This is great…I sign up for the singletrack forum and this is the first topic I stumble across! I am metallurgist you see (well, a Materials Scientist technically, but more metals than anything else) and I have a special interest in titanium alloys.
I can’t see why Chinese Ti would be any better or worse than American or Russian Ti. The technology to cast and work Ti is pretty standard. What will make more of a difference is what specification the Ti is released to. If the American supplier is making to spec A and the Chinese to spec B then yes they will be different but if not, they’re likely to be indistinguishable.
There was a comment above about Russian and Chinese Ti being worse because they have ‘re-used material’ in. This is called revert and everybody does it. Most of the titanium available on the world market includes revert. Ti would be stupidly expensive if people didn’t. If On-One aren’t using revert then they’re mad.
Any difference between the USA supplier and the Chinese will come in the welding and heat treatment, which are moderately complex. However, it’s not so much about nationality – there are some appalling American suppliers, believe me, and excellent Chinese ones, and vice versa. It’s about trained welders and decent vacuum ovens, which are very gettable in either country. If the welding is accredited and the welds are x-rayed and crack tested then I’d be just as happy on a Chinese bike as an American one.
The disappointing thing to me is that we have to use Grade 9 Ti, also called ‘half 6/4’. It’s easy to make into tube but it’s pathetically weak. With a bit more effort I reckon a Grade 5 frame is possible which is much stronger and therefore lighter…
Sorry about the essay post, you can tell I enjoy my job working with these alloys (and Aluminium! I understand Al too if anyone wants to start a thread about that!)
Cheers,
Jon