The only way to enhance the performance of the glorious FTM Titanium is by upgrading the most important tube on the frame -- its downtube -- to an Exogrid tube. Voila! You end up with the Titus FTM Exogrid. What, exactly, is Exogrid? It's rather easy to define: Titus takes an aerospace-grade titanium tube and using a laser cuts away material in what's more or less a latticework pattern -- Titus refers to it as a "Titanium Skeleton". In some cases they cut away as much as a full half-pound of Ti material. They then create a reinforcement of carbon fiber that's both lighter and stiffer (where desired) than the Ti. As beautiful as it is, the Exogrid structure is first and foremost a performance upgrade since it increases torsional stiffness by 40%, while making it 15% more compliant.
Other than the Exogrid downtube, it's identical in every way to the FTM Titanium. It utilizes a strut-style Horst link suspension design with a custom valved Fox RP23 shock, (View our set-up video) giving it an ideal balance of pedaling performance and plushness. Beefy Horst link pivots with bushings further accentuate the stiffness and the trackability, making it agile and stable in most any downhill terrain.
The carbon X-Link provides additional stiffness to the rear. Its Light Rail System swingarm features asymetrical hydroformed chainstays and one-piece carbon seatstays. And Titus maximizes lateral stiffness thanks to their use of four oversized cartridge bearings stacked at the main pivot and new machined shock tabs.
The Titus FTM Exogrid provides 135mm of bump-gobbling travel, and is best paired with a 140mm front fork. It has loads of tire clearance -- handling 2.5's without a problem. It's available in XS, Small, Medium, and Large. Or, for an additional $300, you can customize the frame's geometry -- this charge will be assessed after you check out. It is disc specific with a replaceable derailleur hanger. It requires a 30.9mm seatpost and a 34.9 mm top-swing, dual-pull front derailleur.
Frame |
Shimano | SRAM |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $3895 | XTR 970 | 6722 | SRAM X.O | 5902 | |||
| XT 770 | 5938 | SRAM X-9 | 5730 | ||||
Size |
Seat Tube |
Effective Top Tube |
Stand Over |
BB Height |
Head Tube Angle |
Seat Tube Angle |
Head Tube Length |
Chainstay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XS | 15.00 | 21.30 | 27.30 | 13.25 | 68.75 | 72.75 | 3.30 | 16.85 |
| S | 16.50 | 22.75 | 27.57 | 13.25 | 69.00 | 72.75 | 4.00 | 16.85 |
| M | 19.25 | 23.25 | 29.17 | 13.25 | 69.25 | 71.75 | 4.50 | 16.85 |
| L | 21.25 | 24.25 | 30.39 | 13.25 | 69.25 | 71.75 | 5.50 | 16.85 |
