Ti lugged Carbon Frames

meesterbond

Just curious, but has anyone owned or even ridden one of the above?

Many of the custom builders - particularly in the US - seem to have one high up in their product list (Seven, Firefly, Indy Fab for example) and I was wondering what sort of benefits this sort of construction is supposed to have over either an all-Carbon or all-Ti framed bike.

In case you've no idea what I'm talking about, something like this:

imposter2.0

You don't buy a bike like that for 'performance benefit' (there isn't one) - you buy one because the voices tell you to.

jordan_217

Didn't Raleigh/Dyna-Tech play around with stuff like this in the 90's? They defo did a lugged all Ti bike as my brother had one, the MTrax - light as hell (at the time)

meesterbond

Admittedly the voices are shouting quite loudly at me about this one but the USD6,500 price tag is currently keeping them under control.

I assumed that the construction meant that it could be more easily tuned to what the buyer wanted and made to fit more easily than a pure Carbon frame, although that may be less relevant now there are a plethora of custom carbon frames out there.

I do vaguely remember the Raleigh MTrax - a mate had a MTB one...

rafletcher

The advantage is you can buy standard CF tubes and bond then together with glue - you therefore don't need a very expensive mo(u)ld nor the oven to cure a full monocoque CF frame. Build cheap sell expensive, says the cynic in me.

If you want hand built CF then I'd suggest Legend, who bond the tubes together with a CF wrap. ANd at the higher end match the tubes to your style.

And yes there was a Raleigh Dynatech which had tubes bonded into lugs with glue - I thought that was Ti though, not CF, but could well be wrong!

cougie

Isnt the weak point going to be the bonds between the lugs ? I'd rather go all carbon - then the lugs can't come loose.

Was it Alan bike frames where you had to have the lugs rebonded every few years ?

Monty Dog

Dynatech was alloy lugs and steel or titanium tubes - not sure they offered a carbon version.
Alan was one of the first frames to feature bonded carbon tubes, along with TVT and Look in the late 80s / early 90s - I had one for a while and pretty light when everyone else was riding steel. They could be rebonded.
The advantage of the titanium 'lugs' is the ability to offer an infinite range of custom geometry - don't think that buying a bike from the likes of Seven or IF is based on comparisons with mass-market offerings.

napoleond

Legend do in fact do one of these type frames.

cycleclinic

The voices in my head want one too. However i have had to settle for a trek 2300 alloh lugs and carbon tubes. Nice bike but that one pictured is prettier. Yoj would have to have royce carbon ti hubs to go with it and lots of titanium kit. I dont think there would be mucn change from £10,000 if it were done properly.

animal72

Still got a Dynatech in the garage. Alloy lugs with Ti tubes... and obligatory pink camo paintjob!

jazgill

NapoleonD wrote:

Legend do in fact do one of these type frames.

Passoni XXti, titanium with a carbon seat tube.

Better value now too considering the £ / Euro exchange rate, although that is relative considering the price.

infopete

My 10 year old but still going strong Merlin Cielo is exactly what you want. It's a pretty as you can get. Google it for images.

Shame Litespeed/ABG killed the brand, the warranty and their reputation though.

Wheelspinner

Not lugged, but a nice blend of titanium and carbon to be had here...

http://hollandcycles.com/holland-exogrid/

mrushton

The Seven 622 SLX is the one Cyclefit have a review of on their site. The Ti smooths out the ride - it's hard to explain. My Ottrot is a delight in terms of ride quality and I used to have a Lemond that was carbon on top and Ti on the bottom (dt,bb,chainstays) and was stunning on broken road surfaces at dampening vibrations

keezx

meesterbond wrote:

I assumed that the construction meant that it could be more easily tuned to what the buyer wanted and made to fit more easily than a pure Carbon frame, although that may be less relevant now there are a plethora of custom carbon frames out there.

Really?

on-yer-bike

Serotta used to make frames like this.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SHINY-Serotta-O ... 1686619527

meesterbond

Keezx wrote:

meesterbond wrote:

I assumed that the construction meant that it could be more easily tuned to what the buyer wanted and made to fit more easily than a pure Carbon frame, although that may be less relevant now there are a plethora of custom carbon frames out there.

Really?

Well, off the top of my head there's Parlee, Alchemy, Legend, Indy Fab, Comtat, Crumpton (I think), Guru... maybe not mainstream, or cheap, but there's plenty out there.
My point was that when these Ti/Carbon mix bikes were first developed, that was really the only way you could get some of the benefits of a carbon frame in a truly custom bike. Nowadays, there is a lot more skill out there manipulating carbon fibre, meaning custom all-carbon frames are much more available.

jazgill

jazgill wrote:

NapoleonD wrote:

Legend do in fact do one of these type frames.

Passoni XXti, titanium with a carbon seat tube.

Better value now too considering the £ / Euro exchange rate, although that is relative considering the price.

I have a Legend HT9.5 and a Passoni XXti will be on its' way soon. The exchange rate saving is quite considerable if you talk to the right dealer.

ascurrell

I've got one of the M Trax mountain bikes in the loft, as people have said it was glued / bonded. Mine had cromoly lugs and Ti tubes.

mrushton

Better value now too considering the £ / Euro exchange rate, although that is relative considering the price.[/quote]

I have a Legend HT9.5 and a Passoni XXti will be on its' way soon. The exchange rate saving is quite considerable if you talk to the right dealer.[/quote]

I didn't know Monaco cycle shops would negotiate

jazgill

mrushton wrote:

Better value now too considering the £ / Euro exchange rate, although that is relative considering the price.

I have a Legend HT9.5 and a Passoni XXti will be on its' way soon. The exchange rate saving is quite considerable if you talk to the right dealer.[/quote]

I didn't know Monaco cycle shops would negotiate [/quote]

Monaco ones probably don't but London ones still do, just about

cycleclinic

The voices have wanted me to buy one for a while but the voices want me to pay also.

I have a couple of carbon tubed frames bonded to alloy lugs, both treks and both are kntact and so is the alan and vitus 992. Bonded frames can fail but them again bonded frames fail too.

FransJacques

Heavy, expensive, flexy, over-engineered: pick 4.