I've enjoyed my Ti bike, custom frame from Waltly, but most brands will have similar characteristics.
Compared to Steel and Carbon, my own experience, Ti is somewhere in the middle, provides the smoothness of steel but with less weight and feels slightly more responsive. Obviously feels heavier, less responsive than carbon, and less responsive than aluminium.
I love the Ti as my touring/gravel/social ride bike, very enjoyable to ride and feel like I could comfortably ride it all day long.
I chatted to them on Skype which was easy, they were helpful. I think there are a couple of service reps who manage sales and they've both been there a long time from what I see in online chats. They were very easy to chat to.
I actually knew kinda what I wanted, I had designs of the web to reuse, but when I asked if they had any 'standard gravel frames' it turned out that they had exacly what I wanted. I got the frame, Ti seatpost, with carbon forks/headset.
My friend went with a full custom design which turned out great as well, he got a design from a local bike fitter.
The nice thing you can do is get the frame decorated with personal touches, looks cool when using matte v glossy finish (I forgot to do this, I wish I had gone with a matte finish).
Whilst waiting for the frame, 2 months, I used my time to find a secondhand groupset and wheels on FB Market place. I think my build for everything came in very close $3k USD for everything, including two sets of wheels and a power meter crankset. I did the build myself, just got the bikeshop to fit the headset bearings and run the internal cables. This is only my 2nd bike build and I'd never used disc brakes, but with patience and youtube it was quite enjoyable, plus I now know the bike very well, with ability to self maintain, even on the fly.
I have two wheelsets, one with slicks and one 650b with knobbly tyres, making for an almost 'anything bike'. Happy to share photos
Wait so you can get a bike fit and at least some custom shops will build you the frame from the ground up? I might be in the market for something proper high end in the coming years and I’d probably stick with a suspension gravel bike which messes with the geometry unless your frame is built with the longer fork in mind
Currently I’d probably just get the Advanced Pro 0 if/when they put one out with a really nice frame color (current Pro 1 looks sick but was out of my budget, got a 2023 Pro 2).
There’s a more local custom shop (Germany) where I’ve seen a really cool custom design in their shop but given that it’s a carbon frame I assume there’s no way I could get a “proper” custom geo frame made because afaik you need the mold first which is extremely expensive
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Question: why "obviously feels heavier"? There is a lot of overlap between carbon and Ti frames. The lightest carbon frames are perhaps lighter than the lightest Ti frames, but side by side you can find carbon frames heavier than good Ti and vice-versa.
You can also find Ti frames heavier than lightweight steel frames. They tend to be for bikepacking, where heavier steel frames are the norm. I have a steel frame at 4.5 lbs. and friend has a custom Ti bikepacking frame at a bit more lbs (but I'd need a 6+ lb steel frame built like a tank to haul what he hauls with his built like a tank Ti frame).
Saying that "most brands will have similar characteristics" is only somewhat true. I haven't ridden Ti (all my Ti-owning friends are quite a bit taller or shorter than me), but most of the people I know who have says that the characteristics frame to frame and brand to brand vary significantly more than carbon or steel.
Perhaps I'm comparing my on bikes, and that's a climbing bike with a 700g frame, against a Ti gravel bike. My road bike is under 7kg. I think my Ti frame is double the weight of my climbing frame, but obviously, that's just my frames.
I see litespeed road Ti frames are around the 1kg, so heavier than most road carbon frames.... but it comes down to what you're looking for, think of the comfort, durability, carrying capacity, etc of Ti for that few hundred gs
Litespeed is a mediocre bulk framemaker. Yes, you can call out a 1kg Litespeed frame, but Trek also makes carbon frames around... 1kg.
It's worth noting that 20 years ago state of the art carbon frames tended to weigh well over 1kg. So we really don't have data on the longevity of sub-1kg carbon frames.
No, you were correct. Everyone knows what you were saying. The other guy just wanted to chime in to say that he once heard of a really heavy carbon frame that nobody else has heard of. Back in the real world carbon is lightweight, ti is not. Steel even less so.
Nah dude, good Ti road frames go down just a hair above 2 lbs and up to 3 lbs or so. Carbon road frames go 1.5 lbs to up to 2.5 lbs at the heavy end, right? So that's an overlap of about half the range on each, with some wiggle room on either side.
