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Titanium Tri bikes (Lynskey, QR, etc.). Some rare and special...
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easy-rider
Apr 21, 12 7:54
Post #1 of 85
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Titanium Tri bikes (Lynskey, QR, etc.). Some rare and special...
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Enough carbon. Let's talk titanium! Just wanted to share some photos of somewhat special titanium bikes. I race triathlons and all my bike have tri geometry with exception of my 'bad weather' commute bike. Here they are:
#1 - Lynskey Triathlon Custom Level 4.
IMHO, the sexiest, classy, most elegant and yet aero frame among ALL tri bikes. It's also among the strongest thanks to the main triangle made of 6/4 titanium. Ride quality is perfect thanks to skinny specially shaped seat stays. This is my latest setup for long distance triathlons - not as aggressive as used to be on my first buld posted on slowtwitch some time ago.
Weight of the pictured bike is 16.6 lbs.
#2 - Quintana Roo Ti-Phoon 2004.
Probably the best all around training and racing bike build of 3/2 and 6/4 (main triagle) titanium. Aero tubing is essentially the same as in the later version of Ti-Phoon - the difference is in a regular seat post and external cable routing. This difference actually gives this model advantage without sucrificing much aero - more choices of seatposts, easy to maintain external cable routing and stronger frame due to external cable bosses. Bladed seat stays are similar Litespeed Blade - just straight (Blade's are curved).
#3 - Quintana Roo Ti-Phoon 2003 (?) - my 'fast' work commute bike
. I guess, only titanium bikes can handle my daily commutes in NYC - bad weather, crappy roads, crashes, etc. The tri setup on this bike helps me to get to work faster and spend more training time in the aero position. Original decals are removed, carbon fork painted in matte black and few reflective stickers
added to camouflage my bike in order to park it on the streets of Manhattan.
# 4 - My 'bad weather' work commute bike.
Not sure about the builder, but few photos found elsewhere are pointing to a Russian company somewhere in Siberia. Probably the same factory is making fairings for Russian missiles :) . The build is pretty rare (similar to above Lynskey #2) - horizontal dropouts for a single speed bike and yet everything else needed to build a regular road/cyclocross bike. Welds are perfect and build is very high quality. Matte finish allowed me to put Huffy decals. Hey, who wants to steal a Huffy bike?!!! I use this bike for work commute in bad weather - rain, snow, ice, etc. I usually put studded tires during winter - they give me peace in mind...
(This post was
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by easy-rider on Jun 1, 12 12:19)
Kylebutler
Apr 21, 12 8:42
Post #2 of 85
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Re: Titanium Tri bikes (Lynskey, QR, etc.). Some rare and special... [easy-rider]
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Very Nice
No pictures , but have a Merlin Aerial , Merlin Agilis, & Litespeed Tachyon.
Kestrel Airfoil & Guru 901 Carbon
These days, the Ti Bikes are let out on special occasions. And have never considered selling them.Never can be replaced
Big happy Family
Beautiful rides you have there
jrd5497
Apr 21, 12 8:56
Post #3 of 85
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Re: Titanium Tri bikes (Lynskey, QR, etc.). Some rare and special... [easy-rider]
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You can't go wrong with a Lynskey. I would love to get one of their bikes.
Monsieur Trois
Apr 21, 12 8:58
Post #4 of 85
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Re: Titanium Tri bikes (Lynskey, QR, etc.). Some rare and special... [easy-rider]
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I'll see your Lynskey and raise you a Litespeed! Aero Ti goodness and badness.
easy-rider
Apr 21, 12 9:07
Post #5 of 85
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Re: Titanium Tri bikes (Lynskey, QR, etc.). Some rare and special... [Kylebutler]
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Kylebutler wrote:
Very Nice
No pictures , but have a Merlin Aerial , Merlin Agilis, & Litespeed Tachyon.
Kestrel Airfoil & Guru 901 Carbon
These days, the Ti Bikes are let out on special occasions. And have never considered selling them.Never can be replaced
Big happy Family
Beautiful rides you have there
You've nice bikes in your stable too. Yes, you're right - titanium bikes are hard to replace these days. I wish I could keep all my ti bikes, but my wife has a different opinion. So we settle on the "one out - one in" over years. Therefore, I give away my bikes only if I can find a better (also titanium) one. Sadly, two of the above must go...
(This post was
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by easy-rider on Apr 21, 12 13:21)
othegrch
Apr 21, 12 9:38
Post #6 of 85
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Re: Titanium Tri bikes (Lynskey, QR, etc.). Some rare and special... [easy-rider]
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Love the "Huffy" sticker! Great idea!
Those are some beautiful titanium horses you've got in your stable there bro.
