Darryl Pentz

Terminator gears 😄 - that's a good one. I have to say having used them now for a few weeks, it'd be hard to go back. They are just so accurate, and the ability to go from a hard gear to an easy gear simply by holding the button down has gotten me out of a few tight spots. I've also heard from a few mates that they do really well in muddy weather when mechanical gears start to clog. There is of course the other side - a flat battery and you're screwed, or a broken derailleur etc. I guess for now I'm going to learn by trial and error. 😬 As to the dropper post, it actually comes with a dropper post but due to supply chain issues, they're not currently available. I will be getting one when they are again available. That said for some of the endurance events I've signed up for, I won't be needing a dropper post for those.

Just to report back on this thread. Given stock shortages across all brands, I eventually got the Titan Racing Cypher Carbon Pro. It's a great bike, and while there was an issue with the rear shock, TR sorted it out for me with a very nice upgrade replacement, and I'm very pleased with the bike given the price and the spec of components. I did get Bike Addict to upgrade the brakes from SRAM TL to SRAM TLM.

Yep, agree with @dave303e here. This is what was pointed out to me by a few of the store assistants I spoke to. You're putting stresses on a carbon frame that it wasn't designed for. In addition, the Holy Rail is problematic because you're also now putting double the weight on 2 pins that are designed to hold one bottle weight, and those pins can come loose. The guys at Hanger Bike Co made this point as something they've seen from time to time.

Agreed. I test rode one at Bike Addict and it was definitely too big. Interestingly the L frame of the Titan Racing frame has the same TTL as the M frame of the Scott Spark. So you do have to know your size before buying. The L frame of the Titan Racing seems to be my sweet spot.

For some reason I thought the Titan Cypher RS Team has 100mm forks. My Bergamont has 140mm! I know it's the difference between XC and Trail but what are the thoughts on 100mm vs at least 110mm?

That's good information to know, thanks!

Ja thanks @BaGearA I hear you. I'm a weird build. I'm 179cm, but I've got short legs and a long body. The M felt very crammed on the Cypher RS Team. I absolutely won't buy an XL if it's not right for me though.

One point that was made to me that I hadn't thought of is that having 2 bottle cages on the bike allows you to ride without a pack when doing local long training rides. For a 2-4hr local training ride, 2 bottles means you don't need to wear a pack to still have sufficient nutrition on board.

Just to be clear, since some of the comments suggest people think I've gone for the Scott - I've actually opted for the Cypher RS Team, but nobody seems to have L frames, so I'm going to try out an XL (the M seemed very small for me) and if it's too big, Bike Addict will build up a bike using a Cypher Pro frame. Unless @Titan Racing Bikes has news of more L frames arriving anytime soon. I'm not in a massive hurry, I can wait. In answer to @PhilipV's question, the Hanger Bike Co. guys do still give that bike fitting for free, and I can't speak more highly of them, the professionalism etc when I went there. I've just been cautioned by enough people now about the integrated shock and stem cabling of the new Spark to wait and see how that pans out.

You guys didn't help giving all the L frame RS Team bikes to the racing team! 😠 Just saying. 😬

I just want to thank everybody for their comments to my thread. I have thoroughly appreciated all the feedback from the community, it's all been very interesting and instructive. My reason for wanting 2 bottle cages is because while I can absolutely use a Camelbak for the longer races I want to do, having 2 bottle cages still allows me to not wear a backpack for my 2-3hr training rides on my local trails, which I find quite enjoyable. Be that as it may, since starting this thread, I've gone from choosing between the 940 and the Cypher Pro, to the Minister of Finance™ (aka my wife) signing off on a good deal on a Scott Spark RC Team Issue, to changing my mind again to the Titan Racing Cypher RS Team. So ironically I've somewhat gone full circle back to the initial bike I had wanted. My challenge now is to find the right size frame for me. My old Bergamont is a M but the RS Team M is definitely too small, so much so that I will even try an XL given my size. I'll be making that decision when I go back to Bike Addict tomorrow to try both the L and the XL. Either way I'll be leaving the store having chosen one of them as my future steed. Will update here with final decision. Thanks again for all the feedback! 🙏

Ironically they’re just up the hill from me here too in Som West 😊

Probably a L but I wouldn't need the holy rail on the Spark would I?

So I should have qualified re the two cages. Given my (current) size I'm not a racing snake, and it's unlikely I'll ever be one, so rides like the Epic are probably out (well, yes, the cost too!). So I'm looking to do races that favour my slow starting diesel engine strengths on the endurance side. My current goal is to do the 36ONE next year, but since I'm doing some serious training now (at least compared to my couch potato previous life) I'd like to get onto a 29'er sooner rather than later. Given the need for supplies en route for these endurance rides, I'd like to have more weight on the bike than on my back, if possible. I hear you guys on the hydration pack. I'm not against it as such, I even have a 2L Camelbak. Thing is for the longer rides, you need a lot of gear on board for possible breakdowns. So it's not just about water. The Trek Top Fuel is a really nice bike, so I'll reconsider given the comments. Regardless, I really appreciate all the differing views. As a relative newbie, it's all good information for me to come to a decision. I'm still Scott Spark 940 with my heart, and Titan Racing Cypher Pro with my head. But definitely mulling the comments, so please keep them coming if you have an opinion to share. 🙏 (Good thing I didn't ask for opinions on the AXS vs mechanical - we'd be here all day! 👀 😄)

@thebob you raise a good point that I should have mentioned. I have excluded bikes like Trek and Giant because I want to be able to fit 2 bottles within the frame. It relates to what I'm planning on riding in the future. So unf anything that has a vertical rear shock was excluded. Aside from that though, I completely agree, the Trek is a lovely bike.