Titanium Frame Choice

ads77

Morning all,

Quick question. I am looking at getting a titanium bike and spotted this...

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/lynskey-helix-titanium-frame-brushed-2013/rp-prod86260

I was thinking about the SPIN (http://ridefullgas.com/) titanium frames as they seem really nice with good service too.

Anybody got any experience of either brand/frame? Or indeed any other ideas?

Many thanks.

Ad.

drlodge

For that money you could get a custom made-to-measure 853 frame (potentially with 953 stays for that bare steel look at the rear) or may be even squeeze into a 953 budget.

jordan_217

drlodge wrote:

For that money you could get a custom made-to-measure 853 frame (potentially with 953 stays for that bare steel look at the rear) or may be even squeeze into a 953 budget.

Did you just post about steel/853/953 and not mention Rourke? You ok?

drlodge

It was a tacit mention, since that well respected Brand is in my footer ;-)

Wirral_paul

Have a look at Burls also - I've got a full custom Ti frame from them for about £500 less than the Lynskey. You can have pretty much anything you want from Justin - different tube profiles, integrated headset, internally routed cables, di2 compatibility, replaceable hanger etc etc

http://www.burls.co.uk/prices.php

ads77

Thanks chaps.

DiscoBoy

Or even, take some brave pills and order a custom ti frame from abroad, like this user:

viewtopic.php?f=40044&t=12959979

jordan_217

DiscoBoy wrote:

Or even, take some brave pills and order a custom ti frame from abroad, like this user:

viewtopic.php?f=40044&t=12959979

Don't forget that the majority of 'off the peg' Enigma's are made in Asia…. (or they were when I bought mine)

If they are a reputable manufacturer and have good quality control then I'd rather buy one of those than a Lynskey - cracked chain stays anyone?

EDIT: The Kinesis Gran Fondo Ti would be on my 'short list'.

DiscoBoy

Indeed, the only "risk" is that any after sales is made difficult by dealing with someone in Russia/China or wherever rather than down the road.

pippi_langsamer-2

Anyone any experience of the Berlusconi Bunga?

Camcycle1974

jordan_217 wrote:

DiscoBoy wrote:

Or even, take some brave pills and order a custom ti frame from abroad, like this user:

viewtopic.php?f=40044&t=12959979

Don't forget that the majority of 'off the peg' Enigma's are made in Asia…. (or they were when I bought mine)

If they are a reputable manufacturer and have good quality control then I'd rather buy one of those than a Lynskey - cracked chain stays anyone?

EDIT: The Kinesis Gran Fondo Ti would be on my 'short list'.

Which is also a Far East manufactured Ti frame which can be purchased for about 1/2 what they charge for it. Nice frame though without a doubt. Waltly Ti would be my choice to cut out the middleman.

LegendLust

Pippi Langsamer wrote:

Anyone any experience of the Berlusconi Bunga?

No but I've had a ride on the Berlusconi Gropa

jrduquemin

I have a Lynskey R230 and it's a really nice piece of kit. Personally, I would recommend them :-)

alan_sherman

I have an enigma esprit. I like titanium as a material (no paint = no scratches! No rust!).

Have a look at fat birds bike shop in Norfolk. I've not been but they stock a number of different brands so would be a good place to see / size up / try a range of bike to see what works.

An interesting question at the moment is whether to go for disc mounts and 135 spacing for the rear hub, or stay traditional. That will alter the choice of frame somewhat.

tomisitt

I've got a Spin Spitire MkIII, and love it. Beautifully made, superb service, looks great, and rides beautifully. Have ridden it up the Alpe d'Huez and along 45km of Paris-Roubaix pavé, and it's been quick, light, responsive and comfortable. Simply superb.

hypster

Google "lynskey cracked frame"

Scrumple

I have a sabbath and now building up a lynskey helix.

There are as many knockers of ti as there are SRAM, or electric gears, or etc.....

I love ti as a material, and while it can never beat carbon for weight and stiffness, it is superb as an all round bike and the ride is lovely. And it looks great every year, as there is nothing to rust. Why posters come on a ti thread and bleat about steel never ceases to amaze me - leave them to their nostalgia and you buy a bike for life.