---
"Sometimes it's just easier to do it the hard way."
justkeepedaling
Apr 21, 12 10:19
Post #7 of 85
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Re: Titanium Tri bikes (Lynskey, QR, etc.). Some rare and special... [othegrch]
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Great bikes, and I wouldn't mind owning one, but a P2SL is probably more aero.
corneliused
Apr 21, 12 11:06
Post #8 of 85
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Re: Titanium Tri bikes (Lynskey, QR, etc.). Some rare and special... [easy-rider]
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what model front fender do you have on your commuter? I like how low it goes.
jackmott
Apr 21, 12 11:08
Post #9 of 85
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Re: Titanium Tri bikes (Lynskey, QR, etc.). Some rare and special... [easy-rider]
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QR/Merlin Aerial, wife's first bike. 650s:
Memorial day sale at ATC and Meet Pro Triathlete Matty Reed - Sat May 25 - Captex!
The newest tri shop in Austin - ATC 360
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter
Bavarian_Frank
Apr 21, 12 12:02
Post #10 of 85
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Re: Titanium Tri bikes (Lynskey, QR, etc.). Some rare and special... [jackmott]
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my 2003 Blade, my 2006 Saber, my 2008 Saber, some of my surfboards ...
my 2006 Blade
my titanium 29er
I also have an additional Lynskey 29er and also a titanium 26er MTB but no pictures at the moment ...
Does Lynskey still offer that custom level 4? I remember some bikes with really nice paintjobs ...
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by Bavarian_Frank on Apr 21, 12 12:04)
Cassidy
Apr 21, 12 12:29
Post #11 of 85
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Re: Titanium Tri bikes (Lynskey, QR, etc.). Some rare and special... [easy-rider]
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Surprising that we haven't seen any Ti bikes with carbon (or other materials) used as fairings. Take the aero advantage shapes from carbon and bond them to a Ti frame that will last forever.
easy-rider
Apr 21, 12 12:37
Post #12 of 85
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Re: Titanium Tri bikes (Lynskey, QR, etc.). Some rare and special... [Bavarian_Frank]
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Yeah, your fleet rocks! Lynskey doesn't offer Tri Custom Level 4 on the Web site anymore, but they may probably build one for something in 7-10K $$ range. Yes, some Lynskey custom bikes has pretty nice paint job. BTW, the costom painted 'red flames' fork on Lynskey #2 came with my Lynskey custom # 1. Only T230 tri frame shows up now on the Lynskey Web site, but the price went almost 30% and the frame doesn't come with sexy horizontal dropouts with adjustment screws...
(This post was
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by easy-rider on Apr 21, 12 13:20)
nathan j
Apr 21, 12 12:50
Post #13 of 85
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Re: Titanium Tri bikes (Lynskey, QR, etc.). Some rare and special... [easy-rider]
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I don't have a Ti tri bike, but my road bike is a custom-built (2005) omega alchemy. F'n gorgeous bike, except when i ride it in the rain which I did over the last few weeks and it needs a clean, so no photos. Such a tight bike to ride. The Ti. is lovely, then it has Columbus rcarbon rear fork and a campag set. Yum.
Could do with some decent wheels on it, that's the only real need.
Unfortunately omega made great bikes but were shit at business and went under (in I think 07) then eventually got bought and renamed enigma. Some of that kit is nice too. The main designer is the same, mark Reilly, I think.
easy-rider
Apr 21, 12 13:04
Post #14 of 85
(7273 views)
Re: Titanium Tri bikes (Lynskey, QR, etc.). Some rare and special... [Cassidy]
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Cassidy wrote:
Surprising that we haven't seen any Ti bikes with carbon (or other materials) used as fairings. Take the aero advantage shapes from carbon and bond them to a Ti frame that will last forever.
Ti frame will likely last forever, but fairings will start falling off after few crashes. I think also that the main reason is in COST. It's not a secret that almost all super duper high end carbon frames are made in China or Taiwan and production cost is a fraction of the sale price. Just imagine a price of a good titanium frame with carbon fairing!
easy-rider
Apr 21, 12 13:53
Post #15 of 85
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Re: Titanium Tri bikes (Lynskey, QR, etc.). Some rare and special... [justkeepedaling]
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justkeepedaling wrote:
Great bikes, and I wouldn't mind owning one, but a P2SL is probably more aero.
Not sure which bike you meant. I guess, P2SL is more aero than the one with Huffy decals :) Anyway, great Litespeed Blade Stealth on the post made by Monsieur Trois is likely more aero than Lynskey Custom Level 4. May be the latest Cervelo, Trek and even Asian tri carbon frames that sell on eBay for $400-500 are more aero. I don't really care - full package (style, look, dirability, aero, etc.) is more important for me. I do race triathlons and time does matter for me. However, I would never invest $$$ in a carbon frame even if it saves me some seconds during a race. Just a quick look on
http://www.bustedcarbon.com/
makes many people think. So I will leave 'aero' talks to those who must justify a purchase of another carbon toy year after year...
