Spencer enjoyed the distinct pleasure of riding a Tumbleweed Sunliner Ti ahead of release. The Sunliner is Tumbleweed’s non-suspension-corrected “timeless touring platform,” according to John. Read on for Spencer’s take on the titanium iteration of the Sunliner below…
Tumbleweed Bicycle Co. should need no introduction for our readers, but if you happen to be new around here, let’s give you some back story: One of our longest-running contributors, Ryan Wilson, has been literally everywhere aboard his Tumbleweed Prospector for the past ten years. John has called Tumbleweed’s non-Rohloff-equipped bikes, the drop-bar Stargazer and flat-bar Sunliner, the best in their respective categories. Tumbleweed’s Big Dipper drop bars and racks have received praise aplenty, and I will heap even more praise on their Persuader handlebars as we get into this review. Tumbleweed doesn’t have an extensive catalog, but every bike and accessory is meticulously thought out, drawing from years of experience touring and designing bikes.
I met Daniel Molloy near the tail end of his tenure at Montano Velo in the East Bay more years ago than I’d like to count. I came in for a tube for a fatbike, which piqued Daniel’s attention. He was working on the prototypes that would become the brand’s flagship Prospector.
While I’m not typically a fan of Rohloff hubs and their ilk, I do have a lot of respect for Daniel and his bikes. That moment sticks out in my head as I found myself designing a bike last year that drew some of its inspiration from a short ride on John’s steel Tumbleweed Sunliner at the 2024 Made bike show.
From the top, I really want to emphasize that the Sunliner Ti may be the best bike I have ever reviewed during my tenure here at The Radavist. If it were not for the fact that I am working on another non-suspension-corrected rigid touring bike, I would be absolutely dumping my bank account to keep this Sunliner from returning to Tumbleweed HQ.
Tumbleweed Sunliner Ti Quick Hits
- Frame and fork: $3100 USD
- Builds start at $5725
- Sizes: Small, Medium, Large, XL
- Tubing: multi-butted 3Al-2.5V titanium
- Colors: Raw Ti (as it should be!)
- Tire Clearance Optimized for 29×2.6”, clearance for up to 29 x 3″
- Headset: ZS44 upper, EC44 lower cups
- Bottom Bracket: 73mm BSA threaded
- Spacing Boost 148mm x 12mm thru axle
- Seat Post Diameter 31.6
- Dropper routing
- 1x drivetrain specific
- Chainring Clearance 38 tooth max
- Rack and Fender mounts
- Fork: Heat-treated chromoly steel unicrown fork with rack and fender eyelets and triple bosses
Frame Details
There are so many thoughtful frame details that truly resonated with my sensibilities. In an era of internal everything, having well-placed, externally routed cabling and housing is a dream. You may have hot takes about zip ties over a threaded clip, but I don’t mind good ol’ ubiquitous and utilitarian zip ties.
Secondly, thank jeebus for IS brake mounts front and rear. I have always preferred IS mount over post mount, and especially flat mount. How the seatstays elegantly curve to allow the mount to sit within the rear triangle is * chef’s kiss *.
A non-sliding UDH mount is simple and efficient and allows for use with SRAM Transmission groupsets. Flanking the dropout are two separate mounts, one for fenders (M5) and a unique rack mount that is a larger M6 bolt. This creates a more robust mounting point that will be less likely to shear when you overload your Ortleib panniers like it’s still 2009.
The frame features a non-suspension-corrected geometry that maximizes framebag space. This means you can’t run a suspension fork, not that I would find that necessary with such plush tire clearance and the supple frame. Suspension correction was one of the things I disliked about the Prospector, so I was happy to see Tumbleweed commit to the bit with the fully rigid design here.
The fork is the same 440 axle-to-crown steel unicrown fork from the steel Sunliner, and it’s well thought out, with all the mounts anyone could want. The offset 3-pack mounts limit in the use of modern micro panniers, but conversely also allow for the storage of a water bottle cage in conjunction with a full front rack, and that front rack will have mounts for said micropanniers. It is truly meant to carry all the things!
Sunliner Ti Spec
I found the spec of Sunliner Ti to be smart and reasonable, drawing on the Tumbleweed team’s years of experience in the touring bike world. I know some people would scoff at seeing BB7s on a nearly $6k build, but I don’t think Tumbleweed is wrong here. Let me explain…
When properly set up by someone knowledgeable, the cable-actuated BB7 calipers can deliver an impressive braking experience. Outside of this build, I have only experienced BB7s set up this well on Sean T Randolph’s bikes. The BB7s’ tool-less adjustment and ubiquity make them a great choice for touring or trekking worldwide. I never had any issues with the brakes during my few months with the Sunliner Ti.
Since the Sunliner Ti utilizes UDH dropouts, it made sense to spec with the SRAM Eagle 90 Transmission groupset. The derailleur is totally rebuildable – a great boon for the touring cyclist – but the shifter remains a possible weak point. I think pairing the Eagle 90 drivetrain with a thumb shifter is more in line with this bike’s ethos. The last two bikes with Eagle 90 that I have reviewed have both required a reset of the installation process for proper shifting upon receipt. This is a slightly frustrating experience instead of just adjusting a B screw, but once everything was set, I had zero issues with the drivetrain.
The wheelset – Race Face ARC 35 offset rims laced to DT Swiss 350 hubs – is just what this bike needs. With the industry leaving “plus” rims in their wake, seeing a proper 35mm rim paired with plump 2.6″ tires made me happy. DT Swiss 350 hubs are, in my humble opinion, the benchmark for ease of repair and sourcing of replacement parts. The offset rim keeps spoke tension equalized, making this wheelset absolutely bomber for years of loaded touring use.
