RSD Middle Child Titanium Gen 1 Review
Pros and Cons
Pros:
Cons:
Cons:
Who it's for:
Who it's NOT for
More thoughts on the RSD Middle Child Ti (Titanium) Hardtail
hey guys it's been a few months with my tie middle child and it's time to share my thoughts on this amazing bike
today we're in Sedona on the beautiful Highline trail and I can't think of a better trail to showcase what this bike is capable of I am an ambassador for RSD so this is not an unbiased review maybe think of it as a commercial and then you won't be annoyed but I'm not here to just sell bikes I'm here to help you see what this can do and help you know if this is the right bike for you it's not the right bike for everyone it's my favorite hardtail I'll just come out and say it I've been riding the steel middle child before this and there's a big price difference between the titanium version and there's actually a significant ride quality difference that I'd like to try to explain so I'm on a size small I'm five foot six and this bike feels like a dirt jumper with the dropper that can climb a super well got a nice short rear end this is the same exact geometry as my chromoly version so if you can't afford the titanium version but you want the same handling characteristics to get the chromoly version we got a 415 to 430 adjustable chainstay
we have a 64 degree head angle I have a 150 pike on this right now 170 cranks it's a blast this bike is solid no rattles got a little bit of a squeaky seat right now that's my fault I love a metal frame on my hard tail kiss well you should always take care of your bike's metal frames take some serious abuse and hardtails if you got more than one bike are your fun throw it around blown out to a friend bike and I always feel good loaning this out to a friend knowing if they tip it over or scratch it it's not actually gonna scratch
you really like the geometry of this bike you think a 64 degree head angle would climb like garbage but I put a lot of beginners on this frame and they just like head angle does nothing to hinder them they ride it like they've been riding this head anal forever
also on a hard tail as your suspension compresses your head angle gets steeper so while it may be 64 static it may be 65 at sag and then 66 or 67 as you're riding I really think a slack head angle is crucial for confidence on a hard tail on hard trails I don't think I'll ever buy a hard tail with a heading angle steeper than 65 degrees for myself I'd even love to try this at 63 just to see what it felt like
I'm here with Dave and my buddy Kenny it's on a konso st a steel Hanzo Kenny's been riding for like four months and he is killing it getting killed I don't recommend this trail on a hardtail no matter what your riding level but it's what we got and what we're doing today
so as you can see this bike climbs technical terrain extremely well the small size is really good for putting it where you want it really good for tight low-speed maneuvers and just places where you really just want to be able to place that bike wherever you want part of me is wondering if I should try a medium I've been experimenting with longer bikes lately and I've never ridden a medium it's quite a bit longer than this so I'd be running a shorter stem
but what I find on longer bikes is it's not as easy to place where you want it's more stable on really steep downs and you have to wait the front tire a lot more on corners and they're usually a little bit more planted in a straight line but this bike gets ten out of ten for climbing for me my wife has an i-best db9 that I'll be reviewing soon with a 67 degree head angle and I still prefer climbing on this bike even though the numbers with just the steeper head angle would be a better climber it's just different but I definitely like the slack head angle also seat angle does not matter nearly as much on the hard tail as it does on a full suspension because as that front suspension sags the seat angle Stevens for really flat Midwestern XC style riding the middle child would be fine but I'd probably go with something like a sergeant for that stuff just a little bit more distance oriented this is more technical playful getting over really gnarly stuff so I alluded to it earlier that the tie bike feels different from the steel bike first off it is noticeably lighter it accelerates a lot quicker and the law less fatigue on big rides most steel aggressive hard tails are not lightweight you can build lightweight steel bikes but they usually don't have 64 degree angles so whether it's a chrome AG or an RS D or Staunton or something like that or a production purvey it's going to be heavy but these tie versions are noticeably lighter it also has a different ride quality I don't know if it's because the tubing's thinner or what but this bike is a lot more supple the steel middle child is a stiff bike it doesn't flex a whole lot I've written aluminum bikes that are softer than it one or two but most aluminum bikes are still stiffer than the chromoly version but this is noticeably more forgiving than the steel version it beat you up a little bit less I wouldn't say it's flexi but it doesn't transmit vibration into your legs like this steel one does as much now don't get me wrong the steel one still feels great for it and it's steel but it's it's a stiff sturdy steel it's not a supple steel on the middle child but this still has the same drink get up and go
accelerates real well it's not floppy it's really it's just forgiving and it just feels great it has a really great ride quality and I got to show you the build quality this handbill frame is insane the welds are absolutely perfect