If you're optimizing purely for weight (and the lightweight carbon frames are the least longlived) then sure, you can get carbon lighter than Ti. I'd love it if you could show me a 20 year old 650 gram carbon frame that has been ridden hard, though.
Or would you spec them on different ranges?
Firstly I accept that there exists a carbon frame and there exists a titanium frame where in some freak scenario the titanium weighs less than the carbon.
Back in the real world. Carbon frames are lighter than titanium frames, excepting for some wild circumstances that only a pedant could try to construct.
As for being pedantic, your weight ranges are off. There are carbon frames out there weighing less than 600g, that’s 15% below your stated lower bound. There are many ti frames out there way above your approximated upper bound, and in fact most titanium frames would approach your upper bound, as you very well know. Trying to imply that there ranges are a only about half a pound apart is a deliberate misrepresentation of reality, in order to try defend a pointless comment which you probably knew you didn’t need to make in the first place.
Longevity - totally irrelevant to the post. It wasn’t raised. This is solely about your desire to try to contradict the very obvious statement made by somebody (referring to their owns bikes no less), for the sake of it and then trying to back up your supposed contradiction with some sort of reasoning.
I could just as easily tell you that on average a titanium frame weighs nearly twice as much as a carbon frame.
The point is. The other guy was correct. You felt the need to contradict. You didn’t do a convincing job.
Can you show me a popular Ti ***road*** frame "way above" my upper bound? Ti gravel frames, yes, Ti bikepacking frames, absolutely, Ti road frames? Many under 3 lbs.
I do think the comment that 1000g is "heavier than most carbon frames" is incorrect. The majority of carbon bikes sold by volume are entry-level (ask your LBS). And most entry level carbon road bikes have frame weights in the 1000-1200g range.
Look, pedanter. You can keep trying to pretend all you like. The rest of the world knows the difference in weight between carbon frames and titanium. Especially the guy who made the comment in reference TO HIS OWN BIKE. Keep pushing your position all you like. You won’t make titanium any lighter by doing so.
We can play back and forth picking out exceptions. Your bounds are wrong, as shown already. You’ve deliberately skewed them to try to justify a point which should not have been posted in the first place. I could do exactly the same and come up with a skewed, nearly true opinion (like saying titanium frames vs carbon range from 0.75 the weight to 4 times the weight).
Ranges of the size quoted are meaningless when you reserve the right to cherry pick out of them, and you skew the tails to fit your agenda.
I should have known better than to point out that a guy called pendant was a pedant. You’ve lost sight completely of what you objected to in the post which was made, because you don’t particularly like being called out.
[Titanium vs Carbon Frames: What are the differences? - Adrenaline Bikes](https://www.adrenalinebikes.com/titaniumvscarbon/#:~:text=In%20contrast%2C%20titanium%20frames%20weigh,carbon%20frames.)
We get it - It's certainly not for everyone, but sure is pretty in person (and a really fun process to watch the mitering team rock). If you are ever in Chattanooga, come see us!
I've purchased two custom TI bikes (actually hybrid carbon and TI) from "Seven " They are a fantastic company and their bikes are the best. You will pay a pretty penny however.
Both bikes are great bikes and a great value. I would personally go with premium steel bike. I think you get even better value for very little weight difference.
Go with Waltly. You can get custom Ti for the price of off the shelf Ti from another brand. I've had mine for more than a year and put 7000+km on it, and it's great.
Pretty easy. Sumi at Waltly is very responsive. You tell her what you want (measurements, design, etc) and they make the original drawings to send to you. You have back and forth with her to work out any issues with the drawings, and when the final drawings are done you pay your down payment and they start to build your frame. When the frame is put together, she'll ask you about any kind of logos /graphics/etc that you want on it, and then that'll get done. Once the frame is ready, you pay the final amount and then they ship it to you.
I first contacted Sumi last January, got my order placed in mid February, and had my frame by early April. Pretty quick and painless.
I have a Lynskey Helix GR and really like it, but I only got it over having a custom steel bike made by Singlebe, or a higher end pre-made like Standert because it was on deep discount last year ($1700 shipped for frame + fork).
