The new Titan has been my only bike since I bought it. Delivered on Jan. 14, so I’ve had a bit more than a month of ride time on it (minus two weeks off the bike after one of the worst crashes I’ve had in years). It’s been ridden about 100 miles on a variety of trail systems in Phoenix and Sedona.
IMG_0770 by dbozman1173, on Flickr
Basics: It’s a size L frame built out with all the parts off my Ripmo. It’s a decent build with solid parts that survive in a desert environment, including real tires and Cushcore in the rear. The only carbon part is the bars. I don’t know how much it weighs, but it isn’t light. Also note, I ran this most of the listed miles with the Lyrik at 160; I’ve since swapped it to 170.
I’m 6’2, 34 inseam, +2 ape index, 180 pounds before gear. I’m an experienced rider, generally just above average in the climbing department and pretty fast down the mountain (generally top 3% to 10% descending, based on Strava).
IMG_0701 by dbozman1173, on Flickr
I’m very happy I followed the sizing guidelines. I generally ride XL, but the L fits really well with a 45mm stem.
I find the bike to be beautiful, but I’m a sucker for industrial design. I really wanted the black ano, but the raw was going to get to me faster so I went with that. Shout out to Ethan and Dirt Merchant for taking care of my order when he was out of town on a riding vacation. The build was painless and straightforward. As I’ve said elsewhere, the cable routing is a little bit fiddly, but once it’s secured, mine has been dead silent.
I’m searching for some nugget of negativity about the bike, to be honest. Banshee is a small company and I’ve owned previous generations of the Prime, Phantom (one of my favorite bikes of all time) and Rune. While you get a dialed product, you don’t get the subtleties like you do with, say, Ibis. I mean like a nice book or brochure detailing cable routing, chip placement, stickers, etc.
That’s what I’ve got on the negative front.
IMG_0703 by dbozman1173, on Flickr
On the positive front is, well, everything else. I suspected it would be nice as I’ve enjoyed all my previous Banshee bikes, but I wasn’t prepared for just how well this rig rides. It’s really superb.
Here’s your grain of salt: All of my riding is on steep-ish rocky gnar terrain. Our trails are not what I would consider tight; generally fairly open and very, very technical with drops, big climbing ledges, rock gaps and choppy high-speed terrain. I do not shuttle or utilize lift service. All turns are earned. I can’t speak to terrain that’s radically different; if I generally rode flatter or less technical stuff, I very well might have a different opinion. Oh, that brings up another negative point. I was also wanting to build up a new Phantom for more pedally days; the Titan so far has made that unnecessary. Listen up, Banshee, your big bike is so good it’s costing you additional sales!
Suspension setup with the low-end X2 has been super-simple. I plopped about 220 psi in the can, twiddled on a couple clicks of low-speed compression and rebound, and I’ve been riding it that way since. The frame appears to have a pretty big sweet spot for setup.
IMG_0713 by dbozman1173, on Flickr
Look, if you’re reading the numbers and, God forbid, looking at the weight of the frame, you’d probably be appalled at the thought of humping this beast up a mountain. There is just no way the Titan should pedal as well as it does. While it doesn’t have the sense of crispness at the pedals that a well-tuned DW Link bike has, it offers a less jarring and overall equally efficient pedaling platform on the terrain I ride in. There’s no weird dead zones or pedal feedback that those bikes sometimes have. It tracks the ground calmly with excellent traction. Even with the longer rear, I’ve had no issues getting either or both wheels off the ground when needed.
I’ve bettered nearly all my climbing times from quite few other very nice bikes, including the Ripmo. In fact, I set my third-fastest time ever climbing UP National Trail at South Mountain on the Titan. If you’re not familiar with National, it’s not the craziest trail we have here, but it’s a pretty tough climb.
Downhill, the Titan is pretty much what you might expect. It’s a bruiser. It’s plush. It’s also quiet. But it can be ridden with finesse and changes lines with ease. I don’t know that I’d use the word “poppy,” but I’ve had zero issues clearing gaps, doubling up trail features or generally getting the bike off the ground. You do kind of sit in the pocket with the additional rear length, but I think that’s part of what makes the bike so comfortable and intuitive.
And the bike turns. Technically, turning is probably the weakest aspect of my personal game. And we don’t have groomed catch berms here. To illustrate, I PRd a South Mountain trail called Corona de Loma the first time riding it on the Titan. It’s a fall line trail, a little steep, only a mile long but with 20-odd switchbacks on the way down. And these are Phoenix switchbacks, meaning they’re loose, off-camber, strewn with rocks and often have drops right at the apex.
I like bicycles and I tend to go through them at a regular clip. I don’t get emotionally involved and generally view them as pieces of equipment. That said, I can’t tell you how astonishingly pleased I am with the Titan. It’s not exactly short money at $2,300 for a somewhat heavy overseas-built aluminum frame. But, by God, it’s been worth every penny to me.
As a group, we tend to be really fixated on weight and travel numbers and carbon fiber. By those metrics, this bike should not be successful. And yet, it proves to me that there IS something magical when a company is able to get the geometry and suspension kinematics so dialed that nothing else really matters.
The Titan is the best example of that philosophy that I’ve ever owned. Is it for everyone? No bike is and I’m sure this is no exception. But for what I need in a bike, this is the closest thing to a unicorn that’s ever lived in my garage.
