I've had a few Ti frames over the years, both road and mtb, but for the last couple of years I've had carbon, ally and steel instead. I enjoyed Ti frames, but came to the conclusion that bikes are about more than just the materials they're made from, and didn't particularly hanker after another Ti bike until I saw the Kinesis Sync.
Anyone else been drawn back to Ti by something pretty or innovative - or is it increasingly a material of the past?
Still have my Ti tourer and my wee hardtail. I also have a new Burls Ti 29er frame on order.
I can see the advantages of carbon but, other than cost, I can't see why steel or alloy gets a look in.
I've broken every Ti frame* i've ever owned so i'll not be buying another.
*some cheap and some not so cheap. 😐
I never left the country of Ti. Light responsive, and if you buy a good one, should last a long time. Mine have. It took 18 years to actually break one, and that was my everyday ride three/four times a week bike. It's being repaired. I shan't be parted. BUT you're right... A bike is just a bike.
if you buy a good one, should last a long time
lolcanos.
My Ragley's going nowhere, til it cracks, which it will because of Legendary Lynskey Build Quality. Going to sell the Soda I think but nothing to do with the material, I just have too many bikes.
singlespeedstu - Member
I've broken every Ti frame* i've ever owned so i'll not be buying another.*some cheap and some not so cheap.
clumsy.
Never had a ti frame before but my new Stanton slackline ti will be going nowhere until either it's broken or I am...and knowing my luck both will happen at the same time. 🙁
I too suffered from the Legendary Lynskey Build Quality, twice.
That's it, never Ti again...ever.
And then along came the Kinesis Sync and Tripster ATR. Have purchased a Tripster and the Sync is currently on the 'wish list' for my next MTB.
I had a custom 650 race frame made by Kingdom Bike two years ago and its perfect. Never wanted to chop it in and will almost certainly keep it until I (or it) dies.
I paid £2500 for a ti-deluxe indyfab made to measure in every way, rode it a couple of times, had some bad luck and spent 5 years off the trails having a bit of a fight with leukemia and recently got back into fitness and training and only now, clear of all that and riding again, now know that my "bespoke" dream machine doesn't fit me, top tube virtual is 1.5 inches too short!!!! am now gonna probably buy a £350 orange crush frame cos it will fit so no I wouldn't rush back, or actually be that bothered, most important thing to me is fit...material secondary. that said, if I could find a uk builder and it fitted, I would be tempted! (and a good ti hardtail, relaxed head angle and decent travel versus my yeti asr? hmm even though my bouncer fits better I would take the former!
I've still got an original Tinbred and a Tomac Revolver Ti - don't own any other bikes 😉
Interesting. I only managed to break one Ti frame, and it wasn't either of the Lynskey-built ones I've had. I've also broken an Aluminium frame. I'm guessing if you don't break one every now and then you probably aren't trying hard enough. At 6'4" and 15 stone I'm not sure my hit rate is all that flattering. That said, the Sync looks like it will break me first.
Singlespeedstu - How did you break your Ti Jones ?
Double post
I also would like to know how it broke
Haven't ridden the Global ti for over two years but now I've realised that in August I'm going to be needing it for the school C2C with some slicks and a rack on it. Better dust it down and oil the chain soon.
'Global Ti'
I always thought it was 'Glo Balti' presumably due to a love of fluorescent Indian food. As a username it had always amused me for that reason...
If it's both then that is proper clever - chapeau !
Found the orange vit t ( lynsky made ) a bit average to ride but not bad and I shall keep it
Got an old merlin road frame second hand and it's amazing , smooth light and far far nicer than the carbon stuff I've had
Material is one thing but you still get good and bad ones
Keef - Member
singlespeedstu - Member
I've broken every Ti frame* i've ever owned so i'll not be buying another.
*some cheap and some not so cheap.clumsy.
Not clumsy.
Just not mincing on it. 😉
Stuck with Ti for 10 years now. Bought a Ti Inbred and countless frames (carbon, ali, full suss, steel) have come and gone in that time, but this one always felt right from day 1. This is now my only MTB.
Just stripped, polished and re-built it...
