[Closed] Which ti 26 h/tail would you say is the bike for life?

Frame for life doesn't exist. If used, bikes break.

If it was me and I really wanted something ostensibly 'for life' (let's also gloss over the fact it will be obsolete in 10 years) I'd probably get a Seven, IF or Serotta. Need to up your budget though.

Lynskey? They make everyone elses! Friend has a couple of ti Salsas which are nice (and made by them).

soda...one of the nicest ti bikes ive ridden...

Frame for life doesn't exist. If used, bikes break.

+1, as borne out on any number of threads on here, about supposed "bikes(/frame) for life"

Also have you tried a 120mm hardtail, a 29-er or 650b, carbon/steel, a short(or long) travel full suss, etc etc? If not, how do you know a 26er HT is it for you? Too many different types of bike to say "one" is it, in my book anyways

I have a Pipedrean Nevis Ti at 1500g that I am very pleased with.

It has the brace on the chainstay-seatstay near the IS brake mount and is plain gauge tubing (50g heavier than butted).

I do not intend to sell it and accept that whilst it will not corrode it may crack....but it is not a jump bike and I weigh 50Kg so I expect a couple of decades of light use.

Nearest now is their Sirius Ti with modular drop-outs.

PaulD

soda...

Like any other frame, they can break. I know because I was unlucky to have mine crack on me. Lovely bike to ride though, probably my favourite hardtail.

Don't be put off by the doom mongers a Ti hardtail will be perfect for the riding you describe

Yes, but as will a carbon or alu hardtail. They can all last decades or they can all break. No one's saying ti is more susceptible to it, but I think that to expect it to last forever is setting oneself up for disappointment!

+1 for a Soda if you can still get one!
(stunning frame which will work perfectly well with 100mm forks)

Older model is more flexy at b/b and along top tube, newer one is less so for both.

Also had Tinbred which was also a bit flexy.

Yes I know Ti is meant to be flexy but I prefer the newer Soda for where I ride.

Also consider a Ti Duster.

I love my Voodoo D-Jab
sliding dropouts for Rohloff, pannier rack mounts for epic rides and strong enough for 130mm fork (I run 140mm Pike at the moment to slacken it a bit)

Cove Hummer fits into that price btracket and its an awesome machine. i had one for a while and loved it. On sale at CRC the now for £1100 😉

Admittedly, I've not ridden that many ti frames but I actually prefer the ride feel of my Soul.

[url= http://www.enigmabikes.com/bike/bike-enigma-ego.html ]enigma ego ti[/url], custom made in sussex, test rode one last summer, amazing, if I had the £££, I'd get one at a drop of a hat. 29er?

'98 Hei Hei owned from new. It'll take 100mm forks, has done everything from the Alps, to XC/24 racing and trail Centres and I have no plans to sell ever.
It would probably be a bit out of its depth at the Red Bull Run but horses for courses, so to answer your question - whatever you're happy with is a bike for life.

carbon or alu hardtai

I accept that any material may break crack or get badly damaged but all things being equal over a long period carbon will get scuffed & aluminium will get scratched & corrode, whereas Ti can remain fresh for years

You could get an [url= http://www.enigmabikes.com/bike/bike-enigma-ego.html ]Enigma[/url]. At least if it did crack you would be dealing with a UK company/builder.
Personally though, especially if you're riding smoother stuff or covering longer distances, I'd go for a 29'er...Enigma don't do these in Ti yet though!
I've got a Litespeed hardtail, picked it up S/H on here, got it shot-blasted and bought new stickers...Everyone who's seen it thinks it's brand new. It cost £25 for the shot-blast and £7 for the stickers! Fair enough I haven't got a warranty but if it breaks I'll just buy another S/H.
If I had the money I'd love a Moots MootoX YBB but would want custom sizing and the seatpost/stem they do. It would be around 4 grand I think! 😯

The off the peg egos are made overseas, only the custom ones are UK built.

I've just cancelled my order so they should have a slot free.

that Enigma looks nice

man Ti hardtails are objects of desire for me

My Charge Duster Ti

I've got an original On-One tinbred. Its light, fast and comfy and is certainly my 'bike for life'.

