Submitted by
Ralphie
a Weekend Warrior
from Atlanta
Date Reviewed: October 11, 2004
Strengths: Its a Titus. You have everything good that goes with that. Customer service phenomenal, they stand behind their products (even though I bought it on EBay!!)
Weaknesses: Front end not as stiff as the 2003-4 models. Proof that Titus just keeps pushing the envelope. Rear triangle was replaced with IS brake tab version. (previously had been 'Old Style' Hayes)
Bottom Line:
I bought this 1999 Frame in 2001 for 700 bucks. A good deal for both of us, I got a dream bike, and he got needed cash. I had come from a GF Sugar and Zaskar XC bike, knowing that I needed more bike. I had tried Santa Cruz, Intense, Ellsworth etc. They all seemed nice, but a new frame was too much. Then I stumbled upon a Titus on EBay and the rest is history. I moved my best parts from my Zaskar and Sugar to this bike (which explains the Koobi Saddle on a freeride bike). When Titus says this is a do-everything bike, it rings true. I have had this bike on long ascents, long flat road rides in the desert (used to commute on it 44 miles), taken 5' rock drops and jumps that seem to get bigger and bigger with each season. I have ridden in the snow in New York in January, in Death Valley CA in the summer, in skate parks, Redwood forests, steep rocky/sandy/muddy/slick/ trails, log bridges...the list goes on. I have put more than 3000 miles on this bike. In all that time, I snapped two bolts on the rear suspension, a bolt on the Thompson stem, tacoed a couple rims, tore my precious saddle a bit (awesome saddle btw). I replaced the bolts with aircraft grade titanium parts that were cheap (about 5-10 bucks a bolt) since the bolts are standard size. I have had no problems since, and I have riden even hard on it lately. This thing just flat out performs. Its a perfect all-rounder for the rowdy. Its stable enough to do skinnies (I do a hundred yards on a 6" practice skinny routinely), and it flies nicely. I have the geometry set up at 4.5 in the reat because I feel it is better balanced and I love the plush ride. I am 6'1" and currently about 200 pounds so I am not some scrawny XC guy, but I love to crank up 'challenge hills'. This bike climbs very nicely, nothing like the Zaskar for speed, but I can get up real techinical terrain, ride up stairs and other urban stuff is no problem. Its light enough to flick, but strong enough to huck. When I buy a new bike, I will buy one of those shiny new 3-4000 beauties Titus currently sells. They are worth every pennie. Until then I am gushing over my second hand, 5 year old, multi-owner, work of pedal motion art.
Similar Products Used: GT Zaskar, Gary Fisher Sugar, GT I-Drive, GT RTS
Bike Setup: Avid 8" mech front AND rear (tight squeeze but fits), Fox Vanilla Forx, Fox Vanilla R shock, easton monkeylight bars, Thompson Stem, Rhyno Lite/XT, IRC Kujo DH, Koobi TRI saddle, BlackSPire Rock ring
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Submitted by
Louis Gomez
a Weekend Warrior
from Tucson, Arizona
Date Reviewed: May 10, 2002
Strengths: Quality build Customer sevice Durable and reliable Climbs very well for its weight Confidence inspiring and forgiving
Weaknesses: Quality and durability comes at a price ($ & lbs.)
Bottom Line:
An excellent heavy duty trail bike for aggressive trail riding, light/medium downhilling, and medium free riding in a well thought out design that is standing the test of time. The suspension design is among the best and the innate handling is also perfect for aggressive riding, a little on the slow side but ultra stable. The quality construction translates into reliabilty and durability that can take continuous poundings that would breakdown a lesser bike. As nearly perfect of an amalgamation of XC-TB/DH/FR as possible.
Climbs very well, especially in technical sections. I can usually keep pace with with most FS-XC riders on general climbs but then the Quasi dominates when the uphills get technical. Going down not much short of a North Shore bomber or full on downhiller will offer a performance advantage.
I experimented with diferent set ups and parts. After the few months I just ran the coil over (tried an air shock) in 6" mode and left the heavier bomb proof components on and never looked back. Its about 32 lbs, but as its such a pleasure to ride I have developed stronger legs and shoulders to compensate.