Munch101

You have too much money to spend.

cattytown

I am also looking at Ti. The two front runners for me are the Spin and the Kinesis.

I have two friends that ride Spins and they can't say enough good stuff about them.

P.

mrushton

If you can afford it Seven or Crisp would be my choice.

navrig2

hypster wrote:

Google "lynskey cracked frame"

The problem with that is you don't know enough about either the brand or the numbers to make an assesssment.

I've just google "cannondale cracked frame" and guess what? I got a pile of links which take you to pages where people are discussing...... let me think about it....... yep you are right...... cracked cannondale frames.

The only way you would be able to make a decent assessment is if the manufacturers told you how many cracked frames they had per thousand sold and even then you have to know the frame type and use.

From "Lynskey cracked frame" the first few seem to be about 29" frames. Does that mean that Lynskey frames are not good or that 29" frames are more susceptible to cracking?

It doesn't tell you either, just that some people have posted about their 29" frame cracking. It may even be the same person posting on every forum they frequent.

cedargreen

Scrumple wrote:

I love ti as a material, and while it can never beat carbon for weight and stiffness, it is superb as an all round bike and the ride is lovely. And it looks great every year, as there is nothing to rust. Why posters come on a ti thread and bleat about steel never ceases to amaze me - leave them to their nostalgia and you buy a bike for life.

Maybe people bleat about steel on Ti threads because they get wound up by all the 'looks great 'cos there's nothing to rust bike for life' nonsense.

Steel bikes only rust if you scrape all the paint off and leave them outside in the rain; the longevity of steel is not in doubt and there are many thousands of steel bikes built before titanium bikes were even thought of still going strong.
Alloy and carbon bikes don't appear to be bending/cracking/melting at anything like the predicted rates either.
I don't see many titanium bikes around and I would hazard a guess that there are fewer titanium bikes than other materials, yet there still seem to be quite a lot of reports of cracked frames. The problem appears to be that while titanium is very durable it's also very hard to work with and weld properly so the joints are prone to failing on some titanium bikes.
No material is perfect for building frames and all have advantages/disadvantages.

drlodge

cedargreen wrote:

Scrumple wrote:

I love ti as a material, and while it can never beat carbon for weight and stiffness, it is superb as an all round bike and the ride is lovely. And it looks great every year, as there is nothing to rust. Why posters come on a ti thread and bleat about steel never ceases to amaze me - leave them to their nostalgia and you buy a bike for life.

Maybe people bleat about steel on Ti threads because they get wound up by all the 'looks great 'cos there's nothing to rust bike for life' nonsense.

Steel bikes only rust if you scrape all the paint off and leave them outside in the rain; the longevity of steel is not in doubt and there are many thousands of steel bikes built before titanium bikes were even thought of still going strong.
Alloy and carbon bikes don't appear to be bending/cracking/melting at anything like the predicted rates either.
I don't see many titanium bikes around and I would hazard a guess that there are fewer titanium bikes than other materials, yet there still seem to be quite a lot of reports of cracked frames. The problem appears to be that while titanium is very durable it's also very hard to work with and weld properly so the joints are prone to failing on some titanium bikes.
No material is perfect for building frames and all have advantages/disadvantages.

Oh I disagree, 953 steel is the perfect choice

Your point above about rusting steel frames is very valid. I still have my 1987 531 Professional steel frame (thinner gauge than 531 with 753 rear stays), its hasn't rusted, and I'm sure will last a long time yet.

alan_sherman

Cedargreen - what is your point? All frame materials are good in their own ways. On a titanium bike thread it is obvious that people will talk about the positives.

Of course someone could still paint a titanium frame, but it seems a shame when one of the big advantages of Ti is that it doesn't need that extra weight. I look after my bikes well, but painted bikes will always get chipped and scraped from stones, chains, cables, transportation and accidents. I prefer a bike which the mark can be rubbed out with a washing up pad. It doesn't mean I think steel will die in a week of wet weather! My rain bike was bought in 1992.... But it does have quite a few battle scars that if it had been titanium I could brush up like new.

