Who owns a Titanium bike?
 

If so, what do you own? What are your likes and dislikes of the Ti?

Thanks
Steve

I have a Merlin XL

Likes:
low maintenance finish
exquisite puddle welds
looks and rides like steel, with buzz muted from Ti
fits like a glove
who rides Ti, anymore...
could have been the last bike I ever bought (but N+1 will ruin anything)
no rust

Dislikes:
expensive
didn't come w/ a fork

It's the current bike I'm riding in my rotation. I still have another qtr's worth of riding time on it before I switch to the next material in the rotation. :)

Lynskey R-230

Great all round frame. It could be raced in a crit one day and ridden in a double century the next. As mentioned above, the frame absorbs high frequency vibration well but that has as much to do with the weelset used.

I bought it to be a keeper/go-to bike which it very much is. I have two cf bikes and one aluminum and far prefer the Ti.

No dislikes on this one.

I also bought it when I turned 50 which seems to be about the age most people do.. hmmm.. anybody selling a good Corvette?

Older Merlin Extralight

It's lively, climbs well, and it's comfortable. I also like the look of unpainted Ti: Beautiful welds, the simple look of the bare frame.

There is nothing I don't like about it.

I have 10 year old Ti bike and a 1 month old carbon bike. The carbon is lighter, stiffer, and rides and handles better. Some of that is due to the material, and some due to the design, different wheels etc.. A lot depends on which specific frame you choose, not just the material. I also have a 6 year old Al Specialized Roubaix with carbon seat stays and fork and find the Ti bike to have a much plusher ride, though it is also more flexible in pedaling and handling.

The roads were sloppy with sand and salt yesterday so I rode my "old" Ti bike rather than the new C bike that I've been riding the past month. It was a great ride and I really enjoyed riding the ol' Ti bike again. There's absolutely nothing wrong with Ti, and if you like how the bike fits, feels, rides, and looks, by all means get it. If you want the absolute best most competitive racing machine, get carbon, IMO.

To some degree, I would agree although comparing current CF to 10 year old technology Ti is hardly fair. Current Ti frames are a lot stiffer and compliant than they were 10 years ago. Manufacturing and forming techniques have changed considerably amongst the more advanced Ti builders.

I have a 10 year old Litespeed Classic. It handles very well. It has a nice ride. It has a low maintenance finish. It can take a fair level of abuse. It is a very nice and dependable bike. I have been a really high mileage cyclist and gone through a number of bikes (wore em out). This one is tied as my favorite. The other bike was a Cannondale Black Lightning with Suntour Sprint Components. It was a great bike: ultra fast handling, tremendous power transfer, extremely stiff resulting in a harsh but surprisingly liveable ride.

I have considered getting one of them fancy schmancy carbon fiber bikes. But I have put it off.

Pat

I have an Indy Fab Ti CJ bike that I hardly ride anymore. It's a great ride though another of my bikes I should probably sell for lack of use. I just don't need three road bikes.

I have an Airborne Carpe Diem cyclocross frame and fork. The fork is carbon, but more stout for the cyclocross. I like that. No longer made, but the company reorganized under a different name and may still be around.

Rugged, comfortable and has attachment points for a rear rack, fenders and even disc brakes (with STI yet). I always carry a trunk bag and use fenders for wet roads. I don't get waves from most roadies.

Don't use discs due to weight.

I used to do 70 mile rides on it and once in a while now I'll take it out for a 40 miler though I've switched mostly to mountain biking.

There's nothing I find disagreable about the bike. I do want a second set of wheels with wider tires to do more rough stuff that's too mild for a mountain bike.

Al

I bought my Litespeed Tuscany in April 2001. Actually my wife bought it for me. :love: It rides like a dream.
I've owned a few bikes since but it's still my #1 bike and I have never been disappointed with any ride. :D

http://web.me.com/ronhorne/Site/Rons...s/DSCN0009.jpg

Perhaps we agree completely. That's why I mentioned the relative ages in the first place and credited some of the difference to design. I didn't mention manufacturing techniques because I don't believe any manufacturing techniques being used today by Ti frame builders weren't around 10 years ago, so the fact they may not have been used back then was a design/cost decision. I certainly believe that the best Ti bikes today are better than the best Ti bikes 10 years ago, and I believe they are plenty good enough, but are they better than the best carbon? I don't think so.

I'm a happy owner/rider of Ti and carbon bikes and enjoy each for its own charms.

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/l...ictures008.jpg

Early in 2010, I found a new made-by-Lynskey titanium frame on ebay for less than $670 and decided I would build a faster bike than my faithful Soma Double Cross. The frame was built by Lynskey for Planet X, a British bike company. The size and geometry was right and I knew I could build a sub-19 pound road-bike that would be far stiffer than my steel Cyclocross bike.

I selected 6600 Ultegra SL for the brakes and for the compact crankset. I use both a 105 standard crankset and a compact on this bike, depending on my route or event. An Ultegra 6603 rear derailleur, 105 front derailleur and Shimano non-series STI Brifters would round-out the build. The fit would use tried-and-true Look pedals, FSA Compact handlebars and a new Brooks Professional saddle.

Has the titanium frame road-bike improved my long distance cycling substantially over the steel framed Cyclocross bike? Yes, but not in any radical way. The slightly lighter weight and stiffer construction of the titanium bike improves climbing and sprinting, but makes very little difference on flat roads over larger distances. I do feel more confident in a group ride, and have substantually improved my acceleration and climbing.

I’m faster this year, but I’ve improved my speed on all my bikes. I have a 19 mile loop that has just two traffic lights, and the Cyclocross bike is within 3 minutes of my best time on the titanium road-bike, less than a 5% difference. As is often said, it’s the motor that matters.

