that I've ridden with a propedal valve and I am very embarrassed to say I still can't tell a huge difference when it's open or closed. I got the full 170mm travel on the fork and 2.5" out of the shock but never once noticed either bottoming out.
I am also a believer that it's critical that a bike has to fit you well. My brother once gave me advice about sizing childrens clothes, he said "look at what the label says and then ignore it because it doesn't mean anything". I think the same is true of bikes because my rock bike is an XL, my trail bike is a L and my DH bike is a medium. Seat tube length doesn't mean anything either. I think the only thing that matters is horizontal top tube length. The Firebird comes in 4 sizes so you should be able to find one to fit you. I am 6' 1.5" tall and the large fit me perfectly. The head angle is fairly slackish 67.2 degrees. It felt slightly floppy on some twisty XC trails and some switchback climbs but not bad. I like the angle for the endo-preventing nature and wouldn't change it one way or the other. 17.25" chainstays means that this bike can catwalk with the best of them, critical for style points. There is a veritable boat load of standover clearance.
I rode the Firebird on a variety of Southern Ontario trails. As you would imagine, ripping the trails on the descents is a blast on this bike. It is stable, solid and eats up all the bumps. I never felt like I was going to be bucked off, never detected any brake jacking, and the suspension worked to maximize traction. I think that getting a bike to work well at the other extreme of riding; steep technical climbs, is a far more challenging.
There are different ways that a bike can be a good climber. A hardtail is good at being light and efficient but will spin out on some roots and rocks. A DH bike can be good at getting traction but feels heavy and sloppy. The firebird is the best of both worlds. It's efficient suspension makes it feel even lighter than it is but it is the king of traction. On super steep climbs you can stand and hammer away with very little bob. There is one steep that I always ride and I don't always make it but I could make it up on the Firebird like it was nothing. This is the best climbing bike I've ever ridden.
You might notice that I haven't discussed the BB height yet. I was initially concerned it was a little too low. I used Pivot's fancy sag-o-meter thingy to set the shock pressure which gave me 200 psi for my 195 lb weight. I was hitting my pedals off of rocks a bit more than I would like. It wasn't until 2 weeks into testing the bike that I read on the "Tech Info" section of Pivot's website that the sag should be set by "sitting down hard in the saddle" and not by "sitting down gently". I am not sure I know exactly what "sitting down hard" is but using this new approach gave 230 psi and better pedal clearance. Pedal clearance is one area where I would only give the firebird 4 of 5 stars but I suspect it will only be a problem for you if you are riding really rocky trails.
On the trail the technology really delivers. There is some bob when you're hammering on the pedals but it's not annoying at all and for a 6.7" travel bike it feels quite snappy. The suspension soaks up the hits from everything and produces a very comfortable ride. I was actually amazed a few times at the end of some super intense technical sections at how fresh my legs felt when they would usually be screaming at me - that's a pretty powerful example of how the efficient suspension and light weight can help you out and one of the best reasons to consider getting yourself a Firebird.
There are some things I didn't like, most being component related. The sliders of the fork extend down a little below the axle and then the rebound adjuster knob is at the bottom. The knob is protected by a little aluminum cover but I would be concerned with the longevity in this area if you ride a lot of rocks. Likewise, this version of post mount means the front rotor can't be any smaller than an 8" rotor. A water bottle cage makes a convenient location to hold a bar light battery, unfortunately the Firebird doesn't have one, not a huge deal.
In the 4 weeks of testing I rode roughly three 2 hour rides per week and I had the following problems: one of the little clips that holds the front shift cable to the downtube popped off and the glossy smooth seatpost would slip (but only when catwalking). So it was basically flawless.
The firebird would be very capable for the moderate Southern Ontario DH scene but I wouldn't be inclined to use it for that purpose any more than just occasionally. It's not a Whistler / North Shore / big huck bike. If you don't mind the bottom bracket height then it's an absolutely flawless rock bike. If you're ok with the slacker head angle it's an awesome trail bike. Is the Firebird the best do-it-all bike I have ever ridden? Absolutely!
Paul Stone
Project Spring 2010 and Review
Dave has finished the review of the Pivot Mach 5 and we think it's one of his most favourable yet.
The bike comes to just slightly over 28lbs for a medium. The frame comes with a Ritchey headset and XT front derailleur already installed. It's a mix of XT and SRAM with Shimano XT wheels, brakes and cranks. Thomson Elite post and SRAM x.9 shifters/rear derailleur round out the package. Tires are Kenda Nevegals Dave switched to tubeless using Stan's so this is a package that would suit most riders looking for something that is durable, still relatively light weight and performing reliably and consistently.