Barring terminal accident or frame failure a Ti frame will look as new for a lifetime. Good for OCD folk.

hypster

Navrig2 wrote:

hypster wrote:

Google "lynskey cracked frame"

The problem with that is you don't know enough about either the brand or the numbers to make an assesssment.

I've just google "cannondale cracked frame" and guess what? I got a pile of links which take you to pages where people are discussing...... let me think about it....... yep you are right...... cracked cannondale frames.

The only way you would be able to make a decent assessment is if the manufacturers told you how many cracked frames they had per thousand sold and even then you have to know the frame type and use.

From "Lynskey cracked frame" the first few seem to be about 29" frames. Does that mean that Lynskey frames are not good or that 29" frames are more susceptible to cracking?

It doesn't tell you either, just that some people have posted about their 29" frame cracking. It may even be the same person posting on every forum they frequent.

To be honest you are just making my point for me, which is everything breaks. As cedargreen has also pointed out, titanium isn't the wonder material it's made out to be and people claiming "steel is real" or titanium is a "bike for life" are all suffering from the same delusion. Why would you pay upwards of £1500 for a frame under the impression that it's going to last you a lifetime?

Who wants a bike for life anyway? With continuing developments in material technology who knows what the next best thing is just around the corner? Titanium has a whole host of disadvantages attached to it which is why it is so difficult to produce a decent frame at anywhere near a decent price. People think because they are paying top dollar for something they are necessarily getting something which must automatically be better.

Having had 4 titanium frames I am not unsympathetic to titanium's charms but by the same token I am also not oblivious to its shortcomings as a bicycle frame material as well.

rolf_f

hypster wrote:

Who wants a bike for life anyway? With continuing developments in material technology who knows what the next best thing is just around the corner?

Me for a start. None of those 'continuing developments' actually have really made much of a material difference in terms of ride enjoyment so none would be enough to make me sell a bike I already have and replace it with something else.

BTW - re Ti looking good for life. It does. This is true. But so does steel or (even more so) carbon if you look after it.

navrig2

hypster wrote:

Who wants a bike for life anyway?

Me. At the age of 51 I see myself having many years left cycling and would like something I am confident will last, can be kept looking good and will take upgraded or replaced components.

hypster wrote:

With continuing developments in material technology who knows what the next best thing is just around the corner?

At 51 and one kid at Uni and, hopefully, another to go I don't see me having the opportunity to keep upgrading frames/bikes.

I've got a brand new Lynskey R255 sitting at home waiting on the better weather (not to protect the frame but to keep the $hit out of the running gear). I've only ridden it around the block and I want to sun to come out....

ads77

Thanks all..... does anyone have any experience of the SPIN bikes? They are local to me and seem like good guys...

I was looking at the Spitfire frame.

http://ridefullgas.com/

tomisitt

Yep. See my post earlier in this thread.

hypster

ads77 wrote:

Thanks all..... does anyone have any experience of the SPIN bikes? They are local to me and seem like good guys...

I was looking at the Spitfire frame.

http://ridefullgas.com/

To be perfectly honest that frame looks like the typical Chinese generic titanium frame a la Van Nicholas et al. Lifetime warranty means different things to different people. You pays yer money and you takes yer chance...

jordan_217

hypster wrote:

ads77 wrote:

Thanks all..... does anyone have any experience of the SPIN bikes? They are local to me and seem like good guys...

I was looking at the Spitfire frame.

http://ridefullgas.com/

To be perfectly honest that frame looks like the typical Chinese generic titanium frame a la Van Nicholas et al. Lifetime warranty means different things to different people. You pays yer money and you takes yer chance...

I truly believe that Enigma would sort you out if anything happened to one of their frames. Sabbath - suppose that would depend if they are trading at the time and/or what state of administration they were in. Lynskey don't seem the best according to posts on here and a few people have said VN have been ok. Though with Lynskey and VN I suppose the shop you purchased from would be the initial port of call. Haven't heard anything about Spin and Kinesis CS/warranties.