Well after ummming and arrrring over which steel frame to buy, to build a 120-130mm hardtail, I completely went off on a tangent and bought a brand new Sabbath Fifth Element titanium frame that had been sitting unused in someone’s garage.

Seems to tick the boxes in terms of what I was looking for – geometry similar to Cove Hummer, frame weighs 4.3lbs so complete build should be around 25lbs without going too lightweight parts wise.

Here’s some pictures of the frame –

Oooooo Titanium, v.nice.

Looks purdy but from that first pic the top tube looks very short. Possibly just the angle the pic was taken from.

Looks forward to full build pics.

That’ll look nice with a set of RS Rev RLT Ti’s on there

Rusty – I thought the same about the top tube when I saw the picture. It is certainly not a XC race length but it’s not as short as it looks in the photo. I think it’s an optical illusion due to the very beefy down tube and reinforcement around the head tube. It measures up at 57cm effective top tube length.

Yes Steve I think you could be right 😀

Is that some kind of niche brand? Either way i’d remove the decals. Titanium should always be bare imo! 😳

With just some discreet brand etching maybe.

What’s the seatpost?

Sabbath are better known for Ti road and touring bikes I think. They only made the Fifth Element for a couple of years less niche and more just rare I guess.

Decal removal is already underway – hairdryer plugged in ready.

Seatpost is a new Acros A-SP I bought in Ebay for peanuts ages ago (normally £80 of something like that). I already had one on my FS and really rate it so bought a spare.

http://www.acros.de/PRODUKTE/TEILE/SATTELST-Uuml;TZE:::3_125_126.html?language=en

Don’t suppose you know what the bb height will be with whichever 130mm forks your going to use?

Rik – Member
Don’t suppose you know what the bb height will be with whichever 130mm forks your going to use?

Sky high probably.

Moral of this story – use your brain and buy a frame with decent geometry, rather than a titanium one thats been made by a company that doesnt have a clue.

Sky high probably.

Moral of this story – use your brain and buy a frame with decent geometry, rather than a titanium one thats been made by a company that doesnt have a clue.

Wow- I wish I had eyes that could calibrate geometry from a photograph. Yours seem to have malfunctioned.

BB height is 32.2cm measured with the 130 Rev’s with 510 axle to crown height which I wouldn’t consider to be anything other than totally normal.

Chainstays are 42cm so also bang on for this type of bike.

In fact the geometry seems to be very much along the lines of the Soul and Prince Albert which most people seem to think are pretty sorted geometry wise.

Almost finished now. Just need to trim brake hoses, fit some grips and then trim the steerer once I’ve had a play with different length stems. Then I’ll get the hairdrier out and remove some of the decals.

Knew I’d seen that chair before…

Did the first ride on it yesterday – 50km mix of bridleways, singletrack, cycle tracks and country lanes. It was the first decent length ride since injuring my knee last year.

I wanted an XC bike that wouldn’t have too much of a head down arse up riding position but something built for all day comfort.

The shortish wheelbase makes the bike very responsive (it’s not going to be used for tech downhill stuff). Before it was built up the top tube looked a bit short but when riding it feels spot on.

The frame does a great job of smoothing the ride so I was tired by the end from the effort put in and not from getting battered by a harsh rear end.

Well pleased.

Cor shexy. Geom. looks like a Sov ie short and high and not at all HebdenBridge.. Might take a bit of learning to adapt but persevere. My Sov is the most incredibly rewarding ride, completely alive and goofy, nuts and a hooligan. I’m in pieces after today’s collection of drifts, unexpected takeoffs and near misses. Enjoy!

That looks good