I picked up this frame from a seller on here recently who informed me that it was believed to be a prototype Titanium Dialled Bikes Prince Albert; whether it is or not – I dont know (unless Mike @ Dialled Bikes can tell me? – I have the frame number etc)

Anyway, I fancied a longer travel Ti hardtail and this seemed to fit the bill nicely. I have built it up with mainly cheap parts to begin with (except for the DT240/Olympic wheels which will be swapped between bikes) to see how I get on with a view to upgrades in the near future.

This was my first foray into the world of Ti and had only previously tried Aluminium and Carbon hardtails. Having now ridden the bike twice on two very different rides all I can say is… "what they say about Ti appears to be true" It is certainly more compliant than either of my previous hardtails and just seems to feel "right"

I had planned, or told my wife, that I would try it and most likely sell it after trying this whole Ti thing and dispelling it but unfortunately its a keeper. Well, as long as I tend to keep anything – not long.

nice!!! 😀 how does it ride?

😀 Gallus ride.

Lovely, but you will be needing an N-Gear jump stop for it…

Already fitted Tinsy but to be honest as the ring is unramped and the chain shortened I think I would normally get away without it. Fitted as I had it anyway.

I tried all that but it needed one off road, keeps the chain off the lovely frame.

Really nice bike I tried to get my mate to buy that when I saw it, but he poo poo'd it… he made a mistake.

get rid of the nics – they are hopeless – fat albert + snakeskin however…………. 😮

TLR – I disagree, I have been riding NN for about 2years now and love them on all the trails I ride. Each to their own I guess.

is jealous

thats what you want for breakfast.

It's a Mk2 Morning Glory prototype frame, rather than a titanium Prince Albert, but seeing as the Prince Albert was basically a steel Morning Glory, I suppose the names are interchangeable.

I had 2 of those frames in the pics made (1 x 17.5" and 1 x 19.5") around 4 years ago.

There was also a Mk3 prototype (again 2 were made) I think the only difference between the 2 prototypes was the size/shape of the downtube. Never bothered to put any of them into production as I fell out of love with Ti mountain bikes.

Mike – Thanks very much for the info. Mine as I am sure you can see from the pics is the 19.5". I love it so far.

Hope you dont mind me cannibalising the decals and making up the name?

mike : Never bothered to put any of them into production as I fell out of love with Ti mountain bikes.

pray tell……

the_lecht_rocks – Member
get rid of the nics – they are hopeless

i seem to remember someone saying NN's were ace….

Sheppie, I'm glad you like the frame.

TLR – nothing to tell, just a personal preference thing. I'm even retiring my one of a kind Ti BMX frame next season for a cro-moly one.

seems to be missing the side gussets – fnnarr!

sheppie – does the missus know you had it on the dining room table 😉

Only the Mk1 Morning Glory (and Kobe Ti) frames had side plates. None of the subsequent prototypes did.

It's great to see the frame is still being ridden and holding up after 3-4 years. Sheppie, you are now part of the R&D process for if I ever decide to produce those frames again!

I have one of the 17.5" Ti prototypes, shortly to be coming to Australia with me. It needs some work to get it looking quite so shiny as that one though… still need to fit that same headbadge as well.

I like it, same ace geometry as the Prince Albert but a good deal lighter.

Anyone who likes this bike might be interested in my Mk1 Morning Glory frame currently for sale in the classifieds. Not as shiny as this one but could be stripped back and polished up easily enough and comes with a unfitted metal head badge too.

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-dialled-bikes-morning-glory-large

Rio

mike : Never bothered to put any of them into production as I fell out of love with Ti mountain bikes.

pray tell……

Because they ride no differently to Alu but cost 5x more.

They break easier too.

Because they ride no differently to Alu

Total garbage as most sweeping generalisations are. Frames ride how they are designed to ride, regardless of the materials chosen to build them.

but cost 5x more.

Yep, that's true.

They break easier too.

Again, total garbage. Frames of all materials break for all sorts of reasons.

The mediums never seem to come up, but the large frames seem to appear every 6 months or so.

Adam M lets switch it up.

would you say Ti rides better than Alu?

Would you say Ti frames are stronger than Alu?

Would you say Ti frames are worth 5x more than Alu?

Thanks.

Didn't mean to divert the thread, sorry mate.
Great bike, wish I had the cash myself 🙂

Your generalising again. I would say that:

A particular Ti frame may ride better than a particular Alu frame, for a particular purpose.

