In that period of mountain bike body development, David Rosen (founding father of Sage) was getting burnt out on the wave of carbon frames that quickly took the place of traditional steel and aluminum frames. Rosen explains, “All the bikes looked the identical, and I was promoting my carbon bikes yearly just to verify I had the latest bike available on the market. Bikes turned disposable with no souls of their own. I needed to convey back the soul of the bicycle with my take on issues.”
Flash-forward to immediately, and Sage has maintained its mission by making titanium bikes in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides its three mountain bikes, Sage has also developed road, cyclocross, and gravel bike options. The wrecking crew acquired its palms on Sage’s latest aggressive hardtail known because the Powerline. The Powerline is designed to handle a wide range of terrain. Essentially, it is made to handle a mix of cross-country, trail and all-mountain kinds of riding.
Frame
The Sage Powerline was built to imitate the riding characteristics of a steel body; however, to avoid wasting weight and make the body even stronger, Sage makes use of 3/2.5 titanium tubing. Riders who often ride in wet weather or ride by deep water crossings can rest easy realizing that their body can resist rust and corrosion better than a body built from some other metallic tubing.
This hardtail has a comparatively long wheelbase and a slacked-out, 67.5-diploma head tube that contributes to the stability of the bike at higher speeds. The 73.75-degree seat tube angle positions the rider well to switch power over the pedals. Two notable features are the English-threaded backside bracket to remove any undesirable creaking. An oversized 44mm head tube diameter to permit a wide range of steerer tubes. Because of its titanium development, the Powerline’s lusty sheen can be polished and brought back to its unique glory time after time. The remaining amenities embrace inner routing for a dropper post, clearance for a 29×2.5-inch tire, a patented CCS (Cable Clip System) to keep the aesthetics clean, a 12mm rear through-axle and Boost rear-hub spacing.
Components
Sage affords the Powerline as a body solely, a frameset or a totally customized full construct. If you are the type to build up your frame and pick your elements, the body-only option will run $4,300. From there, a rider can choose to go as wild as she or he wants by way of the extent of componentry. The customized build we examined came with a mixture of Shimano components, a Fox Factory fork and dropper put up, Enve carbon bar and stem combo and the always-dependable alloy Industry Nine wheelset. While this is not the most cost effective build, riders ought to anticipate paying no lower than $$8,355 for a whole Powerline on Sage’s site. The ultimate price will rely on the choices the rider chooses.
SUSPENSION
The Powerline is designed for 130mm-journey forks. You may step it up with 140mm in the front, but this can inevitably change the geometry and feel. If you’d like more journey without sacrificing geometry, then have a look at Sage’s Flowmotion with 150-160mm of journey at the front. Sticking to our common setup for a entrance fork, we dialed in the Fox 34 Factory right at 25-p.c sag and got to experiment with its talents on the dirt. We finally wished the bike to feel a bit much less harsh, so we opted for 30-% sag, which was a sweet spot for this particular bike.
DOWN AND Dirty
The Sage is designed for riders who want to spend lengthy days in the saddle, bomb the backcountry, and blur the lines of path riding and cross-nation racing. This hardtail’s design is meant to satisfy riders with what we generally wish to name “trail-tail geometry.” So, how does this mix of types translate on the path?
CLIMBING
The Powerline is optimized for descending however stays true to its hardtail roots by offering a lightweight feel and fewer transferring elements than a full-suspension bike. As a result of seat tube angle being a tad slacker than most hardtails, the geometry positioned our testers a bit farther again than most hardtail bikes, inflicting the entrance end to wander more on steep climbs than we usually anticipate from a hardtail. Some riders could wish to slide the seat a little bit farther ahead on the rails or simply get out of the saddle earlier on steep climbs. Fortunately, traction was by no means a difficulty because of the ground-hugging 2.6-inch tires. Although the Powerline may not climb as shortly as a cross-nation tremendous-bike, it reminds riders of its true passion when the trails point again down.
THE Flow
That is the place the magic of titanium impacts life on the trail. It’s such a distinct feeling; it’s just like that of steel however with less weight, making it easier to adapt the bike to the terrain. The quick rear stays make the Powerline snappy and very playful. The 130mm of journey does its job nicely, but the compliance of the titanium is what actually offers the bike its regular really feel. Aluminum (and even carbon) can bounce and chatter the rider into an unwanted line. The trip characteristics of titanium get rid of that unwanted sensation. The Powerline is not any slouch. It’s quick and effectively-planted when the speeds choose up and is good for titanium alloy locating your groove in your favourite flow path.
MODS AND UPGRADES
With Sage, you really can go bonkers and make your dream bike a actuality. Sage even provides absolutely customized finishes so riders can specific themselves. If you liked this report and you would like to get much more info regarding titanium tubing news kindly pay a visit to the page. We may see a rider choosing a carbon wheelset on the build we examined to attain extra weight savings; nonetheless, with alloy wheels, titanium tubing news constantly dependable/sturdy Shimano XT components, carbon Enve bits and Fox Factory suspension, titanium rod we wouldn’t change out the elements tested. It is hard to beat the longevity of this component list. The one two suggestions we might make are to cut the bars down to around 770 or 780 millimeters for a tad extra responsiveness in steering. To ditch the Maxxis Recon Race in the rear for a burlier tire with more tread.
The Powerline hardtail is a ripper! Nonetheless, Sage’s high-finish bikes might not have youngsters convinced till they’ve ridden extra bikes available on the market. This bike is designed for riders who know the kind of riding they want to do and will not be afraid to spend the additional cash for precision, hand-crafted quality and durability. There was a certain stability and harmony that this bike brought to each experience we ventured out on throughout testing. We were very impressed with simply how versatile the Powerline may very well be. This actually sets it aside from other hardtails.