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Biggererer...
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I ended up with a Ti bike recently due to falling in love with it's looks and subsequent great test ride. Twas the Kinesis Sync, just can't stop looking at it!
Wish I had the pennies for a ti el mariachi.
Surely now we have 953, Ti is obsolete... 🙂
(Owner of 2 Ti bikes)
I'm saving for a custom built Enigma Ego for my 50th next year. I have been a little wary of Ti, after all you hear of every failure on here, but they are only down the road from me should any repairs ever be needed and I'm a 9 stone wheels on the ground mincer. In 28 years of riding a mountain bike I've broken a seat clamp bolt, nothing else, and only then because I ignored the creaking of it being lose so I hope I should be ok with a frame.
@shortbaldone how do you know your VTT is 1.5" to short? Seems like a very exact measurement for you too have just pulled it out of thin air but also seems like a huge amount for Indy Fab to be off in their measurements as well.
[url= https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8013/7529451154_fb6e918ce4_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8013/7529451154_fb6e918ce4_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/ctmpvm ]P7080002[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/61984376@N02/ ]DO.1[/url], on Flickr
Thought about selling it but think i'd regret it if I do.
It is a lot haggis and I think maybe something went wrong in translation at the factory but because of the time lapsed it's impossible to track back all the audit trail, I doubt my lbs chappie measured wrongly, he is very good at stuff so I think during the ether or at the other end. It didn't and doesn't feel right and yet my small yeti Asr felt better off the shelf so got some opinions, lots of them, all said too short by a long way so now been to back up the theory on a measuring bike jig pro fit thing and was confirmed to me that in there view the top tube was 1.5 inches too short (they provided it in mms and then converted it to old age speak for me!) I should add I paid for the fit as a stand alone service so as not to encourage a negative answer to get sold a bike. So am now looking at getting a new bike around a frame that fits, I need a vtt length of 23.55 inches and would love to get standover for my 29inch inseam but realize that's unlikely. Closest I have sat on (not ridden) is this years 17inch crush, a far different beast to having a beautifully hand crafted Indy and Ali too but frankly I just want something that fits!
@shortbaldone how do you know your VTT is 1.5" to short? Seems like a very exact measurement for you too have just pulled it out of thin air but also seems like a huge amount for Indy Fab to be off in their measurements as well.
I think top tubes have got longer as stems have got shorter....
Had a Soda, broke it.
Had a Brodie Holeshot, some ****er sawed it in half to steal it.
Have had a Van Nic Yukon for 7 years. Lovely bike to ride which I cannot envisage selling.
Amphill, definitely agree they have which is why I wanted some science behind it, sure was designed with pre agreed stem of 90mm so that's all been netted in the calculations , it is what it is and on the positive side, my 13 year old is deliriously happy with his inheritance made of Ti and it's beautifully crafted, no doubt but I have to seek another, it's just slightly put me off the custom process but am sure it's a rare occur acne going by how happy owner drivers normally are of these and other custom made bikes.
I would try again but I would want a uk builder so I could stay closer to the process so some learning there but if I can find a stock fit somewhere it will leave more cash for a nice build
This is my Ti beasty
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Litespeed Obed (2009/10) but too many bikes forcing imminent sale. Would buy again tho, it's arguably among the beefier Ti frames, yet rocks the climbs too.
Why are they always grey? Are they hard to paint or is it just to make sure everybody knows it's Ti?
roverpig - Member
Why are they always grey? Are they hard to paint or is it just to make sure everybody knows it's Ti?
Easy to maintain. No paint to scratch and cleans up nicely with some brass wool.
Mine hasn't got decals on it anymore and being polished looks more like aluminium than ti.
Ok, that makes sense, thanks and I guess there must be some people who like grey.
Most of my bikes are Ti...never broken or even damaged one.
They're not all good though. I never did get on with my Soda, Hummer or Ti456.
Shortbaldone
I have a Crush frame for sale, hardly used, yours for free provided you make a suitable donation to the Michael Bonney trust fund, it's a 17 with 600mm Vtt in Orange,
Reason for sale is I prolapsed a disc last July and since then rode only full sus
Phwill77 at gmail dot com
They're not all good though. I never did get on with my Soda, Hummer or Ti456.