Here is Dave's Final Review!
This was my first extended ride on a VPP suspension design. Previously, my brief ride on an Intense 6.6 left me unimpressed with how the VPP design handles. While the design clearly minimized pedal-induced bobbing, I couldn’t get past the dead feeling, especially during out-of-the–saddle efforts and while negotiating technical terrain. I was curious to see how Pivot’s take on the VPP design, utilizing Dave Weagle’s patented DW-link, compared.
I’ve been highly impressed with bike designs from Chris Cocalis’ previous company, Titus and I was eager to get my hands on the flagship trailbike from his new company: a Pivot Mach 5. I don’t usually go out on a limb before delving into all of the gory details, but I fell in love with this bike from day 1. It took a couple of rides before the suspension fully broke in, but I could instantly tell that this bike had what I wanted from a trailbike. Its neutral, intuitive handling gave the illusion that bike was an extension of my body. It carved corners, flew over obstacles, descended with conviction and climbed faster than I ever thought a 5” travel trailbike could. The most outstanding feature, for me, was the bike’s uncanny ability to filter out rider input (ie. bob) while responding seamlessly to trail irregularities. This was especially noticeable during out-of-the-saddle efforts where it didn’t matter how hard I mashed the pedals, the bike would shoot forward like it was a hardtail, yet it would follow the contours of the trail exceptionally well. Several of my riding buddies even noticed that I was spending way more time riding out of the saddle than normal (and riding faster). They were right, this bike is pure joy to just stand up and hammer. It was with some reluctance that I returned this bike at the end of the test and hopped on my personal trailbike, an Ellsworth Epiphany. Don’t get me wrong, the Epi is a fantastic bike. It is super comfortable and a fantastic technical climber. But it feels like I’m riding everything a gear slower. It just doesn’t have the same get up and go. As an aggressive rider who likes to ride hard and fast, the Mach 5 is a perfect match for my riding style.
Knolly Endorphin Reviewed
We've been antiously waiting for Dave's review of the Knolly Endorphin and here it is! Just a few quotes from this review..."This is the best pedaling full suspension bike I have ridden...", "This is the most silent bike I have ever ridden, total stealth..", "This is the stiffest bike I have ever ridden, resulting in awesome, confidence-inspiring tracking.." and "It is the best pedaling, non-XC bike I have ever ridden." Now onto the review!
It was with great anticipation that I finally took delivery of the Knolly Endorphin to thrash. Knolly has gained quite a reputation in a short time period for making fantastic free-ride bikes and fully supporting their customers. They are probably the best-known Canadian maker of boutique full suspension mountain bikes. Check out the Knolly forum on MTBR.com and you’ll get a pretty good idea of the general vibe surrounding this company and their bikes. All 3 of the frames in their lineup get perfect scores in MTBR.com’s consumer reviews section. The Endo is the shortest-travel in their 3-bike lineup, geared towards the epic riding, all mountain, and pedal up as well as down category.
The Endo was all black (my favorite bike color), hard-anozided beauty outfitted with a large volume Fox RP23 shock and a 36 TALAS RC2 fork and a Cane Creek 110 headset. Shifting was handled by SRAM X9 with an XT front derailleur and cranks. The new XT brakes with Servo-wave handled stopping duties (7” front, 6” rear). Thompson looked after the stem (100 mm) and seatpost, while I used my own preferred seat, handlebar, pedals and grips. The bike came outfitted with an Atomlab DHR wheelset (Formula front hub, Hope Pro II rear) shod with my current favorite tires: 2.35 Kenda Nevegal Stickies with a Kevlar bead. As delivered the bike weighed a hair less than 34 lbs, which is respectable but a bit heavier than I had hoped for my type of riding: fast and technical trails with lots of climbing. After a couple of rides to dial things in, I swapped the wheelset for Mavic Crossmax XL’s and converted the tires to tubeless using Stan’s. This shaved darn near 2 pounds off the bike, making a huge reduction rotating mass and vastly improving in climbing.
Knolly Delirium-T Reviewed
Mark compared the Titus El Guapo and the Knolly Delirium-T last fall and here are some of this thoughts of the 2 different bikes.
This comparison is for the two bikes as built with the EG weighing about 34lbs and the DT weighing just over 36 lbs.
Both of these bikes are aimed at the "all mountain" category and both can do it all but you might not want to do it all on a regular basis using just one of these. If you were to draw a line bridging the gap between cross-country and freeride, the EG would lean toward the cross-country side and the DT would lean toward the freeride side. Yet, there would be a good bit of overlap in the centre. If you want a bike that you can ride cross country (for all but racing perhaps) yet still be able to do some occasional light freeride, the EG, as built, is a good contender. It is more versatile with two wheelsets. If you want a bike leaning more toward freeride (as I did) the DT is a better choice. However, these two bikes (again as built) are more alike than they are different.
