Wow…Just got in from my first proper day out on the ti. She's an animal. What a ride. I take back my earlier comment on it being an "average" climber there's a sweet spot when you sit toward the nose of the saddle and when you find it she'll happily and comfortably grunt up the short steep bits or spin along up the long ones. Sweet. As for the downs, well despite the combined effort of Mother Nature and her friend Recent Weather to try and slow me down with the stickiest sloppiest mud they could provide, I've NEVER (in 20 years of riding them) flown down those trails like that before! Bring on Summer.
I realise that it's not really fair to compare a ti and a steel frame but if the steel ones ride ANYTHING as good and your thinking about getting one, DO IT!.
Still unsure over how it looks tho. May sound strange but tbh I preferred the look of the steel one in the shop.
BTW I only own 1 bike at a time and I change my frame every 4 or 5 years (until now, if this one lasts as long as it looks like it will!) Not a rich flash git (weell until now) 😕 This is my first ti frame, present to myself to celebrate my divorce 3rd anniversary.
Thought I'd mention it in view of the above comments 🙂