ti can be stiff as a board where it counts. My Salsa is a rocket when you get on it, not noodly whatsoever,and no, it doesn't have to look boring:

Should be easy enough to ask the CF owners how their bike has held up over the past 15 years.

Most good CF bikes weren't made that long ago. Sort of like asking people how their Apple phones held up over the last 15 years.

True. So the jury's still out I guess. OTOH the iphone has a shelf life of 2-3 years and has planned obsolescence which I think most are aware of.

Mine is a 2004. Getting close. Takes a licking, keeps on ticking.

Dang that is spicy. Ay ay ay ay ay ay!

This is a proper use of ti. Very nice indeed. How much does it weight in this guise?

Greatest advantage? It isnt crabon fiber.

Interesting...steel is the most flexible of the three metals from which bike frames are made...with titanium and aluminum getting more rigid.

Carbon eliminates the vibration you typically find in metal bikes, especially aluminum.

Titanium will last a long time, but like carbon, steel and aluminum, there are major variations in tube grade quality.

It's like talking to a customer about carbon bikes....they immediately believe carbon is "lighter" but a CAAD10 aluminum frame is lighter than almost all the entry level carbon frames.

Point, there are some wonderful ride qualities to titanium, but it is not all created equal, as all the other materials from which frames are made.

I know several people who are still riding Trek 5200's. Late 90's version. But the ride quality on the newer frames is much better. Tube shaping, seat and chain stay design...all contribute to improved rideability.

About 10 years ago, IMO, was when the ride quality improved. If you look at the old 5200 and 5500 Trek's, round tubes with tuning fork seat stays. That has all changed. Cannondale's improved chain stay design. Shaped tubing not only improved the ride but shaved weight.

Kitted out the way I have it at the moment including multiple lights, pedals, tubeless tires, 6800, crabon bars, cages, stem & post... 20.5# Frame/Fork weight is 3.7#.

Not a lightweight, but neither am I, 200# @5'10"...

It is a shame we can't all get together in person and exchange bikes to show folks what we are talking about. I wonder how a round-robin like that would affect perceptions. Maybe, maybe not, eh?

Well it is fun to let a customer test out a few different frames. Like an entry aluminum, versus higher quality shaped aluminum. There is a distinct difference.

If you can get your hands on a late 90's to early 2000's carbon frame versus even the entry stuff today. It's day and night.

But this is the "41" in the bike think tank...

I can assure you that at least half these '41' personalities would not show up in person, because they are not the personalities they project online.

Always remember, on the internet you can be who and what you want to be ... who would know otherwise?





But I digress.

Maybe they are. That's a scary thought.

The "flexiness" AKA "compliance" of titanium frames has made Ti popular with some long-distance riders.

If someone near me said come ride all of my steel and titanium bikes, I'd certainly be there. It's almost impossible to ride a lot of this stuff otherwise.

Then again, who wants a 6' tall, 275lb guy with legs like tree stumps on their expensive bike?

That said, a guy recently let me ride his titanium bike on a group ride. I jumped at the chance. Granted it was a 12 year old Ti bike with a cracked and repaired frame, but Ti nonetheless. I couldn't get off of it fast enough. I made it about 12 minutes I think. And he was in no hurry to give my bike back either, hehe. He said the smoothness of my bike was something he could get used to.

Granted his bike was a size too small for me so I didn't do a lot of standing, but I didn't notice any flexing either. Just a harsh ride. Sometime later in the ride, the weld from his frame repair cracked again. He said his next purchase was carbon.

I'm not saying I know anything about modern Ti based on this ride, just that I don't care for old Ti bikes. I would like to try a modern, light steel bike just to see what it rides like and if it can stay strong when I stand and climb.

Uh, my offer was conditional...on the rider not being you.

Hehe, yeah I had a feeling

I was in a bike shop a few months ago talking to the owner, and I asked he what he thought about ti bikes. He asked me if titanium is so great why do all the ti frames have carbon forks? I have never had either a ti or a cf bike, so I really have no idea, but I thought it was an interesting question.

And my response would have been, "If aluminum bikes are so great why do they put carbon forks on them?" And then I would have looked for another shop.

A double daimond frame that is made up of two closed triangles presents different engineering issues than a fork, which is an open structure, not braced in 2 dimensions.

The argument makes about as much sense as saying if CF frames are so good, why do almost all bikes have steel spokes.

Advantages:

20 years later it will still look new.



And you can throw it in a travel case without worrying about scratching it.

That is so nice!