The SQ Labs grips solved a problem that I had been hoping Ergon would fix for years: the small M3 clamp bolts. SQ Labs grips feature a proper M5 bolt. While I found the grips quite comfortable, the mechanic in me was more pleased with the fastener choice.
The silver PNW Components dropper tops off the slick build and really ties the room together. Chapeau!
Tumbleweed Persuader Bars
I left out the handlebars from the previous section because Tumbleweed sent me both variants of their Persuader bar, 20 and 30º sweep, in lovely shiny silver. The bike came set up with the 30º bars; the comfort and upright positioning the 30º sweep offers is undeniable. For the second half of the review period, I swapped out to the 20º variant. I have a long torso and equally long arms, and like a longer cockpit for flat-bar bikes, so I initially enjoyed the feel of the 20º bars over the 30º. In the end, I sent the 30º bars back with the bike and decided to buy the 20º bar for my personal bikes. Oh yeah, they are 840 mm wide each, a full 20 mm over my minimum of 820 mm these days. Don’t like wider bars? Cut ’em down.
Custom Rockgeist 52HZ Welded Framebag
Since I wanted to properly pack this dreamboat of a rig, I asked Tumbleweed to send one of their Rockgeist custom-welded framebags with the Sunliner Ti. For someone who professes his disdain for zippers and their slow death in the desert, I was happy to give this roll-top framebag a try. I’ve always lusted after one of these since they were initially developed by Porcelain Rocket. The frame bag is quite simple, featuring two straps to secure the roll top, making it very waterproof.
To keep the bag from bulging too much near the bottom bracket, there is a small internal strap to cinch the two walls of the bag together. I think the main issue with a framebag this large is its tendency for the load to settle during riding, which can cause some bulging. The strap negates the worst possibility of this interfering with your cranks, but you will need to pack strategically if you are on one of the larger-sized Sunliners. The fit, function, and fabric quality are all extremely high and exactly what I’ve come to expect out of Rockgiest.
If you are like me and don’t find rain to be a huge concern in the desert and other fair-weather touring, get a massive custom-sewn frame framebag from Rockgeist instead. If you do want the waterproofness and rolltopiness, snag one of the premade bags directly from Tumbleweed.
Geometry
Once again drawing on their years of experience crafting “best in class” touring bikes, the Sunliner Ti shares the same geometry as the steel Sunliner. They thoughtfully take the middle road here with a consistent 73-degree seat tube angle and 69-degree head tube angle across the size run. The 664 stack height on the XL test bike was ample for my stack-conscious preferences, save for it being 2mm shy of being perfect. The reach is conservative by modern MTB standards, but leaves room for flexibility in stem length choices. Shorter torso? Run a stubby stem. Got longer, gangly arms? Easily run a 70mm or longer stem. The bottom bracket height never left me striking cranks overly often, either.
When I say the geometry is seasonable, stable, and balanced, I truly mean it. That could be looked at as a con since it could be assumed that the geometry decisions were overly cautious to the point of being bland, which is very much not the case. The Sunliner Ti is not going to be your race bike, but if you want a comfortable bike that doesn’t leave you feeling overwhelmed when the dirt roads get rowdy, this is it.
On The Trail
We here at the Radavist tend to wax poetic about the feeling of a titanium frame. Until this review, my experience had been limited to hardtail MTBs where it felt harder to pick out the naunce of that feeling. With the Sunliner Ti, I felt I truly started to believe in that Ti feeling. Beyond being much lighter than the steel Sunliner, the titanium frame had that chatter-reducing feeling that so many people have come to love. I know that may be hard to believe when riding on 2.6″ tires, but it was there.
All day riding was comfortable on the 73º seat tube angle and the 69º head tube angle, although steeper than I prefer, never left me feeling like I would go OTB on descents.
While out bikepacking, the bike unsurprisingly held its own. I was packed quite light, as you can see in the photos, and as such didn’t get to try the bike fully encumbered to its limit. I could see the bike starting to feel noodly with a truly heavy load, which would sketch me out. I’ve ridden John’s Desert Moose, which I found concerningly noodly even unloaded, and the Sunliner was a far cry from that bike. If you have ever met Dan Molloy, you’ll know he’s not a small dude. If he signed off on this tubeset, then you know it will hold up.
Conclusions
As I stated early on in this review, I feel like this is one of the best bikes I’ve ever reviewed during my time with the Radavist. The geometry speaks to the bike’s intentions in a balanced way. It is comfortable on varied terrain and light enough – thank you, titanium – to facilitate a varied use case as an all-terrain bike. The details are all meticulously thought out and implemented, drawn from years of production and touring experience alike.
The bike just sailed along beneath me. I could get pedantic about minor geo changes or bolt placements, but I don’t have a solid critique beyond such pedantry. No bike will ever be “perfect”, but if you want something that goes beyond “best in class” and money is not an issue, I can’t recommend the Tumbleweed Sunliner Ti enough.
Pros
- Reasonable, stable, balanced geometry
- Mounts everywhere, including heavy-duty rack mounts
- Responsive titanium ride feel
- Lightweight frame for a touring rig
- Well-informed spec choices
Cons
- Titanium is expensive, but you can buy a steel Sunliner
- Offset fork 3-pack mounts limit the use of some micro panniers on the fork
Tumbleweed had a presale on these frames back in March, but they ordered two extra framesets of each size just in case. If you think the Sunliner Ti might be your next bike, get in touch with Tumbleweed ASAP to reserve one!