You get what you pay for in this price range, and the QM is an excellent choice for aggressive trail riders with a free ride bug. I sent a Fish and a Heckler to an early grave, the Quasi is still going strong and has endured progressively harder riding. I plan on adding a Super T soon.
Similar Products Used: Heckler (good but dead), Uzzi-SL (Friends-nice), Bullet (Friends-good), assorted Fish (entry-level and dead/friends-OK), Specialized (demoed-OK), Moto-lite (2nd bike: sweet trailbike.
Bike Setup: Z-1/Millenium, XT-XTR 9 Rapid Rise, SRP LRP, D-521's on Hugis, Avid Disc, Thomson and Azonic.
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Submitted by
Richard McKernan
from Lakewood CO
Date Reviewed: March 3, 2002
Strengths: Strong frame Adjustable travel Light for a freeride
Weaknesses: Adjusting the coil shock is difficult because the seat post gets in the way (minor).
Bottom Line:
I bought the QM for its frame strength and suspension travel. I also bought it because it was cheap! It is a ‘99 model and had been hanging around the LBS for a long time with the price slowly dropping. I demoed a switchblade for a couple of days last year and really liked it (see reviews under the Switchblade category). I ended up buying the QM for a little over a thousand dollars less than a comparably equipped Switchblade. I really like the feel of the coil-over compared to the air of the Switchblade.
I do everything on this bike. Even though it is essentially a freeride bike, it works well for my needs as an XC bike. It’s not as flickable as my old Zascar, but I seem to get up the hills in about the same time. Seems a little strange with the QM being around 30 pounds, I expected a harder time with climbing. I suspect that the extra traction from the rear shock compensates for the extra weight I am lugging up. On a normal loop around my local trail I am too beat up by the downhill on my HT to do more than one loop. My second time riding the trail on the QM I did two loops because I felt so much fresher and got in a much better hill work-out as a result.
The QM begs to be launched. I am about 190 lbs and landings are really plush. I even landed with the front wheel crossed up just recently and the suspension gave me time to recover. I am constantly looking for things to launch off and logs to jump, stuff I have previously avoided most of the time. I think I could probably have gotten by with a lesser-travel (and maybe slightly cheaper) fs rig like what everyone else has and still got a lot of the benefits but I really like having six inches of coil-over in the back (I haven’t even tried it at the 4 1/2 inch setting yet). I will also race the QM XC this summer. That’s probably an anathema to the gram’mers , but I will be racing in the Keystone Xterra off-road triathlon. Even the tri guys are all over keeping the weight down, but this race-course has an 8-mile downhill piece with rock gardens, roots and drop-offs that almost everyone stops and gets off for (with the exception of heroes like Ned Overend!). Anyway I will probably get to the top in about the same time as I did on the HT but I will get down in half the time and I won’t be so completely wasted for the trail run (yuck!). I suppose if I was a pro and seconds counted I would ride a lighter fs bike for the climbing and suffer some pain on the descent from the lesser travel but since I am about an hour behind the winners as it is, I would rather have the pleasure and fun of the QM over the pain and suffering of a lighter less capable bike!
I realize that there’s a psychological thrill out of having a light bike, but I get a thrill out of having a relatively heavy bike and still charging up the hills and a much bigger thrill out of flying down, taking the most heinous lines and floating through everything in my way. I gladly pay the weight price for greater launch capability!
It’s still pretty weird stopping and adjusting the travel on the psylo SL, I can adjust it down while riding but the necessity of completely unweighting the handle bars to extend it back out have so far required a complete stop and almost caused a trip down the wrong side of the mountain.
I have not had any trouble with the bike’s geometry when having only 3 inches in front with the 6 in the back. It is not recommended in the manual, but I only have it set there for the long extended climbs (typical for Colorado!). It may just be that I am not a sufficiently finesse rider to notice the sketchiness that the geometry charts and other riders allude to. For most everything else I leave it at 4 - 5 inches.
Similar Products Used: Demoed Titus Switchblade & RacerX. Own GT Zaskar
Bike Setup: Mostly XT. Fox coil-over/Psylo SL.
