gc3

3alarmer 

[h=2]The World's Best Grammar Checker[/h]

coasting 

I do not regret buying my Ti. I like the bike; it isn't better than the carbon but it is more suitable for some purposes.

WHOOOSSHHH...

I have Ti, aluminum, and cf. similar components. Handling and speed pretty much all feel the same...have to keep one? The Ti wins because of fit. It's the most comfy...

DXchulo

Hate to say it, but he's right. The wheels, stem, and seatpost don't match the frame very well.

It is a beautiful frame, though.

Machka 

I love my Hasa ...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/machka-...7623874386934/

Paul Y.

Whew. Good.

RoadMike

Wat.

Aluminum welds, even nice ones, are straight fugly compared to nice titanium welds.

Herbie53

I think this looks pretty nice.

RoadMike

That's because the bead has been ground off, because the bead is ugly.

Nachoman

I experience inordinate amounts of hoopla when I ride my ti bike.

3alarmer 

.
.
....Hoopla Bikes would be a killer name for a Ti frame builder. Just sayin'

garciawork

I have three... so either I am a slow learner, or happy with my purchases!

Hiro11

I had to enlarge the drain hole on my Ti frame's bottom bracket due to excessive hoopla buildup.

Ice41000

I agree that there is something wrong in the way it looks, but it is not the frame, which is beautiful, but those horrible stem and seatpost.
Wheels, on the other hand look just fine.

gc3

almost too late to this party...

rpenmanparker 

You can't be too late to a Ti bashing party. If you miss one, just wait 15 or 20 minutes for the next one to show up. It's like public transportation. The frame material the uninformed love to hate and hate to love.

Robert

halfspeed

How many people with strong opinions on frame materials have significant experience, say more than a thousand miles, on all four of the common materials?

StanSeven

I can say I have significant experience on all four materials and most of it is with high end bikes. The thing I can't say is I have strong opinions about any material. Any material can be formed to produce just about any ride characteristic. Now if you care about absolute weight, Ti and steel are at a disadvantage. But that's about it.

halfspeed

I'd say that Ti is at a pretty big disadvantage to carbon for repairability. The same with higher end steels and aluminum to a lesser extent. Carbon also offers the frame designer a lot more flexibility in tuning the frame characteristics than any other material.

rpenmanparker 

I have a strong opinion, but it is that they are all good. I have ridden all four materials, maybe 60k miles on steel, 20 k miles on original glued Trek Al, 12 k miles on carbon, and 8 k miles on Ti.

nondes 

Approaching 14 years with mine and the frame still looks and rides as well as ever. No desire for a new road bike.

rpenmanparker 

The repairability difference you point out is interesting. I can't say I fully agree providing I am right that you could cut out a tube from a welded joint with just a little bother and some care. Then replacing it would be just like building the frame in the first place. While you might need the original builder to supply the proper design of tube to make the repair fully functional and more or less invisible, when done, it would be absolutely good as new. A serviceable weld is a weld is a weld. New and replacement, no difference. On a carbon frame, the patch is always going to be a patch. I understand it can be done both competently and attractively, but underneath it will always be a patch.

No argument whatsoever about the tunability of carbon. Head and shoulders above anything else.

StanSeven

I agree with everything you say. But I also found a good Ti builder can give you pretty much the frame characteristics that anyone wants, but at a price (not just monetary). I had a Ti built up so the rear and bb were very stiff. I liked the stiffness for sprints and out of saddle climbs. It was as stiff as CF but weighed a whole lot more.

halfspeed

Weight is a frame characteristic, no?