Review: Titan Racing Cypher RS Carbon Ultimate

[Scott roy]

12 minutes ago, TheoG said:

I have a 36 and 38 for both of my bikes.  When riding flat & fast I prefer the 38 but mostly use the 36 at the moment since I'm trying to do more climbing.

how does the 38 feel? I've been running 36 ovals for quite a while now and I regularly find myself wanting a bit more but a 38 is quite a chainring to run as specially since there is no such thing as flats near me. 

[TheoG]

14 minutes ago, Scott roy said:

how does the 38 feel? I've been running 36 ovals for quite a while now and I regularly find myself wanting a bit more but a 38 is quite a chainring to run as specially since there is no such thing as flats near me. 

I like it BUT, it only add a little to your top speed with the detriment that in granny up a steep incline you keep wishing you were rather on a 36 ..... 🤪

If you are strong, light and fit though 38 might be the thing for you.

When I am on goal weight about 15kg lower than now, I would seriously consider running 38 most of the time.

[Scott roy]

1 minute ago, TheoG said:

I like it BUT, it only add a little to your top speed with the detriment that in granny up a steep incline you keep wishing you were rather on a 36 ..... 🤪

If you are strong, light and fit though 38 might be the thing for you.

When I am on goal weight about 15kg lower than now, I would seriously consider running 38 most of the time.

well I like the idea of that too because I think I would get more life out of my cassettes since the wear is normally concentrated on the lower cogs and the largest two cogs typically go unused. I'm looking forward to seeing how the new bike goes with a 36 and maybe a 38 in the future though

[dave303e]

2 hours ago, babse said:

Very interestingly okes are riding 38T... Not fortunate to have any climbs around 🤨

honestly, I did a 160km ride the other day which came to within 5km of our farm and 36 was too short in terms of gearing. Think we had 1700m gain in 160km. 

It's so flat here you can watch the dog run away from home for 3 days...

[babse]

5 minutes ago, dave303e said:

honestly, I did a 160km ride the other day which came to within 5km of our farm and 36 was too short in terms of gearing. Think we had 1700m gain in 160km. 

It's so flat here you can watch the dog run away from home for 3 days...

that's still a fair bit of ascend regardless of the distance 

 

rolling up and around table mountain, i wouldnt even think of a 38T....or i just need to level up.

[117]

1 hour ago, Scott roy said:

well I like the idea of that too because I think I would get more life out of my cassettes since the wear is normally concentrated on the lower cogs and the largest two cogs typically go unused. I'm looking forward to seeing how the new bike goes with a 36 and maybe a 38 in the future though

A 38 will make you hurt. Its hard enough to use a 38 even on the flats

I have a 38t 104bcd (round) if you want to test it, and a stupid ass single track out back if you want to kill yourself on the ups for the test ride. 

Unless you're a racing snake like the pro's - then you'll be fine

And @TheoG - you should put a 34 or even a 32t on, come ride the masts again and you'll be pleasantly surprised as to how much tech stuff you can actually do - I'm convinced its over gearing that puts you off

[TheoG]

4 minutes ago, 117 said:

A 38 will make you hurt. Its hard enough to use a 38 even on the flats

I have a 38t 104bcd (round) if you want to test it, and a stupid ass single track out back if you want to kill yourself on the ups for the test ride. 

Unless you're a racing snake like the pro's - then you'll be fine

And @TheoG - you should put a 34 or even a 32t on, come ride the masts again and you'll be pleasantly surprised as to how much tech stuff you can actually do - I'm convinced its over gearing that puts you off

You might be right ... will give it a shot.

I did SBR on the past weekend (57km, 1200m for those of you that don't know), never felt out of my depth on a 36T, but that's tar road, climbing on the tech stuff, completely different animal 🤪.  Previous time I did it with a 38T, that was not fun at all.

Edited February 6, 2023 by TheoG

[dave303e]

25 minutes ago, babse said:

that's still a fair bit of ascend regardless of the distance 

 

rolling up and around table mountain, i wouldnt even think of a 38T....or i just need to level up.

ya like I said it is flat here. I have a32,34 and 36 to rotate through. Just pick and choose depending on where I ride. But a 38 would be manageable for majority of my riding in and around gp and home.

[DieselnDust]

On 2/4/2023 at 4:32 PM, ajnkzn said:

If you go 6mm offset chainring it’ll probably work with a 38. 
 

Most modern MTB;s are limited to about a 36T chainring when using a 3mm offset chainring. A 0mm offset chianring will definitely allow for a 38T to fit maybe even a 40T but there will be a compromise on drivetrain component life if the 50/51/52t sprocket is used often. There may also be issues of chain dropping down the cassette if you have to back pedal for any reason.