A year or so ago I was dismayed to find a crack on the chainstay. I took it to a local company who make ti handrails for racing yachts, the guy fixed it in his lunchbreak for a tenner.

Its still my favourite bike to ride, and still a 'bike for life'.

The Enigma's do look good, a friend had one but sadly took it with him when he emigrated.

Thanks for all the feed backs,

I've never had a frame break on me since 91 when I first started mountain biking,including a giant CFM2, scott fx2 and many very small
alu h/tails with crazy amounts of seat post out, as was the way back then...................

But i've never had ti before.

I think the Soda sounds like it will do nicely, if i can get one to fit my 6,3"ness.
Are they really made in the uk as ive been told or is that abit of, hummm, my beard etc etc

soda...
Like any other frame, they can break. I know because I was unlucky to have mine crack on me

You're not the only one who was "unlucky".

The last batch of Sodas were made by Lynskey, if you can demo a Large Soul that will let you see if it fits OK.

I'm 5' 11" and a Medium is fine for me.

Well last year I bought a Van Nic Ti Tuareg.
Frame has a lifetime warranty. Built it up to 23lbs and it's great to ride.

You won't get a decent Ti build for £1500. Many frames cost this on their own. I got a 2010 discounted one for £750 from on-one after months of looking around. Build ended up being around £3k I guess - never added it all up so I have genuine deniability when asked 🙂

My advice if you are after a bike for life is to really take your time - buy the frame and do a build - think about every component carefully and do your research. I did all this and the bike is so much better for it.

Thread [url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/new-bike-ti-content-2 ]here[/url]

Keep us posted...

Frame for life?

Perhaps "frame I've always wanted" ?

Have a VN Zion which is a lovely bike for the sort of thing you describe.

Nice comfortable top tube length.

68 deg head angle (I think) with 100 mm forks.

Perhaps not as exclusive as some of the others but quite well priced and occasionally cheap.

Cheers DaveRambo, i did mean £1500 on the frame, Ive already got most of the bits of my current bike,,,,,,,

Ah if it's £1500 on the frame then it's not an easy choice as there are quite a few options.

Maybe look for a custom build ? Kent Eriksen maybe?
Or a nicher brand - Seven, Moots, Enigma etc

They might be a bit more than the budget though but then there's always better options over your budget.

You seem to know what you want so look at all the brands over a period of time. Don't rush it. Brings back all those exciting emotions I had when choosing mine.

DaveRambo - the OP's budget is up to £1500 for the frame not £5000! 🙄

I've been correlating all the threads about ti frames cracking with the ones about being fat and weight loss and wondering if there's any sort of connection. Is it maybe just the case that fat people crack ti frames disproportionately often? I get the impression that the average weight round here is, what, 15 stone or more. Or am I barking up the wrong tree and fat people just break frames made from any material?

People always double the budget - it's the second law of bike buying.
🙂

A Kent Eriksen is $3200 - so £2kish (according to a quick google) only £500 more.

and the OP did say it was a bike for life.

I spoke to Kent Erikkson (well, his admin monkey) and inc delivery and tax you're looking at £ for $ parity pricewise.

Used is the only way to buy a 19" Soda these days. I'd still recommend it. Mine was bought with a vague eye to being "all the bike I'll ever need". I sold it a couple of months ago to fund a Cotic Solaris (similar, but steel in 29er form), and bought a used full suss 29er with the change.

Not sure what that tells you that's useful, but I would still say the Soda is a fantastic bike if 26" is what you want.

DEAN? or Mebbe a nuskool Sunn Exact Ti they were lovely!

Im planning on getting a Ti Stanton soon and I hope that will be the hardtail Ive always wanted.

Thoroughly enjoying my Brodie.

For life? Who knows. Maybe a slimmer (read more comfortable) seat tube would be good. Otherwise I intend to keep it for quite a while as my 'do most things' bike.

