RFC

All good thoughts. Now, let me make a few specific suggestions. There are a number of factors going to the category "classic." For bikes designed for performance, how they performed is a potential indicator. Innovative design could be another. For example, the Litespeed Ultimate saw a good deal of international competition during the 1999-2002 period, as well as podium time.



Another factor is classic design, similar to the predecessor steel road bikes.

Elev12k

Ti came available to a relatively wide public at more or less the same time of the mountainbike boom. Fat Chance Titaniums and WTB Ti Phoenix' are already going for substantial amounts of money.

norskagent

Fuji Ti w/ Ti fork.

RobbieTunes

Well, here's what a "low-end" would look like, under $1K.

RobbieTunes

Very nice bikes.
Those sure are some odd looking dogs, though.

jim-bob

I think the Kona Score is already collectible, it's just very very niche and will probably remain that way. Same with the Ti frames Steve Potts is still building.

My DBR frame, although built by Sandvik, is just your basic commodity Ti MTB, I don't see anything happening with that one.

The early Merlins, especially the newsboy, are probably just going to continue getting insanely expensive.

RFC

Very nice build. Is that the Airborne?

dannyg1 

I believe that Ti cyclocross frames are the more collectible ones. As usual, oddities of limited production are always sought after. Along ths vein, I'm thinking that Jeff Jones and Morati's are a good bet as well.

luker

Spectrum is the top of my list, and they've been in business long enough to count as vintage. Serotta, for almost exactly the same reasons as Spectrum.

Did anyone list Merlin?

thinktubes 

Clark-Kent?

gridplan

No, his weakness was for Kryptonite locks.

williamshildebr

Were ti bikes ever as comparably popular as aluminum and carbon professionaly, like in the tour de france, if so what were the main years and makes?

cs1

I'm inclined to believe that your assessment is the most accurate so far. Just because something is old doesn't mean it's desirable or valuable. Most Ti bikes will be collectible because they ALL were high end and very limited in production when new. The raw material was very expensive and the welders had to be very skilled. Most of the older Ti bikes were equipped with Chorus or Ultegra and up.

bikerosity57

Well since Ti doesn't fatique, rust, or scratch, ALL of them will be classics. If they are re-built with new components every coupla decades, they could all still be in use 1000 years from now. Most steel bikes( and aluminum, and especially carbon fibre) bikes will have long since deteriourated to nothing in a few decades. You could literally leave a ti bike out side for hundreds of years and the frame should be good as new.

RobbieTunes

Thanks, it is, sort of. The seller's dad was a pro racer, who checked out the manufacturing process thoroughly (China), and then ordered it from Airborne. He specified the DT shifter braze-ons, plus the cable guides below the top tube, along with the size and geometry. I bought it from his son before it had ever been built. It took a while to "like," but once I built the wheels and got the fit right, you'd have to pry it loose....

Since then I've bought a couple more frames from him. If he called me today and said he had another one, I'd probably take it sight unseen.

The only downside to it, so far, is that it puts some of my other bikes into a different "prospective." They seem more expendable.

RobbieTunes

Not to mention hypo-allergenic.

dudeona3V

Here's one (for sale on Seattle CL, no association)

Bill Holland Titanium bicycle 56-57cm - $1200

RobbieTunes

Merlin on Raleigh's CL, $1600.
Very tempting.

https://raleigh.craigslist.org/bik/1178978837.html

Picchio Special

Looks like possibly a nice deal.

RFC

There are some very good deals out there on Ti bikes and frames. With a little scrounging, which you guys are good at, it is very possible to buy and/or build up a nice Ti bike for about $1,000. I have built up several this way.

At this point, what I'd love to find is an early 90's Litespeed Tachyon with curved tubes, track dropouts, and 700 wheels. It could be built up into an absolutely *****in' flatland TT/Tri style singlespeed.

norskagent

YoKev

Dean

My 1993 with added on disc brake mount.

cs1

I remember when that came out. We all drooled over it. Super nice bike and I can easily see it becoming a collectible because it one of the first factory titanium bikes. Rember, Ti was very hard to come by then. Very few people outside of military contractors could weld it either.

lotek 

Schwinn Paramount Ti built by Serotta?
not sure on this one, it wasn't designed by Serotta, didn't use the Colorado concept tubing
but was built to specs by Serotta.
an undervalued frame I'm thinking.

Marty

dannyg1 

That Fuji and the Panasonic that begot this thread are one and the same. Both by Sumitomo. There are Zunow Sumitomo Ti frames as well (I own a fork from one).