Strengths: This bike is strong and light, hard to find those combinations these days.from what i understand i got it for pretty cheap.
Weaknesses: now what am i supposed to put here????
Bottom Line:
BUY this bike right now. one of the best bikes ive ever ridden 5" of travel thats a pretty good amount travel. I love this bike. hope you can get it as low-priced as i did!This is a great bike good for cross country and light DH
Submitted by
Justin Hoppmann
a Weekend Warrior
from Tempe, AZ
Date Reviewed: August 30, 2001
Strengths: Stiff, great suspension. Its a Titus
Weaknesses: Limited shock and travel options
Bottom Line:
I love this bike, since they have replaced it with the Switchblade some of my concerns have been rectified by Titus. The SB has adjustable travel (you still are'nt supposed to put a coil on it). The guys at Titus are great to work with and are a class act (+ they are only 1/2 a mile from my house).
Bike Setup: Z1CR, XT Disc Rhyno Lites, Thompson post + stem....
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Scott
a Cross-Country Rider
from Lake Oswego, OR
Date Reviewed: November 14, 1999
Strengths: Excellent suspension action, minimal bobbing, rigid, rigid rigid rear with no slop
Weaknesses: Perhaps cost
Bottom Line:
What a killer ride. For a 5 travel rear suspension ride, this bike really puts the power to the trail. The action is plush, bobbing is minimal (though more than the Truth), and the bike is laterally stiff, preserving good single track handling. Construction details (like a CNC'd one piece bottom bracket shell/lower pivot) are jewel-like in execution. This alone makes this bike a great choice for a rider wanting more than the average 3 cross country travel in a capable cross country bike. Also, Chris at Titus is wonderful to work with. I stopped by the factory, unannounced, and he dropped what he was doing to set up some demo bikes for me to ride. Let me borrow the Moto-lite for an afternoon, pointed me to a local trail, and would have let me have the bike as long as I wanted. I would have no reservations buying a bike from Titus. Clearly a first rate operation.
Similar Products Used: Ellsworth Truth, Specialized FSR, Psycle Werks Wild Hare, Titus Racer X
Bike Setup: White Brothers Front, Fox rear, XTR mix
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Andrew Howard
a Cross-Country Rider
from Los Gatos, CA
Date Reviewed: July 4, 1999
Bottom Line:
Hello all, this review is actually a response to an email I recieved from Recardo Ledesema in the Phillippines, that was a request based on my previous review. I've been unable to get my response through to his system, so this is the only place he is sure to find it. Sorry if this bothers anyone.RicardoFirst of all, the bushings have not presented any problems. Well built and aligned bikes do not generally have a problem here. The bushings will wear and need to be replaced eventually. This is something that can be done by you or a more qualified bike mechanic. I have ridden a chuck as well, and it is a very fine bike. I also spoke with the owner / pres of the company several times. Though I'm a weight weenie, he made it clear that he wasn't very fond of his light weight full suspension bike, and pushed the performance of the CRFS. He also made it clear that this bike is not designed for air shocks. The Moto Lite on the other hand is specifically designed for an air shock, and is thereby a good pound lighter. The Quasi Moto with coil over shock is much closer to the weight of the Chuck CRFS. In addition the Quasi Moto has an adjustable linkage that allows for optimized use of air shocks as well. When it comes to distinctive looks and paint jobs the nod clearly goes to the Chuck. I ordered the midnight black Moto Light, which is black with a blue over glaze, sounds nice, but it's just a black bike. The blue is nice, but the red is not to my taste. Chuck on the other hand is very responsive, and will do custom colors for an extra $100.00 or so. The finish is very fine. In the end, I came to the conclusion that the bearings vs bushings issue was not so important, and the weight / performance issues were decisive.Both of these bikes will give you a great deal of fun, but if you want to race, I would say that neither is a really good choice. Simultaneous with my purchase of the Moto Lite, I got my son a Psychle Werks Wilde Hare, with an anodized finish. This is a light and exquisitely built and detailed bike, that can be switched between 3.5 and 4.5 inches of rear travel, and can also be modified to give 5 inches. At 3.5 inches this would be a good cross country race bike. Bret at KALO is very knowledgeable, and has many satisfied mail order customers.The March 1999 issue of Mountain Bike Action had a nice review of the Moto Lite. With a White Brothers DC118 fork, they weighed the bike at 24.5 lbs.Good luck with your purchase.Andy Howard
Submitted by
Hollywood
a Weekend Warrior
from Salt Lake City
Date Reviewed: May 18, 1999
Strengths: Balanced suspension
Weaknesses: poor climber
Bottom Line:
If I were to rebuild the bike. I would change the front fork to a Marz. Z1. The White brothers is a great downhill fork, but it bobs quite alot on steep climbs. The frame design is great and gives little to no pedal feedback. O by the way MBA says the bike can be build up to weigh in under 25lbs with the White Brothers DC 118. I don't think it could be done. My bike weighs 28lbs: medium frame XTR everything, syncros stem, handlebar, and seatpost. Flite saddle.
Bike Setup: White Brothers DC 118 Full Shimano XTR
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Andrew
a Cross-Country Rider
from Los Gatos, CA
Date Reviewed: April 26, 1999
Strengths: Light weight Balanced long travel ride
Weaknesses: none so far
Bottom Line:
This frame is optimized to work witha very specific air shock (details at Titus web site). This allows for a very supple 4.5 rear travel on a 6lb (inc shock) frame. The march Mountain Bike Action has a review of the moto lite configured largly as mine is. I havn't weighed mine but they give the weight at 24.5 lbs. I started out considering the Chuck CRFS, Intense Uzzi SL, Mountain Cycles Mojo CSX, Turners, etc. Fortunatly for me, and unfortunatly for Bret, I livr realatively close to KALO MTB. I called and asked about demoing some bikes, and bret offered to meet my son and I at nearby riding area. He just showed up with a trailer full of most of the above bikes plus some others and let us have at it. Ironically I was never able to Demo the Titus Moto Lite, but my favorites were the Chuck CRFS, Psycle Werks Wilde Hare and the Mountain Cycles San Andreas. After reading the above mentioned article, and pestering both Bret and Chris at Titus several times, I decided on the Moto Lite. I must say that the ride is everything I hoped for, and compared favorably with the others mentioned. I ride the trails near my house nearly every day, and usually get a long ride somewhere else on the weekends. My previous bike was a Klien Mantra Comp, which is a great ride but I found it too easy to get into trouble with, at speed. I have a Stratos Helix Pro with lockout on the rear of the Mantra, and I was concerned about climbing with the Moto Lite, with no lock out, but I have done some long and varried climbs, and it fealt great. I wii not be considering changing to the lockout version of the Fox air shock. Anyway, if you are considering some of the frames that I mentioned, you should definatly consider the Moto Lite, and you should start by checking the frames section at KALOMTB.com, or call Bret.
