Action-Ready Voodoo Cycles D-Jab Titanium Hardtail MTB Has Been Hiding in Plain Sight

This time around, I've decided to shed some light on a wave of bicycle design that’s always been moving very incognito-like, even as we speak, titanium-framed bikes. Since the 1990s, titanium has been considered a viable building material for bicycles. Why? Simply because it’s as strong as steel at nearly half the weight, and twice as strong as aluminum, not to mention its flexible properties. Oh, it’s also easier to handle than carbon fiber, but may come out a bit pricier too.

One team that has quite an array of titanium-framed bikes is Voodoo Cycles, a bicycle manufacturer that’s been around since 1994 and formed by a group of cyclists ranging in backgrounds from design to racing and retail. But, one of the beautiful things about this team is that they initially hit the market with maddening hardtails, and today, they are still at it, producing mostly hardtail bikes meant to dominate single tracks as if they were the freshest thing on the block.

Sure, they produce well-crafted full-suspension MTBs too, but hardtails have always had a special place in my heart; I think it was breaking both my arms and knocking out five teeth, all at once, that really bonds me and these bikes.

One bike Voodoo has been proudly pouring their insanity into for years is the titanium-framed D-Jab MTB. Yes, it’s a hardtail, and one that isn’t cheap either. Coming in with a price tag of $5,525 (€4,684 at current exchange rates) for the E1 complete bike set, and $4,095 (€3,471 at current exchange rates) for the E2 set, you’ll need to put aside a quite a bit of cash in order to get yourself one of these beauties.

Voodoo calls this bike the “powerful but wild spirit” and is meant to be a “quick and comfortable” long-travel hardtail. All set upon 27.5-inch tires, it will set you a bit closer to the ground than your classic 29ers, but that just may be where the whole ‘nimble’ bit comes from.

Now, if you’re going to spend at least $4K on an MTB, you know that you’re buying more than just a simple little bike that you take to the groceries; it’s made to hit your favorite trails and single tracks as hard as possible. Aside from being built of titanium, depending on the build kit you have funds for, the frameset also features a Rock Shox Pike RCT3 fork with 140 mm (5.5 in) of travel or a Rock Shox Yari with the same 140 mm (5.5 in) of travel.

To my surprise, you will not find any Shimano components on this MTB, but rather SRAM and Magura all over the place. SRAM X1 or GX shifters and rear derailleur, XG 1175 or 1150 cassette are all tuned to the sounds of 11 speeds shifting and controlling a PC-X1 or PC1130 chain with up to 118 links.

If you only have cash for the E2 build set, then braking will be taken care of by a set of Magura brakes with 180 mm (7.1 in) rotors. If you’ve been thrifty and have saved up for the E1 set, then SRAM will continue to complete your bike, bringing forth quite the tuned machine.

Every other component like the cockpit, saddle, and tires can all be changed if you don’t like them, but if you ever hop on one of these set up with stock components, try and keep in mind that every component is selected for a reason.

There’s a little trick the D-Jab has up its sleeve. The team at Voodoo decided to include sliding dropouts on the bike, just in case you ever want to drop most of the drivetrain and convert this puppy to a single-speed. That's got to bring back an old-school feel like none other.

Now it may not be the last MTB you’ll ever buy, but bikes that include titanium into their build do have one of the longest lifespans around. So hey, it’s definitely worth considering at around $4K, even if you do just pick up the E2 build kit.