2020 Sage Flow Motion Titanium Hardtail Review
Pros and Cons
Pros:
Cons:
- Lightweight
- Beautiful
- Playful
- Made in the USA
- Short chainstays
Cons:
- Expensive
- BB is rather high, making it feel like you're more "on top" of the bike
Who it's for:
- Riders who value a bike made in the USA
- Those willing to pay more for the finer things in life
- Riders looking to play over all-out speed
Who it's NOT for
- Riders on a budget
- People wanting a "planted", plow bike
- Those looking for a "in the bike" feel
- XC Racers
More thoughts on the 2020 Sage Titanium Flow Motion
today we are reviewing the sage flow motion tie
today i'm riding with my wife tess aka dusty betty my brother david and our new friend casey from the channel ride year round so today we're going to be riding some awesome single track through the aspens on the sage flow motion
pretty rocky up here
oh single track like this is what hardtails were meant for
yeah so good
chasing fender the dog here he loves riding
like his poppy he likes to jump
coming in hot nice riding on the air is getting thin we're at 7 800 feet elevation beautiful this bike has a pretty slack seat tube angle which means when you're seated the bars feel far away from you and the front kind of wants to lift just a little it's a 74 effective seat tube 72 degree actual and you feel it i'd rather it was a 76 effective but that's just me some people really like slack or seat tube angle so it's good to have variety so a lot of people are wondering why do we care if a seat angle is slack or steep the seat angle determines where the seat is at full height once it's dropped it doesn't really matter they're all pretty much the same around there so at full height a steeper seat angle will move it forward an inch that changes where your weight is on the bike it changes how far away the bars are when you're seated changes your whole riding position it changes weight distribution the further back the seat is the more the front can easily wheelie up stuff and the further forward the more the front wants to stay planted everyone has a different preference i prefer a short seated feel to the cockpit so i prefer steeper seat angles but i prefer a long feel when i'm standing so i prefer a long reach reach only effects when you're standing but i prefer a short effective top tube effective top tube is when you're seated how far away the bars are if you'd like to learn more about geometry and what all that means and how it affects the way a bike ride and what it feels like i'm building a course dedicated to understanding mountain bike geometry i know a lot of you guys shop online compare geo charts and a lot of people know what some of the numbers mean but very few people know what all the numbers mean and this course is designed to help people understand that and make more informed decisions when they're buying a bike so good
this bike's a good little climber it doesn't quite have the speed and momentum of a 29er but as a zippiness and an ease to it did i often associate with 27.5 wheels this bike climbs a little bit like a great old-school hardtail i know some of you are disappointed with modern geometry and you don't like the way modern bikes ride this bike has some of that old-school flavor to it this could be a great fit for you just kind of has that old school feel and that's not a dig it's just this feels a little more like those old school bikes on the ups
this bike sprints great i love the small wheels on this it just makes it so fun to toss around
front end feels twitchier than a 65 and a half normally does
oh yeah this is this is totally what hardtails are meant for
this bike has a nice compliant ride feel that is not harsh at all
the joys of a beautiful titanium crane
but yeah the front feels a little tall
and it feels
like a steep head angle feels like 67 degrees not 65 and a half look at these beautiful corn lily plants i love these see them a lot in a lot of the mountain meadows in northern utah this is the hardest climb of the day fighting the bike just a little bit
the front wants to wander a little bit
well this is a really tough climb we're at 8 000 feet it's loose it's steep and long all right we made it up that long climb it was worth it what a perfect day
this bike has a really playful feel that short chain stay and high stack makes it pop into manual super easy and super fun it likes to just hop around
really likes to uh it's easy to change direction real easy to just hop around on the trail
this bike does have a interestingly bmxe feel to it
the way it launches off drops and lips feels very bmxy the stack feels really high nice job that was it
we're now at the four-way intersection and all trails are great from here super great this is a multi-use trail system there are hikers equestrians cyclists and motorcycles everybody yields to horses then we yield to hikers then motorcycles yield to us and nobody yields to motorcycles so they need to stop for everybody and the motorcyclists up here are super respectful for the most part that's how i became familiar with all these trails as i rode them on my moto and they are fantastic single track trails on a moto and the motorcycle clubs do not want to lose access to these trails so they're very courteous they do great trail work up here there's some really great organizations that take great care of it and i'm super thankful for our moto users who take such great care of these trails so we are going to go down trail 41. this is one of the least ridden trails up here especially on a mountain bike
this is so good that's rowdy
