Titus Modena

OK, I think I have enough miles to talk about my new Titus Modena. My Specialized Allez Pro was/is a great frame. The all aluminum bike, the fork is carbon, was pretty light (not sick light by any stretch of the imagination) and made for a great race bike. For long rides on less than perfect (any road in the Cleveland area) roads, I got beat up pretty bad on it and the soccer, hockey and rugby that I had played in the past made it so this 46 year old body was creaking more than a bottom bracket that needed attention. I was looking for something that was stiff, but more comfortable for longer rides/training.
The Titus is a compact frame with carbon tubes and aluminum butting, size is 54cm. Weight as shown is like 18.6 lbs. The bike seems smaller than even the Specialized and the steering definitely felt different, fine at higher speeds but way different at slower speeds. The bottom bracket on the Titus seems to be very stiff, stiffer then on the Specialized even. The ride is not plush (I have a Ti Ritchey 'cross bike for that), but I'm not as sore as I would be after a ride on the Specialized, so I think for such a compact frame it still offers some vertical compliance. It seems to do as well on a crit as a road race. It does descend like a rock and holds a line well and doesn't feel skiddish.
All-n-all I really like the bike; both in the ride and the aesthetics of it. I would like to look into getting a smaller (carbon) bar for it; the current one is a 44 I believe and I think a 42 or even a 40 would fit me better. Is it my favourite bike ever? I gotta say the Cervelo Carbon Soloist (or R3) that I have taken a test ride on has been my lust after bike.
The Titus has been just what I was looking for; a quality bike that was close to the same weight as the Specialized Allez Pro and more comfortable. I sold two of my bikes to swing the deal; my Ritchey BAB steel road bike (Brett) and my Specialized Langster Track bike (Matt). So I feel like I made the right choice for what funds I had (none).
:-)

Oh, a trip to the scale this morning and I'm at 152.5! We'll see how long that lasts. It's amazing what happens when you lay off the beer (Guinness is only 126 calories though).

Thanks for reading,
Rick