[2X2MTB]

The Racer-X 100 has a 71 head angle... I assume, using a 100mm fork. If I use an adj. travel fork like a Talas or Minute (80-125mm), obviously the head , stand over, seat angle geometry will change on the bike. What I'm wondering is, how different will the bike perform with the various travel settings, and considering that the head angle will change, how can I benefit or not from a steeper or wider angle. HH says it's ok to run a 125mm with their frame, I assume it would be the same on a Racer-X 100 from Titus though I've noticed their geometry IS different on their frames. I'm concerned mostly with the HANDLING of the bike on both climbs and decends using all the settings. I know I wouldn't use the 125mm setting on the climbs but could it hurt going to 80mm and on decends, using the 100mm vs. 125mm setting, would it hurt the handling but help me just absorb more or what. Consider, riding technical switchbacks up or down and fast twisty singletrack. Thanks beforehand for all your info.

Another future Titus Customer. :O)

 

[ddraewwg]

I use a vanilla 125 on my HH

I had the same worries as you but the urge to get more travel upfront pushed me over the edge (plus charles said that the HH handles great with a 125...he uses the Talas though but I opted for the Vanilla).

Honestly, i think that the HH climbs as well, if not better. of course the head angle is slackened by 1 degree or so but my fork is heavier. Let's me really pull up on the handle bars to get that extra umph. i'm also running a Fire FR 2.4 upfront (used to be a mutanoraptor 2.24) so my whole front end is heavier but much taller. The FR is a much taller tire than the mutano. so with all the changes i made, much taller, slacker head tube but a heavier front end, actually didn't hurt the bike any. for sure, the front end doesn't lift up as easily and that really helps when you're cranking. besides, the added gain from the larger tire and more travel makes it all worth it! i still can climb any of the steeps that i did before with greater ease and the downhills are so much more fun. and even if i couldn't climb every hill in front of me, it's still worth it for the downhills.

your bike may not handle exactly the same if you go with the racer 100X. the geometry is almost the same......

 

[jm03]

You should call titus about that first, there are some strength differences between the 2 bikes, titus told me a talas on the rx 100 would be fine if i used the 125 sparingly, for example going down a steep hill (when you would want a slacker angle) , but they made it sound that the bike wasn't designed for a 125 mm fork and that if the frame broke and you were using a 125 mm fork all the time that it wouldn't be covered so this is a warranty issue as well, not just a handling issue.

 

[Backmarker]

HH says it's ok to run a 125mm with their frame, I assume it would be the same on a Racer-X 100 from Titus

As jm03 mentioned, you probably should check with Titus on that one. The HH has a gussetted head tube and a straight guage downtube, the RX 100 doesn't, so the HH will better handle the longer fork.

I'm concerned mostly with the HANDLING of the bike on both climbs and decends using all the settings. I know I wouldn't use the 125mm setting on the climbs but could it hurt going to 80mm and on decends, using the 100mm vs. 125mm setting, would it hurt the handling but help me just absorb more or what

There are a few guys here running 125mm forks on their HH's, and I'm sure they will pipe up, but I don't really think there is a problem using a 80mm-125mm fork on that bike. I'm not sure I understand your question/concern here. With a TALAS (85mm-125mm), you head angle will vary from ~71.75 deg to ~69.75 deg. IMO, the lower end (nearly 72 deg) is a bit steep, so I probably wouldn't go less than 90mm or so for anything other than pure climbing (in other words, if you are think of a using a fork that doesn't have on the fly travel adjustment, I doubt you will have much use for the 80mm setting). However, you shouldn't have any problems climbing with the fork set to 125mm. It won't climb as well as it would with a shorter fork, but assuming you setup the bike properly, it will climb just fine.

 

[2X2MTB]

Another issue being...

