+1

You can say a lot about this plus and minus, but I don't think boring is one of the attributes you would apply.

Ooooo, that DOES look NICE.....but it's the components, not the frame. You could do the same to any bike. [Darn, that's beautiful though!]

Its gs like any other Ti bike with the yellows added. Tell me why it's not boring?

Because different strokes for different folks?

It doesn't bore me. So show me your version of "not boring".

I know that bike. Its actually painted Ti.

I went for a quick spin on a steel forked hardtail Merlin mtb 25 years ago. After an uphill sprint, it was "this as a custom road bike, for this body, is it!" I sat on that knowledge for 15 years; that $4000 being quite out of reach. Things changed 8 years ago and I ordered a steel forked ti bike from TiCycles; a local builder I knew.

I love the bike. OK weight (we never looked at weight and just let it fall where it may), plenty stiff and fun to ride over bad pavement. Not cushy. This is a large tubed frame. Also steep angles. I feel the road for real. But it is still far less jarring than a similar geometry steel frame would be. (In the early days with the bike, I had to restrain myself from seeking out the worst pavement on any road I was on. At Cycle Oregon, a ride this bike is really well suited for, I regularly ride the line of bad pavement so the person I am riding with gets the good stuff. (And like all the ti riders, we have learned to expect the big slowdown every time the ride hits rough chipseal. We don't care, but it seems the CF and alum folk do.) This bike is painted with bare stays. We used a good painter and I have had no issues except a couple of scratches I have retouched. Really, no different than steel except maybe more prep. (I never talked to the painter.)

5 years later I ordered a second ti bike from the same builder. Fix gear, again steel fork, this time bare metal. Custom dropouts that I designed. So much fun and so versatile (as a fix gear) that it is well into my all-time mileage rankings in 3 years. This is again a stiff, even steeper bike. Rides like a custom steel race bike, again fully alive on rough roads, but again, doesn't loosen teeth. Same issue with riders in front hitting chipseal.

One very convenient plus of titanium is the ease of making changes. The rear triangle/dropout design of my fixie is unique, designed around a very long horizontal dropout (that makes the old long Campy dropout look like a toy). We also went with a very steep seat angle so the rear wheel could be very far forward riding a big cog. There, we hit a minor oops. With a 25c tire, fender run down to the chainstay bridge in usual fashion and a 23t cog so the wheel was all the way forward in the dropout, the tire solidly hit the fender hardware. So ... bike went back to the builder, he carved an arc into the bridge, welded in a matching arc'd plate and drilled and countersunk for the fender screw. Now I run the fender in front of the bridge with a flat head screw. Looks like it was designed that way and very clean. Cool, that you can do after the fact changes that are as good as the rest of the bike, look just as good and don't require painting!

Ben

bs

I didn't say it couldn't be made into a perfectly serviceable frame, I said that was it main advantage over other materials. Half the strength of steel, twice as heavy as aluminum.

I like the color in that photo, but I would leave one or two of the tubes unpainted just to give it that nice contrast.

Since the OP asked about experiences with Ti, please share your experiences that led to this conclusion.

I've never heard this stat before. Would you please back it up with a reference?

Please read my posts about Seven, Litespeed, Merlin, Lemond, etc.

I don't think you mean "heavy". I think you mean dense. Which is kind of ironic under the circumstances.

The question is what does a finished frame weigh that is strong and stiff enough in the right places. Titanium provides that combination quite similarly to aluminum. Being in the middle between steel and aluminum (approximately), it probably can't get to the same low frame weights that aluminum can without running afoul of the "too thin" tube issue and the tendency to dent. It also isn't a great candidate for making very complex tubes by hydroforming like aluminum is. No it isn't perfect. But it is a wonderful bike frame material. As I said, my Merlin Works CR only weighs 1,207 g in size M, about 1 lb more than the bulk of lightweight CF or 1.5 lb more than the lightest of the lightest. Rides great. Looks great. What is not to like?

Depending on what you prioritize. To reduce that much weight on a bike between 16-18 lbs will cost you a lot of money. As I said before, I am not willing to take that weight penalty AND having a relatively flexy frame vis-a-vis good carbon frame. YMMV

Yeah. I think my Seven frame is about 3 pounds, about the same as the CAAD5 I used to have and about a pound less than most of the steel frames I have had.
It's also quite stiff, similar to the CAAD5 but not as brutal on rough roads. Still, beats me up pretty good and I wouldn't want anything stiffer. I have ridden a Moots and it felt like a spring compared to the Seven.

Fair enough assuming your classification of the Ti frame as flexy is based on personal experience. As it turns out, both my Ti and CF bikes weigh the same and cost just about the same, 13.5 lb without pedals, cages or computer stuff for about $3,500. Home built of course from variously sourced parts. I would like to lighten the CF bike with a 700 g frame, but that's just beyond what I want to spend right now. Thing is I love both the CF and the Ti. Just lucky I guess.

yea, I dig it! Same feelings about my Ti and CF bikes. Not really much more than an pound or a bit more in weight difference yet both have distinctively different ride characteristics. I would not call the Ti a spring or noodle at all, nor would I call the CF a piece of wood.

The comment a few posts back about the cost of the DeRosa at $15 grand: Sure, build any bike with Super Record EPS and see what it costs! Build a Colnago C-60 with SR EPS and you are in the same cost bracket.

close thread





Soooo...what do we chat about now?

If you buy a brand new frame from them ($3000) made from round carbon fiber tubes (not monocoque) which precludes taking full advantage of the material.

Starting with an existing titanium frame you just pay for couplers and labor, keeping your great fit.

I have been riding my Tuscany for nearly 15 years (gift on my 50th birthday). It's still a fun ride and I can vouch for its longevity, but I can't compare with cf since I've never even sampled a cf bike.
Based on my informal on-the - street survey, it seems many ti bike riders buy them to match their greying hair - maybe older riders appreciate different things.

Some are saying that titanium is expensive. Seven has titanium frames listed for 700 bucks which is pretty cheap in my opinion. Or is it 700 bucks for a paint job?

I think it is $700 to get a quote to have a frame built.