one of the regular topics seems to be chinese ti versus us ti ,

van nicholas are producing / sampling a ti 456 and maybe ti 29er for us , the two preproduction samples have tipped up last week , are being built today , and well take them down to bike radar live so if anyone wants to have a try then feel free to come round

might be interesting to compare lynskey / good ole usa production / quality vs van nicholas china production .

well build up a ti 456 lynskey and a ti 456 van nicholas , with exact same specs , and then compare and contrast – anyone wanting a go just get down to bikeradar and look for a big silver airstream caravan

I thought US ti was Russian mined/sourced?

frame production as in produced / fabricated – lynskey in chattanooga , van nicholas in china somewhere

tubing production – thats a different thing ,

It’s inevitably seen as a bit low rent though.

It’s inevitably seen as a bit low rent though.

…or simply consistent with On-One’s value/no-nonsense proposition…

Edit: Read that again and it sounds like I’m suggesting that On-One is low-rent. Not my intention. To me they’re good value/no-nonsense.

Oh, but the US built ones have much nicer welding…

I seen a few Chinese built Ti frames; the welding was perfectly decent, pretty good, really, and the bikes seemed bloody nice. Cost a third or less than a simliar US model.

Bit like that Lancer EVO V Yerpean sportscar thing, in’t it? The Lancer may kick arse, but does not in any way have the prestige of the Yerpean model.

I’d buy a frame based on it’s design and suitability, not how pretty the welds were. It’s just a bike frame.

Or maybe it’s like watches; Seiko are just as good, if not better, than many of their Swiss counterparts, but never have the same kudos.

Cheap Casio for me. Does the job perfectly…

any ideas of price for a van nich built 456

To me they’re good value/no-nonsense.

**** fantastically so. 😀

Why should a chinese weld be any worse than an american weld. As long as the tubes are the same spec it shouldnt be any different apart from the price. My Scandal has perfect welds and it was made in Taiwan

Prices?

Well, a VN Mam Tor frame is €1149. That’s just over £1,000 at the moment. I can’t see than VN would want to undercut that by much, if at all. Does that make it the same price as a Lynskey one?

Just to be clear, I don’t personally view chinese made stuff as worse than US made – I am merely commenting on the general perception.

Part of the 456’s appeal was what great value it is for a US made frame, no?

It’s the psychology of branding etc that I’m talking about. I dunno if anyone saw that BBC2 programme about medicine. The placebo effect of branded products WORKS!

How much cheaper would a Van Nichols 29er frame be? I would be intrested in one if they were significantly cheaper. I am not fussed who put the tubes together as long as they stay together. But I do care if I need to sell my car to buy a frame.

Maybe these one won’t break ROFLCOPTERS

You can already buy a VN 29er – €1,049

im simply saying , its an opportunity for anyone to come down and to have ride on both, personally id be quite surprised if there was any difference in ride quality

frame geometry is of course a different thing , but since these 2 should be same frame geometry and exact same build , then only difference will by manufacturer , so it could be an interesting ride for anyone involved in the us vs chinese made debates

van nicholas pricing- if the dollar holds its ground , and moves up to 1.60 ish were going to be shooting for an introductory price of 650 ish , though it could well end up at 699 as were down in the 1.53s now , might even do a first delivery preorder price of 599

Its after a few months riding when you see a crack on your ‘Ti lasting for a lifetime’ frame which is the factor twixt cheap tat and proper Ti, IME and Im certainly not alone in that experience as the number of Ti frames between my riding friends has diminished substanially.

scruff – Member

Its after a few months riding when you see a crack on your ‘Ti lasting for a lifetime’ frame which is the factor twixt cheap tat and proper Ti, IME and Im certainly not alone in that experience as the number of Ti frames between my riding friends has diminished substanially.

How many months would that be? Just so I know when to start looking at my cheap, tatty frame.

***** me – £699 for a VN-made Ti456? Where were you 3 years ago when I wanted a Ti frame at that price? Or last year when I spunked a grand on a Cotic?
Get your act together!! 😉

Surely it is simplistic to conflate a bike’s ‘nationality’ with its quality. There are myriad other factors involved which influence how good a frame will be.

might even do a first delivery preorder price of 599

There’s your value/no-nonsense proposition 😀

Where can you buy the cheep Chinese frames from?

China

Got no issues at all with my welded in god knows where Tinbred… Hasnt ever occurred to me to wonder where it was made, assume China?

If they are a polished finish like mine (has been done) I rekon you would sell even more.

