do you ride Titanium ? and if you do could you give a reason.


i had a Raleigh Ti Max maybe 30 years ago, and the frame cracked. are they still prone to this?
as i have a longing for a nice Ti bike with wide tyre space.

Three.

And I've sold two others.

I like the feel.
I like the weight.
I like the bare metal look.
I like the fact that I can mistreat the frame by strapping bags to it and it comes up like new.
I like the fact that I can buy custom Ti frames for much less than alloy and steel frames from some of the other brands.

I've never snapped or broken one.
The oldest is now 12/13 years old.

I've been pondering a Ti fatbike frame too, but my Cube Nutrail is fine (for the moment).

Sonder Broken Road here. My first ti bike. Apart from my Brompton, all my other bikes have been ali or carbon.

Initially I was looking for steel, but ti gives the benefits without the rust issues and it's great to have a bike and not worry about the paint. Weight was also slightly less than steel.

Yes, a Voodoo D-Jab, because:

I could get it stupidly cheap
I like the look of it
I love the feel of it

I’m having of ideas of converting it from a 26” MTB to a all day gr@vel/bikepacking/canal/touring boike

I have a 4 year-old Ti Kinesis Tripster and it's served me well on a good few bike packing trips, as well as general on/off-road riding. Why do I like it? Pretty much as others have said - weight, feel, doesn't rust or show scuffs from bike bags rubbing.

My nice road bike is a ti omega radius. Bought it on singletrack for a relative bargain 10 years ago and the frame is still going strong - groupset and wheels have been replaced though.

I got ti because I'd always wanted a ti bike and then one came up in my size. It always looks good in an understated way and seems to be comfier over poor roads. Not cracked yet!

Currently my brother has had it for a year as I've been using my gravel bike but I might claim it back soon.

Once all the ridiculous "standards" have settled down, I might get a custom ti hardtail frame made

I have in the past. MY reasons were really just because I liked it. Lighter than steel, but 'similar' in the ride quality. No paint to get scuffed up etc.
My most recent was returned for refund, I would advise choosing by quality reputation as well as geo etc.

PaulE wrote: ↑Wed Aug 12, 2020 2:00 pm My nice road bike is a ti omega radius. Bought it on singletrack for a relative bargain 10 years ago and the frame is still going strong - groupset and wheels have been replaced though.

I got ti because I'd always wanted a ti bike and then one came up in my size. It always looks good in an understated way and seems to be comfier over poor roads. Not cracked yet!

Currently my brother has had it for a year as I've been using my gravel bike but I might claim it back soon.

Once all the ridiculous "standards" have settled down, I might get a custom ti hardtail frame made

I still have my custom made Omega Radius. Could never part with that bike but need some decals!

I have a ti Sonder Camino. I bought it because I had an alu version of the same bike which I loved and rode a lot and I wanted to upgrade (mainly just out of curiosity as I'd never owned a ti bike before but it was the bike I rode the most and it was also my most budget bike which I thought didn't make much sense).
Advantages? All the things that everybody else has mentioned. Disadvantages? Mainly cost (it's better than the alu frame but not four times better to reflect the extra outlay). Would I buy ti again? Yes. Would I prioritise ti in future? No.

ScotRoutes wrote: ↑Wed Aug 12, 2020 1:16 pm Three.

And I've sold two others.

I like the feel.
I like the weight.
I like the bare metal look.
I like the fact that I can mistreat the frame by strapping bags to it and it comes up like new.
I like the fact that I can buy custom Ti frames for much less than alloy and steel frames from some of the other brands.

I've never snapped or broken one.
The oldest is now 12/13 years old.

I've been pondering a Ti fatbike frame too, but my Cube Nutrail is fine (for the moment).

Do the scratches from frame bags polish out? I nearly cried when I removed my bags off my new Broken Road after a week in the Gorms

I occasionally (annually?) give my frame once-over with Brasso wadding. That seems to deal with all surface marks.

ScotRoutes wrote: ↑Wed Aug 12, 2020 3:50 pm I occasionally (annually?) give my frame once-over with Brasso wadding. That seems to deal with all surface marks.

Good to know thanks

I recently bought a steel custom frame for about the same cost as I could have had a Chi-Ti frame for, some might think that was odd. I've had a couple of Ti road frames that were nice but I've had steel bikes that were equally nice to ride. Paint/lack of and ~25% weight drop is the main benefit of Ti. Ride feel is just flex and you can get that right in either material.

I've had more Ti frames crack than other materials, though that's not much of a measure as all the bikes get different uses. Still, 3* Ti frames cracked out of 6 owned, longest-owned is my Jones Ti (which is a warranty replacement for the 1st one that cracked).
*1 MTB frame I had for ~2 years w/o problems broke after I sold it to a friend who put under 6 months worth of miles on it - not sure who claims that one.

Ti's just harder to get right at the joins. They seem to be real bathtub failure curves, they either go in less than a couple of years or they last 20+ and die of fatigue.

Shewie wrote: ↑Wed Aug 12, 2020 3:34 pm Do the scratches from frame bags polish out? I nearly cried when I removed my bags off my new Broken Road after a week in the Gorms

I have the opposite problem with my ti salsa, the frame has a brushed/matt finish and the straps from my frame bag polish the ti. I've heard that non-stick scouring pads used lightly can be used to restore matt finish but I've not tried it.

