After moving to the Southern Rockies in early 2020, John’s appetite for titanium hardtails has increased. There’s just something about a flexy, compliant frame and a beefy fork that makes all-day exploits in his backyard trails all the more engaging and fun. Taking five years of knowledge from various Ti hardtail reviews, he pinged Whit Johnson of Meriwether Cycles to make him a dream hardtail frame. Let’s check it out!
Backyard and Background
Our Sangre de Cristo mountains, at the terminus of the Rocky Mountains, consist of granite, gneiss, and schist, mixed with basalt. Riding a hardtail here requires a bit of finesse. Over the years, I’ve compiled some opinions on what constitutes a formidable ally in this terrain. Like everything, it comes down to mental and physical conditioning and the right equipment.
My longest-owned ti hardtail was my Moots Womble. That bike deserves all its accolades, but it had some shortcomings. It’s a perfect bike for most terrain, but I wanted something a little more rowdy – well, not BC rowdy, but refined for my home turf. For starters: a slacker head angle, a steeper seat angle, and slightly better tire clearance. Chainstays are something often overlooked in this discussion as well. Longer is better, in my opinion.
Other titanium bikes that helped inform my bias over the years include:
Each of these bikes offered unique geometric approaches to cracking the nut of what I’d call the perfect titanium hardtail.
So, Why Titanium?
Well, titanium is immortal! Jokes aside, as a bigger rider, my frames can be quite large. Finding the balance of weight, flex, feel, and strength is just easier with titanium. The biggest positives from that list for me are frame weight and feel. For such a big bike, the frame only weighs around 5 lbs, and the complete build came in at 27.5 lbs without pedals or cages. That includes the 1200-gram tires.
Meriwether Ti Hardtail Geometry
My platonic ideal for a hardtail mountain bike is constantly evolving. After years of note-taking and testing, I landed on my perfect geometry. Running the numbers in at a 65º head angle, a 76.5º seat angle, around 60 mm of bottom bracket drop, a 140 mm head tube, 440 mm chainstays, with a 150 mm travel fork, and a long ETT (which ended up measuring 666 mm).
Late last year, after selling off a number of bikes and components on the Rad Bazaar, I had enough money squirreled away to buy a frame… and I knew who to contact.
Meriwether Cycles
Whit Johnson and I worked all last year on the development of the Ponderosa adventure gravel bike. The Ponderosa clears a 2.3″ tire, uses non-boost (road) spacing, has a steel fork, a tall stack height, and is pretty dang light for what it is. Throughout the process, I was impressed with Whit’s ability to see a vision, take feedback, and deliver on an intent with such accuracy that it made everything feel effortless. It was a real joy working with him on the Pondie.
Ordering a custom bike can be overwhelming for some people. A lot of builders will lament how customers want a bike that does too many things, resulting in the Homer Simpson mobile. Luckily for Whit – and me – I had a clear and concise vision of what I wanted my bike to be.
Meriwether is perhaps known best for its backcountry bikes. Fat, long-tail touring bikes, shreddy mountain hardtail tourers, bikepacking racing machines – Whit’s kinda done it all, long before many people were even interested in such genres. So I couldn’t think of a better candidate to build my dream bike.
Late last year, I contacted Whit, who was in the midst of building the Ponderosa queue – thank you to all who ordered one – and placed a deposit for my frame.
Meriwether Mountain Touring Hardtail
Sub-24-hour overnighters in my backyard of the Sangre mountains are a pleasant way to escape the heat down in town here in Santa Fe. Our section of CDT in Northern New Mexico features 100 miles of singletrack. Both of these summer exploits are more fun on a bike with suspension. I wanted a mountain touring hardtail.
That means plenty of touring accouterments like rack mounts, extra bottle bosses, and a nice, large frame bag space. Since it’s a Meriwether, I opted for a drive-side portage handle, which gives you somewhere to grab and lift your bike when it’s got a frame bag. This is particularly helpful on the CDT with all the deadfall.
