Pendergast

My Le Champion Ti that I got in 2008 came with Biomax bars, so Bikes Direct has been using them for a long time. I hated them, too. They were the first thing I switched out on my Le Champ. It's still my main road bike, and I still think it's a great bike.

If I hadn't bought a CAADX a few weeks before the Century Ti Disc showed up on the BD website, I might have purchased one. I got the cheapest CAADX because I already had some parts I could use to upgrade it, but I don't have much to complain about other than that the disc brakes aren't great compared to disc brakes(hydraulic and mechanical)I have on my other bikes. It's a nice ride.

GeoKrpan

If you remove the decals it voids the warranty.

garciawork

That is a pretty solid long term opinion on the LeChamp. I have looked at getting one of those multiple times. Is thee ride quality pretty good in your opinion? I have heard good things, and am hoping to hear the same about the Century Pro.

Pendergast

Yeah, the ride quality is great. BD has updated the Le Champion Ti, so I don't know how close the ride would be to mine, but I'd expect the current model to be fine as well.

I wouldn't have any reservations about buying a Century Pro titanium. I'm a big fan of titanium and from time to time had considered building up a Habanero Cyclocross frame as a gravel bike. With the Century Ti disc being offered now, I'd just buy one of those if I ever decide to switch from my CAADX.

2 Piece

Well, I did not want to do this and I may even start another thread to be fair to the OP. As you may know, I purchased a Century Pro the very same day the OP did and mine arrived the very same day his did. I have posted pics on this thread but I did not post a ride report, because I have not taken it for a ride yet..... Because, when I was finishing up assembly I notice something that did not look right. A deep "**********" (to deep to be a scratch) but I really do not want to call it a groove either right on the bottom bracket "shell" on the drive side. I emailed BD over the weekend and they replied quickly this morning and in the first email they stated it was designed that way. Has anybody here seen a bottom bracket shell designed with a groove cut in it on the drive side (or either side for that matter?

garciawork

I have never examined one of my bikes that extensively, to be honest, but that does look intentional. I personally wouldn't worry about it, but I am also the guy that gets on a bike I just assembled and cranks it as hard as I can before knowing everything is solid, so take that with a grain of salt.

rwhite2

I was finally able to do some climbs and descents on my new Century Comp Ti (53 cm) on Sunday. The test route was on fairly good pavement that follows a hogsback ridge west of town. There were several moderate hills with segments that exceed 10% grade. The frame was laterally stiff during both seated and standing climbing (my weight is around 150lbs). During one descent, I was able to reach 46.6 mph (Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo!) and there was no shimmy or any other bad handing characteristics. I really enjoyed how the bike rode, and will definitely be taking this bike on Ride the Rockies this June.

In comparison, I also have a Le Champion Ti Heat 53 cm that I purchased in 2011. The Century Comp Ti was very close in ride quality, with perhaps the only difference being a bit of increased stability. But even with that stability increase, I would still describe it as sufficiently responsive. I don't know if the Le Champion geometry changed since 2011, but looking at the BD provided geometry data for both the 53cm Le Champ and the Century, the Century differs in these ways:

25mm longer chain stays
5mm higher bottom bracket
5mm shorter effective top tube length
1.5 degree slacker headtube angle (along with 2mm increased fork offset)
5mm shorter head tube length
31.5 mm longer wheelbase.

I really don't think most riders will be able to detect tube length changes of 5mm, but the headtube angle, chain stay length, and wheelbase are noticeable. I was curious how the differences affect the magnitude of trail. Fortunately, I found a nice online trail calculator at Bicycle Trail Calculator | yojimg.net.

With 28mm tires, the Century has 7mm more trail (an increase of around 11%), and with 32mm tires 8mm more trail ( about a 13% increase).

So, in summary, I found the Century Ti to be much like a Le Champion Ti that has slightly increased stability and can fit larger tires. I'm also not a fan of those Biomax bars, but can tolerate them until it's time to replace the bar tape.

garciawork

Thank you very much for the ride report, I think this is the one to save up for!

One question, it has rear rack mounts, correct?

rwhite2

It does. I hope to install a rack this coming weekend and see how it handles with 20 lbs loaded in panniers. I'm also really hoping those chain stays are long enough to avoid heelstrike.

Pendergast

My Le Champion Ti from 2008 has a similar line in about that same spot, but mine may not be quite as deep as yours. No idea what it is--maybe a mark from when the threads were machined into the bottom bracket shell? Whatever it is, it's never been a problem.

2 Piece

Thanks Pendergast, I am thinking like you it is a mark from some type of machining operation. But man, the bottom bracket shell gets a lot torque forces put on it, had me a little worried but I am slowly beginning to think it is a "no issue".