Although I did not ride the bikes back-to-back, my memory of the EG was that it was heavy but not inordinately so. This is the same feeling I get from the DT. The difference in the weight is where I felt it. My impression of the EG is that the wheels were heavy and slowed the bike down almost as though you were riding through loamy soil - not quite like mud but there was a definite drag. I felt that if the EG had a lighter wheelset, it would run like a dog unleashed. By comparison, the DT just feels generally heavy. The weight feels centered and there is not the feeling of pent up power I got from the EG. Perhaps because of the centered feeling, I didn't always feel the weight of the DT. In fact, the only time I felt like I was paying a price was on gradual inclines - the kind that on a lighter bike you can just spin a bit faster to keep up your speed. On the DT, extra effort was noticeably required. Interestingly, the DT did not feel heavy on flats or declines. The heavy wheels on the EG felt heavy even on flat ground. On stronger climbs, both bikes felt heavy but both pedal so efficiently that there does not seem to be a weight penalty. Further, the suspensions on both keep the rear wheel on the ground which makes both bikes climb well on technical terrain. The DT does get floppy in the front end with the fork in the 6.5" setting and benefits well from an adjustable travel fork.
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.
Titus El Guapo Complete
The Titus El Guapo is finished! Our resident test Dave has it and will be taking it through its paces in the next couple of month. We'd be interested to see how the Cane Creek Double Barrel shock performs on it compared to the stock Rock Shox Pearl air shock. The bike came together very nicely and tipped the scale at ~34lbs with pedals. It's not your XC race machine but for all moutain riding and trails like Hilton Falls, you really want something like this. Long travel full suspension is the only way to go. This is completely different than the ML2 that Dave test rode last year. He is at home both on an XC race bike and on his Kona Stinky so we're looking forward to what he thinks of the El Guapo.
We have an initial review of the El Guapo already! Dave's amazing...
"I went to do a little tuning, specifically swapping the bar and stem for something a little more suited to the bike (bar 5 cm wider, stem 15 cm shorter).
And then there was the threat of rain later...kinda nudged me out the door. All of a sudden I was riding towards my normal trails (Guelph Lake, 5 min ride away). Most of GL is pretty tame but if you know where to look there are some pretty steep hills and a couple of stretches of extremely technical terrain.
Wow, what a bike! I felt comfortable on the bike right from the start, no awkwardness at all...just increased confidence. The ride in the rough stuff is simply sensational...I was cruising though stuff that I usually have to carefully pick my way through. The steering is a little slower than I'm used to, so that took some extra work (and some practice in counter-steering). One of my biggest concerns was the tall fork would harm climbing, but I had no trouble at all in that department. My other concern about the low BB also did not play out, but I consciously avoided pedaling on the sharper curves. The rear suspension is amazing. It's very tight with no unwanted flex and it just eats the big hits like they little ripples in the trail. I was very impressed with the shock, and I can't wait to spend some more time fine-tuning it to my riding style and terrain. The bike is unquestionably heavy, certainly on the porky side for a trail bike but it pedaled extremely well. It handles like my Stinky, but pedals like my Epiphany. Overall I am extremely impressed. I can't wait to get it onto the rocks at Hilton Falls."
Thanks Dave for the preview. Once Dave tunes the CC Double Barrel, we suspect the bike will really perform.
Team Spokewrench
Rohloff Speedhub Longterm Review
We've been using the Rohloff Speedhub on the Moots Cinco for over 2 years now riding it in pretty much all seasons having using it in several Uxbridge Icebreaker races, several 24 Hour Solo and Team races, the Lost in the Rocks and Trees race a few times plus all around riding in the local trails.
For those not familiar with the Rohloff Speedhub, it's an internal geared hub offering 14 evenly spaced gears all sealed from the elements meaning less maintenance compared to a traditional derailleur system. It operates from a single grip like shifter with 2 full length cables that goes to an external gear box that does all the shifting. The Rohloff is disc compatible and uses it's on proprietary bolt circle. Different rotors are available to work with the major disc brake manufacturers. We're using a Magura Marta SL but they offer rotors that work with Shimano, Hope, Hayes, etc.
