Mountain Biking - Freeriding with Ti Frames.

Hi all

I have recently visited Airborne and Litespeed and Cove sites and i am amazed with their Titanium frames. Question is...will a Ti hardtail withstand the stresses of hard riding such us freeriding with 5" forks?(no hucking though). Damn i am starting to have a Ti-Fever here for the airborne lucky strike frame. Should i stick to my alloy specialized which is burly enough or the ti wonders are worth the cash?

Yannis.

have you ever rode a ti bike? I can assure you ti can handle some freeriding but... it would probably feel odd, I find ti bikes have alot of "flex" making them feel loose somtimes, that might be a personal thing, who knows

Cove makes a ti frame. They are all aluminum or chromoly. For the freeriding you are describing a ti frame will be fine but they do feel odd.

Are they worth the cash...imo no.

well mael my question is that if Ti tubes are indestructible as advertised or do they need huge gussets etc as steel and allu needs.... I also heard that Ti is between steel and allu in terms of stiffness.

Happy girl to be honest i have never tried ti. only steel and allu.

A couple of years ago, Litespeed produced a FR HT called the Kitsuma. Although I didn't buy one, I lusted after it for many many moons!

L8R

Originally posted by math2p14
well mael my question is that if Ti tubes are indestructible as advertised or do they need huge gussets etc as steel and allu needs.... I also heard that Ti is between steel and allu in terms of stiffness.

For info on frame materials read this

http://www.ecmtb.com/frontpage.htm

Materials strenght itself states Aluminum is flexier than steel and ti. The way TI frames are made is typically with thinner walls to facilitate the lightness that ti offers. Aluminum is usually overbuilt with gussets and special tubing process which increase stiffness. Steel is naturally stiffer HOWEVER with regular tubing it makes a bike feel flexier when in reality the material is stiffer. The way a bike feels relates to the material used and the tubin design and how the bike is built. In theory you could have a TI bike as stiff as an overbuilt aluminum frame however the cost would be immense in comparison.

That said I don't think TI is worth it. For xc yes but to get the material strength needed as well as thicken the walls enough to feel the stiffness for freeriding I don't think TI is a good choice.

In the end every material has its merrits, and all materials can be used for all riding styles (except maybe carbon fibre ;)). It just depends on what you want and how much you want to spend. :)

Thanks mael. nice page. however it implies that alluminum is gonna brake!!!!!! I tend not to be a believer on this one....and there are some reasons to it.

By what means. Aluminum has a short life for hard riding. That is true? I have several friends who broke frames after the 3 to 5 year mark. Its one reason why I won't buy aluminum frames older than the previous year. :)

Well it all depends on what is defined by hard riding. you cannot forecast a 2003 frame lifespan...alloys differentiate every year. In general Audi wouldnt use alluminum on quality cars...neither jaguar. All i am saying is that steel will break given the same riding your friends did after 3-5 yrs. Anyhow in the unlikely event that my frame cracks in 3-5 yrs then my next frame will be Ti so i would give a dime on breakages.

Edit. I wouldnt give a damn about breakages with a Ti frame. Say the Airborne lucky strike.