TGT1

My CX Ti frame has the same feature. It's an artifact from the way the BB shells are machined. In fact it looks like the BB has a little more material over the drive side bearing than the rest of the part. a "no issue" or a good thing.

RedRockRider

subbed. I have the last version of the Century Ti with caliper brakes.

LOVE IT.

TimothyH

When did you buy the CAADX? 2015 or 2016 model?

More specifically, how wide of a tire have you tried to fit?

RedRockRider

garcia, FWIW, mine (the older Ti Century with caliper brakes) is wearing 38mm tires, and it is one COMFORTABLE ride.

especially well suited for those old school country roads where they dump some tar on the road, then a few truckloads of gravel on top, and leave in there for the cars to grind into place, lol.

Pendergast

Mine's a 2015 that I got back in August. I've only had 35mm tires on it, but here's a thread with some photos and discussion of how big of tires will fit.

https://www.bikeforums.net/recreation...dx-stable.html

garciawork

Thanks for the info. If the geometries are similar, I see little reason to expect different performance out of the disc version. I assume you could fit larger tires if you wanted? I have no idea what tire size to run, 28mm in a roadie is the widest of have gone aside from actual MTB's, so when I can pick one of these up there will be a lot of experimenting.

TimothyH

Thanks for the link. They say 40's in that thread. This is what I was thinking based on looking at the bike.

RedRockRider

They advertise will fit 40's, and that sounds about right based on how the bike looks wearing 38's. Just a little bit of room around the back tire, so definitely not gonna be putting a 50 or something crazy wide in there. The 38's IMO are perfect, that is 1.5" wide, great comfort and look, without feeling slow.

Will try to get pics posted when I get some time, I tried to start a thread a couple of weeks ago and had problems with the photo files being too large (not the most computer savvy).

Lots of road frames won't even fit a 28 - I used to own the "sportier" Ti frame, the Motobecane LeChampion Ti, with DuraAce 7800. I had 25's on it, tried a 28 once in the rear by swapping a wheel from another bike just to check fit, and it rubbed. Sold that frame on Ebay a couple of years ago, I'm all about comfort now, lol.

garciawork

Awesome. The newer century Ti lists 45c as the max, but that is pretty darn wide, not sure I would go that wide either.

Given that you have ridden bikes on 25c rubber, and now are running roughly 1.5in tires (when they get that big, I switch to MTB measurements!), how would you compare the rolling resistance? I am not expecting the exact same speed for a given effort on the same stretch of pavement, but I don't want to feel like a slug on the 15 mile ride from my door to the gravel roads I seek either. Little less speed? No worries. But if it is a huge difference, I could just take my 29er... I figure I will run tires in the 30's somewhere, but not entirely sure on tread patterns yet. No experience, nor have I been on the roads in question.

RedRockRider

Garcia, subjectively, I do think there is a bit more rolling resistance, but it is hard to tell if this is in my head or not, lol. The comfort, however, especially when going over rough or old pavement, is very easy to tell a difference, and on a 30-40 mile ride I feel less "beat up".

Hard to quantify the difference in tires, because I only kept one road bike, and it is a sub 17 lb carbon ride. It wears a 25 in the front, and I was able to shoehorn a 28 in the back, with about 1-2mm clearance to the frame, but they are still relatively lightweight road tires (Schwalbe Ultremos).

The Ti Century is about 5 lbs heavier, also, and less aerodynamic position, so on the same ride, I would say I average 2-3mph slower. I prefer the Ti Century on most of my solo rides, and usually only pull out the lightweight carbon bike when riding in a group, and want every advantage in terms of keeping up.


These are the 38's I put on. Really like Schwalbe tires, I have a set of 28c Marathons on my hybrid also. Killer deal at Jenson: Schwalbe Marathon Racer 700C Tire > Components > Tires > Pavement Tires | Jenson USA

brownnugen

I saw the specs say the Century Pro Ti is 142mm thru axle compatible, but it comes with QR. Can you confirm that it will take a thru axle?

GeoKrpan

Here's a pic of the rear dropout from the BD site.

This is obviously a regular QR dropout. But, notice that the dropout is removable. BD has or will have a thru-axle dropout.

natemeister

I emailed them about the thru-axle and got this reply:

Hello,
On that bike the rear dropout plates unbolt and can be changed out, but unfortunately we don't have the thru-axle rear dropout plates instock at this time and do not have a current expected date from the factory.
You will also need to change the rear hub/wheel to a 142mm thru axle.
Best regards,
Larry @ Bikes Direct

natemeister

Here's mine: https://goo.gl/photos/QvFXWQb9qVftTeEKA