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Submitted by
Nat
from Tucson, AZ
Date Reviewed: December 3, 2001
Bottom Line:
For anyone who has the QM with the original style rocker plates, Titus has new beefier plates that can retrofit your frame. In order to do the swap, you'll need to buy the sealed bearing kits and a new Fox 8" shock from Titus. The new plates also use an M8 (8mm) shock bolt rather than the skimpy M6's. The change will cost you a few hundred dollars, but MAKE THE CHANGE! It was the best thing I ever did to my bike. No more broken M6 bolts, no creaks, no flex, feels like it added an extra inch to the travel. It breathed new life into my suspension.
Submitted by
John Starbuck
a Cross Country Rider
from Folsom, CA
Date Reviewed: July 26, 2001
Strengths: Quality of travel, stiffness, adjustablity, customer service
Weaknesses: hmm, nothing i can think of
Bottom Line:
This bike rocks, the quality of travel is amazing, no sqeaks (unlike the mountain Cycle), no pivot slop, beefy rear, point it and go. The other great thing about this bike is the customer service. These people care about thier product and are willing to work with you. I used to be a mountain cycle guy but do to a few interesting expiriences I have bought a non Mountain Cycle product and I am sooooo stoked
Similar Products Used: Mountain Cycle CXS, San Andreas, Moho STS
Bike Setup: 2000 Titus AL Quasi Frame, 2000 Marzocchi z1 qr20, real rear disc hub, mavic 317's, king headset, 2001 hayes 6" disks, sdg, kore post/stem/xt/sram
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Submitted by
Chris Bailey
a Weekend Warrior
from Rocklin, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: March 30, 2001
Strengths: The quality of the suspension is superb, at least compared to what I've ridden before. I like being able to switch between 4.5" of travel and 5.8". I only started using the 4.5" mode recently, but it's great for those more pure XC oriented rides with lots of climbing. The head angle change is noticeable and nice in that situation.
The bike climbs very well, and descends incredibly. It also handles quite quickly for this type of bike. I love this thing in really rocky terrain, it is soo smooth. It also eats up big drops nicely. My level or riding has gone up considerably thanks to this bike.
The ability to call Titus and have a person answer and talk to a technically knowledgeable person right away is great. They have also been usually responsive to my emails. Great company to work with.
Weaknesses: As with a lot of 4-bar bikes, you need to flip the B-tension screw around to the other side on XTR deraileurs (and maybe others), to get just a bit more tension so the rear der doesn't hit the chainstay in real rough stuff.
Bottom Line:
If you want a more "freeride" oriented bike, that you can easily climb on, this is the ticket. I regularly do 3-5 hour rides on this bike with plenty of climbing (although of course the descents are the truly fun part). The adjustability is something to factor in, and the quality of the frame and suspension is superb. The bike is very versatile, love it!
Bike Setup: 2000 Z1 QR20 fork w/ heavy springs, Fox Float R rear shock (also have Fox Vanilla R), Hope Enduro brakes (7.5" front), XTR shifters and deraileurs, Race Face cranks & BB, King headset, Easton bar & stem, Hope Bulb rear hub, QR 20 front hub, Velocity Aeroheat rims, WTB saddle, Race Face XY seat post, Salsa seat QR.
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Submitted by
Rob Horne
a Downhiller
from Northboro, Ma
Date Reviewed: November 6, 2000
Strengths: Bike handles steep and tight singletrack very well, high speed decents are a breeze and big drops are sucked up nicely for a 6.5" travel bike.
Weaknesses: Bike gets alittle sketchy in the loose rocks common to the NorthEast race courses. Big air and flat landings are alittle harsh, but if you suck-up the take-off and get those tires back on the ground you'll gain ground on the guys with 8" of travel. Could use 8"rear disc in rear for Hayes set-up.
Bottom Line:
This is a great bike, I race at the toughest place in the East (Plattekill)known for death drops steep single track and rock gardens that Martha Stewert with oogle over! This mountain is nasty and the bike handles it well. This bike has landed me on the podium a few times this season! This bike set-up properly keeps up with all the "Real Downhill Bikes" in Expert class. Alan at Titus is helpfull and gets parts out quickly, this is important since there is no local dealer in my area. Love the bike, I'm gonna build-up a new one for the 2001 season with 7.5" travel and White Bros. DH-3 with similar components, look-out!!I am going to build-up the old frame for free-riding, that with make a sweet trail bike. Buy a Titus new or used you'll love it.
