So I’ve finally gotten my first Ti Fly ride under my belt. I’ve got some ideas about it, so here they are.
First, this is what I’ve done:
Panaracer FireXCPro 2.1 tires
11-32 SRAM cassette
Ergon GC2 grips
Wellgo Mag/Ti pedals
Tacx bottle cages
Salsa Quick-flip seat clamp
The setup was tires at 30 psi front / 25 psi rear and the SID at 110+/100- with rebound at minimum (fastest) setting. The tire pressures were inadvertently set low.
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The ride I took was about 20 miles, with probably 18 of it on fire roads that varied from well groomed (close to a subdivision) to uber-gnarly and a small amount of single track. There was just shy of 3500 feet of climbing.
My frame of reference is pretty skewed. My 1998 Schwinn S-20 is a heavy, full suspension bike. The rear swing-arm doesn’t really work as a suspension all that well. It is an OK climber, but only has a small amount of travel and doesn’t do that great soaking up bumps. On top of that, it’s been probably 4 years since I was out on it.
First thing out of the parking lot was a climb. I only kind of remembered it was there. On the way up I was pedaling pretty hard and going up at a pretty hard clip. I ratcheted my right thumb until it wouldn’t go any more. It got a little easier, but it was still hard going. My bike computer showed it was a 13% grade…quite the warm-up. It was only at the top that I noticed I was in my middle chain-ring. OK, score one for climbing. This road isn’t rutted out too bad, so grip really wasn’t an issue.
The next climb was short and sweet. I had a good run going into it and cleared it without much drama. The next 2 kicked my butt (they are the middle and last climb in the picture). This time I was smart enough to get down in the gears, but I just ran out of steam. The first time because it was rocky and rutted and my technique sucked and I was on a wrong part of the road. The second one was just strength. I had good grip, I just couldn’t seal the deal. Both times I hopped off the bike at about the 26% grade point. Ya know what? That’s pretty freakin’ steep. The second one maxed at about 28%. I ended up having to abandon a couple other climbs, but these were 35-36% walls. I don’t feel too bad for walking them. I did clear a 21%’er and everything in the high teens. All in all, I have to say that this bike has the goods when it comes to climbing. It’s mostly about the engine, but the bike has to be able to put the torque to the ground without spinning out when going up those steep grades, and I didn’t have that problem even once.
The next thing to comment on is the ride. PCad described it as ‘mushy’. I’m not sure what that means, and I don’t think that’s a word I would use. It did feel like to me that there was _something_ absorbing the bumps, though. On the more rutted and washboarded descents I was off the saddle, but didn’t really feel like I was getting pounded by the seat. Some of the washboard surfaces were enough that they would noticeably slow the bike even when on a fairly steep decline. They weren’t big jumps and hits, but it was pretty freakin’ bumpy. At first, my form was off and I was holding on too tight and leaning too far forward. This made a lot of feedback through the bars and in general the bike was unstable. As I got more comfortable I would get weight off the front and let it float. That’s when it started to come more alive for me. Keep in mind I haven’t been mountain biking in quite a while.
I don’t know if I felt the SID being noodly or not. I don’t have much to compare with. It seemed to take the bumps a little better than my old fork, but not _hugely_ better. The bumps were definitely still there. I don’t know if that’s a criticism of the SID or a kudos to the old Englund Air Cartidges. I haven’t had any tuning time on the SID, so I’m sure that by tuning the pressures I can make it happier. One thing that I noticed that impressed me was that when descending and going over washboard then hitting a rut I didn’t get the big ‘pitch forward’. It did a good job of soaking up some pretty ugly bump combinations.
The rear of the bike feels more planted than my old bike in terms of traction and ride over bumps. The old bike would kick off the top of bumps really bad. It was a cheap non-adjustable damper that wasn’t valved correctly. If I were just dropped on this bike, I would guess that it had a suspension on the flats or descents. It’s only when out of the saddle climbing (on the really steep stuff) that you know it’s a hard-tail (and want it that way). I’m guessing that the tires I put on it had some to do with this feeling, but they couldn’t be everything.
The one thing on the bike that is just mind-blowing is the brakes. Holey-Shmoley! So much power even when using a single finger and really great modulation. These are so much better than V-brakes I can’t believe it. Some of the descents were on pretty nasty wash-outs, rocks, and they were also sandy. I never felt like the brakes were even working up a sweat. They just worked.
XTR drivetrain is nice, but honestly, not my cup of tea. In particular, the downshifts are too vague. Some people call them ‘butter’, but I call it, “Did I get 1 gear or 3?”. I like SRAM X.0 components…twisters more than triggers. The detents are very pronounced and the shifting is very fast. The XTR is probably just as fast and it’s super nice, but I just like the other feel better. I notice the same difference with my SRAM Force on my road bike. Maybe that’s a change to make, but no time soon. It is worth noting that the setup of all the shifters and deraillers was spot on.
I think that Mike at BD has made several little unnecessary compromises with this bike that need to be re-thought. The first is tires. We all understand he wants to get his flagship bike under 20 pounds. The tires that come stock are just not useable on standard trails. The Panaracers I bought are 550g tires (relatively light) and much more useable. The second is the cassette. I’m sure he has a boat-load of Ultegra cassettes and is again shooting for a weight target. It’s just not a very good choice for the vast majority of users. I’ve probably put 2-3 pounds on my bike since I pulled it out of the box. The things I’ve done have made it a better bike, though, and I think Mike needs to keep that in perspective if he’s going to keep people happy with this bike.
I can say that I’m pretty pleased with what I’ve gotten. I’ve been a while without a mountain bike and having one of this caliber is more than enough encouragement to go out and get a little dirty. So I guess that makes me a shill. I guess I'll join the crowd.