We took the collapsible titanium rack from my Ponderosa and made it fit the ti hardtail as well. This platform rack can hold a dry bag, a sleeping pad, and a camp chair. It’s not a rack that you fully load, but this isn’t a bike meant to be fully loaded. I’ll pack it light for a casual yet balanced pace.
Paintspiration
My buddy Shawn Wilkerson has my absolute favorite Steve Potts bike of all time. It features a monochromatic camo paint job done by Steve in his shop in Marin back in 1985. Rick at D&D was doing similar paint jobs for Ritchey with the Commando bikes, too. But Shawn’s Potts just hit different. After I documented the bike at the History of Mountain Bike Evolution Show, I knew I had to use that design for a personal bike someday. This felt like the ideal opportunity.
This paint scheme reminds me of a post-blue hour sky, when our monsoon clouds are naked of the setting sun. It’s a special time when all that remains is the ambient glow. Our summer skies are unlike anything I’ve seen before. When you’re camping in the back country, they offer a wonderful distraction for a sated and sore body. When there’s a particularly good storm brewing, it’s a sight to behold.
To execute the paint job, which is actually harder to nail than you’d think, I pinged James from Good Color Studio. James paints at Stinner Frameworks and has always been down to paint my bikes. He mentioned that the gun control required for the spray was very difficult and that Steve has a natural talent. Getting the spray to wrap around the tubing made for some interesting paint booth acrobatics.
After wrapping his head and paint gun around the design, James finished the frame off with a glossy clear coat. That made the finish pop! This might be the flashiest paint job I’ve ever owned, and while it felt sacrilegious to paint a titanium frame, I’m looking forward to the beausage it develops with heavy use.
Tubing Spec
When Whit and I discussed ride quality, his number one concern was that the bike would be too noodly with such a long, 666 mm, top tube. He specced a beefy butted 1.15/0.9/1 mm wall and 44 mm diameter downtube to help stiffen it up. The rest of the frame is straight gauge.
I asked Whit about his thinking for the tubing spec:
“Because it’s a big frame and it’s hard to get Ti stiff enough, in my experience at least, I used a 38 mm top tube instead of a 35 mm that has proven to be more flexy laterally on big frames being ridden hard. The seatstays are 19 mm in diameter and 1 mm in wall, chain stays are 22 x 1.2 mm in wall. I’ve found butted MTB-sized Ti tubing to be rare, I’ve only had access to Reynolds gravel/road bike butted Ti tubes that are too light and short for MTB use.”
Knowing how I ride, he also insisted on a head tube gusset.
Frame Details
We wanted to make something unique, so we sent a graphic to SendCutSend to make two titanium plate gussets. Each features the Raidō rune laser cut in them. Raidō translates to the ride or the journey and has been the mark of The Radavist since its inception. It even dates back to the PiNP days for all you longtime readers. Many thanks to Daniel Yang for facilitating this process!
To optimize every millimeter of the chainstay, tire, and chainring area, we utilized a Cobra Frameworks yoke and a T47 bottom bracket with internal cups. This gave Whit plenty of purchase to mount the chainstays and beefy downtube. On the rear, we used Paragon Rocker dropouts, which allow for the bike to be ridden single-speed.
The Rocker dropouts have proven to be future-proof as well. Paragon’s UDH plate inset for the Rockers is something else! While it omits the ability to adjust the chainstay length, it offers an integrated, future-proof solution that doesn’t appear to be an afterthought. Plus, it puts the chainstay in the longest position of 440 mm.
And I just love the look of it with the Eagle 90 mech.
Speaking of…
Balleur SRAM and RockShox Build Kit
I’ve been riding the rebuildable Eagle 90 drivetrain on a 2025 Kona Hei Hei all spring and summer this year, and quite like the kit. A year ago, I got rid of all the electronic shifting on my bikes, in favor of cable-actuated Eagle mechs. Buying out a bike shop’s stock of XO1 derailleurs, I was set up for a while. Honestly, I’m still fond of the XO1 Eagle. It shifts crisply and accurately, and I didn’t see any need for anything newer. Plus, none of my bikes were UDH compliant.