this bike gets airborne so easily it just loves popping off of stuff i'm not incredibly confident descending on this but the playfulness is really fun you're gonna get a chain slap on it
oh this trail is so good this thing carves corners so well i love the way 27 5's corner so good
rowdy yeah i'm getting a lot of change slapped at the moment
this is a bumpy trail not gonna lie
this thing changes direction so well if you're in a pickle and you need to get your bike to the left or to the right of foot you're able to do it
it's weird the reach is long on this bike but it feels slightly short when you're riding and let me clarify that
the size almost feels too big for me i would not size up on this it's a big feeling medium might even consider sizing down if you're in between sizes i think it's i think it's the tall stack that makes this bike for some reason this bike feels a little bit twitchy on the front it doesn't feel like a plow machine at all and perhaps that's not the point of it but i just want you to know some hardtails feel like they just want to race downhill like crazy i got some mud
but some hardtails just want a straight line and and they stay super composed over trunk this wants to pop off of everything so even though this is sage's most aggressive hardtail it's still not like it doesn't feel like an enduro race bike feels like a poppy play bike with a ton of travel
it definitely feels like it has xc roots in its flood in the way that it descends and even the way it climbs a little bit and definitely the way that it steers so it snaps corners but it wants a lot of input at the bars i'm cornering more with the barson with my feet at the moment yeah just it just wants a lot of bar input i'm not sure why because the numbers would suggest otherwise like the specialized fuse feels a little more planted feels like it has a slacker head angle a little bit
even though it's a full degree steeper and i wonder if it's the tall stack on this usually i love it's all stacked yeah it feels the reach feels nice and long
but this thing just wants to play which is not a bad thing i'm just trying to describe it so you can make sure you get the right bike for what you're looking for i wouldn't pick it for an enduro race bike
but man if you like to play it's pretty fun it's a different playful feeling than the chameleon the chameleon
and the middle child have such a short rear end they just want a manual and play and this has an element of that but this bike is the poppiest bike i've ever ridden it just wants to spring off of everything and get air and the way the rear end feels it feels that rear end just wants to boost and pop off everything and it does well i don't feel totally confident yet on this bike where i can just let off and cruise
i'm holding back a bit i feel like this bike would be a perfect candidate for under forking maybe like a 130 fourth on here oh this is fun
i feel like the 150 is a little too much for this bike because it it doesn't want to charge fast enough to be to 150 and it's too playful but so playful it would benefit from a shorter travel tour oh yeah
we're here already hey fender are you having fun you loving this that was such a good section so much good downhill we got a little bit more i can't believe it's almost over we're flying today
look ahead look further ahead look at fender
we got some chunky stuff here little one foot root ledge drops oh yeah this hail is so good so yeah this bike
is poppy and playful and fun it's a little sketchy the faster you go it's a little bit sketchier it's kind of the opposite of the diamondback sinker carbon where that bike gets more planted the faster you go
and this bike is like slow down a little there was a feature you didn't hit back there look at that view
this bike feels like a modern version of an old school hardtail and i know a lot of you like the old-school hardtail feel this would be a great choice for you it's boost it fits 27.5 wheels it's made in america beautifully hand crafted it's not quite as aggressive as its marketing and numbers suggested
like these are quite steep trails very steep way steeper than they look on camera
but for like a blue trail this is one of the funnest bikes i can imagine for a blue trail just want some pop get air goof around on stuff okay relax go yep let your bike do the work get over the front don't shy away from stuff
great riding hon yeah the ride feel is great on this it's nice and compliant i think it might even be a little softer than my titanium middle child
it's a bummer doesn't fit plus tires but not everybody needs plus tires pop it into manuals bunny hops slashing corners jibbing around this thing is fun what a trail this is so fun good job man this is incredible so pretty it's okay fender
woohoo yeah
so good exploring up here
yeah this bike is playful easy to maneuver at slower speeds