PS:  A 36T oval is not a 38T even if its round. the gearing is quite a bit taller, A 36T oval is the same gearing as a 36round for 360degrees of the crank revolution.....

[Mattman]

On 2/4/2023 at 4:53 AM, Jacques Joubert WC said:

I have the Cypher Pro and was told by Titan it can go to 36. 38 apparantly wont fit. Suspect it will be the same for the Ultimate.

@Jacques Joubert WC did you progress with new chainrings on your Carbon Pro? Assuming 120mm i.e. not the RS?

I was about to pull the trigger on the Carbon Pro size XL and when asking the bike shop to put on a 36T for me instead of the standard 32T, I was told that their mechanic advised it can’t cater for anything larger than 34!? I find this hard to believe as that would be a serious limitation on the bike given how it is marketed. 
 

Anyone else with information on this please weigh in 🙏🏻

[JacquesJ]

23 minutes ago, Mattman said:

@Jacques Joubert WC did you progress with new chainrings on your Carbon Pro? Assuming 120mm i.e. not the RS?

I was about to pull the trigger on the Carbon Pro size XL and when asking the bike shop to put on a 36T for me instead of the standard 32T, I was told that their mechanic advised it can’t cater for anything larger than 34!? I find this hard to believe as that would be a serious limitation on the bike given how it is marketed. 
 

Anyone else with information on this please weigh in 🙏🏻

Well, I went 34 first, since my next races had some steep stuff (Tankwa Trek), plus the chain that came with the new bike would be too short for a 36.

The plan is to go 36 once I need to replace the groupset in a year or so, since I can then match the replacement chain to the 36...and still have a 34 for those steep rides. 

Its the 120mm, yes

Sorry I cant help more at this stage

Edited March 10, 2023 by Jacques Joubert WC

[OVERDRIVE]

@Titan Racing Bikes surely can comment on this 

[Titan Racing Bikes]

On 3/10/2023 at 5:44 PM, Jacques Joubert WC said:

Well, I went 34 first, since my next races had some steep stuff (Tankwa Trek), plus the chain that came with the new bike would be too short for a 36.

The plan is to go 36 once I need to replace the groupset in a year or so, since I can then match the replacement chain to the 36...and still have a 34 for those steep rides. 

Its the 120mm, yes

Sorry I cant help more at this stage

38T is the maximum.

Cliff, our head of design weighing in: 

"But I wouldn't recommend it - personally I think it ruins the anti-squat, 36T is better."

[Fred van Vlaanderen]

51 minutes ago, Titan Racing Bikes said:

38T is the maximum.

Cliff, our head of design weighing in: 

"But I wouldn't recommend it - personally I think it ruins the anti-squat, 36T is better."

I'm no expert, but I think the chainring size shouldn't affect the anti-squat. It will affect the pedal-kickback though, which is a by-product, but I don't see how it will really make a difference.

Edit: Ignore me. Mr. Google gave some good reading and Cliff has a point. Adding a cool link for those interested.

https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/best-chainring-size-for-xc-racing/42442/46?page=3

Edited March 13, 2023 by Fred van Vlaanderen
Added detail

[dasilvarsa]

In Order to Spend less Time on the Large Rings of the Cassette the Chain ring size should be 32 tooth or 34 tooth. Spending too much time on the large gear destroys the cassette.

Using Large Rings 36T 38T also Increases the Gap between gears which results in bad performance when accelerating through the gears.

The only advantage of large rings 36T 38T is faster top end.

Modern Mountain bikes are designed and shipped with 32 Tooth Front Rings.

[Jewbacca]

35 minutes ago, dasilvarsa said:

In Order to Spend less Time on the Large Rings of the Cassette the Chain ring size should be 32 tooth or 34 tooth. Spending too much time on the large gear destroys the cassette.

Using Large Rings 36T 38T also Increases the Gap between gears which results in bad performance when accelerating through the gears.

The only advantage of large rings 36T 38T is faster top end.

Modern Mountain bikes are designed and shipped with 32 Tooth Front Rings.

FYI, a larger chainring makes shifting through the gears smoother.

It keeps the ratios tighter.

let's take a 15 and a 17 jump with a 38 - 0.39 and 0.44 respectively with a gap of 0.5

15 and 17 with a 32 - 0.44 and 0.53, with a ratio gear jump of 0.9

It all depends on what you do with your bike. I'd argue that with bigger stock cassettes these days, most bikes are built around a 34 chainring.

But, either way, you're wrong regarding the gap between gears.