Why is titanium controversial?
 

As the proud owner of a Merlin butted ti bike, and someone who wanted one for years, I am not sure why people seem to react to titanium as if it caused leprosy. This is probably one of those frequently addressed issues that people are tired of responding to, but I've never seen it addressed. Please humor me...what do people have against titanium?

Price....bunch of 'balla haters out there. The Merlin Cyrene and Litespeed Archon are on my wish list.

My dream bike would be made out out titanium and be fitted with a belt drive and a Rohloff.

Price is the only barrier here.

That right there is a nice setup!!!!

my 2004 Merlin Fortius wasn't that expensive - however, some of MSRPs on the latest titanium frames range to the absurd...

looks like the folks at Maplewood Bicycle could accommodate someone on a budget?

and the folks at Steelhead can get one into a Ti bike for less than $2.5K

Hell yes.

I may have to build it myself :) and would be looking at building a touring bike designed along the lines of the classic French constructeurs.

I saw a beautiful bike at the Oregon hand built show that was set up like this although they used a gorgeous steel frame and Shimano Alfine hub... it was an inspiring build.

To address the OPs question, originally considered politically incorrect as almost all metallic Titanium came from Russia, then the USSR. Even the Ti used to build the SR71 spy planes was from Russia, bought through a CIA organized and run Swiss front company.

Titanium refining to the metallic form is very energy intensive and includes a chemical reaction step using some apparently enviromentally questionable chemicals so it is not popular among those who claim to be enviromentally conscious.

I suspect that the third reason is envy as they want one but cannot afford it.

Heck...I can't afford one. I just lucked into a ridiculous deal.

Thanks for the info...so none of the reasons have to do with titanium as a bicycle material or anything bike related?

Nope, Ti is just about the ideal bike frame material IMO. You can read what Craig Calfee says about it here.

He likes CF since it can make a lighter frame due to the qualites of carbon fiber but you are giving up durability for that lightness. I'd bet that many more of today's Ti frames will still be on the road in 30 years than today's CF frames.

One of the reasons Ti has become very expensive is because of military procurement.

I know of builders who have had trouble acquiring Ti tube stock because this military need has driven Ti prices through the roof.

I had one, rode great, but I had to use a 60mm stem just to ride it, traded the frame to a BF member for a Kestrel that did fit.

Yeah, I'd like another. A Litespeed w/Ultegra just sold on Raleigh CL for $700.

People like me are resentful of rich people, that's why. Litespeed used to have a touring model I would've killed for, I still might get a custom Ti frame one of these days that can accept 26" tires like my LHT, and yes, the aforementioned Rohloff and maybe even belt drive would be part of this fantasy build.

Personally, I've never been able to see why carbon fiber replaced titanium on everybody's wishlist.

that is rather interesting mr tatenfield. in all I have read about the Cygnus I never heard that before. golf clubs was driving the price up for few years in the mid '90s I believe.

personally I like the ride of my MAX frames better than my Ti for some reason. I would describe the reaction more as sticker shock, and perhaps in the early days of Spectrum and Merlin the Ti frame market was still tainted by the Teledyne failure.

Yes, which is the same reason the price came down 20 years ago; LESS military and space program use. Gone back up again now 6/4 isn't around as much as it was some years back ?

^^^ resentment as KrisPistofferson honestly points out , that many won't admit.
^^^ some being sceptical of its ride quality having read mixed reviews
^^^ others are SO strong on their favorite brand Ti. frame, that mere mention of a different brand causes them to become unhinged. The answer lies mostly in these three.

A Ti bike is definitely on my want list, but price is a huge factor.

I have a "number" of Ti bikes and it is my material of choice. If you are willing to buy "pre owned" and/or build up from a frame, there are some great deals out there. My favorite is my 1998 polished Ultimate with the curved seatpost. Not vintage, but certainly classic.

Because it's modern and isn't steel? Many people on this forum forum have an aversion to non-ferric tubes and anything less than 25 years old. Their memories don't acknowledge anything after the death of Tullio and the only titanium frames they remember are the early, problem plagued, Speedwells and Teledynes.

At my friendly local framebuilder, Ti bikes are a $900 premium vs. Tig welded steel; about a $700 premium vs. lugged steel.

Other than the price I can't think of any downside.

The worst insult I ever saw about titanium bikes came from Mr. Retrogrouch himself, Grant Petersen. He was once quoted as objecting to ti bikes because they are "ghostly" in appearance (apparently unaware that Ti can be painted, just like steel). If that's the most that he can come up with, I figure it's not too bad.

My dream bike is a tourer folding version of that. :)

I lucked in to a Ti Dean frame in a trade. There is no way I could ever afford one in the near future otherwise!

I have fallen head over heals for Bruce Gordons lugged titanium bikes. Thats hot stuff.

I absolutely love my titanium bikes!!! I have a Litespeed Vortex road bike and a Litespeed Ocoee mountain bike. The ride is superb and the nude Ti is so easy to take care of. I just did a complete cosmetic overhaul on both bikes.I stripped the worn decals and scotchbrighted the frames. New decals for both bikes cost $71 shipped from Litespeed.They look like new again. I have been through steel,aluminum,carbon and Ti. Ti is my favorite with steel a close second. Carbon is third and I wouldn't buy another aluminum bike unless it was a Softride.They just are too stiff for my taste.

is titanium as heavy as steel?

Titanium is about as heavy as aluminum and stronger than steel... thus, the desirability (in one sentence)

How did you strip the decals?

I think some frame builders don't like titanium because they are not skilled enough to work with it.

When I bought my custom Co-motion in 2003, they claimed their aluminum road bike frame, the Ristretto, was better than a titanium bike. I had to check their site and they have removed that sentence.

I really like Thorn/SJS Cycles and have owned a couple but they lose a little credibility with this nonsense:
"It is either impossible or extremely expensive to have the required fittings on a Ti frame and furthermore, all titanium frames, that we have known, have also broken! It is usually impossible to repair a cracked titanium frame. Perhaps there are some titanium frames, being made today, or which may be made in the future, that won’t break...but we doubt it."

Maybe they are talking about English made Ti frames...or are there?