When Mountain Bike Action rings our phone line, we are always at the ready to answer the call. In this case, the call came late in 2021 and the call was for our Optimator XC Race bike. The plan was to do an old school style shootout with 5 titanium hardtails and they wanted the best that were being offered.
In this case, the Optimator was used as the XC Race bike of the test while the other bikes filled different needs for their niches. From MBA: “The Optimator was in a class of its own as the only true cross-country race bike of the group. Not even the fully rigid Black Sheep could keep it in sights on the climbs. And, as the terrain tightened up, the more nimble Sage simply walked away from its wagon-wheeled competitor. This is the perfect bike for somebody who wants an ultra-efficient and comfortable bike for fast-paced, long distance riding and racing. Even though it’s a race bike, the wrecking crew had a blast on this bike, even in trail-riding situations. It turns out that going really fast on an efficient bike like the Optimator is really, really fun.”