Sorry this was so long. Hope it’s helpful for someone.
IMG_0770 by dbozman1173, on FlickrBasics: It’s a size L frame built out with all the parts off my Ripmo. It’s a decent build with solid parts that survive in a desert environment, including real tires and Cushcore in the rear. The only carbon part is the bars. I don’t know how much it weighs, but it isn’t light. Also note, I ran this most of the listed miles with the Lyrik at 160; I’ve since swapped it to 170.
I’m 6’2, 34 inseam, +2 ape index, 180 pounds before gear. I’m an experienced rider, generally just above average in the climbing department and pretty fast down the mountain (generally top 3% to 10% descending, based on Strava).
IMG_0701 by dbozman1173, on FlickrI’m very happy I followed the sizing guidelines. I generally ride XL, but the L fits really well with a 45mm stem.
I find the bike to be beautiful, but I’m a sucker for industrial design. I really wanted the black ano, but the raw was going to get to me faster so I went with that. Shout out to Ethan and Dirt Merchant for taking care of my order when he was out of town on a riding vacation. The build was painless and straightforward. As I’ve said elsewhere, the cable routing is a little bit fiddly, but once it’s secured, mine has been dead silent.
I’m searching for some nugget of negativity about the bike, to be honest. Banshee is a small company and I’ve owned previous generations of the Prime, Phantom (one of my favorite bikes of all time) and Rune. While you get a dialed product, you don’t get the subtleties like you do with, say, Ibis. I mean like a nice book or brochure detailing cable routing, chip placement, stickers, etc.
That’s what I’ve got on the negative front.
IMG_0703 by dbozman1173, on FlickrOn the positive front is, well, everything else. I suspected it would be nice as I’ve enjoyed all my previous Banshee bikes, but I wasn’t prepared for just how well this rig rides. It’s really superb.
Here’s your grain of salt: All of my riding is on steep-ish rocky gnar terrain. Our trails are not what I would consider tight; generally fairly open and very, very technical with drops, big climbing ledges, rock gaps and choppy high-speed terrain. I do not shuttle or utilize lift service. All turns are earned. I can’t speak to terrain that’s radically different; if I generally rode flatter or less technical stuff, I very well might have a different opinion. Oh, that brings up another negative point. I was also wanting to build up a new Phantom for more pedally days; the Titan so far has made that unnecessary. Listen up, Banshee, your big bike is so good it’s costing you additional sales!
Suspension setup with the low-end X2 has been super-simple. I plopped about 220 psi in the can, twiddled on a couple clicks of low-speed compression and rebound, and I’ve been riding it that way since. The frame appears to have a pretty big sweet spot for setup.
IMG_0713 by dbozman1173, on FlickrLook, if you’re reading the numbers and, God forbid, looking at the weight of the frame, you’d probably be appalled at the thought of humping this beast up a mountain. There is just no way the Titan should pedal as well as it does. While it doesn’t have the sense of crispness at the pedals that a well-tuned DW Link bike has, it offers a less jarring and overall equally efficient pedaling platform on the terrain I ride in. There’s no weird dead zones or pedal feedback that those bikes sometimes have. It tracks the ground calmly with excellent traction. Even with the longer rear, I’ve had no issues getting either or both wheels off the ground when needed.
I’ve bettered nearly all my climbing times from quite few other very nice bikes, including the Ripmo. In fact, I set my third-fastest time ever climbing UP National Trail at South Mountain on the Titan. If you’re not familiar with National, it’s not the craziest trail we have here, but it’s a pretty tough climb.
Downhill, the Titan is pretty much what you might expect. It’s a bruiser. It’s plush. It’s also quiet. But it can be ridden with finesse and changes lines with ease. I don’t know that I’d use the word “poppy,” but I’ve had zero issues clearing gaps, doubling up trail features or generally getting the bike off the ground. You do kind of sit in the pocket with the additional rear length, but I think that’s part of what makes the bike so comfortable and intuitive.
And the bike turns. Technically, turning is probably the weakest aspect of my personal game. And we don’t have groomed catch berms here. To illustrate, I PRd a South Mountain trail called Corona de Loma the first time riding it on the Titan. It’s a fall line trail, a little steep, only a mile long but with 20-odd switchbacks on the way down. And these are Phoenix switchbacks, meaning they’re loose, off-camber, strewn with rocks and often have drops right at the apex.
I like bicycles and I tend to go through them at a regular clip. I don’t get emotionally involved and generally view them as pieces of equipment. That said, I can’t tell you how astonishingly pleased I am with the Titan. It’s not exactly short money at $2,300 for a somewhat heavy overseas-built aluminum frame. But, by God, it’s been worth every penny to me.
As a group, we tend to be really fixated on weight and travel numbers and carbon fiber. By those metrics, this bike should not be successful. And yet, it proves to me that there IS something magical when a company is able to get the geometry and suspension kinematics so dialed that nothing else really matters.
The Titan is the best example of that philosophy that I’ve ever owned. Is it for everyone? No bike is and I’m sure this is no exception. But for what I need in a bike, this is the closest thing to a unicorn that’s ever lived in my garage.
Sorry this was so long. Hope it’s helpful for someone.
.