(This post was
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by easy-rider on Apr 21, 12 13:54)
VO2Matt
Apr 21, 12 15:18
Post #16 of 85
(7169 views)
Re: Titanium Tri bikes (Lynskey, QR, etc.). Some rare and special... [Cassidy]
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Cassidy wrote:
Surprising that we haven't seen any Ti bikes with carbon (or other materials) used as fairings. Take the aero advantage shapes from carbon and bond them to a Ti frame that will last forever.
Pretty sure that's against UCI rules. The fairing would be non-structural.
sometimes you just have to eat the cake
jackmott
Apr 21, 12 15:24
Post #17 of 85
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Re: Titanium Tri bikes (Lynskey, QR, etc.). Some rare and special... [easy-rider]
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I know my wife and I totally have to replace our carbon frames every time the wind blows hard, or after every hard interval set.
she should have stayed Ti which is indestructible...
Memorial day sale at ATC and Meet Pro Triathlete Matty Reed - Sat May 25 - Captex!
The newest tri shop in Austin - ATC 360
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter
easy-rider
Apr 21, 12 15:26
Post #18 of 85
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Re: Titanium Tri bikes (Lynskey, QR, etc.). Some rare and special... [corneliused]
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corneliused wrote:
what model front fender do you have on your commuter? I like how low it goes.
Velo Orange Stainless Fenders. Normally they should go higher. I put it lower because I still run a regular brake calipers and fender front can't go beyond them. I actually like that the fender is low - less crap on my shoes. Just keep in mind that the front of the fender should be secured to make sure that it doesn't bend. Otherwise the fender may go lower and start touching the wheel. BTW, Velo Orange Hammered Fenders look very interesting.
styrrell
Apr 21, 12 15:32
Post #19 of 85
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Re: Titanium Tri bikes (Lynskey, QR, etc.). Some rare and special... [jackmott]
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Anything can break but other than the Ti mtb forks, I'd take the ti frames mode of failure over the carbon one in the link.
Styrrell
jackmott
Apr 21, 12 15:37
Post #20 of 85
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Re: Titanium Tri bikes (Lynskey, QR, etc.). Some rare and special... [styrrell]
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styrrell wrote:
Anything can break but other than the Ti mtb forks, I'd take the ti frames mode of failure over the carbon one in the link.
I mean yeah if a carbon frame just imploded instantly on you while Just Riding Along, that would be bad. Most of the time though they implode when you run into something, at which case I'm not sure the mode of failure matters much.
Memorial day sale at ATC and Meet Pro Triathlete Matty Reed - Sat May 25 - Captex!
The newest tri shop in Austin - ATC 360
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter
easy-rider
Apr 21, 12 15:41
Post #21 of 85
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Re: Titanium Tri bikes (Lynskey, QR, etc.). Some rare and special... [jackmott]
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Even titanium brakes. Especially, cheap titanium frames made in Asia - the majority of them come up on your Google'd photos (e.g., Airborne, Sybex). Only one seems to point to Litespeed. However, alu/steel/ti frames don't brake as bad as carbon - as often, as easy, as unpredictable and fatal. Just read the stories behind 'busted carbon frames'. My first titanium frame, Airborne Zeppelin made in China, survived 5 years of my daily commutes, 2 year for my son's daily commute. It handled well several pretty bad crashes and finally got a crack in the down tube after getting hit from a side by a stubid delivery guy riding a mountain bike powered by electric motor. Still the frame didn't fell apart as many carbon frames will and my son rode for few days before noticing the crack. Carbon frames fail badly and usually become a pile of crap right away. I guess, your Austin tri-cyclist bike shop doesn't carry ti bikes - carbon is way more profitable. Good luck selling carbon...
(This post was
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by easy-rider on Apr 27, 12 8:54)
jackmott
Apr 21, 12 15:43
Post #22 of 85
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Re: Titanium Tri bikes (Lynskey, QR, etc.). Some rare and special... [easy-rider]
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hey I like titanium, it hurt me a bit to post those pictures, but some guy had to do the bad mouthing carbon and mentioning of bustedcarbon thing.
I felt *compelled*
But yes I realize that ti frames usually fail to bad welding, because the welding is tricky. Much like carbon frame usually fail to bad layup design or implementation, because THAT is also tricky.
which is why we should all ride steel =)
(now someone post 100 pics of broken steel frames)
easy-rider wrote:
Even titanium brakes. It just doesn't brake as often and easy as carbon. My first titanium frame, Airborne Zeppelin made in China, survived 5 years of my daily commutes, 2 year for my son's daily commute. It handled well several pretty bad crashes and finally got a fracture in the down tube after getting hit from a side by a stubid delivery guy riding a mountain bike powered by electric motor...
