funny to hear that someone would think that Ti is too soft for a fs frame. how would you tell? you have rear suspension! Ti in general is a flexy material to use. i think that for a large guy like yourself you may want to stay with aluminum or look for someone who can build you an fs frame in steel. with a custom made frame, you can have a little choice with the tubing as far as the wall thickness for strength. so that would leave you with a few builders, seven, if, ted wojcik. not sure who else builds custom mtb frames in steel. contacting seven and if would give you some answers for your Ti question, Ted builds in steel only and is real easy to work with. oh, i forgot about Zinn. i think he does both Ti and steel so he may be an option too. hope this helps a bit, good luck.