With the release of Eagle 90, I liked the idea of having a rebuildable derailleur. The whole system piqued my interest. After spending a few months on it, I enjoyed how it made the Hei Hei’s zippy disposition feel even more engaged and crisp. If such a thing were possible! SRAM’s Eagle 90 ecosystem has an option for a kit with silver parts, which I felt like would look really rad on the right bike. Behold: the right bike.
Pairing Eagle 90 with the limited teal Maven Expert brakes, a new Reverb – the sole battery in the kit – along with a 150 mm travel Lyrik elevated the bike to a more robust personality. Expect a full review of this ecosystem to come later this summer once I put more miles on it. I must say, I’m impressed after just a few rides, and yes, I put Maven brakes on a 150 mm travel hardtail.
Wheels, Rubber, and Etcetera
For wheels, Industry Nine sent over its new Hydra2 hubs laced to the We Are One-made carbon rims. I’m a huge fan of the Triad We Are One wheels and am interested in seeing how the Industry Nine layup compares. Earlier this year, Schwalbe announced its radial tire collection. The concept was intriguing. I had to try them out, particularly to see how they felt on a hardtail. In short, they offer a wider contact patch while keeping a higher PSI. For a hardtail, this seemed like a perfect combination. Let me tell you: they are! More on that to come, too.
What really brought this bike deeper into the vintage throwback space was the BTCHN Ti Bullmoose bars, which I nicked from my Starling Murmur when I swapped its cockpit out earlier this month. To execute the build, I pinged my buddy Bailey at Sincere Cycles, who knocked it out of the park. Apologies for all the boxes that were piled up awaiting the frame, man!
Meriwether Hardtail Dream Bike
Recently, I’ve been putting in miles on the Storm Camo hardtail since building it up. I can say that Whit executed the assignment perfectly. The bike is flexy in the right ways, without being a noodle. The geometry is exactly what I was looking for. Keeping it planted down the steep scree slopes is effortless. Specifying the tubing to be less of a noodle and slightly more secure feeling means that at the end of the day, I’m not left beaten up from being bucked all around.
Titanium hardtails are perhaps the best use of the material for this very reason. I can’t wait to take it on an overnighter!
A lot of talent went into making this bike. From the builder to the painter and the assembly, everyone who touched it along the way is immensely talented. This bike is a literal dream bike, and it’s the culmination of a lifetime spent riding, inspired by countless bikes I’ve reviewed along the way.
The complete build, as shown, weighs in at 27.5 lbs.
Meriwether Ti Hardtail Build Spec
- Frame: Meriwether Cycles Ti Hardtail
- Fork: RockShox Lyrik 150 mm
- Headset: Chris King
- Bars/Stem: BTCHN Bullmoose
- Grips: Ergon GXR
- Shifter: Eagle 90
- Dropper Remote: RockShox Reverb
- Brakes: SRAM Maven
- Seatpost: RockShox Reverb
- Seatpost Clamp: Wolf Tooth
- Saddle: Ergon Gravel Core
- Cranks: SRAM Eagle 90
- Chainring: 32 T SRAM Eagle 90
- Derailleur: SRAM Eagle 90
- Cassette: SRAM Eagle 90
- Hubs: Industry Nine Hydra2
- Rims: We Are One
- Tires: 29 x 2.5 Schwalbe Radial
I want to thank SRAM for sponsoring this build and for believing in The Radavist. It means a lot to have your support! And Whit Johnson from Meriwether Cycles for being willing to take it on!
Unfortunately for us, Whit from Meriwether has decided to hang up his welder for the time being to focus on his family. Rather than get completely burnt out, he wants to take a break. I cannot emphasize how incredibly talented Whit Johnson is, and I can only hope for the triumphant return of Meriwether Cycles.
Whit, you’re one of the good ones, and you’ve forever changed the adventure cycling world for the better. Ride safe, friend, and enjoy the downtime!