Titus Silk Road looks great to me: tell me why I'm wrong

I dunno about beer, but you could buy the whippet and take it on holiday somewhere nice.
I don’t reckon there’s actually that much to choose between them performance wise, the ti one maybe looks a bit nicer, but I’m not sure that’s worth the price difference tbh.
I’d probably go whippet tbh.
Edit: can you fit a rack to the whippet? That could be a deal breaker for some.

Looks great to me 👍

Looks good, in a bit of an old school way, a bit like a Singular Swift or Salsa El-Mariachi (yes I know they both came in Ti versions too).

I've been mulling over getting a "propper" XC bike to go with my Scandal, but looking at XC bikes now they're rapidly getting towards the Scandal anyway (just 5lb lighter and a lot more £££). Which then begs the question, why would a bikepacking bike want to be less stable given that one of the problems while bikepacking is you can't lift the bike off the ground so a bit of inherent stability over rough stuff is a good thing!

I'm now thinking stooge mk5.

Looks great... For bike packing. Is that what you're planning to do with it?

It’s not a Titus, it’s just another Taiwanese catalogue bike from the purveyors of shit QC and appalling customer service.

why would a bikepacking bike want to be less stable given that one of the problems while bikepacking is you can’t lift the bike off the ground so a bit of inherent stability over rough stuff is a good thing!

If I can't get the bike over things as reliably or hitting something hard does more damage, I appreciate some agility to avoid it. Loading a bike adds stability pretty well and too much stability can limit agility. Or becomes tiring to wrestle the bike around if you have weight adding to slack/flop-prone steering that would feel good otherwise.
A bike can be stable without needing a very slack front end. I'm not a subscriber to the low trail thing for loaded bikes that comes from the road/front load style but lower trail than the average trail MTB is what I'd be looking for. You probably do end up with a quite 'XC' feel when unloaded but that's ok.
But either way, you get used to it. I just don't see the usual advantages of slacker geo fully applying to loaded long distance riding.

peteimpreza
Full Member
It’s not a Titus, it’s just another Taiwanese catalogue bike from the purveyors of shit QC and appalling customer service.

I've had nothing but great service from PX. Do you have a link to the Taiwanese catalogue bike and any proof of the reasons it will be shite quality?

OP - if it suits you - go for it, bikes are expensive everywhere at the moment so there's never been a better time to justify a PX/OO titanium framed bike. I've had several all the way back to a ti29er and they've all been great.

On a slight side not (more to the folk at OO/PX) why have a small headtube, requiring a bent toptube (thereby costing more in manufacturing) when you intend to market/sell it with that many spacers under the stem? If it's truly a bike packing bike, a more upright position is pretty standard, no?

Would I be better off buying a Whippet: https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBOOWHGX/on-one-whippet-sram-gx-mountain-bike and spending the rest on beer?

How about buying a Whippet and buying some really good lightweight wheels and tyres and some bike packing bags and a decent rucksack?

The Titus looks nice but for the price the spec isn't very good. Also the warranty is 2 years for a ti frame.

For that kind of money there are alternatives. Sonder ti frames have a 10 year warranty for example.

My rule when it comes to PX is never buy anything at the RRP. There will always be another sale!

The whippet was £999 not that long ago! What a bargain that is

But either way, you get used to it. I just don’t see the usual advantages of slacker geo fully applying to loaded long distance riding.

I was thinking more when you're bumping down something steep, or trying to ride across some soggy tussocy bog and on a normal unloaded bike the front wheel just bounces over the obstacle (or you lift it). In that scenario having a longer front centre to move the overall COG back might help stop it all going OTB.

If it were me, I would rather spend that money with someone like Shand than OnOne.

matt_outandabout
Full Member
If it were me, I would rather spend that money with someone like Shand than OnOne.

@matt_outandabout

But you're not spending THAT money, are you? To get an equivalent STEEL bike from Shand with a similar spec (arguably better wheels) will cost you another £1000 for the Bahookie?