what alright look at that so good this has been a blast riding the sage flow motion on this trail let's wrap it up and talk about who this bike is for this bike is for somebody who really appreciates hand-built american craftsmanship and that's very important to you it comes with a premium price as do most handmade things in the united states but the ride quality was fantastic this was a very supple ride it just rode like a good titanium frame should i love the traditional double diamond layout i love that it doesn't have an extra gusset here and that it's not trying to look like every other bike it's ironic by looking like every other bike from 10 years ago it stands out it's kind of funny this bike is for people who want a more traditional feel on their bike you still need modern technique to ride it well to get over the front but it definitely reminded me of hardtails from the past with modern appointments and some modern updates this doesn't feel like the most modern hardtail i've ridden and it's not by any means the most aggressive hardtail i've ever ridden it's very poppy it's very playful it feels surprisingly good on long xc rides and the places that it was kind of held back were actually the more aggressive steep chunky the type of terrain you'd find at a bike park or an enduro race so we have to remember that one company's aggressive bike is not necessarily the same as another company's aggressive bike so i would put this squarely in the trail slash all-mountain category i wouldn't put it as an aggressive enduro bike it's just not quite aggressive enough in my opinion but it's fun it reminds you what hardtails are about it's snappy in the single track it wants to pop off every single route i've never ridden another bike that wanted to get airborne so much and it was very comfortable doing so these are 2.4 there's not a whole lot of clearance in there for bigger rubber and that's okay because this is actually a very comfortable and supple ride even on the narrower tires i think 27.5 fit this well i think a 29er version this would be really fun too because it would have that higher speed and have uh that a little bit faster momentum through everything feel but man this bike just wanted to play and that was super fun one of the most playful bikes i've ridden it's a different kind of playful than a santa cruz chameleon the santa cruz chameleon feels more playful on a pump track whereas this feels more playful on an everyday trail there are a couple things that i'm not super crazy about like the cable routing there was no need to split it right here in my opinion this feels old school and some people might like that but it also leads to contamination easier and i'd rather just run the housing an extra foot there i also don't love the way that the housing is routed under here it just looks kind of like an afterthought it's not great i'd also like to steepen the seat tube a little it has that old school feel largely in part to that slacker seat tube and some people will like that this bike feels bigger than it is on paper and it rides very different than you think on paper like i said i feel like this rides more like a 67 degree head angle bike it's got a nice tall stack you're sitting up i don't feel like you need a 36 on here and i don't feel like you need 150 mil travel on the hardtail like this it just wasn't quite confident enough for me to really let it fly on that stuff it wanted to hold back a little and hover around the 20 mile an hour range and pop off of everything and you start pushing it more than that and it didn't really like it a whole lot so let's rate it seated climbing i'm going to give it an 8 out of 10. standing climbing i'm going to give it a 9.5 out of 10. it climbs great i just think the seat position is too far backwards if you like a laid-back seat post or you're always sliding your seat back on the seat rails you're gonna like the way that this climbs cornering it snaps corners extremely well and it changes direction really well where it doesn't corner super well is at high speed planted where you just need to like lock into the corner and rail it around a corner it didn't want to do that very much and i'm not sure why so i'd give it a 10 out of 10 on slashing corners and changing direction real quick and i'd give it a 7 out of 10 on feeling confident at high speed sweeper corners for playfulness this is a 10 out of 10. this thing wants to pop it wants to manual it wants to wheelie it just wants to play all the time it's like that puppy dog that is just antsy and antsy and auntie and it's fun and you love it and it just licks your face and it's a really fun dog but you're like okay let's get serious now and it's like no no let's play this bike never wants to get serious it just wants to play all the time and that's actually a little bit of a downside because i wanted to get a little bit more serious be a little bit more composed in the steep rowdy stuff based on the geocharts i expected this to be able to handle rowdier stuff so i would just go into it thinking about of it more as a trail slash all mountain bike that likes to play and you'll be totally happy but if you go and expecting it to be an enduro just straight line plow bike this is definitely not that i've ridden a lot more modern bikes that are far more comfortable in trunk on that stuff like the middle child the cottage beefy max the banshee paradox there are so many bikes that i've ridden that are much more composed in straight line at high speed but you know a hardtail is probably the wrong bike anyway if that's what you're looking for but i'm just trying to describe the nuances so you know if this is for you or not so all in all if you go into this expecting it to be a trail bike that's playful and fun and poppy you're gonna be super happy you know it's hard when you read the marketing materials they say it's the aggressive trail slayer just smasher and that means different things to different people this fits more in the trail slash all mountain to me but man what a fun bike it's beautiful it's made of great materials the welds look fantastic and for those of you that want a more traditional ride that don't like the design and the way that modern bikes are going and you want to reminisce about your favorite hardtail feel from