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background

Although I have my hardtail built up to take big time abuse - I still put many XC miles on it (many times in the same ride that I abuse it freeriding)... so in the past I always used a XC saddle. In particular, a small saddle with a skinny nose that stayed out of my way when climbing. However, I always had two problems... the first was that when ripping singletrack or downhill the skinny xc saddle always left me feeling "naked" without something substantial to sit on and control my bike - second was I was constantly bending rails - not snapping, but bending beyond use. I tried full-on downhill seats, but they are just way too big to actually pedal, especially uphill. So I settled on the Titec Berserkr XC - way bigger than most real xc seats, the berserkr was one step below a full downhill saddle. But, it was a perfect mix for me, a little big for climbing, but do-able and enough seat to feel control on singletrack and downhill - nice fit for me!

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03.25.2004

The last two urban rides on went on, I dropped a couple 6-7ft ledges that were tricky pedal kicks or wheelie drops to the side (not a straight-on drop, but a drop off the side of a concrete ledge)... on at least two or three of these drops, I got sketchy landing 60-40 and dropping my full force on the Titec Berserkr - the rails didn't even bend a little - they took my full impact and kept on going! I am very very impressed... on at least two occassions, I hit so hard, I had to check the rails a couple times - but absolutely no bend - not even a little!

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03.28.2004

...just a quick entry... trails here are un-rideable so I have been riding urban in an effort to get back in shape and dust off the skills after a long hard winter... today, hit my biggest drop so far this spring - 7ft side drop off a foot wide concrete ledge to pavement with a 25deg transition pitch. The first one was flawless with a great soft landing, however, the second one was sketchy and I had to lean back to land rear first and keep from a total pancake - when I hit, my full weight and force came down on the Titec Berserkr - MAN, those rails didn't budge - hell my seat post clamp bent and stripped, but the titec stood up to the impact... this is one strong seat!

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11.16.2004

holy crap ! ... another season over - I abused this seat, landing on it hard on missed drops and jumps, as well as, a few big crashes off of drops, where the bike turned end over end down the mountain and this seat is still hanging in there big time... the only visible wear is on the kevlar sides. On the other hand, the seat is creakin' and moanin' - I get the feeling that the rails might be ready to give, but I will ride it until they snap... I have really gotten to love this seat - perfect combination of dh size and stability, with XC geometry for comfortable climbing.

worn out, but still alive

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01.22.2005

I took my wife's XC bike out for a road ride the other day - damn cold, but that's really not the point here. Anyway, as I road, I noticed that I really didn't care for the narrow XC seat. That is kind of funny because when I first switched from a XC saddle to the Titec, I couldn't get used to how big it was compared to my old skinny XC saddle. Now mind you the Titec I ride is supposed to be XC, but it is really only a step below at DH saddle in my opinion. I loved my old XC saddle because it stayed out of my way on the way down and on the way up... However, after almost two seasons on the Titec I really like the bigger style saddle - a ton of control on the descent, but actually more stable on climbs, especially the technical stuff. Final note for this entry - I have really grown to love the Titec Berserkr.

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03.16.2005

Did some park riding yesterday at East Coast Terminal. The Titec is creakin' like crazy, but still hasn't given out. This seat takes serious punishment, but is still hanging in there... I expect it could go anytime, but wouldn't be surprised if it hung on forever... it is really broken in now and is just about the perfect seat for my style riding - what will I do to replace it if and when it does eventually go ???