Similar Products Used: Kona stab Intense Schwinn Straight 8
Bike Setup: Maxxis mobster up front, high roller DH on rear mounted on Double Wides. White Brothers 150(6") with Azonic stem and Answer Pro-Taper bars. MRP chain guide and XT derailer with rapid fire shifter. Hayes disc brakes 8" up front 6" rear.
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Submitted by
Stu Miller
a Weekend Warrior
from Littleton, CO
Date Reviewed: October 14, 2000
Strengths: Freeride delight Good on seated climbs Best on any descent
Weaknesses: None, since I installed sealed bearings
Bottom Line:
Finally broke down and replaced the 10mm bushings with sealed bearings. Bought them directly from Allen @ Titus for $150 for all 3. The Horst Link in the rear remains a bushing. Best upgrade I've made to the bike.
The process for installation of the bearings was no big deal. Titus includes installation tools which are just really long bolts with really big washers to squeeze those babies in. You may have to replace the rocker arms depending on your setup. I got away with special 10mm reducers for my rocker arms. If you go this route you need to have one of those old bottom bracket tools that grab onto 2 little holes in the reducers. I use a Blue Park Tool for the job. Their a washers used to center the chainstays and rocker arms. A little experimentation and centering is no problem.
The travel is smoother now and maintenance is reduced to brushing off the dirt. I've always liked this bike, now I like it even more.
Bike Setup: XL Quazi w/Fox Air Vanilla Mix of SRAM, Shimano, Raceface, & Bontrager
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Submitted by
Mike alstatt
a Cross Country Rider
from mesquite Tx
Date Reviewed: October 6, 2000
Strengths: Beefy design,quality bushing construction
Weaknesses: hard to clean
Bottom Line:
This is a well built fs design that will not noodle on you.No pedal bob no matter how hard you hammer it the rear tracks well.Nice nitrite coated 10 mm pivot tubes very durable.Bearing retrofit kit available.Solid built,you don't even worry about it,no troubles whatsoever with this bike
Weaknesses: Small amount of filing necessary on a few points (dropouts, shock mount) to allow necessary clearance. Titus very rarely replies to Emails, this makes it very difficult to get assistance with issues if you're not in the U.S.A. Due to the change from bushings to bearings, you can't put the new DH rearend onto the older frames :o(
Bottom Line:
For a 30lb bike with 6" of plush travel at each end, it climbs amazingly well. My other FS is a sub 23lb (all XTR with airshocks, carbon bar etc) ProFlex 757, which will outclimb most HTs easily as the crosslink & rear suspension are perfect for climbing, I expected a LOT more trouble climbing on the Quasi, due to the weight & the fact that I had twice as much soft suspension under me, but it still powers up hills with quite reasonable aplomb!
Downhill, the suspension just soaks up the bumps so that you can run a lot faster & easier. Haven't managed to bottom the suspension as yet, though my much lighter friend with an FSR BigHit does on his. (More to the point, he hasn't bottomed out the Quasi either, he goes harder on both than I do!)
Singletrack, I expected a lot of problems with the slack steering angles of the Hanebrink (essentially a 8 " fork with spacers to limit the travel), so I was very pleasantly surprised to find the the Quasi is quite nimble on tight, twisty singletrack.
All in all, I'm very happy with the Titus, it's well worth the thousands that I threw into it, and the hassles of the 18 month build process. It will fill my needs for a while yet (it has to, no way can I afford another bike like this!)
Submitted by
Dave/mighty mouse speedy
a Downhiller
from orem utah
Date Reviewed: September 5, 2000
Strengths: every thing its stiff very smooth adjustable climbs great desends perfect fast fast fast I have so many bikes this is the ultimate
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
you can not find a better bike for any price I have tried I just got lucky and got a unused 98 quasi for 685 on ebay:) and am living the life of fast downhills and big drops DO NOT GET ANYTHING ELSE JUST KEEP THOSE BUSHING LUBED AND YOUR ALWAYS SITTING PRETTY.