It’s an ugly bike that’s for sure; imagine it’s good for its intended purpose, but I’d go Whippet if it was me.

It’s an ugly bike that’s for sure

@robowns Why is it ugly? What don't you like about it?

I think it looks great

Actually, just taken a closer look. I don't like the rear brake routing along the top tube and I don't like the curve off the steerer but apart from that.

Maybe I just love raw frames no matter what

To get an equivalent STEEL bike from Shand with a similar spec (arguably better wheels) will cost you another £1000 for the Bahookie?

Fair point, I had read the OO as £3k...

I was thinking more when you’re bumping down something steep, or trying to ride across some soggy tussocy bog and on a normal unloaded bike the front wheel just bounces over the obstacle (or you lift it). In that scenario having a longer front centre to move the overall COG back might help stop it all going OTB.

And you might not be using a dropper and have a seat pack in the way of getting off the back. I thought your comment was more about the 70 deg HTA. The FC looks ok to me, all in all looks like a sorted frame for that kind of riding. Apart from the tussock-ridden bog bit, which is always a push ime where geometry matters little : )

Shame they ripped off the name from a much cooler bike:

[img] [/img]

Yeah but Cannondale called it Silk Road as the fork made for a smooth ride, at least the Titus is more aptly named as it’s a means of transporting not just you, but also stuff from one place to another. It’s also made in the far east and sold over here 🙂

It’s also made in the far east and sold over here 🙂

😀 Touche!

So what am I missing? Tell me why this is a terrible plan, please. Would I be better off buying a Whippet:

It's Titanium, arguably the most difficult material to make consistently reliable frames from, and it's being sold by the architypal purveyors of cut price cycling stuff... most of these "bikes for life" seem to fail long before their owners die...

Plus it's not the 90s anymore, people were only bashing one out over "superlight" Titanium jewelry 30 odd years ago because composites were in their (relative) infancy lots of aluminium frames were being welded by cowboys and steel was seen as "old fashioned" funny how times have changed...

I'd take a gamble with a few hundred quid on aluminium or steel from PX/ON ONE. But not a grand or more on Titanium.

Edit: having just checked the scandal frame looks, well scandalously overpriced too.

Wouldn't buy a ti bike at any price. They crack eventually. Almost all of them. No idea why anyone buys one - I would be worried the whole time. All the nonsense of them being a "bike for life" has almost been totally wiped out.

Having owned a multitude of Ti bikes, from OO - Merlin and everything in between, I’ve never broken one in almost 20 years of riding.

Even a good quality aluminium frame feels harsh to me (Klein is the exception here), steel frames (again to me) generally feel heavy and dead (IF being the exception here) Composite frames, when designed well and layered up properly are VERY good (Open Upper), but there’s something sweet about a Ti frame, the ting of gravel/rocks pinging off it, the slight zip you get when really pushing hard on one, the slight patina it takes on from use that paint just doesn’t get. It occupies a perfect place somewhere between the lightweight stiffness of composite and the classic steel frames. There’s a reason the material is used in such abundance in aerospace where high strength, lightweight, non-coated applications with good damage tolerance are required.

Currently i only have a Litespeed T5G in Titanium, but whilst its not the lightest of my gravel bikes, it puts such a huge smile on my face ever time i ride it.

Wouldn’t buy a ti bike at any price. They crack eventually. Almost all of them

this has the feels of proper research and not at all like a poor sweeping generalisation.

For those who don't like the weird top tube of the Silk Road and want something more conventional, there is also the 'new' El Viajero:
https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBTIEVGX/titus-el-viajero-sram-gx-titanium-mountain-bike
Quite tempted for a fast XC / long day mile muncher, although again, poor spec for the price - but it's Ti so what ya gonna do!? No frame-only option either 🙁

From memory that's about the same as a Sondor Broken Road with gx and a Reba.I'm sure they'd do one with a carbon fork of you asked

I see the appeal of bike like this. One step more capable off road than a gravel bike. Still light and versatile. But I'd be really tempted but a short track suspension fork. In my experience you're never slower with a suspension fork. You do of course loose luggage options.

