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Titanium Project

ikedawilliams

Speeding Up
Oct 15, 2010
669
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I have been humming and hawing about my next bike and am considering going all titanium, well as much as possible, meaning:

frame 1,500g
fork 635g
post 230g
stem 173g
seat clamp 25g
headset 96g
seat (w/ Ti rails) 88g

I have seen several TCC'ers with Titanium bikes, and more experience, and wanted to know if this idea was crazy or not. The concept is all silver colored metal, including the wheels and groupset, but I noticed the Ti fork is pretty heavy, the other parts are not all that light, and although people with Ti rave about how great it is, they seem to stop at the frame. I thought this was because there was a lack of supply, but it could also be that there is a lack of demand. I wanted something a little unique, but if you reckon that going with a standard black CF fork, and black alloy components that cost and weigh less than Ti, I would like to know about it.
 
unless looks it your primary concern I'd say base your materials selection on specific performance characteristics. I'm in the process of building up a new bike around a Ti frame and I'm planning on using a mix of carbon, Ti, Al, and 4130 depending where I want strength, weight savings, or vibration absorption. an all Ti bike sounds like an interesting novelty but maybe not the best option performance-wise.
 
Ti tubing tends to work very well for main frame members. The structural properties give it sufficient stiffness when used appropriately. And the weight at the sizes required is also good. As for using Ti for the fork - on a road bike I generally always spec a carbon fork because I can get a much stiffer (in the right direction , lighter and more aerodynamic unit. The dampening factor of carbon is also good and it matches well with the overall feel and performance if a Ti frame. Ti forks are heavier because you need to use thicker tubing to get the stiffness based on the smaller tube diameter. So - it's like a 3 steps forward, 2 steps backward scenario. Ti fork is great for large diameter fork, say, on a tandem or even MTB , but for roadbike or track bike, it's not the best choice.

Your frameset spec seems a bit on the heavy side. I think most of my roadframes have been coming in closer to the 1100gr range - but it could be the larger size of your frame or thicker tubing. The rest of the components seem pretty normal. BTW - our carbon forks range from about 275gr - 410gr depending on the profile and materials. So, at 630gr - that's a pretty heavy unit.

You'll get weight down more in the components - so pay attention there. Like bars, pedals, stem, etc - it all adds up quickly. And, of course wheels, where it probably is more noticeable. CF stem, bars and post are lighter than Ti as well. And more flexibility in sizes, profile and designs.
 
The only major disadvantage of a titanium bike is that you will never need to buy another bike. This can be a bummer if you happen to like shopping. (Doesn't stop me!)

You can get your carbon fork painted "Ti silver" to match. Only a few micrograms will the paint weigh, hmm...

Here's an exhaustive list of reasons NOT to have GSAstuto make up your custom Ti frame
  1. It might take a couple of months.
  2. You might not be able to spend all your Xmas bonus on it.
 
All titanium would make a very harsh ride.
 
I'm seriously considering a Ti bike, and had wondered & asked about a Ti fork, so the above comments about that and other things Ti/CF are good insight--thanks!
 
I like this thread but want to see some pictures, someone hurry up and buy one. I have a Ti custom but have managed to buy 3 more bikes since, sadly I am really out of needs. Now looking at wheelsets, anything to keep N+1 going. Do wheelsets count as an N?
 
No... they fall under the same exclusion act as handbags and shoes for women.
 
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