TURNER NITROUS TITANIUM HARDTAIL REVIEW – N+1 OR QUIVER KILLER?

Turner Bikes have been around since the heyday of mountain biking. Prior to building his own machines, founder David Turner cut his teeth riding for team Marin, Kona and Mongoose in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Despite having access to some of the most advanced equipment on those powerhouse teams of the time, he discovered that the bike he wanted to ride and race did not yet exist. David is self-proclaimed to be picky about so many aspects of his bike: “From the first mountain and road bikes I bought myself, and then my team bikes, I always wanted changes. Making my own bikes seemed like the best way to go.” David launched his first made-in-America mountain bike in 1994.

Until recently, Turner bikes had best been known for making full-suspension models. For most of that time frame, the material of choice was aluminum, with a stint from 2014 to 2019 when they produced a few carbon models. For David, it has always been about producing the best riding bike with the technology currently available to the designer.

As a small brand, Turner faced difficulty with high tooling costs in carbon molds and long lead times dealing with the factories that produce not only his bikes but those for larger brands, too. This left Turner’s otherwise awesome bikes a step behind the brands with deeper pockets, which have more ability to quickly invest in expensive carbon-specific tooling.

While taking a break from the MTB scene, David had spent time on a gravel bike and realized there was simply no combination of tires, geometry and drop-bar shape that would create the control one gets on a mountain bike with a flat bar. That was the moment he decided to make the Nitrous—a hardtail XC bike with modern geometry designed around a short stem and wide bar.

 

FRAME

Turner’s Nitrous hardtail is built from a custom-shaped titanium tubeset. It has a dramatically flared seat tube, subtly shaped downtube and a stance that looks quick, even when posing for photos in a studio. S-bend seatstays, shaped chainstays and a machined yoke with clearance for big tires are as aesthetically pleasing as they are functional. Turner says there’s clearance for 2.5-inch-wide tires with 29″ wheels, or 2.8-inch tires if you build it with 27.5″ wheels.

The geometry and weight distribution feel balanced, with handling that’s stable but not sluggish. The 66-degree head angle would have sounded outlandishly slack only a few years ago, but when paired with the relatively steep 75.5-degree seat angle, you’re left with a bike that’s meant to be confidence inspiring, but not so extreme that it suffers from front-wheel flop or wandering on climbs.

The Nitrous comes with modern hardware standards, including a Boost 148 rear axle, and a T47 bottom bracket that’s both threaded and allows for the use of an oversized 30mm BB spindle. Other amenities include internal cable routing, two full-size bottle mounts inside the front triangle, an additional mount on the top tube for a snack bag, and a three-bolt mount under the downtube. New for 2023 is a post-style brake, which replaces the flat-mount, road-bike-style one Turner used on previous Nitrous frames. This makes the correct brakes easier to find as a bolt-on set.

 

COMPONENTS

Turner offers the Nitrous as a frame only, frame and fork kit, or as a complete bike. Spec choices typically include suspension forks from RockShox or Fox, and wheels from Reserve or Reynolds, although Turner’s inventory may vary.

Our test bike came equipped with a SRAM XX1 drivetrain with a Praxis Girder crank with crisp shifting, and a very connected, smooth pedaling feel. The Reserve 28XC wheels are stand-out performers, helped in part by the handmade-in-Germany Continental X-King tires and TuboLight SL tire inserts. This wheelset, as a complete, simply takes this bike to the next level.

The wheels are shockingly lightweight and responsive, especially considering they have liners front and rear. When coupled with a super-supple tire that can be aired down for more traction, the Nitrous simply feels both glued to the ground and eager to scamper over any little bump in the trail. While the frame is the showpiece here, David Turner ensured the ride quality would be top-notch by truly selecting components that would add to the ride quality.

 

SUSPENSION

The RockShox SID Ultimate fork feels more capable than the 120mm of travel would have you think and offers confidence in the rough. It also sports a redesigned lockout lever, which is small but easy to find and use.

With a hardtail design, there isn’t any travel or linkage to talk about. Still, the shaped titanium tubing has a certain amount of flex that absorbs vibration and makes the Nitrous feel less harsh than a typical carbon XC bike. Like any well-designed Ti bike, the Nitrous exudes a springiness, despite having no literal springs to mention.

 

CLIMBING

With a relatively low weight, hardtail efficiency and a balanced geometry, there’s not much holding the Nitrous down. It climbs with aplomb. The chainstays are short, but not as short as Turner claims some of his first prototypes were. This was to add stability on loose terrain. Similarly, the seat tube was slackened slightly from early versions to increase rear-wheel traction. The result is a bike that feels like it climbs with the efficiency of a cross-country race bike but with the balanced position of a trail bike.

