Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Titanium for clydes?

So I've been doing some dreaming...

Carbon never appealed to me (having a tennis raquet shatter in my hands didn't help), but I love the look of titanium, and its alleged ride characteristics. Have alook at this one:

http://www.trisports.com/litespeed-icon-ultegra.html

Are they clyde-friendly (I run 230). Not looking to buy one now, just trying to target my dreaming

230 is within the weight range where you shouldn't have any issues with a Ti frame. Pro racers put out more torque at 160 pounds than you are likely to generate at 230. ;) If you want to find out for sure about the ride, try one out at a dealer. You might find the ride a bit softer than even steel, but have equivalent weight to Aluminum, without the fatigue cycle.

The only potential real issue with Ti is it requires an absolutely clean weld surface and it's SO easy to screw up a Ti weld. Litespeed makes a great bike though, or you might look at Moots as well. :D

I am a good bit larger than you and I have a Litespeed Tuscany. I have had no problems. Frankly, I am more concerned with a fork or seatpost failing than the frame. If you search on the road forum you will find several entries by people your size that ride titanium frames and have no problems. As Stormcrowe mentioned, welding TI is complicated, so, if a weld is defective it is going to crack whether you weigh 130 or 260. The good thing is that many of the TI frame builders offer lifetime warranties, and oftentimes, the frame can be repaired/rewelded.

I absolutely love the ride of my TI bike. It really dampens road noise/vibration and my back is very happy with that result. As to stiffness, it is plenty stiff for my purposes, though I can occasionally flex the frame, frankly, at my size, I don't think there are to many frames that wouldn't.

Keep dreaming, keep riding!

I'm your size and I wish I could afford a ti frame. I say go for it!

So I've been doing some dreaming...

Carbon never appealed to me (having a tennis raquet shatter in my hands didn't help), but I love the look of titanium, and its alleged ride characteristics. Have alook at this one:

http://www.trisports.com/litespeed-icon-ultegra.html

Are they clyde-friendly (I run 230). Not looking to buy one now, just trying to target my dreaming


Eeps that's a lot of money for an Ultegra equipped bike. I've heard Ti bikes tend to be more flexy, but I've heard they can be made so they aren't so flexy, it just depends on the build. I've also heard that flexy frames matter, and I've heard that flexy frames don't matter. :rolleyes: Anyway, if you like the sound of it, go test ride it! :)

not settled on that one, just thinking of ti.

I think i'll be watching ebay for an Ardennes.

Now I'm not sure if I fit the Clydesdale mould but I've been up to 87kg in my birthday suit and ridden my Handsome Dog Titanium with 15kg worth of panniers and a 5kg backpack and the bike didn't feel any different to unlaiden. And being how Litespeed have such a good reputation I wouldn't worry about it too much.

So now you've seen your dream, all you need to do is reach for it.

I bought a Litespeed Ultimate in 06 whenn I weighed 235. I changed the fork from a Real Design to a Alpha Q Z Pro which is a clyde fork cuz the Real Design fork chattered when cornering hard. Great bike.

So I've been doing some dreaming...

Carbon never appealed to me (having a tennis raquet shatter in my hands didn't help), but I love the look of titanium, and its alleged ride characteristics. Have alook at this one:

http://www.trisports.com/litespeed-icon-ultegra.html

Are they clyde-friendly (I run 230). Not looking to buy one now, just trying to target my dreaming

I picked up a Litespeed Tuscany when I was still around 215 (I'm 175 as of this morning).. My experiences were that it was fine except the wheels and saddle, so I replaced the stock Real Design wheels and saddle. For the 2008 race season I decided to stiffen the bike up a little, so I am waiting now for a replacement fork (going from the Real Design HP to an Easton SL90).

Litespeed has stopped using the Real Design wheels and fork, so those shouldn't be a problem for you.

I didn't even look at the price when I posted, yeah 4800 seems pretty steep for an ultegra bike. You are wise to keep an eye on ebay. The nice thing about titanium is that buying a used bike is not terribly risky as titanium is pretty durable. I am looking for a used titanium cross bike myself.

I have a Litespeed and love it, but there are many, many fine titanium manufacturers Merlin (sister company to Litespeed), Seven, Moots, Strong, Everti, Lynskey, Serotta, IF just to name a few, you probably can't go wrong if the size and geometry work for you.

Enjoy the dream!

FWIIW, I weigh 225 and am just in the final stages of building up a new Everti CX bike. I'm not concerned about Ti being too wimpy. My Litespeed Natchez Ti road bike I bought 12 years ago has always impressed me with it's solid feel and compromise between stiffness and comfort.

It will be expensive though. Production bikes generally cost as much as the components cost and they throw in the frame for free.

- Mark

If you are dreaming about now ,Eriksen is currently all caught up with their frames and willing to build more. :)

Wonderfull to work with so far. He had no qualms about my weight at all.

Habanero Cycles http://www.habcycles.com/ makes beautiful Ti frames and complete bike at an affordable price. I'd recommend the Cross/Tour for http://www.habcycles.com/cross.html for clydes. I got one in September and have over 1000 miles on it, including Cycle North Carolina.

I weigh around 235 and have been riding a Moots Psychlo-X this winter and have had absolutely no issues. It is exceedingly comfortable. I am not sure I have enough experience to comment on the frame flex but I can say that the Ti frame give me a much more natural feeling connection to the bike than the steel/aluminum bikes I have to compare it to.

In short I love my Moots.

230 is within the weight range where you shouldn't have any issues with a Ti frame. Pro racers put out more torque at 160 pounds than you are likely to generate at 230. ;) If you want to find out for sure about the ride, try one out at a dealer. You might find the ride a bit softer than even steel, but have equivalent weight to Aluminum, without the fatigue cycle.

The only potential real issue with Ti is it requires an absolutely clean weld surface and it's SO easy to screw up a Ti weld. Litespeed makes a great bike though, or you might look at Moots as well. :D

I don't see the connection between the enquiry and pro racers. One time I asked the manager of a small Belgian pro team how they got on riding a well known make of aluminium frame on the pave. He said no problem they changed the frames every six weeks! I am sure any properly made titanium frame would do much better than that but what the pros do is irrelevant.
BTW I have a titanium frame built by Raleigh UK I believe that was marketed as a Gazelle and used by the TWM team in the late nineties and it is the stiffest road frame I have ever ridden. Probably because the down tube is three inches deep.

The connection and relevance is the pro racers will still out torque most of the Clydes on the forum. Torque is one of the factors that can lead to frame and component failure. ;)


I don't see the connection between the enquiry and pro racers. One time I asked the manager of a small Belgian pro team how they got on riding a well known make of aluminium frame on the pave. He said no problem they changed the frames every six weeks! I am sure any properly made titanium frame would do much better than that but what the pros do is irrelevant.
BTW I have a titanium frame built by Raleigh UK I believe that was marketed as a Gazelle and used by the TWM team in the late nineties and it is the stiffest road frame I have ever ridden. Probably because the down tube is three inches deep.

Not sure if this will be helpful or even make sense, but when I was 235 my Litespeed ride seemed harsh compared to the present at 173 lbs. I wasn't loving it as much as I do now. However, one thing is clear, the frame held up!

Habanero Cycles http://www.habcycles.com/ makes beautiful Ti frames and complete bike at an affordable price. I'd recommend the Cross/Tour for http://www.habcycles.com/cross.html for clydes. I got one in September and have over 1000 miles on it, including Cycle North Carolina.

I gotta ask, where did you get the Aerospoke wheels? Those are great. The bike, also, very nice, would love one myself. How do the Aersopokes work for you?