I think this is my point about bikes being about more than their materials. I loved my Soda, but couldn't get on with a Hummer at all.
roverpig - Member
Ok, that makes sense, thanks and I guess there must be some people who like grey.
All my bikes are mud coloured regardless of the paint colour. 🙂
I've had my Kobe Ti for 8? 9? years now, can't see myself getting rid of it. Just got a new fork for it, should keep it going for another 4-5 more years 🙂
My A La Carte brings a smile to my face every time I look at it.
I reach a half century in 2 months (fingers crossed) and have some savings that would let me spring for a Seven Cycles Soda SLX but the money is sooo much more it would have to be pretty special...
Before you all comment about my seatpost height I have long legs ;-P
Kona Hei Hei, had it 14 years, wished I'd never sold it
[url= https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3109/2574207242_7f45618003.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3109/2574207242_7f45618003.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://flic.kr/p/4Vtu8u ]2008_0506_183833AA[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/52769476@N00/ ]South Downs MTB Skills[/url], on Flickr
Cove Hummer, been though a few guises, don't ride it that much, but will never sell it
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[url= https://flic.kr/p/gf8GyS ]Cove Hummer[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/52769476@N00/ ]South Downs MTB Skills[/url], on Flickr
Kinesis Sync, the one I ride most of the time
[url= https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2883/9698905095_09fa9cc8ea.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2883/9698905095_09fa9cc8ea.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://flic.kr/p/fM4qzD ]Angmering Park Gibbet Post[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/52769476@N00/ ]South Downs MTB Skills[/url], on Flickr
Kinesis Tripster ATR, awaiting my size to come into stock, then it will be mine.....
Can't wait
[url= https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7434/11296232445_8919580ec1.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7434/11296232445_8919580ec1.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://flic.kr/p/idd9mn ]DSC02575[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/52769476@N00/ ]South Downs MTB Skills[/url], on Flickr
roverpig - MemberWhy are they always grey? Are they hard to paint or is it just to make sure everybody knows it's Ti?
What's lighter than paint? Not paint 😉
My garage is really boring though, I went from a bright yellow Mmmbop via a black C456 to a grey Ragley Ti covered with well worn black bits that have turned grey, the john major of bikes. It's like having your own instagram filter.
I've had a few over the years - an early 2000's Litespeed road frame was my first and I like it a lot but that got swapped out for a number of carbon road frames in the ensuing years. I had a Rock Lobster Ti mountain bike frame that I never really did justice around the same time, then apart from really wanting an early Ti456, never gave Ti much more thought.
Roll on a fair few years... loving my alloy Tripster, it was an easy choice to put my name down for one of the first Ti versions last summer and it's been a hoot ever since. Just done 50 odd miles on it today, roads, lanes, tracks, bridleways - an absolute blast.
I had a Mk1 Ti456 for a while; the steel ones were one of my favourite hardtails and the ti version was very nice indeed, though not 6x as special if I'm honest.
I have no yearnings for another carbon roadbike at the moment, I'd happily stick a steel hardtail in the garage (alongside the alloy full suss that gets used from time to time) if we're talking about choosing frame materials, but the Tripster ATR for me is the ultimate bike. It's like bikes were when we were kids - you didn't go to your dad's garage and choose from a quiver of bikes, you just got your bike out and went for a ride. And you rode the same bike in the woods, down the BMX track, round the roads, on the beach...
The Tripster's like that and the fact that it's titanium means it rides like a dream, it's lightweight, comfy, fast, looks purdy... A proper bicycle (and a bloody site nicer than the one I had when I was about ten too!) 🙂
What size/year is your Soda Northwind? Could be interested if you do decide to get rid.
Been riding this for 12 years or more -
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That tinbred looks well appointed, nice!
