Titanium strength?

[dieslcruisrhead]

Question mostly related to the weight strength of Titanium... I am noticing that in all of the frames I'm seeing, that there are hardly any titanium frames (or at least MTB) that are larger than 21", if that. Is Titanium hardly an option for 200lb+ people and heavier people who put their frames through hell? Same with full suspension - I know Moots and some other manufacturers are building full suspension MTB frames but again they seem fewer and farther between. I have also read on blogs & such that "titanium is too soft for full suspension frames." Thoughts/comments? Just wondering, mostly because I am on aluminum but have an affinity for titanium from playing lacrosse for so many years... Thanks!

[maddog17]

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.

[jimblairo]

Both Litespeed and Seven build full suspension frames. I have a Pisgah custom ti hard tail and I'm 6"6" and 230 lbs. Great frame.

[Peterpan1]

The thing about Ti is that it can be light and flexy. If you want stiff or super light then you can build in carbon or to a lessor extent Aluminum. Ti is in that place where it can be made with similar sections to steel but much lighter walls, and you get a different feel. If you were there at the begining you remember a time through the late 70s and 80s when light weight or suspension were weekly issues in the bike mags. A dual suspension project was cover page news. Ti fit a special niche, but these days there isn't much of that nice left unfilled. So people are just assuming it can only do those things that it's unique at. It can do other stuff to, but it's expensive without much advantage.

[Thylacine]

There are no bad materials, only bad designs.

[Falanx]

There are no bad materials, only bad designs.

I see your statement and raise you blancmange.

[Nessism]

People that think Ti frames are flexi should find someone with a Dean using a 1-3/4" down tube - no noodle there.

[Falanx]

You could use a 38 mm downtube in pasta and it wouldn't flex....

[Thylacine]

I see your statement and raise you blancmange.

Stiff horizontally, yet vertically compliant?

[dieslcruisrhead]

I have investigated this further and most people are saying Ti is very flexy. That it would be good in a hard tail for someone such as myself but that it might do too much abuse to itself for a full suspension for a '65 225 guy such as myself... They are saying go aluminum. It makes sense I suppose.. There was just stomthing about titanium. I think I might eventually do on in a hard tail though. I have a friend with a 21" ti hard tail custom 29er who is going to let me take it out. I would be happy to report on it...

[cujet]

I ride a Ti cyclocross bike (Habanero frame). It is not unusually flexy, but it is not ultra light either. By weight, most metals have similar stiffness. It truly is the design that matters. by the way, it does achieve my goal of no corrosion/no paint. It does have a slightly softer ride, but the rear stay's are curved to achieve that nice ride.

I can think of no reason Ti cannot be properly used for your application.

Chris

[Thylacine]

I have investigated this further and most people are saying Ti is very flexy.

What a load of rubbish.

I'm 6ft 4ins and 225lbs AND ride Ti AND build Ti frames for plenty of guys our size and it rides great, when it's designed right.

As does every other material when it's designed right.

[Nessism]

While I agree that there are no bad materials, only bad design, the simple fact remains that end users are taught by the suppliers of the world what to expect. For example, since the majority of Ti frames are built to be lightweight, they tend to be flexi. In a similar vain, aluminum frames tend to be ridged because builders tend to hedge the tendency for aluminum to crack by reducing the amount of flex in the frames. End result is the generalization that Ti is flexi and aluminum is harsh. While it’s possible to design out of these corners, this is the exception rather than the rule.

[Thylacine]

Exactly as you just said, a 'generalisation'. I don't tend to deal with those, because it polarises and leaves no room for exception, AND it treats people like idiots, assuming that they can't digest anything that isn't an absolute.

YMMV.