Well the dust, or should I say the mud, from the demo day has settled now, so I thought I’d write a few words to let you know what bikes I rode and what I thought of them. This first few months of the year has been awesome as Quest has had a nice flow of new bikes to try and I’ve had fun putting them through their paces. Some I’ve managed to get longer rides on, but the demo day ones I only got to do the one hour circuit, so really these are first impressions if you like.
Ride 1: Titus FTM carbon
Titus FTM carbon
I was keen to try the FTM carbon, it’s a similar beast to the Marin Attack Trails that I love so much, so the comparison would be interesting. Obviously it’s a bit unfair to compare the two as they are at somewhat different ends of the price spectrum, but they are certainly very similar in terms of travel and aimed at being good all rounders.
You notice the smooth carbon lushness first, then the low weight. This bike was pretty sensibly specced with XT stuff and yet on the climb it felt like I had a giant hand at my back pushing me up the hill! This bike flies uphill easily and smooths out the trail beautifully. The front / rear balance of the suspension was good and it tackled the sheep trail with ease.
Dropping back down through the golf course down the steep chalky descent it was no drama at all, I kept the brakes off and got to the bottom with a big grin on my face.
So as I said at the top, only a really quick spin, but first impressions were good. This is a light, capable all rounder that climbs well and descends well too. However the frame on it’s own does cost almost as much as an entire Marin Attack Trail 6.8, so obviously you’ve really got to want one. But then if you’re considering a frame like this price usually isn’t your first concern.
Ride 2: Whyte 19 steel
Whyte 19 steel
At nearly £500 cheaper than the Whyte 19 the 19 steel could be seen as the poor relation, but I think that is more than a little unfair. Componentry aside they offer two different ride feels for sure. I rode the 19 trail a while back and absolutely loved it, it’s an absolute trail weapon, it’s light weight and fantastic handling make it a great bike for round these parts. The aluminium frame is not harsh at all, but some of you out there may be looking for that famous steel ‘zing’ and a more comfortable ride. This bike delivers big time, I absolutely loved it. It just felt comfortable and well connected the whole time. The fact I was shouting at the guy on the El Guapo to get off the brakes on the downhill should tell you something 
So don’t think of it as the poor relation to the 19 trail, it has a character all of it’s own and is great fun to ride, why not give it a whirl?
Ride 3: Titus El Guapo
Titus El Guapo
This was the bike everyone wanted to ride, it was specced to the absolute max with the lushest kit you could possibly imagine on it! Obviously the first thing you notice is the weight, yes not nearly as weighty as a Marin, but then it costs a lot more too. It uses the same horst link configuration as Specialized and is pretty active, you can see this as a positive or a negative really, but if you put the pro pedal on for climbing it’s not really a handicap. The plus point is of course that when you get to the top of the hill and turn round to come back what you have is a super plush machine that tracks the ground perfectly and gets you where you want to go, quickly.
This was the only bike that I did the downhill by the golf course without braking, it feels as solid as a rock, firmly attached to the terrain.
There will be a more thorough review to follow, because I liked it so much I bought one 
Ride 4: Genesis Alpitude
Genesis Alpitude
I took the Genesis Alpitude as an ‘old faithful’ at the end, I’ve put in a few miles on this bike already and it’s good fun. You can read what I though here.
So there you go, the demo day was good fun, unfortunately the weather was less than fantastic and the numbers suffered a little bit. But we all got some rides in on the bikes we wanted to try and I ‘accidentally’ bought one
Hummerlicious (or Guapalicious!)