we're at the top I'm gonna give this a 10 out of 10 for climbing such a good climbing bike especially on this technical stuff here we are at the top of our line let's take a look at this bike these welds are flawless so good the titanium shows fingerprints and sweat and dirt the raw finish I like the raw Matt brushed finish I'm running an XL Eagle shifter an EXO Eagle derailleur and an EXO Eagle cassette Race Face turbine 170 milk ranks an absolute black oval chain ring which I love SRAM Guide RSC brakes at the 180 rear and a one or in a two hundred front running 3.0 high roller twos up front 2.8 DHR 2s in the rear with cush core front and rear which makes a big difference on this type of trail I'm writing one UPS carbon bars which I I seem to like and a pike ultimate a 2020 Pike ultimate that's my favorite fork I've ever ridden so far and I have an onyx rear hub pretty simple bike for simple fun in the mountains you haven't seen my video with andrew taylor go check that out that was a fun day so the secret here is to take it wide and then drop in and that's a piece of cake
it's Kenny's first time on this trail so we're gonna be going slow in session in some stuff but this bike just goes wherever I want it sweet
oh this trail is so flowy right here this bike is so playful like I said it feels like a dirt jumper super short way around some manuals bunny hops are super easy and fun and on a trail like this the plus tires I've run them about 15 to 14 psi maybe a little more if I feel I'm rolling just a little but that really smooths out all these square edge rocks and this new Pike is so controlled and so smooth I like it more than my pops 36 and my M our favourite event
yeah
my wife showed me that jump on the other day it's pretty awesome seeing her hidden these bonus jumps if you've got a lady in your life who ride so you're trying to get her hooked have them subscribed to my wife's channel dusty Betty it's all about women's mountain biking and it really helps the ladies get stoked to ride
you stay riders
by
corners 10 out of 10 Missy corners Oh
playful factor 10 out of 10 for sure such a playful light what's this like not good at I probably wouldn't XE race it but it would be okay at that comment for that seriously though this thing you can hop you can do all sorts of crazy stuff so this is a 12-foot vertical wall Ritchie rude pedaled around that corner and coasted up it you got to see it on this Instagram it's absolutely insane most people are too scared to come down and he went up at absolutely insane
all right here we got some options
this is noticeably softer than my oops there's the optional line down there that's rowdy and then you continue down we're gonna take the I actually think it's more fun to take the easier line down right through here follow Kenny but this ride is a lot more forgiving on this bike than it was on you got it you got it look ahead yeah nicely done Kenny nice nicely done brother
yeah this trail gets down to business down here it's so fun
that's a beautiful trail not much else to say about this bike I'm loving it it's lighter it's more compliant than a steel one it is significantly more expensive then I get that a lot of you won't have the budget for or care to spend the money on that and that's okay but if you want the ultimate hardtail experience you've got to try a titanium frame especially one with aggressive geometry like this RSC militar what a blast as always remember you can save 5% on any RSD bike using my coupon code party that helps support this channel and it helps RSD know that you're watching hop online they have a chat feature where you can chat with Alex the owner of the company super cool dude he's on there almost every day and he's there to answer any questions and I really like that I hate emailing by companies with questions and then taking two weeks to get back super nice dude
all right here's the sketchiest part of this whole trail that most people cut out of their videos this is scary on any bike
whoo yeah oh that's scary it's noticeably softer on this bike than my a steel and I'm surprised I'm also writing a lot slower than when I rode with Andrew punch down lots of front brake more front brake yeah did and here we are at the end of the trail front brake
you're gonna want to walk this and that is the rsd middle child tie on High Line man what a fun day this bike was a champ on it I'm gonna try a size medium next I'm gonna give up some nimble steering in the corners I'm gonna give up a little bit of the dirt jump feel for a little more straight line big steep drop in stuff like that this trail would be great at I'm not sure it's gonna be an improvement so stay tuned I'm gonna order medium try it out and let you know what I think and then I'll be able to give you guys some better size recommendations when you're asking me what size to get on your RSP thanks for watching that was an absolute blast I love this trail I love this bike the only thing I'd change about this bike is I'd like to try it with a slightly lower bottom bracket maybe a half centimeter to a centimeter lower I love a low bottom bracket the corner really well this bike still corners extremely well but I wonder even how much better could be with a slightly lower bottom bracket but I'm getting nitpicky I'd probably want braze ons for this too so I could run a rack on it and have this as my bike packing bike such a versatile Buy Titanium's not cheap and for most people a hardtail is their second bike so they're not gonna justify the price but man if you ever get the chance to ride a tie hardtail a good one you'll be amazed at its ride characteristics there's a party in the mountains and you guys are always invited