I do. Have got a Genesis Croix De Fer Ti.

Also had a Van Nicholas Road bike up until a little while ago

Why - because there is nothing as good looking IMO

And it's light and rides well but these are secondary considerations to the aesthetic

ScotRoutes wrote: ↑Wed Aug 12, 2020 1:16 pm Three.

And I've sold two others.

I like the feel.
I like the weight.
I like the bare metal look.
I like the fact that I can mistreat the frame by strapping bags to it and it comes up like new.
I like the fact that I can buy custom Ti frames for much less than alloy and steel frames from some of the other brands.

I've never snapped or broken one.
The oldest is now 12/13 years old.

I've been pondering a Ti fatbike frame too, but my Cube Nutrail is fine (for the moment).

Seconded
Had 5
Sold 1 - which did crack but fixed @Alisdair
Got 4

Same reasons
Never snapped them myself
Oldest is still going around 12 years old,

Never worried about the rub marks from frame bags

No point repeating what Scot said as it all pretty much applies to me. I'd add there's also a degree of just blatant *want* when it comes to Ti.

I usually start off with the steel or Alu version and then, if I'm liking the ride, buy the Ti version. I have yet to find the Ti is worse and just the weight save is often lovely.

Is it worth the money / Ti-premium - I doubt it but it's bikes, logic is often a poor bedfellow

Edit - I'm still vaguely considering a Ti version of the Gryphon

ton wrote: ↑Wed Aug 12, 2020 1:01 pm do you ride Titanium ? and if you do could you give a reason.


i had a Raleigh Ti Max maybe 30 years ago, and the frame cracked. are they still prone to this?
as i have a longing for a nice Ti bike with wide tyre space.

Was it actually Ti or was it steel? I could be mistaken but I thought the Ti in Raleigh Ti was nothing to do with titanium

Dave Barter wrote: ↑Wed Aug 12, 2020 2:07 pm

PaulE wrote: ↑Wed Aug 12, 2020 2:00 pm My nice road bike is a ti omega radius. Bought it on singletrack for a relative bargain 10 years ago and the frame is still going strong - groupset and wheels have been replaced though.

I still have my custom made Omega Radius. Could never part with that bike but need some decals!

Mine was also a custom, thus the low second hand price as I guess a bike for a 6'1 rider with very long arms and a tad long legs is not in massive demand...

ton wrote: ↑Wed Aug 12, 2020 1:01 pm do you ride Titanium ? and if you do could you give a reason.

Yes. Because I'm a tart

I currently have a couple of DEANs and an IF. They're all 15+ years old, built differently for comfort or speed (there was a time... ). My first was a demo Litespeed when Carratti were dealers back in the 90s. Also had a Litespeed Ultimate road bike with Campag Record but that one had to go because it was too good for my ability

sean_iow wrote: ↑Wed Aug 12, 2020 5:20 pm

Shewie wrote: ↑Wed Aug 12, 2020 3:34 pm Do the scratches from frame bags polish out? I nearly cried when I removed my bags off my new Broken Road after a week in the Gorms

I have the opposite problem with my ti salsa, the frame has a brushed/matt finish and the straps from my frame bag polish the ti. I've heard that non-stick scouring pads used lightly can be used to restore matt finish but I've not tried it.

Yeah that’s more like it, mine is brushed and the wear signs are shiny

I’ll try a pad sometime

Shewie wrote: ↑Wed Aug 12, 2020 4:03 pm

ScotRoutes wrote: ↑Wed Aug 12, 2020 3:50 pm I occasionally (annually?) give my frame once-over with Brasso wadding. That seems to deal with all surface marks.

Good to know thanks

Yep... Autosol metal polish and a soft pad... like new.

Shewie wrote: ↑Wed Aug 12, 2020 7:58 pm I’ll try a pad sometime

Obviously at your own risk as I've not tried it, but let me know how it goes

I've not done mine as I just leave the frame bag on all the time.

Back to Ton's question, I do (obviously) for the weight saving but also for the long lasting finish and corrosion protection. My steel Genesis frame is probably as comfy but the internal corrosion (despite using waxoyl inside) means it's unlikely to last forever.

My ti bike is 8 years old and I'm at least the 3rd owner. I happened by chance to notice on strava today that I've done over 8000 miles on it, no cracks yet, touch wood.

thanks for all the replies fella's. been doing a fair bit of reading about Ti frames. cracking does seem common.
just worried that being such a heavy rider this could be a problem

the bike i was thinking of was a Ti fargo. cant seem to find much info on them, and are rare as hens teeth.
a new one would seem the way to go, with the warrenty side of things just in case.

ton wrote: ↑Wed Aug 12, 2020 9:21 pm thanks for all the replies fella's. been doing a fair bit of reading about Ti frames. cracking does seem common.

Nah - I think that some folk have an unreasonable expectation of Ti for some reason. If you want, I could go off and google lots of pictures of cracked steel, aluminium and carbon frames, it's just that no one seems to care about those

Mind you - I'd not buy another Lynskey-made frame.