Ok, I’ll admit it at last. I’m really not so good a rider, especially downhill, that I need a full suspension bike.

That stubby little shock might make it nice and smooth, kind and gentle on my furiously pedalling behind, but I reckon cross country trek-ability is far above downhill flow on my list of requirements, and, sadly, skills. I want a bike that I can take out and pedal for 6 hours over any terrain, and while there are a bunch of targetted, super light full-sus machines out there (Specialized Epic & Santa Cruz Superlight being great examples) the benefits of the suspension on these types of machines just doesn’t seem to justify either the cost or the increase in breakable parts.

So, back to the hardtail for me. And quite exciting it is too! Think about it - I’m now used to looking at frames that cost £1500 brand-new thanks to my brief full suspension fetish. Imagine the kind of hardtail you can get for that kind of money?! I’m slavering over carbon frames at the moment, or even, dare I say it, Titanium. Or Ti as all the cool kids call it.

I’ve been looking at the benefits and I reckon Titanium might actually be the way to go, even though it’s easily as steep as full suspension. Titanium frames are super-light, obviously. They make bits of the space shuttle out of it for god’s sake, how much of a advert is that? Plus, Titanium frames are nice and springy, smoothing out your ride somewhat, making up for the lack of a rear shock. The frames may be as expensive as my old Specialized S-Works Enduro but while the rear shock on the enduro really doesn’t give me that much advantage, the super-skinny weight of a Titanium frame will be awesome on the cross country while the springy finish will smooth out the downhills a bit anyway. Sorted.

So, Titanium it is for me, any advice on what to get? I’ve been looking at the Cove Hummer Ti, simply because the juvenile part of me secretly loves Cove’s innuendo-laced frame labels, but there’s plenty of other options around. Let me know in the comments - you could be responsible for my spending another ill-conceived grand and a half. Here we go…

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