In the market for a Titanium(or steel!) Roadbike

shaunclaridge

New bike time - big choice as Im moving from a starting point specialized secteur into something a bit more special.

After doing Lands End to John o Groats I would definitely like to do some more lightweight touring. My other riding will be long one day rides and general commuting, town and country riding.

I would like the option of mudguards, 25cm (possibly even 28cm) tyres and also would like the option of mounting my rear saddle bag or a rack and panniers for touring.

Groupset wise I want at least shimano 105. I already have hand built 36 spoke touring wheels to use for tours so I will be speccing the new bike with lighter racing wheels for use with one day sportives and some audaxes. It needs to be comfortable for long rides above all else, but retain the ability to cover ground fast. I like my descending so it needs to be sure footed too.

Budget is about £2k max - I have finished my cycle to work payments now so I can take out another £1k on the scheme and pay the rest cash.


The choice currently is this....

Van Nicholas Yukon.

Titanium - Looks great, very strong, lifetime guarantee on frame, doesnt rust, doesnt mark, silent (no road noise is a big plus on a long ride) .... also rediculously comfortable while being stiff enough to be spirited still

105 groupset with a triple - Iused my triple on lejog and Im looking at doing stuff like C2C in a day next year .... 150 miles and 8000ft of climbing in 14 hours .... yeah, im gonna need a triple

You can spec nearly every part of the bike to your liking - Im gonna get some colour into the saddle and bars it to make it look a bit more modern and custom.

They have a tester in a shop in Oxford - gonna borrow it for the weekend soon to see if its the one. This bike will be my only bike so it needs to be a proper all rounder, and it needs to last......

Pics of some in race mode





commute/audax mode



Heres one in full touring mode




Im pretty convinced Carbon isnt for me - I want the ability to tour and the comfort and quality of rides on British roads you get from Titanium is really tempting.... plus I love the look of them. Im convinced the way a titanium bike rolls over rougher roads negates also of the weight advantage you get with carbon - plus they last for ever.


Any other options out there im missing?

mfin

Just a note, aluminium and carbon bikes don't rust either. I have a Van Nic by the way and it has marked quicker than my last my last two carbon and last two aluminium bikes, surprisingly quickly in fact (by cable rub on a place on the headtube I missed taping, within 2 rides, and marked it a tiny amount while building too). All that said, I do love it, helped by the fact that I made sure it fits my fit to the mm.

Wirral_paul

Worth having a look at Burls - you could get a custom frame from them for just over £1k and then spend the rest on groupset and finishing kit etc.

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

Here's mine anyway - frame spec'd for 28mm tyres with proper mudguards and rear rack mounts etc..

shaunclaridge

Wirral_Paul wrote:

Worth having a look at Burls - you could get a custom frame from them for just over £1k and then spend the rest on groupset and finishing kit etc.

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

Here's mine anyway - frame spec'd for 28mm tyres with proper mudguards and rear rack mounts etc..

looks great - Burls are a new name on me ..that looks like it ticks my boxes ...what kind of riding are you doing on yours? Is it your only bike?

Wirral_paul

I specified it similarly to your plans - basically for some occasional light touring but more often as my winter bike set up as per the pic with 25mm tyres and proper mudguards. Club rides are generally 80 to 100 miles but the bike is so competent / comfortable that i'll use it year round whenever the weather isnt so great or i need to fit lights. I do have another bike too - full carbon with Chorus 11 (Athena 11 triple on the Burls)

Bordersroadie

Another vote for Burls. Custom handbuilt Ti for the price of an off the peg big brand Ti which is generally made in China. Nothing wrong with Chinese made Ti but Burls happen to be made in Russia by a bike-only small Ti manufacturer with a long track record. Build quality is superb.



Like you I debated carbon vs Ti and went for Ti due to its robustness. I'm clumsy and I want to not worry about it when a big stone hits the frame or the bike falls over or the chain wraps itself round the bottom bracket or while I'm strapping it into the van (etc, etc). Actual frame weight (Park scale) is 1360g so maybe 200g more than an average carbon frame of similar cost.

Feels stiff (eg when climbing standing) but is very smooth over rough surfaces.

And I also decided I'd rather have a beautiful bike than yet another bloated ugly jelly-mould plastic bike.

jonny_trousers

Not sure about rack capability, but Kineses' Gran Fondu was one of road.cc's bikes of the year and it was up against carbon super bikes.

letap73

Have you considered steel?

shaunclaridge

letap73 wrote:

Have you considered steel?

