Almost all of my commuting around NYC involves a bicycle. I've been suffering for quite some time on a heavy, low-end dept. store 3-speed that must be at least 30 years old.

Now I am looking to build the ultimate NYC commuter bike. This bike will be locked down well and made to look quite undesirable, but it needs to be light, strong, and resilient when left outside in the rain. I am going to be carrying this thing in and out of the subways and the basement of my walk-up. The bike will encounter the worst of potholes and will often be left out in the rain. If I have free time, I might actually want to do some touring on it too.

I plan to use this platform to experiment with internal gear hubs, disc brakes, and drum brakes until I determine what works best for moving around the city. I'm also hoping to experiment with some electronic tracking schemes I've come up with, in the event that this bicycle is stolen.

I'll probably need to go with steel to stay within budget, but if anyone has some suggestions of where I can get an inexpensive titanium touring frame, I'd be much obliged. At this point, however, I've had trouble finding many titanium touring/cyclocross frames on the market, much less one that is priced reasonably. As such, there doesn't seem to be much of a used market for what I want. I suppose I'm asking for too much.

Such a frame(set) should have the following characteristics:
- eyelets for rack(s), fender(s)
- vertical dropouts with 130-135mm spacing
- room for 700c wheels
- disc brake tabs would be nice too

I appreciate your suggestions. I'd also like to hear comments from anyone who manages to leave titanium bikes locked up outside in NYC. Is it possible to do this by disguising your frame as being made of a cheaper material? Maybe I can get some wal-mart/huffy/whatever decals to confuse the thieves. Ultimately, however, I want to rely upon real security, rather than security through obscurity.

Maybe I should cross-post this thread to the commuting section too. I don't want to upset anyone, tho.

Your selection is very limited if not almost impossible finding a titanium frame with eyelets unless going with a custom builder. Closest thing I can suggest is perhaps a titanium cyclocross frame?? I'd stick with steel.

George

Airbourne Carpe Diem is probably the most affordable Ti frame with touring/commuterability.
https://www.airborne.net/eready/janette/store/cdbike.asp
The lightspeed Blue Ridge is pretty sweet.

Your options for hub gear/singlespeed are limited by vertical dropouts. Using a chain tensioner defeats one of the main advantages of this strategy.
I like the idea of ti as an all-weather material, but there is no disguising the frame. It is just too attractive to theives.

MichaelW:

Yeah.. I had looked at the Airborne Carpe Diem and the On-One Ti cyclocross. Was hoping to find something less expensive, perhaps on the used market. I also spoke with a chinese manufacturer who shall remain nameless, but was concerned about quality control and their ability to understand my specifications in english. :]

As for vertical dropouts, I wanted to go with these primarily because they work best with disc brakes. I suppose if I could have the frame retrofitted with an EBB at some point too, but the way I see it, a tensioner is still a lot more reliable than a derailleur. (straight chain line, no cables to stretch, etc) I may also try using an offset link.

Thanks for your thoughts!

I'm not sure what that means but I recently built-up a '04 Carpe Diem frame-set. The quality/finish is about as good as it gets at least on my sample. It meets your requirements perfectly. I've got 500 miles on mine including a quantity of pot holes and a crash when a dog ran into my front wheel. The carbon fork is massive, yet comfortable. One additional feature is that the chain stays are an inch longer than a typical road bike and 1" shorter than a typical touring frame. You get decent heel clearace for bags and decent handling.

If you're worried about the quality of a $1400 Ti frame set, then you definitely don't want to go cheaper in Ti. Steel might be your best option since Ti welds are a lot trickier and that's where the workmenship is critical. Ti, at least in the Carpe Diem formulation (they use oval tubes), gives a very comfortable yet lively ride (and very light) and of course is great for the rain requirement.

When I was searching for my ultimate frame set, the Carpe Diem was the only one that had all the features at any price short of a custom built bike.

Al

I think you may have misread my comment. I never questioned the quality of the Carpe Diem, but was questioning the quality of a Chinese builder to whom I was talking directly. While Airborne has their frames manufactured in China, their quality control practices are not something I would be able to replicate on an individual basis. If I had my way, I'd get a Carpe Diem too, but $1400 is a little too much to leave on the streets of NYC, no matter how many locks you have on it. :]

The Litespeed Blue Ridge, as someone already mentioned is a decent bike - since I own one, but it doesn't have the setup for disc brakes. The predecessor to the Blue Ridge was called the Appalachia.

I've seen them on Ebay and roadbikereview.com classifieds from time to time.

I'd be sick if someone stole it. I use either my mtb or Schwinn training bike if I go to town shopping. You can get a steel bike and replace it several times over before you would spend as much as a new Litespeed. But I've seen them go on ebay for as little as $1,500.