I’m not saying there isn’t some junk out there, but I think it’s quite inaccurate, bordering on racist, to assume that inexpensive Chinese frames are poor quality.

It always depends on the manufacturing experience and procedures used by the factory/workshop that’s making them. If some products are expensive, it’s usually because the work is done using more meticulous and hence more labour intensive procedures.

But skilled Chinese manufacturers are inexpensive, so the factory can afford to be meticulous AND sell the frame inexpensively. My mate’s been riding a fun, zingy VN Zion for 2 years without any problems. And it’s a nicely detailed frame too.

The problem with ti from places like russia and china is that the material is often reclaimed, so it contains trace impurity elements, eg. tungsten from welding, which effects the weldability of the tubing, and ultimately the quality of the frame.
Essentially, you get what you pay for.

So is this going to be a blind test of the frames with any identifying parts (custom drop-outs/logos etc) masked to help minimise the placebo effect?

So are they going to be the same as in tube profiles,butting etc or
just the same geometry/sizes?

If the warranty is the same same the Lynskey Ti frame, I reckon you will sell out of those very quickly, as £599 is a killer price.

When would they arrive if you did order them?

Dave – I’m surprised you’re going via Van Nic when you could deal direct with XACD or Hi-light? Not sure which one Van Nic uses but XACD are happy to sell to end users, I’ve just ordered up my 2nd frame from them – you can follow progress on my nearly finished blog over at Spanner – made up brand

Maybe its the old chestnut of getting what you pay for isnt? Im not saying you wont get a decent frame from China or the like but perhaps what you buy is piece of mind when you spend a little more & buy from a reputable manufacturer? I think doof & Buzz make good points for the pro’s for buying from a more “reputable” make & I like the sound of daves plan. Personally, I dont look down my nose at someone who rides a different make Ti frame to mine – bike snobbery is for w@nkers!

ps Ive seen plenty of VN bikes around – both MTB & darkside so they cant be too shoddy 😉

Van Nichols has a decent reputation to protect (as does On-One/Planet-X) so I would be happier with Van Nicols QC that I would with XACD, as I am assuming that Van Nicols will look at the frames welded by them and check they are still within tolerance.

A Ford focus does the job just as well as an Aston Martin. One is assembled by machines in a factory the other is lovingly assembled by craftsmen with many years expertise in their craft.

Also, higher price Ti will have less impurities

van nicholas pricing- if the dollar holds its ground , and moves up to 1.60 ish were going to be shooting for an introductory price of 650 ish , though it could well end up at 699 as were down in the 1.53s now , might even do a first delivery preorder price of 599

Noted 🙂 My summer season is back with you now.

Another potential dumb question. Lynskey will buy their raw materials on the open market, jonjones13 whos to say that they always buy the same impurity/mix etc in every batch? How do you check? employ a metalurgist? How can you say for sure that every batch is of the exact highest/higher standard. Again- Im bloody guessing here as Im neither an engineer, work in the industry/manufacturing or intelligent 😉

🙄

are there any differences in the butting or are both plaingauge?

Titainium is rubbish. I’ve broken three Hummers, frame for life my assos.

“A Ford focus does the job just as well as an Aston Martin. One is assembled by machines in a factory the other is lovingly assembled by craftsmen with many years expertise in their craft.”

Isn’t it the Focus that’s got a good reputation for reliability, and the Aston is a joke in terms of breaking down?

The problem with ti from places like russia and china is that the material is often reclaimed, so it contains trace impurity elements, eg. tungsten from welding, which effects the weldability of the tubing, and ultimately the quality of the frame.
Essentially, you get what you pay for.

That sounds exactly like a bit of propaganda for the US Ti industry…

Do you really believe Merlin, Litespeed etc are using the finest Ti known to man? Are they bollocks. They’re using the same stuff that all the other Ti frame builders are. Top grade ‘pure’ Ti would be far too spensive for any manufacturer to use, and ‘reclaimed’ Ti is more than adequate for bicycle frame building.

Yankee Ti frames are more spensive chiefly because labour is more spensive in the States, than in the Far East. Any claims that non-US materials workmanship is any better than anywhere else, is complete bunkum. So, Merlin etc weld their frames up prettier than other frames. Costs more, serves no purpose other than aesthetics. Just gives the frame more kudos, and ‘justifies’ the much higher price.

Nowt wrong with buying a US made Ti frame; but it’s the same as buying a Rolex over a decent Seiko. The only reason you would, is to be able to have the Rolex name on yer wrist.

rudeboy, you’re just jealous cos i wouldn’t let you have a go on the merlin. 🙂