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Customer Feedback Wanted; Ti Cycles (Portland, OR)

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Customer Feedback Wanted; Ti Cycles (Portland, OR)

Old 09-13-13, 06:56 PM
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Customer Feedback Wanted; Ti Cycles (Portland, OR)

Hi all,

I'm looking for customer feedback from folks who have had custom frames built by Dave Levy at Ti Cycles. Obviously positive reviews are great, but I'd be particularly interested in any negative feedback, RE frame fit, clearance, geometry, etc...

I would welcome PMs, if anyone does not want to be negative publicly.

Thanks,

Everett
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Old 09-14-13, 09:45 AM
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Be prepared for the probability that none of his customers read this site.

Its a Custom Builder Be really clear on what you want , all the things you ask about
RE frame fit, clearance, geometry, etc...
are decisions you can dialog with the builder and make the choices wisely.

what do You Want?

Got pictures of bikes that made you not go with like Moots ?

Last edited by fietsbob; 04-01-14 at 02:32 PM.
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Old 09-15-13, 07:21 PM
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what do You Want?
I am looking for customer feedback. I assume that if "none of his customers read this site," then I will get no responses, except for yours of course - thanks for that.
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Old 10-31-13, 12:07 AM
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Everett- Have you gotten any replies? I just found your thread and was curious about the same thing. I do know that Ti Cycles does not do all of his own welding. He has other people come in and do some of the jobs, so technically speaking, you are not always getting a frame built by the builder. His frames appear dated and stuck somewhere in the 1990's from a design perspective. I know he does weird stuff for bike shows, but who is honestly going to ride those contraptions? There are other builders out there that are far better and more up to date than Ti Cycles.
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Old 03-20-14, 12:26 PM
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Ti Cycles is the real deal

I usually don't chime in for these kinds of threads, but FWIW's post deserves a response. I own three Ti Cycles bikes and they're the best things in my stable -- from a comfort/stability, quality, and design standpoint. And I'm comparing them against Moots, Lightspeed, Scott, and other cycling stalwarts.

Originally Posted by FWIW
He has other people come in and do some of the jobs, so technically speaking, you are not always getting a frame built by the builder.
This is true for their non-custom stuff, like the Local Hero and Bonestealer (two frames I own). I think it's also true for the Hayak. And the guys say as much at shows (just saw them at the Seattle Bike Expo). Why aren't all Ti's frames custom and welded by Dave Levy? Because not everybody wants to pay $4k and upwards for a frame. All of my Ti Cycles frames are their "production" frames. All of them were 30% to 50% less than the production frames (e.g., Cielo., Seven) also on my list. I ride the hell out of them. And I know if anything ever goes wrong with any of them I can drop the Ti guys an email and they will bend over backwards to make it right. I even heard from a guy on my team that they fixed a chainstay crack that another local builder couldn't fix FOR FREE.

Originally Posted by FWIW
His frames appear dated and stuck somewhere in the 1990's from a design perspective. I know he does weird stuff for bike shows, but who is honestly going to ride those contraptions?
Nonsense. His frames are double or triple butted, used ovalized tubes, bent downtubes, etc. All the modern stuff. And if you're talking about just how they look -- the geometry -- then, sure, some of them (e.g., Local Hero) look like plenty of stuff sold in the 90's. But that's because the geometry made for great riding bikes. The Ti guys are all about form following function, so why would they design a bike to look weird just so it's different (and without thinking about ride quality)? There are plenty of weird looking bikes out there, and they all seem more like wall art than objects meant to ride. So, I guess, if you want wall art, maybe Ti Cycles isn't your best fit.

Originally Posted by FWIW
There are other builders out there that are far better and more up to date than Ti Cycles.
Really? Who? There are maybe five people in the world with Levy's background, skill, and knowledge of Ti and manufacturing. (I'm assuming you're talking about Ti.) And it's pretty easy to name them: Erickson, Kish, Dean, Strong, maybe Potts. Are you talking about weld quality? Levy's custom stuff have the same stacked quarters welds you'd find on a Moots. The welds on his production stuff aren't are pretty, this is true. But his production stuff is like half the price. My Ti Cycles fat bike FULLY BUILT was less than the price of a Frosti FRAME.

Everybody's entitled to their opinion, but have some knowledge and fact to back it up. Ti Cycles stuff rocks.
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Old 04-01-14, 11:01 AM
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I currently own two titanium bikes designed by Dave Levy. Both bikes are Cyclocross machines. These are both production bikes, so not hand built by Ti, or Dave specifically. However, the design is born from the experience and skill that Levy has with designing and building bikes over his 28+ years.

The experience shows in the bike. My first CX bike is one of the first off of the production line for this model. With that in mind - one would expect a bike to have a few issues. But, that's not the case. The bike is extremely well built, performs absolutely spot on, and is incredibly comfortable. In fact - I prefer setting up my CX bike as a road machine for the winter training/riding months here in Portland. It's far more comfortable, stable, predictable, and easy to ride than my fancy carbon fiber road bike.

Like Dewey_B states - there are _very_ _very_ few Ti builders in the industry with the skills, experience, and creative capacity that Levy exhibits. If you are looking for a titanium bike, from super high end full service custom design, to excellently conceived, executed, and finished, then Ti Cycles is an excellent choice. If you are looking for something that has all of the qualities of a Ti Cycles bike, then look to their production brand, Ren Cycles. You'll get an exceptional machine and an extremely good price point. Yes - it's true, the welds may not be the sublime "stacked quarters" gorgeousness you'd get from Levy himself; but they are quality, and still of excellent build.

I'm looking forward to the new spin-off Ren Cycles and what they build. So much so - I'm fairly certain I'll be picking up a road bike from Ren; and off of the talented drafting board of Dave Levy.

If you do go with a full custom frame from Ti Cycles - keep these thoughts in mind - you want to be sure you properly articulate what you want from the bike to make it worth the effort on both sides:

* know exactly how you want the bike to behave (eg. stable and predictable -v- fast race machine)
* have a few bikes in mind that meet those requirements, and the full geometries of the bikes that fit you; this helps provide a reference point to the builder on how you like a bike to behave
* think every single detail through on the bike - the more clearly you can articulate it, the better chance of getting what you envision/dream
* take good body measurements as requested by the builder - so they can design the geometry around you
* be open to feedback on suggestions/alterations - the builder likely has a LOT more experience than you with designing and building a bike so that it rides how you want it

The more input you provide in the process, the better the end product. Patience is required in this process!

Best of luck!
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Old 04-01-14, 09:30 PM
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Originally Posted by Everett464
I am looking for customer feedback. I assume that if "none of his customers read this site," then I will get no responses, except for yours of course - thanks for that.
haha, yeah he replies to everything. :-)
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