Mark

'03 Litespeed Blue Ridge
'02 Gary Fisher Tassajara
'93 Schwinn Traveler

Habanero Cycles has a relatively cheap ($749) cross/ti touring frame that might meet your needs. It doesn't have disc tabs, but does have rack eyelets (not sure about fender eyelets):

https://www.habcycles.com/cross.html

baker

I can see that. I wonder if you had them leave the decals off if it still would be an attractive "prize". Maybe put a coat of paint on it from a spray can? It's still risking a lot of $'s.

titanium frame for an NYC beater.. man. . personally, I think you should rethink your idea here. Its not the titanium thing but the $$$ thing. If you could find one for cheap (that was quality) or a used one to save you a couple of hundred$, then okay, but a new, $1500 minimum (quality) bike that you know youre going to leave outside and have dogs piss on.. I cant see it. Now on the other hand, perhaps you have a well paying job (I wish) and this is less of a big deal for you.. then okay, forget what I just said and go on with your search.. good luck!! Regardless, definietly get some touring going on, get outta the city for a while! GWB to jersey, up the palisades, over 87 into Nyack and then northward from there

Have fun
good luck!
~Steve

Titanium beater Steel is real fellas

Heh. Yeah. I guess I've never been very realistic about anything. The quote I had from the Chinese builder was around $550 for a frame of my specifications, (with an EBB!) but I was concerned about workmanship. The truth of the matter is that titanium is not a precious metal and is no longer outrageously expensive to refine. The market hasn't caught on to this fact yet, tho, so these frames are overpriced.

Re: Nyack.. Yeah.. have been meaning to do some rides up to Nyack. I go across the GWB on occasion, but I do most of my real (non commuting) rides on the Central Park drive and the west side greenway.

I actually have a Ti 'cross "beater," although I've slowly been upgrading the parts so its no longer really a beater anymore. I bought it with many of the same concerns that you have in an attempt to build the ultimate commuter. I got it used on eBay for a good deal, but they're really hard to come by. (Too bad I just saw this thread -- I just sold an Airborne Carpe Diem frame on eBay recently.) You may want to check out Aerolite -- they're a Canadian front for chinese bikes, but they're cheap and carry a lifetime warranty. Can't guarantee they'll be around to make good on it, though...

You might want to consider turning a MTB frame into a commuter -- no reason you can't put drop bars on one of those. I think Airborne has a Ti cruiser frame that might work for you.

Seeing that I had a lot of the same issues, I have a lot of advice to dispense...

Hubs: for your needs, I suggest forgetting about internally geared hubs because they weigh a ton and because they're a serious pain when you need to take off your wheel -- it's not just unbolting the axle, but also disconnecting shift andbrake cables, which are difficult to deal with. There's also a loss of efficiency which you can feel if you try it side-by-side with a normal-hub bike, and the Shimano Nexus roller brake sucks. Supposedly the Shimano 8-speed is more efficient than the 7-speed I used, but if you're in NYC, you probably don't need that big of a span. Much better to go singlespeed (I did) or throw a rear derailleur and a downtube shifter on it. Looks cheaper that way, too.

I also suggest getting wheels built on Shimano mountain hubs with external seals. If you slather marine or Phil Wood grease on the rubber-metal contact points of the external seals, it does a really good job keeping out the rain. The MTB hubs are much better than their road hubs for keeping out water, especially if you do this.


Brakes: I'd avoid the discs -- they're nice, but definitely thief-bait. It would take a minute or two for someone to steal your brakes. I use cantis -- not the easiest to set up, but they work well and they're cheap. I recommend using Tektro Oryx cantis instead of Avids or other more expensive ones. If you get cantis, you may need a long cable hanger or a fork-crown-mounted hanger -- check the 'cross forum for discussion on this. Don't use V-brakes with Travel Agents. They kind of suck, especially as the pads wear down and the leverage cam position needs to be readjusted.

Rims: I have Mavic MA2 and MA3 rims on my bike, built 32 hole, 3-cross. If you can, tension and stress-relieve them by yourself or get them handbuilt. They'll be a lot stronger that way.

Tires: You probably have some ideas here of what you want, but I'll weigh in anyway. I have some 700x35 kevlar-belted tires from Performance and they've never had a puncture, even though I've found staples and glass embedded in the rubber many, many times. They're pretty cheap too.

Fenders: full fenders are a must for real rain riding. I also suggest putting on a long mud flap on the front fender to keep your shoes dry. I have the Planet Bike fenders, and the original flaps are just cosmetic. You want something that extends several inches lower, but won't break if it hits a curb. I took a black stair tread cover made of a firm rubber (it was the best I could find at the hardware store) and bolted it onto the fender.


Get some Boeshield and spray it on any non-stainless bolts -- it protects from corrosion and lasts a long, long time.

If you want to disguise it, my guess is that Huffy stickers and a really ugly paint job would be best. Don't use really cheap paint because it'll feel sticky and collect dirt, which will get on your clothes...

My bike, with fenders and rack, weighs about 23lbs. Not too bad for carrying. If you want pics, I think I can do that sometime in the next few days.