We got a stealth-mode look at Sage Titanium’s upcoming Project FAF at Sea Otter Classic. What David and the Sage Team have cooking is one of the more interesting mountain bikes of the year: a fully modern, full-suspension titanium downcountry bike built in the USA with a heavy dose of 3D-printed titanium elements throughout.
Sage Project FAF titanium downcountry mountain bike
For the first time in a decade, Sage Titanium skipped the full booth routine at Sea Otter Classic. But that doesn’t mean they stayed home. I don’t think you can keep someone like Sage Founder David Rosen away.
But this time, he was incognito, or as much as you can be walking around with a shiny secret ti, yet-to-be-released bike.
Cloak & Dagger
Instead, David showed up in stealth mode with something a whole lot more interesting than a pile of brochures and a tent full of polished display bikes. Tucked away ahead of its official launch later this year was Sage Project FAF. A new 120 mm travel full-suspension titanium mountain bike.
On first look, it’s very Sage: a little very nerdy, highly refined, and just strange enough to be cool for the MTB racer crowd.
What is the Sage Fast As $#!@ All About?
Ok, yes, the name is temporary, but I hope it sticks. For now, FAF (Fast and Fun?) stands for whatever you want it to stand for.
Fun As… works. Fast As… also works. Fancy As… honestly, that fits too.
Whatever the final name turns out to be, the bike itself already has a pretty clear identity.
Full-Suspension Titanium: Made in the USA
Sage says Project FAF is the world’s only fully modern, Made-in-USA, full-suspension titanium mountain bike on the market today.
I know we’re gonna have some fact-checkers in the comments, so comment away if we’re right or wrong & let us know.
But what we have here is a super cool, calculated raceable and shreddable bike that didn’t come out of a carbon mold. It’s oddly refreshing, and it sticks out like a sore thumb in the carbon crowd.
The Sage FAF is an XC/downcountry platform built from premium US-sourced titanium tubing, blended with a bunch of 3D-printed titanium parts and CNC-machined components made in Oregon.
Pretty much what you get on most or all Sage bikes.
Three Years In The Works
Sage says Project FAF has been in the works for three years. From the outside looking in, the bike doesn’t feel like a rushed “we need a full-suspension bike now” project. Because you generally don’t do that kind of thing with titanium, it feels like a bike someone (Dave) obsessed over for a long time, and only built it once the right version finally showed up on the drawing board.
“Mountain biking is my first love. Building a Sage full suspension bike has been on my mind
– Dave Rosen
since the company started. This is the next chapter for Sage.”
David was completely clear during our sit-down; he wanted a bike suited to his riding style.
He’s honest about most of their bike designs, stemming from David’s own search for a better bike for the riding he’s into. Here, he was looking for something that would not be as full-on as the hardtail Optimator (above). And it needed to be more raceable than the Sage Timberline hardtail, but fun, like that one.
A full-suspension bike was the only option, but it had to be done ‘the Sage way’.
FAF Suspension Design
The Sage FAF uses a single-pivot flex-stay suspension layout, with a linkage-drive shock. The shaped seatstays and chainstays do most of the flex work while that linkage manages the kinematics. Sage describes the suspension feel as firm at the top, plush in the middle, and again firm at the end for a more bottomless feel.
Project FAF is not meant to be a long-travel bruiser or some mini-enduro machine in expensive metal clothing.
It is built to sit in that sweet little zone where a bike still pedals like an XC bike, still feels light, and is responsive under power. Dave hopes this kinda downcountry-style bike will give the rider enough confidence to blast through rock gardens and drops like a longer-travel machine, while still feeling fast and efficient like an XC racer
That kind of bike is hard to create, basically a short-travel trail bike for people who still like going uphill quickly.
Let’s Talk Geometry
On paper, the numbers are pretty sensible, no “reinventing the wheel”, just stable and shreddable. The FAF opts for 120mm travel up front and 115-120mm rear travel (still in development), with the final rear travel to be sorted out soon.
Tire clearance is stated at 29 x 2.4”. And the geometry lands in a modern, very usable place with a 66° head angle, 470mm reach, and 435mm chainstays on the Medium size demo bike we saw, but didn’t get to ride (yet).
Dave said he wanted that mix of Optimator and Powerline, but with a slight bias toward the Powerline’s more playful handling.
The new FAF looks like the bike for riders who want one machine that can handle big all-day rides – feel quick when the trail turns up, and still make descending fun rather than survivable.
How Much Does It Weigh?
The prototype shown at Sea Otter weighed 28.6 pounds, as pictured with RockShox Flight Attendant. That’s not exactly XC race weight… yet.
Could it get lighter? Sure.
David says there is some room to save weight by using different wheels and trimming/optimizing the printed parts a bit more. But those 3D-printed ti elements are intentionally overbuilt right now, and that feels like the right call. If you are going to introduce a fully modern, full-suspension titanium platform built around a lot of printed pieces, ‘maybe we should make it a little more durable than necessary‘ is not exactly a bad instinct.
What Happens Next?
Project FAF is still officially in prototype mode, which is part of why seeing it at Sea Otter felt a little special.
Sage says they’ll continue testing and refining the bike ahead of the full public unveiling at the MADE Show in Portland this August. Expect the FAF to make its proper debut there.
But…
Sage Titanium Project FAF – Pre-order Pricing & Anticipated Availability
The Project FAF is available for pre-order already. So you can get a place in line for one of the first frames, now.
Deposit: $1,000 USD, non-refundable, transferable to any other Sage model
Estimated frameset price: $10k-15,000? Final pricing confirmed before first deliveries, shared with deposit holders first.
First deliveries: Anticipated early 2027
Production: Limited first production run. First-come, first-served.
Pre-order bonus: Free Cerakote logo finish upgrade (optional), preferred pricing on complete build components, first access to name reveal, and final pricing
But if you are the sort of rider who has always wanted a full-suspension titanium mountain bike and found the existing options either too old-school, too compromised, or too nonexistent, Project FAF might be the bike that finally makes that idea feel real.
Project FAF Tech Details
- Frame material: US-sourced titanium tubing welded together with 3D-printed titanium parts
- Construction: 100% USA made frame and parts, welded, and assembled in the USA
- Suspension layout: Single-pivot flex-stay, linkage-driven shock
- Fork travel: 120mm
- Rear travel: 115-120mm, final figure TBD
- Wheel/tire clearance: 29 x 2.4”
- Head angle: 66°
- Reach: 470mm
- Chainstay length: 435mm
- Claimed bike weight as shown: 28.6 lb
- Launch timing: Public unveil expected at the MADE Show in Portland this August 2026
- First complete bikes: Q1 2027 for the first pre-order customer deliveries