Here it is. A mate bought one but he got a Reba not a Recon

https://alpkit.com/products/sonder-broken-road-gx-eagle

At least the whippet comes in colour. There is enough misery in the world without people buying grey bikes 🙂

Yeah, TBF that Broken Road is probably better than the El Viajero in many ways - rack mounts for one.

As for colour, if it's Ti, it's gotta be silver! 😀

It’s also made in the far east and sold over here

*round of applause 🙂

I have a ti Titus frame - a Fireline.
I think the quality is excellent, welding is good, it's exceptionally light and hasn't broken.

TBF, I only paid about £300 second hand though.

I use it for bikepacking stuff with a rigid carbon fork. Also makes a nice trail hardtail with Pike forks.... Could be worth looking for a used one of them?

Whippet now comes with sram GX which must be where some of the price increase comes from

Remember those adverts px used to do, comparing their prices with the competitions? They even sent ribble a calculator in the post and used it in an email.

Px are known for stacking em high, selling em cheap, every now and then they make a brilliant bike that we all love and because of that we look past the customer service and 2 year warranty. I've had a few px bikes and I buy stuff from them, I'm no px hater like some on here, however.....

Their prices are at full RRP, they are riding the bike wave at the moment, they have stock, there is a high demand. But for me, I don't think they are as good as the competition at the same price, they certainly don't keep their value as well in the 2nd hand market.

I remember px and sonder had an almost identical frame for sale a few years ago, there was a big thread about it but the px price was £500 cheaper. They would be the same now. Their prices have gone up but everything else including the 2 year warranty and customer service has stayed the same.

If I had a choice between px with a 2 year warranty on a ti frame or ribble with 5 (I think) and sonder with 10, why would I buy px unless it was significantly cheaper and worth the risk?

The problem buying a px bike at RRP is you know eventually there's going to be a sale on!

Ribble is 3 years and they don’t have an equivalent bike to the Silk Road.

Why should PX discount at the moment? If they can make money now which gets them through leaner times when demand is less high so that they’re still there when we want/need to buy a new bike, is that not a good thing?

@daffy, I'm not saying they should discount now, I'm just saying while their prices are high it makes the competition a far better choice. Maybe ribble should return the calculator 😂

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To be fair to that calculator, I got a PX Tempest with Ultegra, bacon butty and Thai curry for £1660.

I did have to build it myself - but they lent me some tools and workshop space.

Seems like a huge premium over a bike, such as the Whippet, for an incremental increase in performance.

If cost is a big factor then a cheaper hike and return flights to somewhere amazing, like Nepal or Kerala, to bike trek.

(maybe give it a year for covid!)

I'm not px hater but there's no way I would spend primo ££ with them. They are good for cheap no chance of good warranty punt stuff. There's a reason some brands are traditionally a bit more pricey. As a comparison, a mate bought a Scandal and had a couple of issues when only a month old, they just told him to jog on, like I said they would. In contrast the paint on my Orange at just under a year old was warrantied by Orange with a new 2021 frameset. You pays your money and all that...

How long has the Silk Road been on sale? Less than a week?

My rule when it comes to PX is never buy anything at the RRP. There will always be another sale!

Just got an email and it's got 10% off already. I guess that means they haven't sold many at that price.

Now £2159.99.

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBTISRGX/titus-silk-road-sram-gx-titanium-adventure-bike?utm_source=The+Planet+X+and+On-One+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=96cb14b6ac-070521-more-for-may-10-off-bikepacking-bikes&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_561486488b-96cb14b6ac-271210457&mc_cid=96cb14b6ac&mc_eid=ade4b0dbd1

I've just checked and they've changed the warranty on Titus titanium bikes. Gone are the days when Brant used to put us all straight. Makes it a far more attractive deal now. #humblepie 😂

All Planet X, On-One, Viner, Holdsworth and Selcof products carry a 2-year warranty as standard for the original owner (Titus titanium bike frames feature a lifetime warranty as standard for the original owner). All other branded goods carry the full manufacturer's warranty, which may vary in duration but will be a minimum of 1 year. Any component replaced or repaired by Planet X will be still covered for the remaining period of the original product.