Yes very much so ... I am just struggling to find something that is rack mount ready - that is really why I was lead towards the VN.
I think this is stunning and if the genesis had a rack mount I would be going that way



I am very interested if you can give me some good steel options

shaunclaridge

letap73 wrote:

Have you considered steel?

Yes very much so ... I am just struggling to find something that is rack mount ready - that is really why I was lead towards the VN.
I think this is stunning and if the genesis had a rack mount I would be going that way

Valaire 10


Volaire 00


I am very interested if you can give me some good steel options

shaunclaridge

I am not completely blinded by Titanium - If anyone can give me a cheaper(or not) steel option that is sporty but also lightweight tour ready then I am very interested. I dont want to spend more than I absolutely need to - but I dont want to buy a bike that doesnt suit my needs either.

I also will fully admit that I want a bike that is a looker .... My secteur has been just what I wanted from my first road bike and stood up very well to my solo LeJog but its not very nice to look at - I would like something that feels a bit special if I am spending around 2k

banditvic

I have a Yukon because it has mudguard eyelets and use it as my winter trainer, That's 80% of the year then, not to keen on the handling but does the job. Also lucky enough to have a Cannondale Evo which is more comfortable and handles superbly, not the answer you want but just my opinion.

shaunclaridge

Not at all - I want honest opinions.....I havnt paid for it yet!

When you say you are not keen on the handling - could you elaborate a bit please.

I accept its not going to handle like a specific carbon race bread bike. I am a fairly big guy, 6ft, 16.5st, 31 years old - Im never going to race. I recently did my solo lejog a year after buying my first road bike, I was averaging about 12mph fully loaded on Lejog. Generally I am riding on a flattish 30 miles at about 17mph, dropping to 15mph on rides up to a century.


Comfort, reliability and the ability to multi task as a summer sportive/audax and credit card tourer are my primary requirements .... plus it needs to be pretty, and fun too!

banditvic

Had a few titanium bikes but still none as comfortable as the Cannondale, but no good for you, no mounts! The handling on the V/N just feels nowhere near as quick or as planted as the Evo.

jonny_trousers

Just out of interest, have you tried riding ti? My one experience I was left underwhelmed. It was incredibly comfortable, but lacked a certain something I've experienced with both steel and carbon.

marcusjb

Condor Fratello ticks your requirements in steel.

Great frame, very comfy for big miles, plenty stiff and fast enough for sportier endeavours.

28mm tyre clearance, mudguards, rack mounts.

Hard to fault as a frame.

meagain

I'd always rather assumed that Burls were really silly money prices - having looked at the price list I find it difficult to imagine that there would be a better vfm option that would meet your needs! Excellent value surely.

mm1

Another vote for Justin Burls here, he built my steel TT frame which is lovely. He designs the Ti frames, which are built in Russia, but builds the steel ones himself. Justin's filet braising is a good as you will see on my Roberts road frame - beautiful work.

meagain

If your size, there's a Titanium Touring Frame on a well known auction site at present - LOOKS very nice and could be worth making an enquiry. (An entirely disinterested sign post - and it's too big for me.)

Camcycle1974

Enigma Etape is their light touring/winter frame. Custom is within reach and therefore built in this country by a master Ti welder. Off the peg the frames come from the Far East but still excellent quality (triple butted, smooth welds). Also dealers in this country to go and look, get sized etc.

mr_mojo

I've got a Dolan ADX Titanium build with Dura Ace 7900 groupset, RS80 wheels and FSA carbon finishing kit. Have mudguards fitted and run 23mm tyres with no rubbing issues. Weighs about 8.5kg. Very pleased with it, use it as my wet weather ride.

paul_smith_srcc

shaunclaridge wrote:

New bike time...The choice currently is this....Van Nicholas Yukon....Pics of some in race mode





commute/audax mode



Heres one in full touring mode


...

Two of those are mine, the one at the top and one at the bottom, to clarify only two of those five pictures are infact Van Nicholas Yukon's.
In order from top to bottom
My own Van Nicholas Chinook
Van Nicholas Amazon
Van Nicholas Chinook
Van Nicholas Yukon
My own Van Nicholas Yukon

I've written a review of my own bikes linked to above on my own personal blog, the Yukon is a review I initially did for http://www.roadcyclinguk.com but have updated it on my own blog; so actually quite a an extensive review.