Ti bikes.

Graeme Jones

Bit of a strange one but what are they designed for and who rides them typically?

I love the look of the Planet X Ti Pro and the likes of Burls and Enigma frames but not really sure of the purpose and benefits of these bikes.

So my riding will be a mix of commutes, leisure rides 50-100 miles and high tempo rides 20-40miles so a bit of everything really!

I have an Ally Defy I'd keep for crap weather and probably commuting so I could leave it at work and not be too concerned about it walling over in the staff room or staff being tempted to fiddle with something.

The aesthetics of these bikes interest me and the idea of a smoother ride=longer rides in my book but I also want something that is happy to be thrashed and be at home in fast club runs etc.

The Ti road bikes are a rare sight around these parts as it seems to be a race carbon frame is an all too common sight which is fine but maybe something different may be the way forward.

bmxboy10

I owned a Van Nic Mistral for about two years and really liked the bike. Bought it as a "bike for all seasons" and as a "keeper". The bike was very compliant and I really enjoyed owning it. Moved to CF and the improvements in stiffness was noticeable from day one. The Ti was very flexi even without being out of the saddle. I also got bored of the bike as they are quite bland looking. You will see lots of people trying to jazz up their Ti bikes by adding colour either in the form of bright saddles, bar tape or tyres and it does not work IMO all Ti bikes should be built with black finishing kit. Would I buy another? not sure as I think I would rather have an 853 or 953 steel frame over Ti.

mattsccm

I have a On One ti cross bike and its lovely to ride. I am not racing so stiffness is irrelevant but to be honest I can't make it flex.
Ti is a bit dull. However black doesn't help but then again the dim wit who suggested that black has any place on a bike except for tyres had the style gene missing. Get some decent wheels that have no black and the whole bike sparkles.

bmxboy10

mattsccm wrote:

I have a On One ti cross bike and its lovely to ride. I am not racing so stiffness is irrelevant but to be honest I can't make it flex.
Ti is a bit dull. However black doesn't help but then again the dim wit who suggested that black has any place on a bike except for tyres had the style gene missing. Get some decent wheels that have no black and the whole bike sparkles.

Things that sparkle are often tacky - as will be the case with a ti bike with red or blue detailing

Monty Dog

I have 3 titanium bikes - roadrace, CX/travel bike with couplings and a 29er plus MTB. I own 4 other bikes - 2 carbon and 2 steel, plus I've owned other frame materials too. The lastest ti frames were custom built direct from China simply because I couldn't source a similar product for reasonable money anywhere. I like titanium because its light, robust and timeless - if it gets scratched, I get the scotchbrite out and it's shiney again. To say that titanium is flexy is more a case of the frame was designed with the wrong size tubing - the following demonstrates you can make something light, stiff and not black as suggested in the previous post.
http://www.spanner.org.uk/2013/12/fraserss-custom-titanium-29er-plus-from-waltly-titanium/

bmxboy10

Monty Dog wrote:

I have 3 titanium bikes - roadrace, CX/travel bike with couplings and a 29er plus MTB. I own 4 other bikes - 2 carbon and 2 steel, plus I've owned other frame materials too. The lastest ti frames were custom built direct from China simply because I couldn't source a similar product for reasonable money anywhere. I like titanium because its light, robust and timeless - if it gets scratched, I get the scotchbrite out and it's shiney again. To say that titanium is flexy is more a case of the frame was designed with the wrong size tubing - the following demonstrates you can make something light, stiff and not black as suggested in the previous post.
http://www.spanner.org.uk/2013/12/fraserss-custom-titanium-29er-plus-from-waltly-titanium/

That's true as my Mistral was a basic frame so I dare say something higher end or custom may perform better oh plus I am on the heavy side so that may have something to do with it :oops: but in comparison my Saetta and Croix de Fer are rock solid.

Monty Dog

I designed a custom CX frame for a mate after he broke his Litespeed CX due to weld fatigue - it has a IS44mm headtube, 50mm downtube, BB86 and oversize chainstays - flexy it ain't. Mirror polished, it looks great too.

marcusjb

Graeme Jones wrote:

Bit of a strange one but what are they designed for and who rides them typically?

Clearly they can be designed for pretty much anything. But one area they appear to have been very good for is Audax - they are very common in Audax circles. Whether it is the comfort thing, the look, who knows - but there are a lot of ti bikes on a typical audax.

Graeme Jones

Carbon seems to be the choice of the 'fast' rider but I love the idea of build quality the timeless look and simplicity. The only concern is if I'm hammering it on a steep climb or sprint effort and I can feel the frame flexing.
I'm 13stone 9lb currently but normally weigh in 12st 10lb- 13st 4lb through summer so I still aim to shave some fat off at 6ft 2 I still have a bit too loose.
Are they notoriously flexy?

Wirral_paul

My Burls certainly isnt flexy - absolutely no sign of any noticable flexing anywhere in the frame. I went for custom geometry as i couldnt find anything off the shelf that would put me in the same position as my Moda Stretto (i needed a pretty short headtube) and allow me to fit proper mudguards, 28mm tyres and a pannier rack so spoke to Justin and we designed it to be what i wanted (a fast comfy winter / light touring bike).

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40044&t=12951905&hilit=burls

Absolutely loving mine - rode it this evening in preference to the Moda

mallorcajeff

A friend of mine has just sold his company who used to make and design all his own bikes (van nicholas) i was riding with him the other week and was chatting about them and they are amazing to look at although not got round to riding one yet. The van nic astraeous is amazing in the flesh. The place i work we hire them out with di2 and ffwd wheels. Keep trying to find the time to ride one.

desweller

I think with the advent of stainless steel tubesets titanium is a solution looking for a problem. It's a complete arse to machine and weld and for some reason builders never paint it so you only get frames in boring grey.

Personally I'd go for fillet brazed 963 or XCr.

navrig2

solboy10 wrote:

IMO all Ti bikes should be built with black finishing kit.

viewtopic.php?f=40044&t=12959439&p=18775150#p18775150

tomisitt

Well here's my "boring grey" Spin Spitfire MkIII.



I ride a Ti bike because I wanted something different to ubiquitous carbon-fibre. It's light (7.2kg), fast, and beautiful (in my eyes). There is enough "whip" in the frame to make it comfortable, but not at the expense of handling or performance. A pro sprinter probably wouldn't appreciate it, but I'm never putting out 1500W so who cares if it's fractionally less stiff than a CF frame.

Personally, although I'm an old git (50+) I didn't want an audax style bike with mudguards and all that. I wanted a racer. For me a Van Nic or Enigma doesn't quite do it.

There's a workmanship aspect, too. This isn't a load of plastic poured into a mould. This was made by real (far-eastern) craftsmen (and yes, I could have bought a Walty Ti frame direct from China for much less) and that makes me happy. As do my hand-built wheels and my Chorus groupset. Apart from an old clunker I leave locked up outside the Tube, this is my only bike. I ride it all year round. And it puts a smile on my face every time I ride it.

If the OP is seriously considering Ti, he should book a test ride and try one for himself.

Graeme Jones

Some interesting opinions and strangely mostly based around aesthetics and that they look boring lol live is in the eye of the beholder and I like!
I think I'll get a test ride if possible from Planet X and see how they compare to quality of ride I'm used too and the level of flex that again is widely varied by all accounts.

thespanishadam

I tried a planet x ti prior to picking up the Van Nic Chinook.. yes they can be made to give a very smooth ride. The chinook isnt as harsh as alloy ive ridden and great at getting power down. Oh and i have ridden carbon bikes, just wanted something a bit more special (in my eyes).

All personal taste... here it is.