the olden days this is the best bike i've ridden for that this bike has one foot firmly planted in the past and it uses all the things we loved about hardtails in the past and it applies some modern appointments to it like boost tapered head tube modern geometry and it makes for a bike that rides like we all wished our 90s bikes road like so if you like the way those old bikes feel and you're scared of going to a new bike because you'll lose the greatness about those give one of these a try because i think this bike more than any other bike i've ridden captures the nostalgia of the older bikes with modern appointments it doesn't feel totally like a modern bike but it doesn't feel scary and outdated it just has a heritage to it that feels like our favorite hardtails from the 90s and i think that's a pretty cool thing that's something i haven't felt on hardly any other bike lately this bike is not a great value the frame is very expensive it's handmade in the us and you're paying for that and the spec you get isn't very great either now that's what happens when you get a small company that can't buy hundreds of thousands of parts and put them on hundreds and thousands of bikes their prices are a little bit more expensive on the parts now all these parts were just fine there was nothing that i was writing and i thought you know i wish this was different it's actually a super solid build i don't feel like we need a 36 on this a pike or even a 34 would be adequate for the way this bike rides i don't think it needs 150 mil travel but i did like the higher stack height the four pod xt brakes felt great the xt11 speed felt great it was just fine i didn't need a lower gear i don't need 52 teeth i don't need 12 speeds i like the simplicity of the 11 speed the stance flow wheels felt fantastic they were nice and soft and the chris king hubs were just the bling on top i love the sound of those hubs and the the engagement felt great they're good hubs i still feel like this bike's very overpriced for the components you get but you have to remember most of what you're paying for is a hand built american frame so this is not for the budget shoppers out there who want the cheapest titanium hardtail or cheapest hardtail you can get this is one of the most expensive hardtails you can get and at this price i think it should come with a little bit better spec parts or it should be a little bit cheaper tire spec was spot on the 2 6 actually felt great on the 30 mil stands flow stan's rims are the one rim where i feel like they ride wider than they actually are so a 30 mil stands rides more like a 34 to me and the tire profile sits a little bit better and they don't get as squirmy i don't know how they do that but to me uh the stands ride wider than the numbers suggest i have a limited offer discount for you guys on these sage titanium bikes if you're interested in one and you want a discount it's not going to be open forever but for a short time you guys can get a discount i'll put a link with the details below thanks for watching there's a party in the mountains and you're invited
today i'm riding with my wife tess aka dusty betty my brother david and our new friend casey from the channel ride year round so today we're going to be riding some awesome single track through the aspens on the sage flow motion
pretty rocky up here
oh single track like this is what hardtails were meant for
yeah so good
chasing fender the dog here he loves riding
like his poppy he likes to jump
coming in hot nice riding on the air is getting thin we're at 7 800 feet elevation beautiful this bike has a pretty slack seat tube angle which means when you're seated the bars feel far away from you and the front kind of wants to lift just a little it's a 74 effective seat tube 72 degree actual and you feel it i'd rather it was a 76 effective but that's just me some people really like slack or seat tube angle so it's good to have variety so a lot of people are wondering why do we care if a seat angle is slack or steep the seat angle determines where the seat is at full height once it's dropped it doesn't really matter they're all pretty much the same around there so at full height a steeper seat angle will move it forward an inch that changes where your weight is on the bike it changes how far away the bars are when you're seated changes your whole riding position it changes weight distribution the further back the seat is the more the front can easily wheelie up stuff and the further forward the more the front wants to stay planted everyone has a different preference i prefer a short seated feel to the cockpit so i prefer steeper seat angles but i prefer a long feel when i'm standing so i prefer a long reach reach only effects when you're standing but i prefer a short effective top tube effective top tube is when you're seated how far away the bars are if you'd like to learn more about geometry and what all that means and how it affects the way a bike ride and what it feels like i'm building a course dedicated to understanding mountain bike geometry i know a lot of you guys shop online compare geo charts and a lot of people know what some of the numbers mean but very few people know what all the numbers mean and this course is designed to help people understand that and make more informed decisions when they're buying a bike so good
