Titus Rockstar Review: Intro and Build Report.
Posted by FatBob on July 3, 2010
Titus Rockstar Review: Intro and Build Report.29eronline received a Titus Rockstar. We did a write up on it here. What is the Titus Rockstar? It is an Aluminium front triangle mated to a carbon fiber rear triangle. It has 4 inches of travel front and rear. Titus bikes allows the use of a 120mm travel fork but it is designed to use with a 4' fork. here is a link to the geometry chart. If you decide to buy the titanium version of this bike custom geometry is available.
What is the Titus Rockstar made for? It is designed as a trail bike that can be taken anywhere you want to go. How is it different then any other bike we have tested like the Niner RIP9 , Specialized Stumpjumper, Pivot Mach 429 or any other bike we have ridden up to date? We don't know yet. So this is where we start our review.
How did the Titus do in our build process? This is a very impressive part to me. It is so simple. I understand that alot went into the building of and designing of this bike. It takes alot to build a bike that performs high tech but is simple at the same time. The cable routing is simple. Under the top tube. When I ran the cables I kept thinking I missed something....it was so easy.
Tuning the top pull traditional(top swing) front derailer was a fast and simple experience. The rear derailer has no weird kinks in the cable routing. The rear derailer does sit close to the Horst link drop out but does not really make a difference when setting the limit screws. Again easy.
The RockStar uses a 30.9 seat tube. This allows the use of most popular dropping seat posts.
The headset was not the normal 1 1/8 standard. You need to get a 1.5 inch lower and a 44mm inset top bearing in 1 1/8 sizing. This was easy to get even at Storm Endurance Sports our local small Independent bike shop.
The frame weighed a modest 6 Lbs 4 oz and our complete SLX mix kit had the bike weighing 28 LBS 10 oz.
The rest of the build was uneventful for the most part. There were only two things I can ding the Titus for.
First is a real issue. The Bottom Bracket shell was threaded poorly. It took alot of effort. If I was impatient I would have cross threaded my bottom bracket bearing cup. I am pretty sure that after this is read by Titus poorly threaded bottom bracket shells will no longer be an issue.
Second problem I found is relatively minor. Where the swing link is, the cables flair out towards the rider when pedaling. I am not really sure how this could be solved. Maybe just by putting the cable guides closer together?
So those are the only negatives....really thats all I have. Pretty minor in my opinion since the bottom bracket can easily be fixed at the factory before shipping.
Titus bikes has been really easy to work with, they always answer the phone or call back in a timely fashion, which is very encouraging.
How does it ride. I cant comment much as we are riding it with a 120mm fork until our Fox TALAS 29er fork comes in. Since the Rockstar is built around a 100mm fork it would be unfair to make any comments until we spend a good amount of time with the properly speced fork.
plenty of room for large tires!
What I can say is it feels like quality. No flimsy feeling bike here! The front is stout but never feels harsh The rear end is plenty stiff but has a pleasantly damp feel to it. I have a feeling I will be crying for a large volume air shock so the begging may commence shortly.
I would say I am pleasantly surprised but I am really not. It is funny that some company's I don't expect alot from. With the Titus I expected alot and am not disappointed.
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Titus Rockstar Review: Intro and Build Report.
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FB,
Thanks for the post. I’m in the market for a new 29er dualie and the Rockstar is on my list for consideration. I had a chance to take a Turner Sultan out for a weekend (w /DW link) and feel in love with that machine. Unfortunately I cannot find a demo of the Rockstar anywhere. Have you spent enough time on both to give me feedback on how they compare / contrast.
I’m looking for a great all-arounder that I will occasionally race – think 4-5 mtb xc / endurance races a year. I live in Boulder, CO and the terrain is generally rocky and with a lot of climbing an descending. I’m a good climber and a decent descender (an area I would like to improve).
I’m also going to ride the Pivot Mach 4. If you have thoughts on those 3 I would appreciate it.
Cheers
jinxtown, thanks for your comment.The Rock Star and Sultan are completely different.
I spent time at Horse tooth riding and lived in Denver. The Sultan will do fine in the races you are talking about but I do feel that racing is far from its strength.
The Rock Star is not as plush, handles similar, is lighter and stiffer. I am sure you will hear a million opinions about the Sultans stiffness compared to other bikes.
I have ridden many of the bikes on the market for extended periods of time. The Sultan is adequately stiff but not as solid as the Titus or Pivot or RIP9.
The RockStar pedals very well and feels firm at the pedals. The Sultan pedals well and is super plush. The Sultan is a 12omm front and rear bike with the option to go 140mm in front. The Titus is a 100mm bike with the option to go to 120 in the front. If I was going to race at all I would go Titus Rock Star. If I was going to ride really rocky terrain but wanted to get to the top of the climbs comfortably and did not mind going a little slower I would go Sultan.
The Titus bias is leaning towards going uphill and is respectable going down. The Turner is comfortable going up and really confident going down. The Sultan is more comfortable, the Titus is faster feeling. Pick your poison!
Don’t leave out the Tall Boy on your list, if I could afford one it would be on the top of my list.
what’s up Mel, unfortunately Santa Cruz flaked out on sending me a bike and I am tentative about buying carbon without spending time and seeing how a carbon bike holds up.
If Santa Cruz Bikes changes their mind I would love to put it head to head with other bikes we have tested.
FatBob
my fork is broke, I was in the ER for stomach virus, I haven’t ridden in 2 weeks, how are you? I would love to see that and may get the new Specialized carbon full sqish to do a side by side! Do you think anyone will get x7 or x9 2×10 components to test, for us who cannot afford xx or xo?
Man I hope you feel better! What happened to your fork?
I hear you on XO-XX components. I have a thing or two up my sleeve as far as the new drive trains. Charlie from Storm Endurance had some success with mix and match using the new 10speed crank sets with 9speed parts, even gaspppp using Shimano and Sram! For those who want to slowly transition to the new 10 speed or just want to use the 2x front chain rings.
It will take some time. Rather then trying to deal with either Shimano or Sram(which SRAM has totally sucked) I am going to save up and buy it from Storm Endurance.
By the way the Rock Star is very nice. Pedals like a dream. Really solid and secure feeling, like a giant hug from your momma. I think I like that better then the Rock Star name it came with.
The fork needed oil change and seal kit, I think the bushings are ok, we’ll see Saturday when I pick it up. I will check out Storm Endurance, I think SRAM has handled the whole launch thing terribly, almost ready to give up on them. I am currently running 1 x 9 with a 32t up front (no derailleur, but left granny on for manual change if meet steep hill) and a 11-34 9sp in back. I did get a s/s ring for the front (no shift ramps), I will probably get a MRP 1x or e.13 xcx chain guide eventually. I was looking to go to a 10sp. rear 11-36, to get the extra climbing gear, but not lose the 11t power gear, which would happen if I just went with the 12-36 9sp cassette out now. I feel 1×9 for a hard tail 29er is just fine where I ride. And Rock Star is the best name for a bike since my 90′s Fisher Wahoo!