motobecane69

I'm not worried about the integrity of the carbon, just in scratching it up and having it look like a cosmetic wreck with my chain.

irwin7638

I would choose titanium, it has a better record for durability.

metalheart44

Sort of exists in exogrid technology ... https://www.hollandcycles.com/technology

pennstater

I have a Ti Lynskey and a carbon Look 585. I love my Look, but the Lynskey is almost as good. I am 250 and do not find the the Ti at all flexy. If I had to have only one it would be the Ti Lynskey. It doesn't climb quite as well as the Look but it absorbs larger road shocks like expansion joints better. As someone else said wheels and tires make a bigger performance difference than the inherent differences in the frames. The Ti is easier to travel with (why I originally bought it). I don't need a torque wrench and I am not as concerned about scratching the finish or damage due to impact. That's not to say I think the carbon is apt to explode. But, life is short get both.

As far as Ultegra and Rival both function well. It's a matter of which is more comfortable. I can't bear to part with my DA 7800 shifters. I think my hands have molded to their shape.

Homeyba

I'd like to see that record. Personally, I've seen and owned more TI bikes that have outright failed than carbon. TI requires a skilled welder and any oxygen contamination will ruin the weld resulting in a failure of the frame at a later date. That’s what happened to my last TI bike. TI bikes are great and that is the only reason I wouldn’t buy a low to mid range TI bike. A high end TI bike from Seven, Lightspeed or Merlyn I'd buy in a minute.

Homeyba

I suppose you could get one of those coated cable locks for a few bucks. They are supposed to be harder to cut and easier to stow than a chain anyway.

Mr. Beanz

Ha ha, I was going to say the same thing but based on riders I know. I know of maybe 5 riders on ti and one broke. OCCRick of the SoCal forum (150 lbs?). I know a ton of riders on carbon with maybe two broken frames. So from the Beanz data base, that's one out of 5 ti bikes vs 2 out of hundreds for the CF. (not that it matters but that is my experience)

I know of a guy Mike riding a new Merlin, (high end model). Dude has some bucks, 2 steel Pegoretti's and a nice steel Bianchi. He says he's disappointed with the ride of the Merlin..

Then I saw this today in another forum. I don't know this guy but he is supposed to be a big strong rider.

I ride CF now more than any other material. While I do like my steel Colnago, it doesn't get the same ride time as the others. Aluminum for my rain and cross bikes. Only bike that didn't really work for me was Ti, it was too flexy in the BB.

https://forums.bicycling.com/eve/foru...7/m/3781033237