I think that last link has a good point. It's true. I have such a bike. OTOH, there are also bikes which are absolutely POS. I've ridden very nice bikes with well-known pedigree which were POS. Problem is, either way one can't tell by looking, only by riding. You may have noticed my slight bias against custom. I have a very good friend who went through a long and careful process with her Ti manufacturer, including a custom fit process with a builder's rep and test ride of a bike similar to what she wanted. All perfect. Then the bike came and it was a POS. Her old steel bike was faster and handled better. The manufacturer wouldn't do anything for her. Word got around and she couldn't even sell it. So there's that. My guess in her case is that the manufacturer designed her a "woman's bike," having no idea of the amount of power this particular woman would put down or how hard she'd corner. They probably uh, skimped on the titanium. Perfect bikes are complicated. The first time I rode my current bike, I was blown away.