Is art of titanium frame building dead?

Triathlon Forum
1

I don’t think so. Here are some of my latest and older builds…

  1. Touring bike by TITAN cycles with Pinion P1.18 gear box (636% overall gear ratio, 18 real gears 11.5% extra fine & evenly graded), S&S couplers, Gates carbon drive belt and internal cable routing. This bike is pretty much maintenance free and fits in check-in size baggage case. BTW, SRAM XX1 Eagle has only 500% overall gear ratio…
    http://i65.tinypic.com/2ekotis.jpg

  2. Lynskey Custom Level 4 Triathlon/TT racing machine. Not crazy aero as new carbon TT monsters but good enough to leave many of them well behind. Shown with training wheels…

  3. Lynskey full suspension 27.5-140

**Thanks very much for all responses and my apologies to all I couldn’t respond directly. I’m VERY glad that titanium bikes are still holding strong and discovered a lot of new names and very interesting frames. Thanks a lot for **shearing. Posting below a list of titanium builders mentioned in this thread. Hopefully this list will grow. Stay tuned…

So is art of titanium frame building dead? What do you think? Is titanium bike still alive? Show your ride…

Titanium bike brands mentioned in this thread:
Airborne
Bearclaw Bicycle Co
Dekerf Cycles
Guru
Habanero
Holland Cycles
Lemond
Litespeed
Lynskey Performance
Matt Chester custom
Merlin
Mooro Cycles
Moots
Motobecane
Naked
Quintana Roo
Roark Cycles
Serotta
Seven Cycles
Triton Bikes
Titan Cycles
Van Nicholas
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2

I’ve always lusted over it more than carbon, and am seriously considering the BD Ti for my next roadie. TomA’s experience with his metal frames doesn’t hurt either. How much do I care how fast my roadie is, anyway? It’s not like I race it.

Yours are very nice!

3

Those bikes look gorgeous! Specially the last one, awesome job!

4

Local guy near me welds custom ti frames. Not sure on the quality or price but kinda interesting.

I almost bought a ti motobecane but ended up getting an aluminum instead, regret that.

5

Beautiful rides! My wife races CX on FireFly ti frames. Such amazing workmanship, plus they are less likely to explode during races and shipping :slight_smile:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaOleoWBP8q/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

6

I have a Lemond Victorie ti and a Habanero ti. Both road bikes. I enjoy both of them. I’ve had the lemond for around 9 years and the Habanero for just a year.

7

Yep, pretty much all I ride now is my custom English (steel not ti). I run 3 different wheel sets on this bike - 650x48, 700x40 and 700x25. It pretty much covers the riding I do other than my mtn bike.
http://i65.tinypic.com/x3adfl.jpg

8

Local guy near me welds custom ti frames. Not sure on the quality or price but kinda interesting.

I almost bought a ti motobecane but ended up getting an aluminum instead, regret that.
You never know what a local guy is capable of. May be your local guy will become another Lynskey. This 29er single speed classical frame was built by legendary Matt Chester and later modified by the previous owner - added S&S couplers and split seat stay for a belt drive. I use it as a commute bike for bad weather - rain, snow, ice… Some folks were ready to wait months and even years to get their frame built by Matt…

Matt Chester.jpg

9

Primarily mountain bikes but also a nice gravel:

https://www.bearclawbicycleco.com

https://www.bearclawbicycleco.com/file_library/blocks/85/706/96471148_large.png
.

10

Stunning colors, beautiful and super stylish! Good steel bike is actually great. It’s good to have disk brakes since you can use smaller wheels with larger tires. I use 26 inch wheels and two sets of studded tires on my 29er for winter work commute.

11

I demoed a Ti bike once (Guru Praemio) - loves the way it rode. When I bought my R3 I gave a long hard look at a Moots but it just didn’t fit the budget.

At some point in time when I know just what I like in a bike (geometry, brakes, intended use, tire clearance, etc) I’d love to go down the custom Ti route. Maybe a Strong, Erickson, or DeSalvo.

12

Yep, pretty much all I ride now is my custom English (steel not ti). I run 3 different wheel sets on this bike - 650x48, 700x40 and 700x25. It pretty much covers the riding I do other than my mtn bike.
http://i65.tinypic.com/x3adfl.jpg

If I had to pick the most innovative bike builder it would be English. His bikes are just amazing. Incredible craftsmanship.

13

I don’t ride one but here in CO I see a lot of Moots out there.

14

Huh, so you’re Dani Mariea’s husband. I’ve been following her racing for years, first learned about her through TSH. As vast as the internet may be, it’s still a small place I guess.

15

I went to a Ti road bike last year and love it. There’s something to be said for the mostly worry-free riding, wrenching and airline travel.

16

Huh, so you’re Dani Mariea’s husband. I’ve been following her racing for years, first learned about her through TSH. As vast as the internet may be, it’s still a small place I guess.

Small world, indeed! Have the bikes packed up last night and dropping her off at the airport this morning for her first racing of the year in China. #CrossIsHere

17

Two Ti bikes in my family but both ‘retro’ :slight_smile:

Dads got a Ti roadbike with carbon fork, spinergy’s and 9 speed record.

I’ve got a Ti MTB on Sids, crossmax and XTR M970.

Photos are lacking since photobucket stitched me up, but theres a few detail pics on my Instagram : https://instagram.com/p/BfmFupynTE6/

WD :slight_smile:

18

Two Ti bikes in my family but both ‘retro’ :slight_smile:

Dads got a Ti roadbike with carbon fork, spinergy’s and 9 speed record.

I’ve got a Ti MTB on Sids, crossmax and XTR M970.

Photos are lacking since photobucket stitched me up, but theres a few detail pics on my Instagram : https://instagram.com/p/BfmFupynTE6/

WD :slight_smile:
Hey, nice ride and cool set up. The famous Airborne head tube badge looks familiar :slight_smile:
My son used to beat it up commuting to school in NYC almost a decade ago. The bike survived a bunch of crashes - only decals got ripped. My son grew up since then and my wife rides his bike. Time is flying and now my kid is riding Lynskey XL size bike I built for him this year. Here is his new Ti beast…

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19

http://www.crisptitanium.com/

If you can afford one, and wait the three years it takes for him yo get around to making yours!!! You can have whatever you want though.

20

I would love a lynskey. Can’t justify a new bike right now but it’s tempting.