Titus’ announcement yesterday that it was folding its tent caught even long-time insiders off-guard — but not surprised.
One of Titus’ most stalwart dealers, Roaring Mouse Cycles in San Francisco, heard about the liquidation via press release like the rest of us. A couple of other Titus shops contacted by Bike Intelligencer had not even been notified.
Our Titus HCR the day we bought it.
Still, most said it was a matter of handwriting on the wall. As bad as the economy is, with high-end boutique bike makers like Titus taking the brunt of it, insiders say most of Titus’ downfall was its own doing.
Foremost was forcing out Titus’ founder, Chris Cocalis, in 2006. Cocalis landed on his feet of course, founding Pivot Cycles. But his acumen, contacts and reputation were never something that Titus could replace. It’s impossible to say how many core and potential Titus customers Cocalis took with him, but a review of the MTBR.com forums revealed considerable name loyalty.
Post-Cocalis, Titus was left mainly to ride out its brand name without coming up with true innovation or a feel for where markets were headed. It dropped the SwitchBlade, its best-known (and most popular) bike ever, and was slow to adapt to the freeride revolution. The El Guapo had potential but took a couple of tries to get right. The same was true of Titus’ 29er full-suspension model, the Rockstar.
RIP Switchblade. Photo courtesy GalbraithMt.com.
There were reports of overproduction and bike dumping, the kiss of death for a niche player. Titus marketing, traditionally a strong point, suffered under budget cuts and lack of a marquee model or two to focus on.
“They tried to cover too many bases without really shining at any one thing,” noted a Seattle dealer, Adam Schaeffer of Downhill Zone. The road market never really latched onto Titus, and its focus stayed on too-light cross-country and racing bikes long after those markets were usurped by aggressive trail and freeride bikes, Schaeffer added.
Dealers said they will continue to support Titus as long as they can get parts. Sean Ramirez at Roaring Mouse said the hope is Titus will get purchased and supported by another company, but that may be wishful thinking in a down economy.
We have a Titus we purchased from Roaring Mouse nearly a decade ago but count ourselves lucky: It’s a titanium hardtail, built Cocalis-tough, and not likely to need attention. Owners of full-suspension models may face increasingly uphill battles getting replacement parts, and God help the Titus owner who breaks a rear triangle or tube butting.
More from Jimmy Mac at Mountain Bike Action.
A sad end. I still get a lot of riding enjoyment out of my Switchblade.
And I continue to love my MotoLite, which was sagely recommended by the congnoscenti at MBA. But I need bushings for it. Know where I can find ‘em?
I love my Switchblade.
i have a 2010 el guapo, and love the thing and will continue to ride the crap out of it
i have a medium sized 2000 or 2001 racer x that was a little custom designed version called a hammer head. i broke the lt side rear triangle down tube. anyway i can get a replacement?
When I lived in Tempe, Arizona, I found out about Titus Bicycle through a neighbor and Titus MTB owner. I pitched the idea of writing a story about Titus to the Arizona Republic newspaper.
When I met Chris Cocalis he struck me as a very nice, and down – to – earth person who knew a great deal about custom – made mountain bikes. When he told me what it took to start his company (he started small while attending Arizona State University) I developed an immediate respect for him. Following the interview, I walked away and develo[ped a strong desire to own a Titus MTB. It was a fun story to write, and the complete story ran in the newspaper’s feature section.
I am sorry to hear about the demise of Titus bicycles. I am glad, though, Cocalis started his new venture, Pivot Cycles.
Good luck, Chris Cocalis