patentcad

Just got that Fly Ti hard tail, and I wanted to share some observations. I also ride a Ti road bike. In comparison:

• The rear triangle of the Fly Ti has far more vertical compliance than the Ibis Ti Road. It feels much mushier. For me that's perfect for an MTB, it's almost like a hard tail with a rear suspension effect. At the same time the BB and front end are quite solid. That was precisely what I was hoping for when I ordered the bike, but I was surprised @ how well the frame rides, particularly in the woods.

• The Ibis Ti road that I ride exhibits just about none of that rear triangle mushiness, only some vertical compliance that absorbs road shock and really big bumps, but it's much more rigid than the MTB.

I've been a Ti fan for 17 years, and now I'm a bigger Ti fan. Great material for a bike frame. Nothing really feels quite as good. If you own a Ti MTB, wondering what your impressions of your own particular ride are. This Ti hard tail is so much better than my previous 3 MTBs (all hard tails) it's rather amazing.

251

Of my two hardtails:

Specialized M2

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&&

Titanium Eriksen

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gfrance

Love that Eriksen

patentcad

So 251, nice photos but how about responding to my question? Curious how your Ti bike rides. Is that Ti rear triangle more compliant than the Specialized??

Chris_F

I think that's what he's implying with the jackhammer and Cadilac pictures.

251

Yes, both the ti and the Caddy are more compliant than the M2 and the jackhammer. Expanding on that, the M2 is one of the roughest most rigid frames I've ridden. However,that is not a bad thing. The M2 has a great direct feeling and feels great with a singlespeed drivetrain, but it does tend to beat you up. That said, I've ridden the M2 for 13 years, thousands of miles (including three MS-150 tours on pavement). On the other hand, the Erkisen feels "nicer", which is difficult to describe. I think the Caddy photo sums it up; the ti frame is not 2008 pseudo-Cadillac smooth, but real 1959 big tail fin pink Cadillac smooth...

patentcad

Yep. I'd say my Fly ti is pink Cadillac smooth too. I like it. Thanks for the feedback 251.

This thread sounds like a science fiction film where the characters have #'s for names.

jimblairo

I ride a 63cm Litespeed Ultimate which has a very stiff front triangle and a more compliant rear triangle. I'm not as flexible as I used to be and 2 or 3 hours on this bike puts a beating on my legs.

Last year I had Litespeed build me a custom Pisgah for off road touring. What a ride! The rear end is very cushy while the very large chain stays soak up the vibrations. The first month I had it I put in 2400 km on single track and fire lanes.

Zaskar24

That Eriksen is sweet looking 251. I have a Ti bike made when Kent was at his last company. It is a soft tail though anf two days after picking it up I shattered a finger and had surgery 3 days later so I have not really had a chance to do more than shake down cruises around the bike shop that built it up for me. How do you like the Motolites so far? I went with them on mine as well.

Pcad, I do know that my Ti frame is so much more like butter than my '97 GT Zaskar does. That thing feels like a board but it takes off like a ***** ape when you hammer on it. It just beats the ever loving snot out of me and that is not fun with my bad bike. Hopefully I will be able to see how the YBB rides sometime in October .

rbrsddn

Here's a pic of my '99 Ti Fat in winter mode. It has variable butted tubing on the chainstays that result in a compliant ride. This bike is pretty comfortable for 3 hour rides. I just ordered a White Bros. Magic 80 to upgrade the front fork. I love this bike!

251

I'm impressed that you could i.d. the brakes from the photo. The Motolites are very nice, as are the Love Levers. They are very effective with ceramic wheels and have a great feel; much better than the Speed Dial 7/Single Digit 7 combo on my M2, though I still like the Speed Dial 7 levers. I have a set a NeoRetro/Touring brakes on my cyclocross bike, and I haven't found a Paul's product I don't like.

The YBB is a great frame. Before deciding on the Eriksen, my top three frames were the Rigormootis, YBB and the Eriksen hardtail. I rode a YBB and was impressed. Do you have any shots of your YBB?

Zaskar24

The give away on the Paul's are were they go into the post 251. No other linear pull that I have seen look like that. My Zaskar still has the XT V's that it came with and still provide decent braking.

This is the YBB before the wheelset for it were built. I went with standard rims instead of ceramic since the trails close down here when it is wet so no mud or wet riding. The only problem is that the front brake squeals under hard braking so far.







Here is a picture of the Zaskar where my nae comes from.

Zaskar24

When I first started looking at Ti bikes in '99 Merlin was second to Moots. There Fat Beat with the Moots soft tail and Cannondale Headshok seemed like a awesome idea. Unfortunately it has taken me 8 years to get a Ti bike. It looks awesome.

roadfix

Frame is a late 90's Dean Colonel.

scrublover

yes.

Zaskar24

What frame is are you running ith a Lyrik fork on it scrublover? And how much travel do you have it set at? Very nice looking bike by the way.

Scott

251

You have good taste in anodized aluminum/saddle color.

Zaskar24

As do you 251. I was wondering what brand grips you were running. That is not all of it though. I have blue CK hubs with blue alloy nipples laced with black spokes to black DT/Swiss XR4.1 rims. Everyone thought I was nuts until they saw it. It just brings the bike together in my opinion.

I do have two questions. Are the Yeti grips lock ons? Is that a U-Turn Reba Team or the standard one and what do you have the travel set at? I am thinking of putting a Reba on the YBB and putting the SID Team on my Zaskar to upgrade from the Judy XC that is on it right now.

Scott

251

That is a lot of blue. Very nice. (check your PMs) The grips are Yeti Speed Grips, the non-locking old style. The fork is a Reba Race, 100 mm w/ lockout. I wanted this frame to have have more fork options, so I had Kent design it for a 100 mm fork. I considered a SID, but went for the Reba for durability. I've blown out a couple of SIDs on my M2, and didn't want to work about it on the new bike. Compared to the SID, the Reba is stiffer and more plush. The obvious drawback of the Reba is the weight. The new '09 SID has larger 32 mm uppers, so it may ride more like the Reba. I also considered a Fox F100. FWIW, the F100 has blue decals...

Zaskar24

I looked at the Yeti site but they do not seem to have the blue anymore. I really like my Cane Creek lock-ons so I will not be trading those out. I actually won a Reba Team in a contest so I have that sitting here with me right now so the price could not be beaten. Free is the best price available at least to me. Even though this frame was originally built for 80mm Moots said the 100mm would be fine so when my hand heals up enough to ride I will probably swap the forks out. When I get done with it I'll make sure to post updated pics of both the YBB and Zaskar.

That Stumpy looks pretty sweet as well.

Scott

Siu Blue Wind

Aren't these two bikes pretty much step siblings? Isn't Eriksen Moots pretty much? Or vice versa?

I wonder how much a Rigor would be.....

Zaskar24

I'm not sure if they are step siblings as much as parent and child. Ok, maybe step sibs is right.

As to the Rigor? You might get away with about $4500? Maybe? If you went all LX. Look at Wrench Science to get an idea how much it might run. I bought my YBB off Ebay and built it up from there. If my wife knew how much I spent I'd never get on a bike again.

EthanYQX

Zaskar, that Moots is damn nice.

Zaskar24

Thank you Crankshaft. I just wish that I could have gotten in one singletrack ride before destroying my hand and taking myself off of anything but a trainer until what looks like October.

Scott

EthanYQX

Oh, ouch. What'd you do?