A particular Ti frame may well be stronger than a particular Alu frame if that's how it's been designed.

A Ti frame may well be worth 5x more than an Alu frame to the intended purchaser.

Unless you are talking about a specific frame comparison then all of the 'normal' Ti versus Alumnium versus Steel generalisations are completely meaningless.

BUt I could say

A particular Alu frame may ride better than a particular Ti frame, for a particular purpose.

A particular Alu frame may well be stronger than a particular Ti frame if that's how it's been designed.

A Ti frame is never worth 5x more than an Alu frame unless you are trying to make a statement or have money to burn.

I'm also correct.

I'm sending a letter to "Mythbusters" about testing Ti frames vs Alu frames

First ride on rebuilt Kobe yesterday. Lovely.

If you ever decide to try a Ti Alpine I will have one.

I doubt I'll be parting with either the Kobe or MG. Grin-factor, skill and fitness compensating wonder bikes as far as I'm concerned 🙂

Mike,

Whats happening to that Ti BMX frame, fancy sellingit to a good home, or is it going to be hung up as a work of art?

Ti frames are a nice to have rather than a must have.

There seems to be a lot of willy waving attached to owning a Ti frame but owners of the equivalent steel frame shouldn't necessarily feel like they have a lesser bike considering their frame cost a fraction of the price, is probably less fragile than a Ti frame, and they probably register the same score on the fun-o-meter.

I think most of the pleasure of having a Ti frame comes from the kudos of owning one rather than it having any measurable qualities over a steel equivalent.

and banging one out over the welds?

thisisnotaspoon – Member
Mike,

Whats happening to that Ti BMX frame, fancy sellingit to a good home, or is it going to be hung up as a work of art?

It's a keeper. My new BMX frame is a bit experimental on the geometry and tubing so if it doesn't feel right or if it breaks I'll have to go back to the Ti frame.

BUt I could say

A particular Alu frame may ride better than a particular Ti frame, for a particular purpose.

A particular Alu frame may well be stronger than a particular Ti frame if that's how it's been designed.

A Ti frame is never worth 5x more than an Alu frame unless you are trying to make a statement or have money to burn.

I'm also correct.

Actually, we are both saying the same thing, and we're talking rubbish because we are not comparing specific frames. I was very specific that a Ti frame may be worth 5x more than an Alu frame to a specific purchaser, and it isn't just about making a statement. Get over yourself.

For what it's worth, I would love to try test riding a Ragley, but I'd probably be most interested in buying the Aluminium version rather than the Ti or steel.

Steel, Ti, Alu and carbon fibre are all materials from which a bike frame may be made, and each has its inherent advantages and disadvantages, but how a particular frame actually rides is almost entirely down to the designer and the fabrication. Which material it is made from is largely a secondary issue.

how a particular frame actually rides is almost entirely down to the designer and the fabrication. Which material it is made from is largely a secondary issue.

Why aren't all frames made from the cheapest materials possible then?

I think most of the pleasure of having a Ti frame comes from the kudos of owning one rather than it having any measurable qualities over a steel equivalent.

I bought the MG so I could have a great riding bike like my PA but lighter. Principally because I'm lazy and was grateful of the flattery it paid my average levels of fitness.

I half suspect someone to come along and tell me it's not really lighter but I've never weighed anything so am estimating / guessing 😉 Don't even bother arguing about whether it's "significant".

To follow on from what Mike said about the difference between a steel and Ti frame, I went from a Mk1 PA to a Mk1 MG and thought the MG felt nicer to ride, slightly more compliant and forgiving than the PA. However this may be entirely in my head because I'd paid 3 times more for the MG frame than I had for the PA.

It is absolutely awesome to have the Ti version of a classic design and it is my favourite bike, but I do think that if something did happen to it I would buy steel again rather than Ti (irrespective of price). Partly because steel is a bit easier to fix if something were to go drastically wrong with it, and also because I like to fly under the radar a bit and the blingyness of Ti makes you stand out a bit too much for my liking. The matt grey laquer of the MG is pretty good for keeping things low key and having taken off the decals you'd have to be a real bikegeek to know that it was Ti.

Thread resurrection time.

Anyone interested in buying a Kobe ?

what size and price? Mail in profile thanks.

Simon, its a mates who has just swithced everything onto a Dialled Alpine, I'll ask him. Its a shame to have it collecting dust.

Blimey. 2 kobes for sale in 1 week…

Ok, he'll have to be quick as I maybe buying the bike that started this thread in the next couple days.