UK fat specialist Smokestone Bikes have given their beautifully unique titanium, Pinion gearbox fatbike a big brother in the new long & slack Ti Pin LS. Stretched and slackened out, the new LS is built to be more versatile than ever. With the longest travel fork you’ll likely find on a fat bike and enduro-ready geometry, the Ti Pin LS will be happy to take you exploring deep into the snowpack, exploring the backcountry or even shredding singletrack on super wide 26″, 27.5+, or even 29″ tires…
Smokestone Ti Pin LS progressive all-mountain Pinion fatbike
Smokestone designs bikes to ride all manner of trails. And while fatbikes are certainly their specialty, they don’t limit riding to snow, sand & mud. Owner Graham Foot says he loves to “push the boundaries when it comes to fatties”. The original titanium, Pinion gearbox Ti Pin already did that when it was introduced last summer – building conventional XC-inspired fat bike geometry into an adventure-ready bike built for a lifetime of trail riding.
LS long & slack Fat Enduro geometry
But Foot wanted to go even further, to push fat boundaries further, “not only will this bike take you anywhere but now you can climb and descend the gnarliest trails in the knowledge that you are in safe hands.” So, Foot has developed a Long & Slack version of the bike – a new Ti Pin LS, with more progressive geometry and a longer travel fork for a more aggressive riding style.
With a 140mm extended ride height Manitou Mastadon fork up front, the Ti Pin LS gets a slack 64.5° head angle, a steep 75° seat angle, and a super long 475mm reach for a large bike to pair with ultra short 35-40mm stems (a full 40mm longer reach than the standard Ti Pin.)
Max tire size in the frame is now 26″ x 4″, 27.5+ x 4″, or at least 29″ x 2.6-2.8″ making this thing a proper monster, with 455mm long chainstays (25mm shorter than before!)
Ti Pin LS – Tech details
Smokestone actually reduced the max tire size a bit to 4″ wide (on either 26″ or 27.5″ wheels, though) in order to keep a more reasonable & versatile 177mm rear axle spacing. That keeps the whole rear end from getting too wide and allows for more efficiency stance & pedaling across more trail riding types.
The Ti Pin LS is still built one at a time from 3Al/2.5V titanium and sold with the light & affordable magnesium C-Line Pinion gearbox at its heart. That keeps weight centered & low, with almost no maintenance and the option for more or less gearing if the standard 12-speed 600% range C1.12 isn’t what you desire. The bike features a tapered steerer with internal headset, external cable routing plus an internal 31.6mm dropper routing.
Pricing & availability
Smokestone sells the Ti Pin LS as a frameset in four stock sizes (S-XL) for £3000, including the titanium frame, C1.12 gearbox, shifter, cables, crankset & chainring. They also will build to order complete bikes with an additional 4-6 week lead time.
Foot calls this his most versatile fatbike… “Enduro race? Head turner and trail burner. 100km gravel ride? No sores on comfy tours. Just plain old exploring in the hills? No worry about miles, just huge smiles.”
