There used to be a time when most manufacturers used to offer a ti bike/frame in their line ups (think on one/Kona/cotic/Charge etc) but you hardly see any now. Why is this? Is it due to cost or that most of us ride full sus bikes nowadays? What do you guys think.

They’re expensive to make as not many people can weld Ti and the tubes aren’t cheap, so very much an expensive niche. As an owner of a Ti frame I can’t tell it’s Ti from the ride, so may as well be made from Steel or Al…

Agree with footfalls. Twenty years ago so wanted Ti but could never afford one. Now have one as much as I like it could tell no difference from my old steel frame. Ti is double butted and steel frame was 853.

Footflaps not footfalls!!!!!

It’s because so many people on here post dissing ti, no question. Watch this:

Anyone got any thoughts on Lynskey? 😉

There are still UK designed titanium bikes available, often custom to suit your needs.

Travers Bikes
Pact Bikes
to name just a couple.

Anyone got any thoughts on Lynskey?

Yeah…they built my Cove Hummer (later model), and i contacted don @ Lynskey to enquire about a possible longer 27.2mm seat post shim (rather than the standard 30mm) so i could fit a KS Lev dropper- he didn’t have any in stock so he machined two for me and sent them over to me free of charge along with a stainless steel Lynskey etched pint glass.

Seems very good customer service to me but i realise others may have had problems 😉

(owner of two Ti bikes Kinesis Tripster and aforementioned Cove Hummer)

Lynskey.. What could possibly go wrong?

I reckon carbon’s taken over as the hero material tbh.

I can’t tell mine is ti from how it rides, but, it does ride differently and for me better than the steel or alu versions of the same frame. It’s fairly stiff, as ti goes, so I guess you could come close to recreating it with the right design and the right steel (*), and maybe perfectly recreate it with carbon. But also, ti is nice to look at- give it a scuff with a scotchbrite, get some oil on it, ooooooh.

(*I’ve had posh steel, and it’s different- sort of similiar but if steel is springy, ti has a bit of a damped feel to it I reckon. But the feel of my Soda and my Ragley is as different as the feel of my Soda and my Soul.

The welding finish on Ti and steel is/can be so neat as well

Obviously all titanium is not equal but I could certainly tell the difference between the steel frames and alloy frames I have owned and the two titanium frames I have owned.

My Van Nicholas certainly felt a lot more compliant and even a little flexible under power compared to various other road frames I have ridden. My Soda is a lot more ‘bouncy’ than my brothers Soul or any other steel or alloy MTB frame I have owned too.

Full sus is probably a thing. Larger volume tyres might be another. Maybe too many folk just want to change bike too frequently now to make it worthwhile?

Marin dropped Ti in 2014 (IIRC), Cube were doing the Litening in Ti until a couple of years ago. Salsa still have a selection of models/frames (though horrendously expensive). Smaller manufacturers like Van Nicholas are still supplying a fairly complete range. And then, as above, there are a number of smaller suppliers doing small run/custom options.

I’m going to admit to being a Ti fan. Maybe I need to ride some “nice” steel to see how that compares but I’m not seeing any specific advantage to steel for me.

I went from a pretty nice steel frame to one of the Scandvik Hummers, and on the first ride I was stopping and checking that I didn’t have a puncture at the back it was that smooth… 😆

but yeah Northwind has it I think, Carbon’s replaced it as this century’s wonder stuff.

yes a lot of people have dropped Ti bikes/frames maybe due to cost, but I also think people like On one have something to do with it, selling there basic Ti bikes a lot cheaper than most others. And many people don’t really know the difference between a well design, well spec tubing double butted, shaped well made etc and a basic Ti bike, so they just “see Ti” and think it the same as any other ti bike cotic/lynskey etc
Bit like carbon really, people just see a fully built, good spec cheap (under £1000) carbon bike and think it be better than any steel/al/ti bike.
I take any top end steel/ali/Ti bike over a cheap carbon anyday of the week.

Got a Cotic Soda made Lynskey, still going strong!
And yes I notice the diff between Soda & Soul
Kinesis do some very nice Ti bikes.

I know already that I will buy another titanium bike. A lovely custom Ti hardtail is there for me someday…

I’ve had Ti bikes since ’94, I love the feel of them. I have a Kinesis Sync, a Kinesis Tripster ATR and a lush new Travers Russ Ti which will hopefully get me to the end of the Tour Divide this year (I realise my legs may have something to do with this too).

Travers Rusty by Jim Barrow, on Flickr

Stanton do 3…Slackline…Switchback…Sherpa. 26″, 27.5″, 29″ all based covered.

Charge also do a very nice looking Cooker Ti 27.5″+

I have a Ti Slackline, was looking for a steel one but the Ti came up at the right price and I’m extremely happy with it 🙂

Steel is so good and carbon so cheap. TI has felt the squeeze. For the sake of half a water bottle in weight, i’d now go for high end steel despite the username and past bikes.

Kinesis sync ti here lovely

As per a previous post I was looking for a decent steel frame but a deal came up on Ti

Apart from winter I normally ride a carbon bouncer

When you cabled up the ti bike were you determined not to make the same mistake as on the bouncer?

TiRed – Member
Steel is so good and carbon so cheap. TI has felt the squeeze. For the sake of half a water bottle in weight, i’d now go for high end steel despite the username and past bikes.

This

Currently trying to decide whether to get an Enigma Ecroix Ti for winter/sportive/gravel one-bike-fits-all use or an Ezona frame for £800 and add my 105 to it, and pick up a cheap gravel bike, oh no wait, too many bikes…

Ive had my winter hardtail for a couple of months, and loving it as much as the summer carbon bouncer?

Theres plenty of people making Ti stuff still, its just the big guys aren’t because they all had Lynsky make them, and well, they were shit.

I’ve got a 19″ singular Pegasus Ti frame for sale made by Nevi in Italy

Still riding my Lynskey 456Ti, although it was been pushed to night/winter duties along with any XC/Marathon type events after buying a carbon FS.

You really need to find the saviour of titanium Barty P and his awesome thread on this very topic

I design my own titanium frames and have them built in China – I’m on my 6th bike and provide design advice to many others – one of them broken (so far). Here’s my 29+ and fatbikes:

Most of the problems I see with broken titanium frames is poor detail design execution which leads to accelerated/fatigue failure mainly due to cutting corners/cost like thick plate drop-outs welded to skinny tubes.

It’s just not really that good of a material to build a frame from. Steel is stiffer and stronger, Alu alloy is lighter, both are cheaper. It’s only really worth considering if you want something shiny.

I love titanium bikes. My first was an Orange Vit T2 that was stolen a long time ago. I replaced this with a Merlin Rocklobster Titanium and it is still my most cherished bike. I now also have a Lynskey built PX Sportive and after 7 years of use it is still in fine fettle, so Lynskey must have built “some” good frames. I like titanium because it is compliant, and is impervious to the Yorkshire grot. I think cheap carbon and the fact that Ti is not really suitable/relevant for full suspension set ups (where carbon or Alu are much better) have limited its appeal.