In your experience, what are the advantages of titanium frames?
 

A lot of sources claim that it offers a unique riding experience and that once you ride a titanium bike, you don't wanna go back to steel or carbon. How has your experience with a titanium frame been?

i had a custom ti frame made back in '95. rode it for years and for thousands of miles. today, with a couple of aluminums, CF's, and vintage steel's, i have found it less attractive. OTOH, i think it's age is probably contributing to that. newer designs and tube shapes and dimensions have probably improved things quite a bit since mine was built.

i have a friend that i see all the time. he has a recent model Pinarello, De Rosa, and Ti Moots. i rarely see him on anything but the Moots. when asked he said something to the effect that "it just rides better". i don't doubt him. be aware though, when buying a Ti bike, you may never have a legitimate reason to buy another bike frame, ever. you'll have to make up a reason. :lol:

Any material bike can ride like crap or ride like perfection. I've had them all. Worst riding bike I had was a Trek aluminum and the best riding bike I had was a Specialized aluminum. Go figure. My Moots titanium rides great, but I also have 700x32 tires and it has a rear suspension system. Thing I've always found with the various titanium bikes I've had is that they all had a very snappy feel to the ride. Accelerated very quickly. I had an Eddy Merckx TiAx that felt like it would shoot out from under you when you stomped on the pedals. Didn't fit right so was uncomfortable on long rides. Before investing in something based off what you hear or read, do yourself a favor and test ride it and put 30-50 miles on it. I knew what I wanted when I got my Moots but that's a price tag you don't want to take the hit on if you don't absolutely know what you're getting into.

You will get opinions all over the place.

Agree that you can have a wonderful or crappy frame made of: Steel/Ti/CF/Aluminum/etc.

In general, other things being equal, a Ti frame is likely to be more durable than its CF cousin. Also, the CF technology, while maturing, is still evolving while Ti is pretty static.

So if you are buying a bike that you plan to keep/ride for more than say, 5-6 years, you probably want Ti. If you are going to be getting something new every 3-6 years you are probably better off with CF.

Personally, I chose a Ti frame specifically because I have a body that has funny dimensions and do best with custom geometry. A custom CF frame is prohibitively expensive compared to a custom Ti frame. (price difference is several thousand dollars)

They are made of the same material as the Six Million Dollar Man's bionics. What more could you want?

1. Ti looks bad ass, and is the least common bike frame material.
2. Lowest maintenance because it is extremely corrosion resistant. Ti > Carbon > Alum > Steel in this regard
3. More resilient to normal wear and tear (scratches/nicks) than carbon.
4. More dent resistant than super high-end steel frames of similar weight. Much more dent resistant than high-end alum frames.
5. Less harsh than most modern oversize tubing alum frames. Ride feel is very similar to steel.

Based on your location, I have to ask if you went with an Engin from Wissahickon. Drew is building me one. Should be ready in about 1.5 months. Like you, I have funny dimensions. My CrMo IF is nearing the end of its useful life thanks to corrosion issues.

I tried to get a local builder, Harry Havnoonian, but he was having issues with his Ti welder at the time (this was 6 years ago btw) and being on a budget I ended up with my Habanero.

Does Drew do Ti??

I see Ti as the ultimate custom frame in terms of the best balance between ride quality, durability & performance. Sure, a more rider tuned Cf frame can be found but it won't have the resilience to minor/typical impacts that Ti has...Lack of corrosion is another, others have mentioned many of the same reasons already. As others have said, ride and narrow things down to knowing what you're looking for before making a long term investment.

(Gratuitous De Rosa porn...):

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q7GY9yDW-r...o-titanio.jpeg

Nothing more to say about advantages that has not already been said. I like my Ti a lot, but no more or less than my CF or steel. Great bikes ride great no matter what material. One disadvantage Ti has is its rarity for test riding.

Let's just be honest, ti frames are just for vanity. It offer nothing over CF or steel.

I have never owned or rode a Ti frame but from everything I've read, they are a gimmick.

What's gimmicky about a light, durable material?

Durable, yes. Light, no. Flexy and pricy, you bet.

At this day and age, there is no more rational reason for ti frame other than you just want one.

Because you can get as good a ride or better for less on a modern steel or carbon frame.

Obvious troll is obvious. But, what the hell.. I'll play too.

If carbon fiber didn't exist, every pro rider would be on Titanium. If the economy of scale didn't make it such that cheap Asian labor could crank out assembly line frames to then be sold for 10X their production cost, Non pros would be riding... Well, I'm not even sure what.

Up until 2 months ago, Ti was the only frame material I'd never owned. Over the last 25 years I've had several steel frames, several carbons (including one of the first ever Kestrel Monocoque) and an aluminum.

As has been stated, every material can be made into a frame that sucks, or a frame that is awesome. Anyone saying Tiatium is "flexy" probably tried an old 90's Litespeed and nothing since. Anyone saying it's "heavy" is talking about less than a pound, and is likely a poser who couldn't get any bike to 5/10 of it's performance limit. You could give them a helium filled frame that weighed negative 2 pounds and they'd still be slow.

That said, the Ti advantages / differences (some of which also apply to steel) are:

1) Won't rust or corrode
2) Will survive impacts that will send carbon frames to the dumpster (and I don't mean nonsense like falling over in the garage). The first time you damage a carbon frame is the exact moment the price difference argument goes out the window.
3) Simple, understated beauty
4) Will look like new pretty much forever
5) Won't fail catastrophically.
6) Other riders will go out of their way to ask you about it, because everyone else is on the same Spesh / Trek / Big Corp carbon billboard looking rig.