Build & Setup
Building the wheel isn't any more difficult than your traditional disc hub. The only thing is that you have to order spokes from Rohloff that are shorter than what is commonly available for about the same price so no problems there. I would order a few more to keep as spares if you're going on an extended trip because typical bike shops are not going to have these lengths in stock. The nice thing about this hub is that spokes are equal length on both sides and there is no dish so the wheel comes out stronger than the typical disc wheel. What we recommend is using a UST compatible rim such as the Mavic X819 or if not UST, get Stan's No Tube tubless kit. More later in regards to that. For setup, it's quite straight forward. The manual is very clear with nice pictures and instructions. Measure the shifter cable lengths carefully, it is important. We ran into shifter problems during our 1st 24 Hour race because of incorrect shifter lengths and took us quite a bit of time to sort out. The cable routing can be an issue as well for your bike if it's not designed for Rohloff in mind. The good thing is that Rohloff offers cable clips that can be mounted on the top tube or downtube of the bike to make it easier to keep the the full length housing in place. If we were to do it again, we would have asked Moots right from the start to put in full length cable guides, much like the one for the rear disc brake. This would have made the routing easier and give it a much cleaner custom look.
Ride
Once installed, the hub needs to be broken in in order for all the gears to mesh properly. This can be done simply by riding a lot. At times, the hub would freewheel a bit while riding but once broken in, this never happens. Just something to be aware of but certainly not an issue overall. Shifting is all from the single shifter so there is no front derailleur or cross chaining to ever worry about. We've never found chain suck to be an issue either during our time with the Rohloff. We initially had the Rohloff setup with with a Singleator on the Moots Cinco because of the rear travel of the bike, the chain would lengthen and shorten as rear of the bike goes through it's travel. There has to be a way for the drivetrain to take up the slack. We were hoping this would be enough but the long travel of the bike was too much for the Singleator to handle and we found the chain skipping off the sprocket at the worst times during our 1st 24 Hour Race with the hub. In the end, we got the Rohloff chainguide and chain tensioner so that the chain stays put on the sprocket. It meant adding a bit more weight but the result was much more consistent performance. If someone was using this hub on a hardtail, this would not be an issue.
Titus Motolite 2 Reviewed
Our tester Dave Llewellyn has been riding bikes pretty much his whole life and knows a thing or two about riding. He got a chance to test our ML2 for a month or so and here are some of his thoughts. In this review, he compares the Ellsworth Epihany to the Titus ML2.
Intro
Before I begin my review of the Titus Motolite II, I would like to introduce my self and give a bit of background. I am 33 years old and have been a passionate (some would say obsessed) mountain biker for over 20 years. I like to ride hard on challenging terrain with lots of technical climbing. I never really cut it as an expert-level racer so now I just ride a lot, year round (I have been known to say that winter is my favorite riding season). I generally do one 24-hour team relay every year to feed my competitive side. I really enjoy the punishing rocks of Hilton Falls and I have a dedicated bike for that type of environment. I have also dabbled in trials (too many broken bones) and use those skills frequently on the trail (my friends call me Hopper). I also do a lot of road/trail commuting to work…taking the long way of course.
Last summer I began looking for a new trail bike. I needed a do-everything bike that could handle everything from road/trail commutes, hard club rides, all-day epics to the odd race. I was looking for something with about 5” of rear travel, preferably with a Horst-Link design and could be built up in the 27-28 lb range. This was going to be my first new bike in more than 10 years and I was looking for something pretty special, without totally breaking the bank.
I quickly narrowed the choices to a handful of bicycles including Devinci Remix, Giant Reign, Norco Fluid and a few others. Then I stumbled upon the Titus Motolite and I was instantly hooked…its specs seemed to fit me perfectly. In addition, the Motolite had an excellent reputation and an extremely loyal following. Furthermore, Titus has the ‘sex appeal’ of a boutique brand but was considerably cheaper than its competitors. The Motolite instantly moved to the top of my list. After all, what could be better?
Then Fate intervened and I came across another bike that I hadn’t given any thought to, the Ellsworth Epiphany. The deal that I had stumbled upon was simply too good to pass up. So after some frenzied research (the reviews were all awesome) I went for it, without even testing the bike. Oh my, what a ride it has been! I have been mountain biking now for over 20 years, and I never dreamed that I would love riding a bike as much as the Epiphany.
While I have been extremely happy with my bike, I couldn’t help wondering how the Motolite would stack up…a little bit of the ‘grass is always greener’ phenomenon I suppose. Anyway, then Fate intervened again and dealt me another trump card…the chance for an extended test-ride on the Titus Motolite II!!!! What an opportunity.
The Motolite is the most versatile frame in the Titus lineup and it and is offered in several versions to satisfy most end-users. These include the standard all aluminum version, the Motolite II which has carbon seatstays, a titanium frame and the high-zoot Exogrid model where carbon fiber is fused into titanium skeleton…very sexy.