this bike's a good little climber it doesn't quite have the speed and momentum of a 29er but as a zippiness and an ease to it did i often associate with 27.5 wheels this bike climbs a little bit like a great old-school hardtail i know some of you are disappointed with modern geometry and you don't like the way modern bikes ride this bike has some of that old-school flavor to it this could be a great fit for you just kind of has that old school feel and that's not a dig it's just this feels a little more like those old school bikes on the ups
this bike sprints great i love the small wheels on this it just makes it so fun to toss around
front end feels twitchier than a 65 and a half normally does
oh yeah this is this is totally what hardtails are meant for
this bike has a nice compliant ride feel that is not harsh at all
the joys of a beautiful titanium crane
but yeah the front feels a little tall
and it feels
like a steep head angle feels like 67 degrees not 65 and a half look at these beautiful corn lily plants i love these see them a lot in a lot of the mountain meadows in northern utah this is the hardest climb of the day fighting the bike just a little bit
the front wants to wander a little bit
well this is a really tough climb we're at 8 000 feet it's loose it's steep and long all right we made it up that long climb it was worth it what a perfect day
this bike has a really playful feel that short chain stay and high stack makes it pop into manual super easy and super fun it likes to just hop around
really likes to uh it's easy to change direction real easy to just hop around on the trail
this bike does have a interestingly bmxe feel to it
the way it launches off drops and lips feels very bmxy the stack feels really high nice job that was it
we're now at the four-way intersection and all trails are great from here super great this is a multi-use trail system there are hikers equestrians cyclists and motorcycles everybody yields to horses then we yield to hikers then motorcycles yield to us and nobody yields to motorcycles so they need to stop for everybody and the motorcyclists up here are super respectful for the most part that's how i became familiar with all these trails as i rode them on my moto and they are fantastic single track trails on a moto and the motorcycle clubs do not want to lose access to these trails so they're very courteous they do great trail work up here there's some really great organizations that take great care of it and i'm super thankful for our moto users who take such great care of these trails so we are going to go down trail 41. this is one of the least ridden trails up here especially on a mountain bike
this is so good that's rowdy
this bike gets airborne so easily it just loves popping off of stuff i'm not incredibly confident descending on this but the playfulness is really fun you're gonna get a chain slap on it
oh this trail is so good this thing carves corners so well i love the way 27 5's corner so good
rowdy yeah i'm getting a lot of change slapped at the moment
this is a bumpy trail not gonna lie
this thing changes direction so well if you're in a pickle and you need to get your bike to the left or to the right of foot you're able to do it
it's weird the reach is long on this bike but it feels slightly short when you're riding and let me clarify that
the size almost feels too big for me i would not size up on this it's a big feeling medium might even consider sizing down if you're in between sizes i think it's i think it's the tall stack that makes this bike for some reason this bike feels a little bit twitchy on the front it doesn't feel like a plow machine at all and perhaps that's not the point of it but i just want you to know some hardtails feel like they just want to race downhill like crazy i got some mud
but some hardtails just want a straight line and and they stay super composed over trunk this wants to pop off of everything so even though this is sage's most aggressive hardtail it's still not like it doesn't feel like an enduro race bike feels like a poppy play bike with a ton of travel
it definitely feels like it has xc roots in its flood in the way that it descends and even the way it climbs a little bit and definitely the way that it steers so it snaps corners but it wants a lot of input at the bars i'm cornering more with the barson with my feet at the moment yeah just it just wants a lot of bar input i'm not sure why because the numbers would suggest otherwise like the specialized fuse feels a little more planted feels like it has a slacker head angle a little bit
even though it's a full degree steeper and i wonder if it's the tall stack on this usually i love it's all stacked yeah it feels the reach feels nice and long
but this thing just wants to play which is not a bad thing i'm just trying to describe it so you can make sure you get the right bike for what you're looking for i wouldn't pick it for an enduro race bike
but man if you like to play it's pretty fun it's a different playful feeling than the chameleon the chameleon
and the middle child have such a short rear end they just want a manual and play and this has an element of that but this bike is the poppiest bike i've ever ridden it just wants to spring off of everything and get air and the way the rear end feels it feels that rear end just wants to boost and pop off everything and it does well i don't feel totally confident yet on this bike where i can just let off and cruise
i'm holding back a bit i feel like this bike would be a perfect candidate for under forking maybe like a 130 fourth on here oh this is fun
i feel like the 150 is a little too much for this bike because it it doesn't want to charge fast enough to be to 150 and it's too playful but so playful it would benefit from a shorter travel tour oh yeah