Disadvantages

1) Your bike may be up to 14 ounces heavier than an identically equipped carbon bike.
2) More expensive *at first*. But unlikely to need replacing due to impact damage.

I owned both my current Ti frame and a 2013 Specialized Roubaix Carbon simultaneously, planning on keeping only one. For all the reasons above, plus what my body was telling me was a better quality of ride, I kept the Ti.

I got the frame used for less than $1000, btw. I wouldn't be so confident about the longevity / dependability of a used carbon frame from an unknown person, I can tell you that much.

You can also spend $5000+ on many different Carbon frames. So, what's your point exactly?

There's no paint to chip. My titanium frame looks much better after 18 years than my previous steel frame did 10. It looks nice in an understated way.

It's unlikely to fail catastrophically.

Some day I'll be able to add travel couplers which I couldn't do with carbon.

Calfee will do a CF frame with couplers. Not cheap mind you, but it's been done.

How does paint on a titanium frame hold up? If I were to get a titanium frame, I would have part of it painted and leave some of the bare metal exposed.

What a weird thing to say.

Replace "Ti frame" with any make of car, any kind of TV or absolutely anything of any kind that cost more than the first gen, reasonably modern model of the same item and it's still true.

"At this day and age, there is no more rational reason for Porsche 911 other than you just want one. "
"At this day and age, there is no more rational reason for 52" TV other than you just want one. "
"At this day and age, there is no more rational reason for 6 bedroom / 4 bathroom house other than you just want one. "
"At this day and age, there is no more rational reason for Breitling Watch other than you just want one. "

You can even say that about every carbon frame since roughly 2005. You're not going any faster on any of them since then, sorry to tell you.

Bwahahahahahahahaaa.... Bwahahahahaaaaa... Hahahahahahahaha...

Ikr

apples and oranges in all your examples with the exception of Breitling

CF is very easy for experienced people to fix. It's also relatively inexpensive to repair compared to other materials.

Ti has quite a record for catastrophic failures from bad welds.

I'm sure they can replicate the exact layup as the manufacturer preserving the performance of the frame.

At a minimum you're looking at $300-$500, then paint, etc..

My wife has a Terry titanium bike that's actually quite beautifully painted. I bought it for her about 5 years ago and it's as nice as the day she got it.

Drop Dead Gorgeous! Just perfect! Would kill 'em on the hot or not thread.

Ok, I have ridden a Merlin Ti since 2001. This is a very comfortable frame, very durable frame, with my better wheels on it the ride is spectacular and very snappy feeling, and it is NOT like 95% of the other bikes out there. Most all of the advantages of the Ti bikes has been stated in earlier posts so I won' repeat other than to say that it is super durable and I don't worry about it or fuss over it like my carbon fiber bike. The Ti bike is not as light weight by about 1.4 pounds in comparison to the CF bike yet over a 2 hour ride my time is virtually the same. I am not racing on either bike, just riding hard and pushing myself. Any argument that Ti is too expensive vs other frame materials is bull. You can easily spend $5000 or more on one of the top shelf CF frames - Colnago, Pinerallo, etc etc. You can also spend that much on a custom Ti frame. If I were to do that, I would look seriously at a Moots. But you can get a really good Ti frame from Lynskey for much less than $5000.

You clearly don't know what you are talking about having not ridden or owned a Ti frame. They are far from gimmick but it's ok, you don't deserve one.

Pk RMS13, I have fallen into the bad habit of making negative cutting comments here, something that seems pervasive on the old 41. So for that, I apologize. The point that I was trying to make is for you to generalize about something that you have never owned, ridden or ridden different versions of is stupid. It would be like for me to say that carbon rims are harsh riding, terrible in cross winds, and dangerous when braking if wet, thus they are pure gimmick for those who want to look as if they are fast racers and thus must be taken seriously. I could say that all of those three generalizations are true, but not universally true to all carbon wheels.

Titanium frames are compliant to varying degrees but other than some earlier models or those intended for comfort riding, they are not flexy. When I first switched to a Ti frame in 2001, it replaced my big tube Cannondale aluminum frame - one which was painfully stiff and for other than shorter crit' racing, it would beat me up. I was in my early 40s at that time and my lower back was suffering. The first ride on the Merlin with the same parts and wheels from the Cannondale simply migrated over stunned me. It was smooth riding, like it was floating over the harsh stuff, yet when I stood up to hammer a hill, the acceleration and stiffness in the bottom bracket area was not all that far from rock hard Cannondale. I remember thinking, How the hell did they (Merlin) do that? I mean this thing is really comfortable to ride, descends perfectly but when I step up and hit it hard, it punches nearly the same at that harsh aluminum frame!" It is a much more balanced riding bike than my top of the line 2013 Orbea CF bike. Yes, the CF is really a nice responsive bike but I can not generalize about all CF frames just as I can not about all Ti frames. When I put my 1300 gram stiff climbing wheels on the Ti bike, it totally changes its personality and it feels like a full-on race bike.

I will say that I rode a new Moots RSL http://moots.com/wp-content/uploads/...ew-w-Cover.pdf and that frame and bike setup stunned me, just as the review in Peloton magazine claimed.