I loved my old ti merlin - I rode it to death - its head tube was replaced and the seat tube cracked twice - i would love another but tbh a steel bike is a bike for life and far easier to repair

not against Ti but dont be under the impression they last a lifetime - I got 7 years out of mine and rode it very hard.

Best bit was polishing it up !

paul

I thought this my Merlin Oreas was going be my 'bike for life' but being honest there is no such thing and I was unlucky to suffer an injury that meant selling it as I didn't know if I'd recover. Absolutely stunning bike and one of the best builds I've ever done with loads and loads of bling on it. Still miss it loads 😥
[IMG] [/IMG]

i would say Kent Eriksen is just as Niche as seven and moots. Enigma doesnt even come close IMO if you are talking niche. Kent did actually start and run Moots for a number of years but left a few years back as they were becoming a bit too mainstream for him. Ivan Dobski is right about the whole £ equals $ thing as well.
Does it have to be a Ti hardtail? what about a IF steel deluxe or Seven Sola? theres a bike that if you damage a tube can easily be fixed by a number of quality frame builders in the UK without the hassle of sending it back to the US

Other bikes may come and go but my Ti is for life. She's over 3 years old now and as beautiful as ever. 8) Litespeed Ocoee.

I don't know much about these but they look pretty sweet [url= http://fireflybicycles.com/ ]firefly[/url] I'd still go custom enigma though, they're local too.

those Firefly bikes look sweet as! if £1500 is your budget then an Enigma is a very very good way to go and they look super cool with the variety of finishes offered. plus theyre in the UK

Avoid a Ti frame with a head tube gusset though as i was told thats a very bad idea

njee20 - Member

Frame for life doesn't exist. If used, bikes break.

If it was me and I really wanted something ostensibly 'for life' (let's also gloss over the fact it will be obsolete in 10 years)

How does a bike frame become obsolete?

My 1990s Raleigh ti appears to be a frame for life for me. Previously owned by someone who rode it much harder than me so if he didn't break it I won't

A Darren crisp

Or

A Baum

Are enigmas made here or do they just send the cad drawing off to W Ho Eva in china just like anyone can

Ti Ala Carte may sound slightly more your thing than a Soda, 100mm rather than 120. You can pick one up for not much more than £1k now.

Edit, Ala Carte, not Alan Carr...

Custom Ti Enigmas are made in the UK, the standard Ti Enigmas are batch produced overseas.

A bike for life is really about how good the warranty is... not what it's made of

I'm on my third Raleigh Ti frame, but it had a 15 year warranty so no problems. i won't get a fourth if it breaks though as they don't make ti frames anymore AFAIK

They do clean up nicely though, there's no paint to chip and they don't rust.

I don't think the bike for life exists not because I think it will inevitably break but because standards will change over the years.

I bought a bike for life in 1990. It has a 1" headset, pressfit bearings which take a square taper axle that's only available from one place in the US, The brake bosses on the frame are positioned to take a 'U' brake and the geometry means that it really needs forks shorter than anything readily available today and certainly not suspension forks.

It is still a great frame and gets ridden fairly often but spares are getting harder and harder to get and I can foresee the day when it becomes impossible to get decent quality bits to fit it.

Leaving that aside If were to buy something special I'd go for a Seven or IF.

[edit] thinking about it a bit more and I realised that I wouldn't actually go for either of those as I wouldn't be able to leave it anywhere without assuming it would get stolen as happened with my last super dooper bike purchase.

for life?....well I've got a Ti456 but I really want a Jones. I'd only ever spend that much if I 'won the lottery' though....but treatng myself to hte Ti456 was nice, and still makes me grin just to look at it or think about it!

Soda - it's a bike for life for me. In that it's all the bike I want or need, and if it does break I guess I'll try to get another...?

I still have my cheap Taiwanese Ti bike - affectionately known as The Onion. It does all that "old style" mountainbiking. It'll take panniers, 100mm forks (or rigid) and is real comfy. I've done some decent off-road tours on it, and written about some of them on here. It's basically a Van Nicholas Zion, but direct from the factory that makes them. It cost me all of £380 to get it - including shipping to the UK. That was, however, a few years back when the exchange rate was more favourable.