all this bike is so fun so playful best manual bike I've found yet Ron Baldwin trail heading home
today we're in Sedona on the beautiful Highline trail and I can't think of a better trail to showcase what this bike is capable of I am an ambassador for RSD so this is not an unbiased review maybe think of it as a commercial and then you won't be annoyed but I'm not here to just sell bikes I'm here to help you see what this can do and help you know if this is the right bike for you it's not the right bike for everyone it's my favorite hardtail I'll just come out and say it I've been riding the steel middle child before this and there's a big price difference between the titanium version and there's actually a significant ride quality difference that I'd like to try to explain so I'm on a size small I'm five foot six and this bike feels like a dirt jumper with the dropper that can climb a super well got a nice short rear end this is the same exact geometry as my chromoly version so if you can't afford the titanium version but you want the same handling characteristics to get the chromoly version we got a 415 to 430 adjustable chainstay
we have a 64 degree head angle I have a 150 pike on this right now 170 cranks it's a blast this bike is solid no rattles got a little bit of a squeaky seat right now that's my fault I love a metal frame on my hard tail kiss well you should always take care of your bike's metal frames take some serious abuse and hardtails if you got more than one bike are your fun throw it around blown out to a friend bike and I always feel good loaning this out to a friend knowing if they tip it over or scratch it it's not actually gonna scratch
you really like the geometry of this bike you think a 64 degree head angle would climb like garbage but I put a lot of beginners on this frame and they just like head angle does nothing to hinder them they ride it like they've been riding this head anal forever
also on a hard tail as your suspension compresses your head angle gets steeper so while it may be 64 static it may be 65 at sag and then 66 or 67 as you're riding I really think a slack head angle is crucial for confidence on a hard tail on hard trails I don't think I'll ever buy a hard tail with a heading angle steeper than 65 degrees for myself I'd even love to try this at 63 just to see what it felt like
I'm here with Dave and my buddy Kenny it's on a konso st a steel Hanzo Kenny's been riding for like four months and he is killing it getting killed I don't recommend this trail on a hardtail no matter what your riding level but it's what we got and what we're doing today
so as you can see this bike climbs technical terrain extremely well the small size is really good for putting it where you want it really good for tight low-speed maneuvers and just places where you really just want to be able to place that bike wherever you want part of me is wondering if I should try a medium I've been experimenting with longer bikes lately and I've never ridden a medium it's quite a bit longer than this so I'd be running a shorter stem
but what I find on longer bikes is it's not as easy to place where you want it's more stable on really steep downs and you have to wait the front tire a lot more on corners and they're usually a little bit more planted in a straight line but this bike gets ten out of ten for climbing for me my wife has an i-best db9 that I'll be reviewing soon with a 67 degree head angle and I still prefer climbing on this bike even though the numbers with just the steeper head angle would be a better climber it's just different but I definitely like the slack head angle also seat angle does not matter nearly as much on the hard tail as it does on a full suspension because as that front suspension sags the seat angle Stevens for really flat Midwestern XC style riding the middle child would be fine but I'd probably go with something like a sergeant for that stuff just a little bit more distance oriented this is more technical playful getting over really gnarly stuff so I alluded to it earlier that the tie bike feels different from the steel bike first off it is noticeably lighter it accelerates a lot quicker and the law less fatigue on big rides most steel aggressive hard tails are not lightweight you can build lightweight steel bikes but they usually don't have 64 degree angles so whether it's a chrome AG or an RS D or Staunton or something like that or a production purvey it's going to be heavy but these tie versions are noticeably lighter it also has a different ride quality I don't know if it's because the tubing's thinner or what but this bike is a lot more supple the steel middle child is a stiff bike it doesn't flex a whole lot I've written aluminum bikes that are softer than it one or two but most aluminum bikes are still stiffer than the chromoly version but this is noticeably more forgiving than the steel version it beat you up a little bit less I wouldn't say it's flexi but it doesn't transmit vibration into your legs like this steel one does as much now don't get me wrong the steel one still feels great for it and it's steel but it's it's a stiff sturdy steel it's not a supple steel on the middle child but this still has the same drink get up and go
accelerates real well it's not floppy it's really it's just forgiving and it just feels great it has a really great ride quality and I got to show you the build quality this handbill frame is insane the welds are absolutely perfect