we're here already hey fender are you having fun you loving this that was such a good section so much good downhill we got a little bit more i can't believe it's almost over we're flying today
look ahead look further ahead look at fender
we got some chunky stuff here little one foot root ledge drops oh yeah this hail is so good so yeah this bike
is poppy and playful and fun it's a little sketchy the faster you go it's a little bit sketchier it's kind of the opposite of the diamondback sinker carbon where that bike gets more planted the faster you go
and this bike is like slow down a little there was a feature you didn't hit back there look at that view
this bike feels like a modern version of an old school hardtail and i know a lot of you like the old-school hardtail feel this would be a great choice for you it's boost it fits 27.5 wheels it's made in america beautifully hand crafted it's not quite as aggressive as its marketing and numbers suggested
like these are quite steep trails very steep way steeper than they look on camera
but for like a blue trail this is one of the funnest bikes i can imagine for a blue trail just want some pop get air goof around on stuff okay relax go yep let your bike do the work get over the front don't shy away from stuff
great riding hon yeah the ride feel is great on this it's nice and compliant i think it might even be a little softer than my titanium middle child
it's a bummer doesn't fit plus tires but not everybody needs plus tires pop it into manuals bunny hops slashing corners jibbing around this thing is fun what a trail this is so fun good job man this is incredible so pretty it's okay fender
woohoo yeah
so good exploring up here
yeah this bike is playful easy to maneuver at slower speeds
what alright look at that so good this has been a blast riding the sage flow motion on this trail let's wrap it up and talk about who this bike is for this bike is for somebody who really appreciates hand-built american craftsmanship and that's very important to you it comes with a premium price as do most handmade things in the united states but the ride quality was fantastic this was a very supple ride it just rode like a good titanium frame should i love the traditional double diamond layout i love that it doesn't have an extra gusset here and that it's not trying to look like every other bike it's ironic by looking like every other bike from 10 years ago it stands out it's kind of funny this bike is for people who want a more traditional feel on their bike you still need modern technique to ride it well to get over the front but it definitely reminded me of hardtails from the past with modern appointments and some modern updates this doesn't feel like the most modern hardtail i've ridden and it's not by any means the most aggressive hardtail i've ever ridden it's very poppy it's very playful it feels surprisingly good on long xc rides and the places that it was kind of held back were actually the more aggressive steep chunky the type of terrain you'd find at a bike park or an enduro race so we have to remember that one company's aggressive bike is not necessarily the same as another company's aggressive bike so i would put this squarely in the trail slash all-mountain category i wouldn't put it as an aggressive enduro bike it's just not quite aggressive enough in my opinion but it's fun it reminds you what hardtails are about it's snappy in the single track it wants to pop off every single route i've never ridden another bike that wanted to get airborne so much and it was very comfortable doing so these are 2.4 there's not a whole lot of clearance in there for bigger rubber and that's okay because this is actually a very comfortable and supple ride even on the narrower tires i think 27.5 fit this well i think a 29er version this would be really fun too because it would have that higher speed and have uh that a little bit faster momentum through everything feel but man this bike just wanted to play and that was super fun one of the most playful bikes i've ridden it's a different kind of playful than a santa cruz chameleon the santa cruz chameleon feels more playful on a pump track whereas this feels more playful on an everyday trail there are a couple things that i'm not super crazy about like the cable routing there was no need to split it right here in my opinion this feels old school and some people might like that but it also leads to contamination easier and i'd rather just run the housing an extra foot there i also don't love the way that the housing is routed under here it just looks kind of like an afterthought it's not great i'd also like to steepen the seat tube a little it has that old school feel largely in part to that slacker seat tube and some people will like that this bike feels bigger than it is on paper and it rides very different than you think on paper like i said i feel like this rides more like a 67 degree head angle bike it's got a nice tall stack you're sitting up i don't feel like you need a 36 on here and i don't feel like you need 150 mil travel on the hardtail like this it just wasn't quite confident enough for me to really let it fly on that stuff it wanted to hold back a little and hover around the 20 mile an hour range and pop off of everything and you start pushing it more than that and it didn't really like it a whole lot so let's rate it seated climbing i'm going to give it an 8 out of 10. standing climbing i'm going to give it a 9.5 out of 10. it climbs great i just think the seat position is too far backwards if you like a laid-back