Sage Titanium Cycles is constantly tweaking their designs to keep them on trend and compatible with the latest components. The most recent update is for the Optimator, their titanium hardtail XC mountain bike. Geometry and frame details have been updated for modern trails and riding styles, with more travel and T-Type compatibility.
Up front, fork travel grows from 100mm to 120mm, and the head angle is relaxed to 67.5º.
The dropouts and chainstay yoke are now 3D-printed, like many of their other models, and get the Owl logo embossed on the backside. A singlespeed version is also available with standard sliding dropouts (not 3D-printed).
These parts open up tire clearance to 29×2.4″. The rear brake hose now runs internally for a cleaner look, but sticks with a traditional port on the front of the frame rather than running through the headset. You can opt for full external routing, too.
Overall, the geometry is still racy, just updated to work with the longer travel fork. It’s 1x specific and clears up to a 36-tooth chainring, and there are two bottle cage bosses. Frames from $6,000.
Sage Titanium Riser Bar & Stem
Coming soon, this titanium handlebar comes in two versions – a 710mm wide flat bar with 7º backsweep and no rise, and a 800mm wide riser with 25mm rise and 13º backsweep. The latter weighs 349g with a Cerakote finish, which is probably only adding a few grams.
Like their frames, it can be had Raw or Cerakoted in your choice of solid colors (or otherwise customized to match a bike for an upcharge)…or just go for a stealth look. MSRP will range from $300 from $400, depending on rise and finish.
They’re also working on their own titanium stem for stealth cockpit setups, designed specifically for the Chris King Aeroset headsets. It comes in at 175g for a 100mm length, and will be available in 80-120mm lengths with a -6º rise. It’s for drop bar bikes, not MTBs.
Spacers will use interlocking designs that let you remove them without undoing any brake hoses or cables, and may or may not be notched like the ones on the right to help them stack together perfectly…depends on the headset they’ll go with, they’ll likely have options for brands other than Chris King.
New Standard Paint
Technically, it’s Cerakote, not paint, but the new “standard paint” option lets you choose three colors to use in this pattern. Pick the top, middle, and bottom, and they’ll match the logo colors to the top color for a cohesive look. This option has a lower $1,200 upcharge (versus ~$2,000 and up for full custom), but still lets you choose the colors you want.