we're at the top I'm gonna give this a 10 out of 10 for climbing such a good climbing bike especially on this technical stuff here we are at the top of our line let's take a look at this bike these welds are flawless so good the titanium shows fingerprints and sweat and dirt the raw finish I like the raw Matt brushed finish I'm running an XL Eagle shifter an EXO Eagle derailleur and an EXO Eagle cassette Race Face turbine 170 milk ranks an absolute black oval chain ring which I love SRAM Guide RSC brakes at the 180 rear and a one or in a two hundred front running 3.0 high roller twos up front 2.8 DHR 2s in the rear with cush core front and rear which makes a big difference on this type of trail I'm writing one UPS carbon bars which I I seem to like and a pike ultimate a 2020 Pike ultimate that's my favorite fork I've ever ridden so far and I have an onyx rear hub pretty simple bike for simple fun in the mountains you haven't seen my video with andrew taylor go check that out that was a fun day so the secret here is to take it wide and then drop in and that's a piece of cake
it's Kenny's first time on this trail so we're gonna be going slow in session in some stuff but this bike just goes wherever I want it sweet
oh this trail is so flowy right here this bike is so playful like I said it feels like a dirt jumper super short way around some manuals bunny hops are super easy and fun and on a trail like this the plus tires I've run them about 15 to 14 psi maybe a little more if I feel I'm rolling just a little but that really smooths out all these square edge rocks and this new Pike is so controlled and so smooth I like it more than my pops 36 and my M our favourite event
yeah
my wife showed me that jump on the other day it's pretty awesome seeing her hidden these bonus jumps if you've got a lady in your life who ride so you're trying to get her hooked have them subscribed to my wife's channel dusty Betty it's all about women's mountain biking and it really helps the ladies get stoked to ride
you stay riders
by
corners 10 out of 10 Missy corners Oh
playful factor 10 out of 10 for sure such a playful light what's this like not good at I probably wouldn't XE race it but it would be okay at that comment for that seriously though this thing you can hop you can do all sorts of crazy stuff so this is a 12-foot vertical wall Ritchie rude pedaled around that corner and coasted up it you got to see it on this Instagram it's absolutely insane most people are too scared to come down and he went up at absolutely insane
all right here we got some options
this is noticeably softer than my oops there's the optional line down there that's rowdy and then you continue down we're gonna take the I actually think it's more fun to take the easier line down right through here follow Kenny but this ride is a lot more forgiving on this bike than it was on you got it you got it look ahead yeah nicely done Kenny nice nicely done brother
yeah this trail gets down to business down here it's so fun
that's a beautiful trail not much else to say about this bike I'm loving it it's lighter it's more compliant than a steel one it is significantly more expensive then I get that a lot of you won't have the budget for or care to spend the money on that and that's okay but if you want the ultimate hardtail experience you've got to try a titanium frame especially one with aggressive geometry like this RSC militar what a blast as always remember you can save 5% on any RSD bike using my coupon code party that helps support this channel and it helps RSD know that you're watching hop online they have a chat feature where you can chat with Alex the owner of the company super cool dude he's on there almost every day and he's there to answer any questions and I really like that I hate emailing by companies with questions and then taking two weeks to get back super nice dude
all right here's the sketchiest part of this whole trail that most people cut out of their videos this is scary on any bike
whoo yeah oh that's scary it's noticeably softer on this bike than my a steel and I'm surprised I'm also writing a lot slower than when I rode with Andrew punch down lots of front brake more front brake yeah did and here we are at the end of the trail front brake
you're gonna want to walk this and that is the rsd middle child tie on High Line man what a fun day this bike was a champ on it I'm gonna try a size medium next I'm gonna give up some nimble steering in the corners I'm gonna give up a little bit of the dirt jump feel for a little more straight line big steep drop in stuff like that this trail would be great at I'm not sure it's gonna be an improvement so stay tuned I'm gonna order medium try it out and let you know what I think and then I'll be able to give you guys some better size recommendations when you're asking me what size to get on your RSP thanks for watching that was an absolute blast I love this trail I love this bike the only thing I'd change about this bike is I'd like to try it with a slightly lower bottom bracket maybe a half centimeter to a centimeter lower I love a low bottom bracket the corner really well this bike still corners extremely well but I wonder even how much better could be with a slightly lower bottom bracket but I'm getting nitpicky I'd probably want braze ons for this too so I could run a rack on it and have this as my bike packing bike such a versatile Buy Titanium's not cheap and for most people a hardtail is their second bike so they're not gonna justify the price but man if you ever get the chance to ride a tie hardtail a good one you'll be amazed at its ride characteristics there's a party in the mountains and you guys are always invited
all this bike is so fun so playful best manual bike I've found yet Ron Baldwin trail heading home
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