Originally Posted by
Koyote
@
hoovbikes : Sure, I get that. It's why I bought a cf road bike.
I was just pointing out that a good steel frame, with a modicum of care, will last a long time and cost less, too. My Lemond is built around a Reynolds 853 frame, and after 15 years and over 40k miles, it still rides beautifully - and it's probably less than a pound heavier than a comparably-sized Ti frame. Come to think of it, it's my favorite bike.
Yes, but steel frames don't have the ti ride. I ride steel also and have over 150,000 miles on steel. Race bikes, several 531 bikes, good Japanese bikes, etc. but they do not have the sweet ride of ti. I rode a ti mountain bike in 1989 and knew in a 1/4 mile that "this was it". Took me until 2006 to be able to justify a ti custom (all stock ti bikes I saw or heard of would have been $4000 class B fits). First mile, yup, this is that ride.
My Peter Mooney, 531, is as smooth as my ti bikes but that is with much longer wheelbase, far bigger tolerances and super smooth very high end 28c tires. My fixed ti bike is race quick and short with 24c tires. Bad chip seal? The ti bike is just as nice.
Ben