Similar Products Used: fsr(crap)(cannondales(crap)kona(desent)intense(good)titus the best
Bike Setup: fr3 fork chris king xtr the works
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Submitted by
Noel Saturay
a Cross Country Rider
from Tempe
Date Reviewed: August 5, 2000
Strengths: -Climb like a monkey -Strong frameset -excellent bushing on all the pivots -Horst link is awesome
Weaknesses: Ghost Shifting- could it be from the Horst Link? Costumer Service- Sorry people but maybe I'm the unlucky one. Could I be that one percent? I didn't get the same treatment as reviewers did when I walk into Titus headquarter. Maybe Chris wasn't himself, twice? Obiviously that didn't prevent me from buying this bike.
Bottom Line:
I'm updating my review from last year. After 4000 miles, I can't possible think of any other bike to ride, well, maybe another Titus bike. However I did find one weakness. I'm experiencing ghost shifting. Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm guessing it's the horst link design. I've gotten my moneys worth on this bike so 5 flames on the value. I will also maintain the Overall rating too because I've tried other bike that hasn't match the perfomance of this bike.
Submitted by
Jennifer Brooks
from Fort Collins, CO, USA
Date Reviewed: July 29, 2000
Strengths: This is my second Titus bike (previously owned a Racer X -yes, I am spoiled) and this bike is everything I dreamed about! I am a 5'5" female rider and this is one of the ONLY fat travel full-suspension bikes made for riders my size. Titus, and the dealers it sells to, really take the time to make sure the bike is properly fit to your body size and your riding style. This bike climbs equally as well as the Racer X (which if you read the reviews is a climbing machine) and bombs down the gnarliest single track. It is stiff laterally and the superior suspension design (see the Titus web-site for details) eliminates the bouncing you see on some other full-suspension bikes.
Weaknesses: I have yet to find a weakness on this Titus or my previous one.
Bottom Line:
Titus cares about their customers and only chooses dealers who are going to take the time to match the bike to the customer. They usesuperior materials and suspension designs! Check out the reviews on this bike and all the other Titus and you will see why you, too, will love this bike! Titus is tight!
Similar Products Used: Titus Racer X-AL, Cannondale Super V
Bike Setup: Marzocchi Z1 CR, XTR, Mythos XC tire in the rear and Route 66 2.3 tire in the front, Titec Riser Bar, and comfy Terry race saddle
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Submitted by
Jason
a Racer
from West Haven, Ct
Date Reviewed: March 27, 2000
Strengths: Excellent craftsmenship, quality materials, adjustability, superb ride quality. Titus offers excellent customer service .
Weaknesses: So far, all of the questions that I have had, have been answered by Alan @ Titus.
Bottom Line:
Excellent bike. Rides awesome, looks unbelievable, totally adjustable. I am totally pleased with my experience with this bike so far and would recomment anyone looking for a small volume, high quality, boutique builder, check out www.titusti.com and compare them to your other choices. I think you will be pleasently suprised. They are a great company. The bike isn't cheap, but you get what you pay for!!!
Similar Products Used: Intense Uzzi SL, Cannondale Super V's, Raven, Specialized FSR
Bike Setup: 2000 model w/WhiteBros SC90AT, total XTR except Hayes hydraulic discs, Chris King Headset & disc-go-tech hubs, azonic riser, oury grips, dt revolution, speedplay, raceface turbine lp cranks, rings and BB. Selle Italia, Thomson Flite and Syncros hinged stem
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Submitted by
Big Mike
a Downhiller
from Virginia
Date Reviewed: February 27, 2000
Strengths: I am the THIRD owner of this main frame. The previous two owners did not baby this frame and I don't either. It has seen extensive freeride use and has just been rebuilt as my downhill race bike w/ the 6.5" rear (traded rears w/ another Quasi rider who wanted to race slalom on his)
Weaknesses: The only thing holding this bike back is the lack of tire clearance in the rear- however don't get the wrong idea,I'm running a 2.5 Maxxis. You just are not fitting a 3.0 unless you run 24" wheels
Bottom Line:
Like I said before, I'm the third owner of this main frame and I've been riding it hard for three seasons now.(I've been riding since '85 and do not take it easy on my bikes) If you stay on top of your bushing maintainance (highly recommended) this bike will serve you well for xc,freeride, or dh, depending on how you spec. and set up. Other reveiws mention good customer service and I have to reiterate that fact-- If you have problems or questions, call Chris and he will help, he stands behind everything he makes 100%.