However...... if I was buying a bike for that same purpose today, I'd go for a 29er.

Edit: FWIW, I've seen more broken/poorly made US Ti frames than anything else, so don't get sucked in by any jingoistic nonsense.

the nearest you'll get to a bike for life is a 'Triggers Broom' style one.

I bought a hardtail in 96, and I've still got it, but it's on it's sixth frame, eighth pair of forks, third chainset, and so on.

The bike i've kept the longest and still love every time is my Cotic Soda.

It's the latest model which is lynskey made and rides so well.

I keep giving 29ers a try, but couldn't bare to part with my soda.

Its my fourth ti frame, 5th if you count a warranty replacement Hummer.

As said before, don't plan on it being a bike for life, bikes can break and if not i'm sure you'll fancy a change at some point. (I'm around 85kg and ride pretty light, but i've broken a frame or two in the past)

If you can still get a Soda, do it i'm sure you'd love it, but seriously consider the Soul first. You could buy 2 and get them powder coated every year for 10 years and still be in pocket.

One of the Genesis range

Look great and ride nice.

Had my Enigma a couple of years now and its the bike that gets taken out the most, other bike is an 08 Pitch Pro. Still love the Pitch and intend to keep it for gnar stuff but for my do-it-all-everyday bike the Ego gets used the most.

A 456Ti will run any fork from 100mm to 160mm, but I find its happier around 140mm. I love mine and this week its managed two days at Glentress, one at Innerleithen, a night ride and an XC day out. I race and enduro it, plus use it for dog runs are the like.

And its not like Ti are frames are particularly expensive, compared to most decent FS's people seem to ride on here.

I'm still rocking a 95 DBR Axis TT.
Rebuilt in 07 with the last decent V brake fork I could get, Fox F80, XTR V brakes & XT drivetrain.
I'll never sell it, they don't make them like that any more.

There's no such thing obviously, but I could be very happy with a Ragley Ti for a very long time, I think.

+1 for the Soda.

Still my favourite bike after 3 and a half years.
Mine has a few dents but hopefully it'll last a while longer.

There is such a thing.

Buy a brand that build their own ti frames onsite with experienced staff.
Buy a brand that has a strong reputation for mostly building just with ti, working ti is expensive to set up.
Buy a brand that has an interest in preserving their ti reputation.

Every bike brand has failures, those still building ti bikes have managed the failure with excellent customer service. quality control costs money, Buy cheap buy twice.

My ti frame from 1994 is still being ridden regularly. The one built in 2000 raced last years trans-provance.

Choose carefully, play a percentage game, and you'll increase your chance of getting a frame that will last a lifetime, or as near as!

ti_pin_man - Member
There is such a thing.

Buy a brand that build their own ti frames onsite with experienced staff.
Buy a brand that has a strong reputation for mostly building just with ti, working ti is expensive to set up.
Buy a brand that has an interest in preserving their ti reputation.

ti_pin_man - Member

There is such a thing.

Buy a brand that build their own ti frames onsite with experienced staff.
Buy a brand that has a strong reputation for mostly building just with ti, working ti is expensive to set up.
Buy a brand that has an interest in preserving their ti reputation.

What, like Lynskey?

Northwind - Member

What, like Lynskey?

Does kinda make me wonder what I'll do if my Soda breaks 🙁 Ti456 is too much bike for me, I think; and the Cotic geometry is just so right

druidh - Member

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! You really crease me up!

Was worried I'd played that one a bit too straight tbh.

How about a Cove Hummer, mine must be a 2009 model goes well as it doesn't have stupid length forks, just 120 mm, which is perfect and best of all I will be selling it soon to get a 29er hard tail.

Any one interested in a 19" with rebas and 10spd XT group set, Eaton finishing kit and Hopehubs on Stans.

I've just put my Litespeed Lookout Mountain on the For Sale page, I doubt you'll find a better frame for your project, call me if you are interested: 07908611345

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/litespeed-lookout-mountain-titanium-hardtail-frame