Lovin' the Kona!
have always wanted a ti HT, if there was a ti frame in Yelli Screamy geometry I'd have it for breakfast. (perhaps a tiny bit shorter in TT please).
a buddy has a Sync and likes much, tho took a while to get with it. I didn't warm to it on my first go, it's a lot more flighty than I expected for a 'trail bike', but I'd really like to revisit it.
ti bikes are gorgeous. or leastways, it takes a true talent to make an ugly one. The Lynskey with the twisted down tube achieves it tho.
Had a Rocky Mountain Ti-Bolt for 12 years before someone broke into my house and nicked it.
Bought a 1997 19" Kona Hei Hei King Kahuna to replace it but it's just a bit too small, am selling it if anyones interested, it's in amazing condition.
Sorry for the hatchet job posting an image, really just haven't got the patience to figure out how to embed it properly...
My 456Ti Mk1.5 (Lynskey plus brake 'pipe') is now in it's 6th year - ridden 2-3 per week. Pretty much destroyed every component attached to it, more than once, except for stem spacers and front mech.
Love it.
On an original Ti456 at the moment, nicest hardtail I've ever owned, and being fairly slack it's as fast downhill with me on it as I was on a full suss.
Love it but will be moving it on when I've saved enough for a 29C, as it just suits where I ride 99% of the time better.. don't really need 150mm forks 🙂
Another Ti Sync owner here, I absolutely love it, stunning bike to ride and look at.
@mattjg -
I know what you mean, the geo does sit you forward (as the late great Steve Worland mentioned in his ST review, a great review btw, issue 84 if you've not read it) I've changed to wider strut bars and shorter stem and it's transformed the ride no end, it's still very lively but I feel more confident, I've also lost the dropper and gone for a carbon post, the ride is very smooth for a HT, my other ride is a 140 AM, but the Sync is my go to bike though.it's a lot more flighty than I expected
Agree it's gorgeous. I need some more ride time on one really, my immediate impression on a quick go was it was much more different in handling to my Yelli Screamy than I expected for a 'trail' bike. But that's hardly a fully rounded test.
I absolutely want to want one!
Tinbred
Dialled - Morning Glory (took me nerly a year to get Bubba to post it from Canuckia, goddamn stoner 😉
Dialled - Kobe Ti (on second as first was nicked)
Titus Fireline
I've really liked all of them except the Fireline. Then again I haven't built it yet 😉 TBH I got it in their sale after Xmas because I got on with the Scandal and the swoopy TT reminded me of the Kobe.
Not re-built the Kobe yet as have been enjoying other bikes and wheel sizes. Seeing all these pics makes me want to build it and the Tinbred back up.
I kind of like ti - this one rides nicely.
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[url= https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2285/2659407550_01c1ecc711_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2285/2659407550_01c1ecc711_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/541adj ]Bikey Things (4 of 12)[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/60876362@N00/ ]Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr
I had my hummer for over five years (which for me is a lifetime!). Probably did close to 10,000km on it and had a few trips to Spain etc. Rode it all over the UK as well and loved it. Then I bought a FS frame which was longer, lowers and slacker. Rebuilt the Cove with nice bits but it never felt right after that.
Sold on. Still going - or was a year ago. I'd not considered another Ti until I saw the Sync in one of the local LBS's. It'd be a very expensive replacement for my Solaris tho...
And that Tripster is lovely. Really lovely. Wish I hadn't seen it. And I don't even like road bikes!
Look what arrived yesterday...
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Look what the AJG man delivered today[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/22384952@N02/ ]ScotRoutes[/url], on Flickr
I had a Soda which I loved, was my only bike for years.
Unfortunately it broke, I bought a steel frame, which pedals and descends better.
The Soda was prettier tho.... 😉
I don't think I'd buy a Ti frame again, in terms of ride quality, I think good steel is not far off and you can spend the difference on better parts.
My steel frame has exactly the same parts as the Soda used to run, the weight difference is pretty small.
Im still loving my Ti Hummer, no plans to do anything but ride it
I had a Charge Duster Ti for many years which I did a lot of riding on and it never let me down. Three of my mates had the same frames and no-one ever broke one or heard of anyone who had.
I loved it and only sold it because I wasn't riding much any more and needed the money for my house renovation.
I fully expect to own another Ti frame some day.