brando090

Do you guys think it would be wise for me to buy a brand new Titanium frame for $800 and than squeeze, and IMO this is a lot for a bike but find $300~ and buy all the parts to finish the bike?

SlimRider

Hey Brando!

So what have you decided to do?

Are you going to go with the nashbar steel CX bike?

It's a free country, at the end of the day, it's up to your personal preference or choice. We're just here to possibly guide you into the correct direction...

Just curious, is all.

- Slim

brando090

Im keeping all my options open as its still winter over here in Michigan and ill be buying one in the next 2-3 months. Do you think it would be wise for me to buy titanium frame and than (struggle?) to buy parts? I looked and im not trying to get the best, and i dont want carbon fiber because it tares easily, but parts for a bike can get expensive! $300 bike wheel's,etc! If i have a titanium frame, which i know its a good price and what this guys offering it to me at, but its pretty much my whole budget and i just have the frame, but aluminum parts would be good with titanium... What parts do you guys recommend to build this bike at say a $300 budget?

Dilberto

Find yourself a used, 2006-2009 Cannondale Bad Boy(well under $500 - if found), with the Headshok front suspension. It's freaking light(under 20lbs), fast and handles like a stealth fighter jet, on paved paths and light gravel. The handmade in USA frame is flawless(try finding any welds!), stiff and very responsive. That bike is the ultimate urban commuter and I should have never, ever sold mine:

SlimRider

IMHO Titanium bikes are for experienced cyclists who are certain about their riding style preferences and their method of build, without the need to worry about budgetary matters. Most people expect for a Titanium bicycle to have the best components. $300 is not even close to the best! $3000 would be closer to the best than $300! Titanium is just not a good idea for you right now...Trust me!

If you were a very experienced cyclist with no need to be concerned about the pricepoint of a bicycle, I'd say, by all means get a bike with a Titanium frame. However, you can still have a bicycle that's almost as good as a Titanium bike, in the form of chromoly steel. If you keep a chromoly steel frame dry, it most likely will last almost as long as a Titanium frame. Besides, if you're going to buy Titanium, you'd better make certain of the quality infused in that bike. There are many ways in which the welding of a Titanium bike can be tainted and the integrity of the frame, be compromised. That's one of the reasons why Titanium is so very expensive. The welding of Titanium has to take place within an absolutely pristine environment. If not, you could have problems down the road. Purchasing a chromoly steel frame is much safer. You can weld steel in a dirty environment and the steel won't even care!

IMHO purchasing a chromoly steel frame bike at your age will be the investment of a lifetime. If you take good care of it, you'll be able to pass it on to your grandkids.

Just forget about Titanium for now...That's more of a dream than a reality for most anyhow, due to the fact that it's not that practical. I mean, who wants to ride to the public library on a Titanium bike?...Who wants to ride to work or school, on a Titanium bike?

You'd have to constantly worry about where you would park it and how safe it would be once you parked it there. Thieves would go out of their way to steal your bike. They would track your movements and follow you, until they would have devised a plan good enough to know your exact whereabouts, before they would make their move to steal your bike. Most of us don't have to, or want to, live like that!

If a thief can steal a regular road bike of just about any type to score $100, what do you think they can get for a Titanium bike?....Anywhere from $500 to $3000! That makes their business worth the risk to go out of their way to get your bike. Heck! People have been mugged for carbon fiber bikes, so you know you can get mugged for a Titanium bike!

If I were you, I'd just stick to chromoly steel for now! That's pretty high-classed all by itself!

Zephyr11

Carbon is not as delicate as people make it out to be. Heck, they've made downhill bikes out of carbon. It's more about the construction of the bike than the materials.

There are people here who have put together super cheap builds. Prepare to spend a lot of time on eBay and Craigslist though, and you might not have the bike for a while.

SlimRider

I love the Bad Boy! However, according to your terrain, it won't fare that well on a thick graveled dirt road, its tires are too narrow. If you're going to go Cannondale, you'd prefer either the Quick CX series or the MTB Trail series!

That Bad Boy is for quick Ninja-like-stealth movements, within an urban environment!

SlimRider

If you can help it Brando, always try to buy new, if you can! Buying used online from ebay or Craigslist presents some degree of risk. You would need some expert assistance in the purchase of any used bike from an unknown source online, such as ebay. Craigslist would offer less risk, because it's more local, but you'd still need an expert to accompany you, before paying a potential seller. Since you're a minor, I would suggest that you buy new, under the advisement of an adult.

However, Zephyr is smart and she's right, too!

You can score some phenomenal deals off of both ebay and Craigslist. Many cyclists swear by both ebay and Craigslist for practically all their cycling needs. Unfortunately, you can also get burned too. That's why I say, at your current level, you'd need some assistance.

brando090

Very understandable, i also buy and sell antiquities and i know how some people dont know what they have or try to get more than what they know they have. Ill keep looking.

junkyard

Is there a reason you are not considering aluminum? Like titanium, rust won't be much of a concern. It would be cheaper than titanium, as well.

brando090

Ive been thinking about that the last few days, and that will be my likely choice. It's not as easy to rust like steel, correct? And what is the weight difference between Au and Ti...

junkyard

You shouldn't have issues with rust on an aluminum frame. To be fair, treat steel right and you'll be fine there, too. You can find a pretty light and stiff aluminum frame. Like most things in cycling, though, the lighter it is, the more expensive it will be.