jerrypare

After a lot of overthinking, I have narrowed my Ti choices down to Habanero, Motobecane, and Lynskey. The prices on Haby and Moto are hard to resist.
I would love to keep my business in the USA and buy Lynskey, but the price is
substantially more. The fact that my future employment has recently come into question has made me reevaluate how much money I can spend. I was leaning towards Moots but that is out of the question now. I am concerned about the quality of Ti tubing out of China and Taiwan. How do we know that the tubing is what is advertised. I wonder if they cheapen the tubing by not using as much titanium is the alloy as we do in the US.
Has anyone seen both Haby and Moto frames and what is your opinion?
Also, how good are those Chinese carbon forks that come with the Motobecane?
Both Motobecane and Habanero get great reviews.
Any input, thoughts, and opinions are welcome. Thanks

BotByte

All bikes and all parts are made in china. GET OVER IT!!! I used to work for a Trek LBS and they all were made in china, you don't understand how many people would complain about that

Stickney

Lynskey's are beautiful. Send them an inquiry, you never know what they have lying around and they likely will work with you.

With that said, I have Litespeed and Motobecane TI bikes. Although I can argue that the welds on the Moto are not quite as nice on the Litespeed, they certainly are just fine. The frameset seemed light enough. The tubes haven't rusted.

I can't speak to their internal chemistry or butting. But Moto has had their TI bikes on the market for a few years. I would imagine if there was any significant issue you would be able to find it on one of these bike boards.

People like their Haby's as well.

I chose TI, despite the price, because I ride in lots of gunk, and didn't want to worry about my frame rusting, my paint chipping, or needing to wash my bike after every ride.

WHOOOSSHHH...

My input....

ChrisO

Really? Are you absolutely sure about that?
Maybe WHOOOSSHHH can post a photo of the "handmade in tennessee USA" sticker on his frame.

Carbon Unit

Not all. My carbon fiber bike is made in California. The wheels are made in Connecticut, the seat post is made in Oregon, I think, and all of the other parts are made in Italy.

Edit: The handlebars on my bike are made in China. To my knowledge that is the only Chinese part on the bike.

coasting 

italy is not america. who can argue with that?

SushiJoe

Not I.

teterider

No, don't "get over it".

Recall the statistic from just last week that if everybody spent something like $62 on US made good this year then 200,000 new jobs would be created.

Do all you can to get the Lynskey!!!. If you can't you can't, but I'd really push hard for that Lynskey. Sell some things around the house and make up the difference. The Lynskey will absolutely have better resale value just in case. You will also feel better for getting it and you will get better reactions and praise from others.

Hey I'm one to hunt down bargains, but I also understand when to spend more for true value. The Lynskey has value.

Carbon Unit

The poster said that all parts are made in China. Italy might not be America but it isn't China either.

Jed19

I don't get this obsession with Ti bikes. I have test-rode some, and I was not impressed. May be because I am 215Ibs. I like a stiff bike, and it looks like the way to find a stiff enough Ti bike for me is to go custom.

If you were to go with the most gorgeous Ti, then the Lynskey gets my vote.

coasting 

i wonder if it is possible to make a stiff and light Ti bike. mine is stiff but not light.

hodie21

What group do you ride?

Carbon Unit

I have a Campy Chorus triple with Record shifters. I plan on upgrading it to a Campy compact 11 speed possibly by summer.

coasting 

i prefer shimano ultegra.

Steve90068

There are a lot of great Ti companies but the best bang for the buck comes from Lynskey. Stunning quality, incredible customer service and you're supporting the "little guy".

I cant say enough good things about my 2010 Cooper

Carbon Unit

Shimano is a good group but it doesn't fit my hands. My experience with Campy has been great. In five years of using Campy all I have needed to do is change the chain and once I adjusted the barrel on the rear DR. I couldn't ask for a better experience from any group.

If I were to ever go away from Campy, my next choice would be SRAM.

crhilton

I do. Trek made a marketing point out of where their bikes were made.

giantdefy

I spent 3 months researching Ti frames. I had my mind set on a Taiwanese made Motobecane Ti frameset, best bang for the buck IMO, my choice over the chinese made Habanero. The day I was going to call and put my order in for a Moto Ti, I somehow decided to give Lynskey a call and I thank my lucky stars that I made that choice. Very very happy with my purchase. I know its a few more bills than the Chinese made frames, but give them a call, maybe they can give you a discount? Last presidents day, they sold the Cooper (complete bike) for $2K! I say talk to them first, you got nothing lose. It all boils down to if you will be happy with your purchase. Dont buy something then later down the road want to replace it with the Lynskey you were lusting for. Heres mine to help in your decision making. See also for closeup photos of the frame https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...lynskey+cooper U.S. made Titanium tubing and hand built in Chatanooga Tennessee!

Drew Eckhardt 

Nope. My bike was assembled and original wheels built in Boulder, CO. The frame was welded in Tenessee before Lynskey sold Litespeed. The fork was made in Nevers, France. Most of the components were made in Vincenza Italy. I use tires hand-made in Germany.

The current pedals, crankset, and bottom bracket were made in Taiwan.

I haven't a clue where DT, Mavic, Selle Italia, and Cinelli production is/was.

MrTuner1970

Yeah, I'd go along with this. Sell some stuff. Save a little longer.

I have a Lynskey that I bought new in 2009. It cost lots of $$$$.00 for the frame and Campy Chorus components. I also have a Dean Ti bike that I bought used three years ago for $750.00. If I had it all to do over again, I might consider getting a used Lynskey. (They are on eBay--just save your search and look regularly.) However, buying used doesn't get you that lifetime warranty, which might come in handy one day.

sced

There was a thread a while back much like this one comparing the Moto and the Lynskey Cooper with Rival. The bottom line then was that the Lynskey was about a grand more..so much for the higher resale. I doubt that there are significant functional differences between them.

steventran

This thread makes me want to leave my desk and go ride my Lynskey. Like someone else said, give them a call. Lynskey's customer service is great. Before I knew it, my bank account was empty. And I would do it all over again.

dorkypants

I had a Habanero Team Issue with Dura Ace. It was a great bike but got stolen. I found the sales and post-sales support friendly, not pushy, knowledgeable and was quite happy with both. I'd buy another bike from them if I had money in the budget. They're up front about having their bikes manufactured in China, and say they hire a factory with experienced welders who do aerospace Ti work and they do their own QA to make sure production stays up to their high standards. Habanero itself is based in Florida.

Carbon Unit

I would love to see a Habanero up close. The pics look good but so do the Lynskey pics. The Lynskey will weigh less since they use triple butted tubes but does it really matter. The Habanero looks like a great bike for the price.