Unfortunately Flyte the remains of Airborne has also bit the dust. Long story and there is much to read with the search function. Current Airborne bikes are Huffy.

Pretty good bikes however. I have an Airborne Manhattan Project which is technically not a true ti bike, carbon seat stays. Rides and handles great but some bottom bracket flex when out of the saddle. It is a great all around ride. Also have a Colnago Titano Lux again with carbon rear end. Out of a lot of bikes it is one of my favorites. Comfortable, fast enough to keep up with the carbon crowd and reasonably light at 17 lbs.

Quite a few guys we ride with still use ti. You can hardly go wrong with a good ti frame as a starting point.

Thanks for the clarification. We will just have to agree to agree.:thumb:

I have 2006 Moots Compact. I use it for crits and club training rides. For crits I just put on the race wheels. I have no problem staying with CF riders, but damn those 50+ dudes are fast!
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=184467

That pretty much sums up my beliefs as well. I have a Seven Ti and a CF bike. The Seven is custom, including specifying the kind of ride I wanted and Seven using different size tubesets to get it that way. I ended up with a stiff frame, especially in the rear and bb areas, that doesn't flex on sprints and steep climbs. It feels very much like my CF bike. However it weighs about 1 lb more so that's the cost of making a Ti ride equivalent.

I have a Lynskey Sportive which I bought in September (2010). It's the best riding bike I've ever ridden. I've ridden high-quality steel bikes for 35 years. Before I bought the Lynskey, I test rode several nice carbon bikes (a Cervelo and a Giant). The carbon bikes were OK, but the Ti really was a clear choice. The Lynskey is efficient at the BB (huge ovalized dt - horizontally at the BB and vertically at the head tube) while still being extremely comfortable on our rough roads. Really a great bike for me.http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=184469

Thunderworks.....the sportive is one I am considering....
 

Others include the Moots, Serotta legend and ottrott. I was given a specialized s works roubaix sl2 with di2 components by my wife. When I was getting fitted for it the discussion came up regarding Ti. The owner of the LBS was really touting the overall ride of the Ti bikes which he owns and sells a lot of. I was considering changing out the components, wheels, etc to a Ti bike and selling the Sworks frame before I ride it.
Any thoughts on the ride versus the Sworks roubaix?

Stick with the Roubaix.

CF can be highly engineered in a way that Ti cannot. The S Works Roubaix is a highly developed frame that is both race-stiff yet comfortable.

A ti bike might improve the ride quality by a small degree, but will not provide all of the performance of your existing bike.

A modern Ti bike is better than an average quality CF bike. However, a S-Works Roubaix is a top quality CF bike. No off-the-shelf Ti bike can match it, IMO.

BTW, my Lynskey/Planet X bike is almost the same bike as the Lynskey Sportive. It's a great bike and would recommend it if someone needed a great long-distance bike.

Michael

I have a DI2 SW Roubaix and the IF Ti bike. If my wife bought me the Roubaix I would damn sure ride it. lol I like my Ti bike, but it's going on ebay soon. Why? It's heavier, not quite as stiff, though it has a smoother ride. But then my Parlee is smoother than the IF and lighter than all of them. Ti is pretty indestructible but I try not to crash so I don't consider that an issue.

I would say as an all around bike the Ti bike is fine though I seem to have moved on to my CF bikes as my preferred rides.

Now that is a tough decision. What else do you have for bikes and what is the intended purpose of the Roubaix/Sportive?

When I was shopping for a "nice" road bike a few years ago I was looking at bikes like the Roubaix and at carbon fiber. There was nothing about the CF bikes that I didn't like.

My issue was very simple: I wasn't going to race, and I wanted a bike that I could add fenders to and larger tires (at least 28c). Going to a custom builder (Davidson) gave me that option.


Aside from custom CF ($$$$), there are no CF bikes available in America that will take fenders and 25c's except for these 3 (that I'm aware of):
- Gary Fisher by Trek Cronus
- Jamis Endura 2
- Orbea Diem (flat-bar commuter bike).

I love the Davison. Wish it was a couple of pounds lighter, but the rider is the real weight problem, not the bike.

In any case, this winter -- iits 4th winter -- I finally put on permanent fenders. I am just loving riding a bike of this caliber on good days and bad. Very happy w/my decision.

If I ever build up another Ti bike, it will be as a Rando bike with fenders. I believe Ti is the perfect material for that use.

Interesting. The early Carpe Diem frames had some issue as well. But it evolved into a great bike.

Al

Here is what I have and am considering.....
 

Well after reading all the information from the experienced (not old) guys, I might just keep the sworks Roubaix and look at maybe linskey cooper cx. I am 52..bike 1500-2000 mi /yr mostly on roads. i did want more of a all around bike to bike on packed chat (rails to trails) in the area. My son and I are going to bike the Katy Trail from Kansas City to St. Louis in May. But my main interest is group riding 35 - 100 mi on weekend on a great comfortable bike. We dont really ride fast 18 mph on average (conversation speed). Now I am going to ride some with younger/faster riders as well this year.....so thats why my wife got me the Sworks roubaix. I have a 2007 Roubaix pro I like that I am going to sell. I also have a Trek 7.6 FX which I was going to use for 2 - 4 day tours, however I hate the straight handle bars (pain in hands/wrists) So maybe I will sell that as well and pick up a Linskey cooper cx. Get my need/want for Ti that way. Use that biek for training in winter or weather is bad and use CF Sworks for gruop/road work when appropriate. WOW...sounds like a plan! What do you think?

It sure helps to talk it out with you guys...

Thanks
Steve