Chossing between the Titus and HH bike. I'm leaning more towards the HH for that same reason and like I mentioned earlier, HH (Charles Mentioned on another forum) that running a 125mmm fork better intended for his design. Another question I forgot to ask is, how much difference in handling will it make if I use a short vs. longer stem. Personally I'd like to use no more than a 110mm stem, I'm not sure if it's a plus or minus using different size stems since there would be I assume more weight on the front using a longer stem for say, so I'm not too aware on what's more recommended.

 

[ddraewwg]

Go with the HH but....

Chossing between the Titus and HH bike. I'm leaning more towards the HH for that same reason and like I mentioned earlier, HH (Charles Mentioned on another forum) that running a 125mmm fork better intended for his design. Another question I forgot to ask is, how much difference in handling will it make if I use a short vs. longer stem. Personally I'd like to use no more than a 110mm stem, I'm not sure if it's a plus or minus using different size stems since there would be I assume more weight on the front using a longer stem for say, so I'm not too aware on what's more recommended.

of course I am biased. The way I look at it, it leaves you more options. The sizing fit me better on the HH anyways (racers are a little longer). I'm not heavy so it's not like I was worried about breaking the Racer, but the straight guage downtube and extra gusseting just gives me piece of mind and of course the option to run a 125. I run a 110 stem (used to be a 100). Default is the 120 but there is no right/wrong. Just whatever you feel comfortable with. Even the HH is a "x-country" bike so it steers quick. I figured that the shorter stem would slow it down a bit plus put a me a little further back on the bike. How tall are you? What size(s) are you looking at? I'm 5'7" and am on the 22.5 HH.

 

[2X2MTB]

My size...

I wouldn't like to be stretched out due to the fact that I've tried riding like that and on the climbs it seems to affect my back a bit. Which was another good reason why I'm leaning on the HH, they have a couple of sizes I could fit into by just changing the stem, that's why I wanted to see if it affected in any way. I'm 5'10" ... 170 lbs.

 

[ddraewwg]

I wouldn't like to be stretched out due to the fact that I've tried riding like that and on the climbs it seems to affect my back a bit. Which was another good reason why I'm leaning on the HH, they have a couple of sizes I could fit into by just changing the stem, that's why I wanted to see if it affected in any way. I'm 5'10" ... 170 lbs.

Yeah. HH's sizing is in even increments. I would guess that you would be either a med or possibly a large depending on how you want the bike to handle and what your riding style is. Ask Charles for feedback. The racer has a big size difference going from small to med. The HH 23 and the Med Racer are just about the same in length. It's up to you.

What top tube length are you on right now? Go with the 110 stem....

 

[2X2MTB]

Currently I have 22" on the top tube, and 32" from the center of the bar to the end of the seat using a 100x5 Thompson stem on a 00 GT XCR iDrive.

 

[ddraewwg]

Currently I have 22" on the top tube, and 32" from the center of the bar to the end of the seat using a 100x5 Thompson stem on a 00 GT XCR iDrive.

Well, you'll be able to get pretty good sizing with either the Racer or HH. Just depends on what you want to do. If you think that you may want to go with a 125, then get the HH. Even if you don't use 125 now, you have the option to do so.

Do you want pretty much the same sized bike?

 

[Mark B]

I have the regular Racer-x, not the 100 but i thought I'd share some numbers anyway. Maybe it will help ya' out.

My area is twisty eastern singletrack, roots, logs, etc. I have an adjustable Duke XC.

Here are my numbers...

At 70mm-80mm the thing is just too tight in the very twisty areas at full speed. Plus, you loss the travel when the trail get's rough.

85mm-90mm seems to be the sweet spot. It carves the tight stuff but still gives you some needed travel for the rough.

90mm-100mm seems to slow the steering down too much in the tight stuff but it sure feels nice on the rough.

I put my regular Racer-x at +105 once and it didn't like it. Waaay, too much head angle for the turns.

If I lived in the desert or somewhere with real wide, sweeping turns then I'd probably set it higher to 90mm-100mm.

Here on the tight stuff it likes 85mm-90mm.

Hope, those numbers help you a little. Just add 10mm to everything for your Racer-100

Mark