Our testers found the limits on steep and technical trails, where a full-suspension bike could have blasted up. However, with a talented rider at the helm, the Nitrous could pick its way up most any feature. When the climbs are smooth fire roads, the hardtail rear end and impressive efficiency in the components make long climbs feel a little shorter.

 

DESCENDING

Turner built the Nitrous as an all-purpose shredder, and specifically to be a more formidable descender than an XC hardtail or gravel bike. Turner achieves this with a relatively slack geometry, although this is far from the most aggressive bike Turner has built. The Nitrous takes to the descents with a playful confidence that is stable enough to handle steeps and responsive enough to make the tight switchback turn at the bottom.

The Nitrous isn’t so much forgiving as it is fair. The geometry puts the wheels right where you want them to be, but the lack of rear suspension will still make you pay the piper on cased landings. Yes, the bike jumps pretty well. Thankfully, with a wide bar and the short but exquisite amount of travel afforded by the SID Ultimate up front, the Nitrous will get you down most any hill with good line choice and some skill.

 

WHAT DID WE LOVE?

The Nitrous comes to the table with a well-rounded design that’s packed with features for a huge swath of riders. Want to take this thing on an all-day adventure? No problem. Want to try XC racing? Got it covered. Pump track and dirt-jump shredding? It can do that, too. Aside from rear suspension, there’s not a lot you could add to this frame that would make it more capable.

The build kit also shows Turner’s attention to detail, and experience selecting parts with the best mix of capability, durability and cost. Hardtails require more skill and attention to pilot on technical trails than full suspension trail bikes, and the Nitrous is no exception. It will make you pay for mistakes and missed line choices. Nevertheless, the combination of efficiency and off-road prowess makes this bike truly ready to go anywhere.

WHAT DID WE HATE?

While Turner has done their best to include everything, there is no option to customize anything on the frame. If you need custom geometry, don’t like the plethora of mount options, or want a custom paint scheme, you’re out of luck. The Nitrous is stock as stock gets.

BOTTOM LINE

Turner has departed from the suspension bikes that put them on the map and shown that you don’t need to break the bank on carbon frame molds to produce a very capable and fun-to-ride bike. Titanium can be a difficult material to manufacture with, but David has used his years of real-world trail experience to harness the best attributes of the metal and build a bike with serious off-road chops.

The Nitrous is a frame with well-balanced geometry and notably nice finish quality. The component selection shows the same attention to detail and experience picking parts that will work well together and provide a cohesive ride quality. The Nitrous has a detail on the stays of N+1, the equation riders typically say is the solution to the problem of “how many bikes should I have.” While the Nitrous has enough versatility to basically be a bike quiver on its own, it certainly backs up its claim that it could be the ideal +1 to your quiver.

TURNER NITROUS TI

www.turnerbikes.com

CATEGORY: Cross-country

WHEEL SIZE: 29″

SUSPENSION: 120mm (4.7″)

Price: $2,395 (frame), $5,995 (complete)
Weight: 23.9 pounds (with bottle cage, no pedals)
Sizes: S, M, L (tested), XL
Frame tested: Titanium hardtail
Fork: RockShox SID Ultimate (120mm travel, 44mm offset)
Wheelset: Reserve 28XC carbon (28mm inner width)
Tires: Continental X-King ProTection with Tubolight SL inserts (29 x 2.2″)
Seatpost: OneUp V2 (175mm travel)
Saddle: WTB Volt
Handlebar: OneUp (20mm rise, 780mm)
Stem: OneUp aluminum (50mm)
Grips: Turner lock-on
Headset: Cane Creek 40
Brakes: SRAM Level TL
Rotors: SRAM (160mm Centerlock)
Rear derailleur: SRAM XX1
Shifters: SRAM XX1
Crankset: Praxis Girder carbon
Bottom bracket: Praxis M30
Cassette: SRAM XX1 (10-52T)
Chain: SRAM XX1
Chainrings: Praxis (32-tooth)

 

GEOMETRY SIZE LARGE

Head tube angle: 66°
Reach: 462mm (18.2″)
Stack: 462mm (18.2″)
Effective seat tube angle: 74.5°
Bottom bracket height: 312mm (12.1″)
Chainstay length: 440mm ( 17.3″)
Wheelbase: 1200mm (47.2″)