GT Edge - Titanium or Aluminum?

[roburrito]

I'm looking at a GT Edge and I want to figure out if the frame is titanium or aluminum. I'm sorry I don't have any pictures, but I was wonder what indicators there are of titanium or aluminum.

I've looked at it before and I'm leaning towards titanium, but I'm only 70% sure. The 94/95 model came in polished aluminum and polished titanium or steel. Its not magnetic, so that leaves aluminum or titanium. Titanium should be darker and aluminum brighter but its really hard to tell without reference. The welds look titanium - the pools are similar size to steel while aluminum welds have larger pools. I've welded titanium before and they have that really crisp look to them. This is why I'm leaning towards titanium.

But I'd like to be more sure before making an offer on it. The drivetrain is Dura Ace 7400. Here's a link to the '94 catalog. Anything else I can look for?

[KonAaron Snake]

I'd assume ti would have substantially less diameter in tubing...aluminum is usually much thicker.

I would avoid a GT ti frame without knowing anything about them. IME ti requires more advanced welding and more frame building knowledge than other materials; I've found ti frames vary more by builder than steel or aluminum. I have no idea who GT sourced ti from, but I'm betting it was a cheaper manufacturer. I would research carefully, otherwise stick to Merlin, Moots, Serotta, etc.

[IthaDan]

^^^^ hey buddy, if GT Ti is good enough for Hans Rey, it's good enough for me. <> and their Ti was by Sandvik and then Litespeed


Usually you can check by looking at the welds. If they're around the diameter of a pencil in width, they're most likely aluminum. Smaller than that? like the width of a pencil LEAD, then they're most likely titanium.


Aaaaaaand pictures of GT edges:

Titanium:



Aluminum:



See what I'm getting at? Aluminum tends to be fatter and raised, where titanium is thinner and sunken. GENERALLY.

[T-Mar]

+1 regarding the welds, but there's an easy visual distinction too. The aluminum Edge has the rear brake cable routed internally, while the titanium Edge routes it externally, along the lower left side of the top tube, using cable stops.

[buldogge]

I'd rock a Ti GT Edge...

[roburrito]

Thanks for the closeups of the GT welds, I had been looking for some good pictures without success.

[shelbyfv]

Pics if you get it, sounds very cool!

[IthaDan]

+1 regarding the welds, but there's an easy visual distinction too. The aluminum Edge has the rear brake cable routed internally, while the titanium Edge routes it externally, along the lower left side of the top tube, using cable stops.

Whilst googling this I came across retrobike.co.uk. On there are company brochures from the 90s. I'd link to them but I'm out of the house now. In the 97 GT brochure is a pretty good shot of the edges. Looks like the aluminum also has a replaceable dropout while the Ti doesn't.

Edit: Easier to link from an iPad than I'd thought. http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/v/M...er+Archive/GT/

[rccardr]

The titanium definitely has a less 'silver' look to it, and the welds of the frmaes built in the Longmont CO shop are awesome.
Decals on the titanimum frames are yellow and purple- US versions are purple with yellow edges, german (possibly all euro) are the other way around.

Stay tuned for an upcoming build...

[jjhabbs]

I have a GT aluminum Edge. Nice frame. Fairly stiff. I was the GT rep from 89 to 99. We had no problem with the Titanium.

[roburrito]

Can you take a couple pictures of your Edge? Logos, welds, etc?

[mbbiker]

We sold a few of the Ti GT edge's at the shop I worked at back then and I know 2 of them went to guys that beat there bikes up pretty bad and the frame held up better than their, bars, forks, and cranks did.

[RFC]

I'd assume ti would have substantially less diameter in tubing...aluminum is usually much thicker.

I would avoid a GT ti frame without knowing anything about them. IME ti requires more advanced welding and more frame building knowledge than other materials; I've found ti frames vary more by builder than steel or aluminum. I have no idea who GT sourced ti from, but I'm betting it was a cheaper manufacturer. I would research carefully, otherwise stick to Merlin, Moots, Serotta, etc.

Aaron, I must disagree. You seem to have a sort of Ozymandias attitude regarding the categorization of Ti frame manufacturers in order of quality. It's a little simpler and more complex than that. Ti frame building is technically more difficult than steel and requires some substantial experience. The materials, i.e., Ti tubing, is, I believe, almost, if not always, produced by a separate Ti fabricator (also a complex process). A very few frame manufacturers (i.e., Litespeed and Airborne) produced there own shaped tubes. Otherwise, frame manufacturers were limited to the options available for spec tubing. So, as to the frame manufacturers, either you could weld Ti or you could not. Frankly, I do not think there is a substantive difference between frames manufactured by Litespeed, Merlin, Moots, Serotta, etc.

During the period when Ti was considered to be competitive, a number of bike companies offered Ti frames that were actually outsourced to other larger Ti frame manufacturers (i.e., Litespeed), including Merckx, Mongoose, GT and many more. I would have no problem whatsoever with the quality of any of these frames. And, if this one was a couple of sizes larger, I'd be on it. I dig the GT double triangle. And having that in Ti is a big bonus.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ht_3176wt_1150

BTW, I have a little Russian Ti package coming this week from The Netherlands. My new gravel grinder. More on that later.

[rccardr]

I was the GT rep from 89 to 99...

Then you probably know Steve Kalk.
Which means you may have a good idea of what's sitting in the Secret Underground Laboratory right now...

No, it's not that test bike with the Yamaguchi fork.

[jjhabbs]

I cant upload my files. they are to large. I can try to reduce them insize. I dont have time this minute to do it. Give you your email if you would like and I will send you some pics.

[jjhabbs]

I know Steve Kalk. He was my sales manager. Now I think he is the Jamis rep in my area

[roburrito]

Thanks, that picture is great actually. I'm fairly confident its Ti now.

[T-Mar]

... Looks like the aluminum also has a replaceable dropout while the Ti doesn't...

Early versions of the aluminum Edge didn't have the replaceable dropout, though you could still easily tell the difference just by looking at them. There was a big difference in the shape, with the aluminum dropouts being more massive.