Memorial day sale at ATC and Meet Pro Triathlete Matty Reed - Sat May 25 - Captex!
The newest tri shop in Austin - ATC 360
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter
styrrell
Apr 21, 12 15:58
Post #23 of 85
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Re: Titanium Tri bikes (Lynskey, QR, etc.). Some rare and special... [jackmott]
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Just saw a guy do a header when the steel steerer on his custom steel bike broke. Way to many ride bikes out there for anything to be 100% particularly when weight is a concern.
Styrrell
easy-rider
Apr 21, 12 16:05
Post #24 of 85
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Re: Titanium Tri bikes (Lynskey, QR, etc.). Some rare and special... [jackmott]
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No worries - very nice collection of broken ti frames (many of them actually point to low quality frames made overseas)! I think though, that you achieve nothing (other than wasting too much space) when posting a bunch of pictures in this thread without explanation where did the cracks come from while the "busted carbon" web site has a story under almost every photo. Anyway, thanks for your kind attention and good luck again to your best of the best 'Best Tri Shop in Texas' selling carbon bikes...
jackmott wrote:
hey I like titanium, it hurt me a bit to post those pictures, but some guy had to do the bad mouthing carbon and mentioning of bustedcarbon thing.
I felt *compelled*
But yes I realize that ti frames usually fail to bad welding, because the welding is tricky. Much like carbon frame usually fail to bad layup design or implementation, because THAT is also tricky.
which is why we should all ride steel =)
(now someone post 100 pics of broken steel frames)
easy-rider wrote:
Even titanium brakes. It just doesn't brake as often and easy as carbon. My first titanium frame, Airborne Zeppelin made in China, survived 5 years of my daily commutes, 2 year for my son's daily commute. It handled well several pretty bad crashes and finally got a fracture in the down tube after getting hit from a side by a stubid delivery guy riding a mountain bike powered by electric motor...
(This post was
edited
by easy-rider on Apr 27, 12 8:58)
justkeepedaling
Apr 21, 12 16:49
Post #25 of 85
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Re: Titanium Tri bikes (Lynskey, QR, etc.). Some rare and special... [easy-rider]
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easy-rider wrote:
justkeepedaling wrote:
Great bikes, and I wouldn't mind owning one, but a P2SL is probably more aero.
Not sure which bike you meant. I guess, P2SL is more aero than the one with Huffy decals :) Anyway, great Litespeed Blade Stealth on the post made by Monsieur Trois is likely more aero than Lynskey Custom Level 4. May be the latest Cervelo, Trek and even Asian tri carbon frames that sell on eBay for $400-500 are more aero. I don't really care - full package (style, look, dirability, aero, etc.) is more important for me. I do race triathlons and time does matter for me. However, I would never invest $$$ in a carbon frame even if it saves me some seconds during a race. Just a quick look on
http://www.bustedcarbon.com/
makes many people think. So I will leave 'aero' talks to those who must justify a purchase of another carbon toy year after year...
I was referring to all of the above (aside from
Monsieur Trois's, whose bike clearly has deeper tubing, dropped seatstays, and actual proper airfoil rather than oval tubing)
. I personally own a few QR's and a P2 SL and the tube shape is noticeably sharper on the Cervelo (and less of an oval), the headtube has integrated headset (smoother transition from fork to headtube, the headtube is hourglassed, and the seatstays are dropped for less frontal area compared to older Quintanas and Lynskeys.
You can see on your bike, the trailing edge is slightly rounded (especially noticeable when the bottle cage bolts lay relatively easily on the downtube).
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/...s1600/LynskeyTT3.jpg
On a P2 SL, it's essentially razor sharp and they would have had to extruded bottle bolt bosses if they were to mount cage bolts on the downtube trailing edge. The older Lynskey tube shape has less taper and stays relatively rounded all the way to the end. Not nearly as effective of an airfoil, although understandable from a strength and stiffness point of view when not using a smartwall unevenly distributed tube diameter concept.
P2 SL is Al, not carbon. So durability aspect is covered (as long as you don't over torque the seat bolt binder. It happens to also have been extensively wind tunnel tested and designed.
My friend's Lynskey died with a cracked toptube at the section where the titanium tubing was shaped to form a small edge. Never crashed and he did not even ride it often or hard. It was clearly a stress failure from the tube shaping
http://i437.photobucket.com/...ey/lynskey-sexed.jpg
Nothing's invincible.
(This post was
edited
by justkeepedaling on Apr 21, 12 17:17)
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The New Specialized Wind Tunnel
Will this be a game changer for Specialized, in both sales and product design, or will it not move the sales and design needle versus those in Specialized's competitive set?
Yes, Game Changer
Minor move forward
Won't budge the needle
