I took the plunge on a 21" (XL) 2010 Motobecane Fly Ti 29er. The UPS truck dropped it off yesterday and I spent a good part of the night putting it together, and swapping out some parts.
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I installed a carbon riser bar in place of the narrow flat bar that came installed, replaced the foam grips with bolt on Yetis, replaced the Vuelta wheels with Stans Flow and I'm running them tubeless and replaced the Skye saddle with a comfortable and broken-in Selle Italia Flite Ti. All of the components on the bike are top notch from the Reba Race 100mm fork to the Avid Elixir CR hydraulic discs and full XTR components, so I couldn't go wrong there. The 21" frame weighs 3.6 pounds and total weight as I have it set up comes in at 24 pounds.
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First off, the quality of the frame -- one of my main concerns with a Ti frame that doesn't have a lot of history -- is excellent. The welds are every bit as good as welds on titanium frames I've looked at from major manufacturers that cost much more.
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I just got back from 2 night laps at a local singletrack loop. I was expecting to take it slow and easy, since this would be my very first time off road on a 29er, but this bike just inspires confidence. I felt like I barely touched the brakes the whole time and it was more nimble in the tight corners than my 26" full suspension. The second lap was even faster. The bike just flows along that tight singletrack unlike any bike I've ever ridden.
The bike is very stiff when standing and power goes right to the wheels, but the combination of tubeless 29" wheels and the Ti frame make the bike feel soft and forgiving when sitting and going over rocks and logs.
It definitely takes a little more effort to pop the front wheel up onto rocks or logs than it does on a 26er. The first few times when I thought I was pulling up enough to put the tire on top of something, it remained on the ground and just rolled into and over the log/ rock. It is true what everyone says -- that those big wheels roll over anything with ease and smooth out the trail.
Any concerns anyone has about the quality of the Fly Ti 29er can be put to rest. This bike can compete with any of the big boys with confidence, but for about half the price.
I think there are going to be a lot more of these seen on the trails in the future. Great bike.
I installed a carbon riser bar in place of the narrow flat bar that came installed, replaced the foam grips with bolt on Yetis, replaced the Vuelta wheels with Stans Flow and I'm running them tubeless and replaced the Skye saddle with a comfortable and broken-in Selle Italia Flite Ti. All of the components on the bike are top notch from the Reba Race 100mm fork to the Avid Elixir CR hydraulic discs and full XTR components, so I couldn't go wrong there. The 21" frame weighs 3.6 pounds and total weight as I have it set up comes in at 24 pounds.
First off, the quality of the frame -- one of my main concerns with a Ti frame that doesn't have a lot of history -- is excellent. The welds are every bit as good as welds on titanium frames I've looked at from major manufacturers that cost much more.
I just got back from 2 night laps at a local singletrack loop. I was expecting to take it slow and easy, since this would be my very first time off road on a 29er, but this bike just inspires confidence. I felt like I barely touched the brakes the whole time and it was more nimble in the tight corners than my 26" full suspension. The second lap was even faster. The bike just flows along that tight singletrack unlike any bike I've ever ridden.
The bike is very stiff when standing and power goes right to the wheels, but the combination of tubeless 29" wheels and the Ti frame make the bike feel soft and forgiving when sitting and going over rocks and logs.
It definitely takes a little more effort to pop the front wheel up onto rocks or logs than it does on a 26er. The first few times when I thought I was pulling up enough to put the tire on top of something, it remained on the ground and just rolled into and over the log/ rock. It is true what everyone says -- that those big wheels roll over anything with ease and smooth out the trail.
Any concerns anyone has about the quality of the Fly Ti 29er can be put to rest. This bike can compete with any of the big boys with confidence, but for about half the price.
I think there are going to be a lot more of these seen on the trails in the future. Great bike.