Although in true planet x consistency, at the bottom of the page it still says built in the UK and 2 year warranty. 🤔

If you do buy one, I'd get something in writing from px first about the warranty just in case.

My Tinbred hasn't broken after 20 years or so. Hasn't got any chips or scuffs in the paintwork either, so it would still look like new if I bothered to clean it.

I have to say I'm interested in this too after resigning myself to the fact that it's unlikely i'd get my grubby hands on the Riverside 920 Adventure from Decathlon. Anyone know if it has tge 2nd gen GX Eagle groupset? Cassette isn't 10-52, but not sure that means it isnt?!

Looks ideal for what I'd want it for...would want some Jones style bars on it but that doesn't seem to be an option in their customization choices.

Looks like the 'lunar' colourway is the 2nd gen groupset...having some difficulty considering whether this would be 'better' than the slightly cheaper Titus Goldrush gravel bike, lighter, adjustable rear dropouts, carbon fork with mount points...but pretty long build time despite showing as in stock.

Have to say, the negative PX comments have also put me off a bit as either bike would be a big splurge for me.

It’s also made in the far east and sold over here

I seem to have had a thing for some of those 2k-2001 Cannondales. Had a Silk Tour (best proto-gravel bike and I instantly regretted selling), an F400, and F500 and an F900. Beautiful, chunky and very lightweight frames with hardly a visible weld. All made in Bedford, Pennsylvania, USA. Have no reason to doubt the Silk Road was the same. 2009 was the year they ceased US frame-production and shipped it Far East? Silk Road/Silk Tour weren’t in production by then I don’t think.

BTW that Planet X thing looks like my first ‘proper’ road bike after I mistakenly sprinted it into the back of a Ford Capri 😉

Still rode it with the bent tubes and interesting geo for another 6-7 years without further issues. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Saying that, I think that my Longitude is an ugly lump but it’s nonetheless a pretty good bikepacker/ATB

Did anyone buy one with 10% off at £2159.99?

There's currently £200 at the moment making it £2199.99.

I'm still very tempted...but not pulled the trigger yet.

Bumping as 25% off now. GX equipped Ti rigid 29er at £1,799. Really like mine. Cheaper SX-eqipped On One Rocky Road now £1,039.

As this thread has reappeared I'll update: I got the GX Whippet when it was discounted. I've not done anything very gnar on it yet, but I'm happy with it so far.

Oh, and the service from PX couldn't have been better.

Frames on sale now at £450

https://www.planetx.co.uk/deals/q/deal-FRTISILKROADTI

Use Code best20 this weekend and the frames are £359.99 plus post for a ti frame!

Use Code best20 this weekend and the frames are £359.99 plus post for a ti frame!

That's nuts! I ended up getting a fully built one last year and have had a lot of fun and done long miles on it. Takes a lot of gear and has clearance for 2.6 rear, 3.0 front. Ended up upgrading rear cassette to 10-52, oval chainring and getting some lighter wheels. Noticed the SRAM wireless version now looks to be good value, and has the 10-52 cassette as standard...
£349 for that frame looks to be a bargain (lifetime warranty too...)

Yes, it's very tempting. How different is it to the scandal? Is the silk Road based on a different frame like the whippet or is it unique?

I asked about the carbon fork with 3 bolts for bikepacking.

We do sell these yes. They're £250 each. The best way to do this would be to order the frame and then notify us of the order number and we'll add a fork on for you. We'd then take an additional payment via Paypal or BACS.

Kind regards,
Alex

This email is a service from Planet X Help. Delivered by Zendesk

There would be 20% off the fork too yes, so £200 instead.

Kind regards,

Alex

£550 for a ti frame and carbon fork is a pretty good deal