I took my build out yesterday for its first proper XC ride. The route was a mix of tarmac flat and steep climb, fire road, steep gravel climb and very steep descent and then technical single track. The ride was really a gear indexing test as this wasn’t the final build (I’m waiting for the 140mm forks to arrive), so the journey was taken on an ageing pair of 100mm Marzocchi MX Pro SL forks.
On the road, I was surprised by the stiffness of the frame. There is a steel-like spring, but power from the cranks seems to go straight to the road. The power transfer felt more direct than my CF road bike in fact! Didn’t expect that.
On the (snow covered) fire road, the bike had a sharp, accurate feel. It tracked very precisely and followed any chosen line directly. Small bump absorption was not on the same level as a springy steel frame, but this is a more substantial ti frame so that’s in line with expectations. Sending the bike into potholes at speed underlined that accurate, direct feeling and bump absorption in these circumstances was excellent. The bike had more of the confidence of a full susser than a light aluminium or XC carbon frame.
The very steep gravel climb was the big surprise of the ride. I’ve been off bikes for over a year so I expected to bonk within 20 ft of the assent, but the bike wafted up with minimal effort. Loads of power was transferring to the surface. So much so that the Conti Mountain Kings were spinning out slightly on the gravel! The bike’s climbing line was as straight as a ruler. That was pretty amazing, and it was fast too.
The top of the climb became fast, tight, singletrack. The ride was as nimble as any XC bike I’ve used, with the benefit of that direct power feeling from the frame. Right now I’m running a 90mm stem but I found the handling to be very sharp through the tight sweeps.
The descent was a straight dive that steepened into a real plummet! The surface is pure XC with some larger loose rocks adding interest. I set the forks to their softest setting and fired the bike downhill. Again, the accurate, direct nature of the frame came to the fore. The bike went exactly where I wanted it to go. Frame compliance felt good and the general feeling was one of stability and confidence. The descent ends with a cheeky s-bend that can catch out the unwary or too-fast. The Bike danced through this without drama.
The final section was along drove roads, moorland and boggy fields. I expected this to be fairly easy, but because of sheep-churned, semi-frozen ground, it turned out to be very heavy going. I had a few near spills as I hit firm looking churned mud at speed only to find it had frozen into a grassy rock garden. Locked forks didn’t help and while I was jostled about, the bike held its line and kept going. On other section, that rigid frame had me taking very unusual lines along the sides of steep bankings. Again, the stability and power efficiency of the frame helped.
This was a purely XC test for the bike build. The ti frame was certainly different in character from any other frame I’ve used before, and exhibited excellent climbing, singletrack and downhill characteristics. It didn’t have the goat-like spring of a high-end steel frame, but that’s not what this bike is aiming to be. What did surprise me was that despite the frame being optimised around 130mm forks, it turned out to be the most effective 100mm forked XC frame I’ve ridden to date.
Back in 2008 the original frame got rave reviews. On-one and Brant have quite a few Ti frame designs under their belt now, but the review link below chimes very closely with my riding experience so far.
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/frames/mountain/product/review-on-one-lynskey-ti-456-08–31339
