Originally Posted by
rms13
I have never owned or rode a Ti frame but from everything I've read, they are a gimmick.
Obvious troll is obvious. But, what the hell.. I'll play too.
If carbon fiber didn't exist, every pro rider would be on Titanium. If the economy of scale didn't make it such that cheap Asian labor could crank out assembly line frames to then be sold for 10X their production cost, Non pros would be riding... Well, I'm not even sure what.
Up until 2 months ago, Ti was the only frame material I'd never owned. Over the last 25 years I've had several steel frames, several carbons (including one of the first ever Kestrel Monocoque) and an aluminum.
As has been stated, every material can be made into a frame that sucks, or a frame that is awesome. Anyone saying Tiatium is "flexy" probably tried an old 90's Litespeed and nothing since. Anyone saying it's "heavy" is talking about less than a pound, and is likely a poser who couldn't get any bike to 5/10 of it's performance limit. You could give them a helium filled frame that weighed negative 2 pounds and they'd still be slow.
That said, the Ti advantages / differences (some of which also apply to steel) are:
1) Won't rust or corrode
2) Will survive impacts that will send carbon frames to the dumpster (and I don't mean nonsense like falling over in the garage). The first time you damage a carbon frame is the exact moment the price difference argument goes out the window.
3) Simple, understated beauty
4) Will look like new pretty much forever
5) Won't fail catastrophically.
6) Other riders will go out of their way to ask you about it, because everyone else is on the same Spesh / Trek / Big Corp carbon billboard looking rig.
Disadvantages
1) Your bike may be up to 14 ounces heavier than an identically equipped carbon bike.
2) More expensive *at first*. But unlikely to need replacing due to impact damage.
I owned both my current Ti frame and a 2013 Specialized Roubaix Carbon simultaneously, planning on keeping only one. For all the reasons above, plus what my body was telling me was a better quality of ride, I kept the Ti.
I got the frame used for less than $1000, btw. I wouldn't be so confident about the longevity / dependability of a used carbon frame from an unknown person, I can tell you that much.