seat post or you're always sliding your seat back on the seat rails you're gonna like the way that this climbs cornering it snaps corners extremely well and it changes direction really well where it doesn't corner super well is at high speed planted where you just need to like lock into the corner and rail it around a corner it didn't want to do that very much and i'm not sure why so i'd give it a 10 out of 10 on slashing corners and changing direction real quick and i'd give it a 7 out of 10 on feeling confident at high speed sweeper corners for playfulness this is a 10 out of 10. this thing wants to pop it wants to manual it wants to wheelie it just wants to play all the time it's like that puppy dog that is just antsy and antsy and auntie and it's fun and you love it and it just licks your face and it's a really fun dog but you're like okay let's get serious now and it's like no no let's play this bike never wants to get serious it just wants to play all the time and that's actually a little bit of a downside because i wanted to get a little bit more serious be a little bit more composed in the steep rowdy stuff based on the geocharts i expected this to be able to handle rowdier stuff so i would just go into it thinking about of it more as a trail slash all mountain bike that likes to play and you'll be totally happy but if you go and expecting it to be an enduro just straight line plow bike this is definitely not that i've ridden a lot more modern bikes that are far more comfortable in trunk on that stuff like the middle child the cottage beefy max the banshee paradox there are so many bikes that i've ridden that are much more composed in straight line at high speed but you know a hardtail is probably the wrong bike anyway if that's what you're looking for but i'm just trying to describe the nuances so you know if this is for you or not so all in all if you go into this expecting it to be a trail bike that's playful and fun and poppy you're gonna be super happy you know it's hard when you read the marketing materials they say it's the aggressive trail slayer just smasher and that means different things to different people this fits more in the trail slash all mountain to me but man what a fun bike it's beautiful it's made of great materials the welds look fantastic and for those of you that want a more traditional ride that don't like the design and the way that modern bikes are going and you want to reminisce about your favorite hardtail feel from the olden days this is the best bike i've ridden for that this bike has one foot firmly planted in the past and it uses all the things we loved about hardtails in the past and it applies some modern appointments to it like boost tapered head tube modern geometry and it makes for a bike that rides like we all wished our 90s bikes road like so if you like the way those old bikes feel and you're scared of going to a new bike because you'll lose the greatness about those give one of these a try because i think this bike more than any other bike i've ridden captures the nostalgia of the older bikes with modern appointments it doesn't feel totally like a modern bike but it doesn't feel scary and outdated it just has a heritage to it that feels like our favorite hardtails from the 90s and i think that's a pretty cool thing that's something i haven't felt on hardly any other bike lately this bike is not a great value the frame is very expensive it's handmade in the us and you're paying for that and the spec you get isn't very great either now that's what happens when you get a small company that can't buy hundreds of thousands of parts and put them on hundreds and thousands of bikes their prices are a little bit more expensive on the parts now all these parts were just fine there was nothing that i was writing and i thought you know i wish this was different it's actually a super solid build i don't feel like we need a 36 on this a pike or even a 34 would be adequate for the way this bike rides i don't think it needs 150 mil travel but i did like the higher stack height the four pod xt brakes felt great the xt11 speed felt great it was just fine i didn't need a lower gear i don't need 52 teeth i don't need 12 speeds i like the simplicity of the 11 speed the stance flow wheels felt fantastic they were nice and soft and the chris king hubs were just the bling on top i love the sound of those hubs and the the engagement felt great they're good hubs i still feel like this bike's very overpriced for the components you get but you have to remember most of what you're paying for is a hand built american frame so this is not for the budget shoppers out there who want the cheapest titanium hardtail or cheapest hardtail you can get this is one of the most expensive hardtails you can get and at this price i think it should come with a little bit better spec parts or it should be a little bit cheaper tire spec was spot on the 2 6 actually felt great on the 30 mil stands flow stan's rims are the one rim where i feel like they ride wider than they actually are so a 30 mil stands rides more like a 34 to me and the tire profile sits a little bit better and they don't get as squirmy i don't know how they do that but to me uh the stands ride wider than the numbers suggest i have a limited offer discount for you guys on these sage titanium bikes if you're interested in one and you want a discount it's not going to be open forever but for a short time you guys can get a discount i'll put a link with the details below thanks for watching there's a party in the mountains and you're invited