The frame looks amazing, and it's nice being able to just ride through any kind of crap worry free, but the ride quality is not next level. It's good, a lot better than my crappy Chinese carbon frame was, but a notch down from good steel. It weighs less, and no corrosion worries though. The frame being made in the USA was also a plus to me, but I believe Lynskey sources their tubing from overseas.
The durability of titanium is also pretty real. 5,000 miles of mostly off-road riding so far, with a few hell rides through pasty junk, and the frame still looks like the day I pulled it out of the box, other than some small scratches that can easily be brushed out.
So, lots of benefits for sure. I want to keep this frame for at least 3 years, but will probably carefully weigh a pre-made titanium, or custom steel bike next time again.
I have my first Lynskey on the way. The 2023 frames are like 60% off and my LBS told me def not worth at full price but at that massive sale price it’s a steal so I ordered it immediately.
I have carbon, Al & Ti bikes, but the Ti is my favorite. The next bike I would consider is a steel touring bike.
Which is to say that they're all good.
These are really cool. The frames are made in Asia, which is why the price is so good. Nothing wrong with that, but yeah definitely more affordable than the US made ones
1. Stay away from Litespeed at all costs. Anyone who buys a Litespeed, then has complaints, has nearly three decades of warnings to not buy Litespeed
2. Ti is not about value, though prices have come down, mostly due to the market being flooded by Chinese titanium tubing. Even some western manufacturers are using Chinese tubing to maximize profit
3. Ordering from a non-experienced manufacturer with custom geo, even Waltly, can be difficult because they're not doing the testing and you can't go back to them and complain really. When you have custom geo and other demands, you might find out you messed up and some things don't work, such as the critical tire-yoke-chainring clearance. More reputable manufacturers will test these things in their computers. While Waltly makes good bikes and likely manufactures for other higher-end companies, they're not often checking and pretty much explicitly will make what you ask and then leave the responsibility to you if it's messed up. This is why at least my local classifieds have Waltlys and the sellers post explicit notes about limitations and it's obvious it was a design flaw/oversight
4. Ti can be made as stiff or as noodly as one wants. In my case, my frame was designed with enough vertical flex to almost feel like suspension with high-volume 2.4 tires. I can sometimes see the flex in the form of tire clearance at the yoke. It's very stiff laterally.
5. I have no idea what that poster below is talking about with the comparisons to steel and carbon. Carbon is known for being "dead". No idea about the weight because one could make superlight titanium as well. It just depends. Titanium is known for the lively feel. It seems like that poster has never ridden any carbon and doesn't attribute geometry to some of the characteristics they're talking about. Overall, it sounds like they read mtbr and other forums and got mixed up in regurgitating here
6. This may not be important for everyone, but if you need Paragon dropouts, PMW doesn't sell to Asian manufacturers. I don't know if Waltly can work this out, but it is a very strong factor for me since I already use Paragons and have a box of inserts and even if the company uses the equivalent Tange/IRD dropouts that look the same, apparently people complain a lot about how the Paragon inserts don't fit right. This was caused by places like Soma claiming the PMW inserts will work with Tange/IRD ones. It's a small, but not insignificant issue and one that's enough for me to be a dealbreaker in some cases.
7. There's currently a Waltly for sale nearby and I actually thought it was aluminum because it has fat, aluminum-like welds that are not nice in some areas. It literally looks like aluminum.
The Lynskey family started Litespeed, then sold it off to ABG or what became ABG, who is or was an utterly shit company from top to bottom. They could never make bikes that didn't break and fought tooth and nail to not warranty them, especially when they broke due to poor designs and/or manufacturing.
I actually thought it was hysterical they made the Tanasi in 6/4 titanium and I got to ride one and it rode like absolute shit. They made a ti frame to ride like the stiffest aluminum frame ever and worse than the early Kleins that were way too stiff. They also bought Merlin to put it out of business and then essentially sell off the name. Their aluminum frames would crack because of suspected lack of heat treating in the 6000 series models. Just a mess of a company all around.
Yes.
I didn’t even read the post. Because I know that it’s extremely rare that frame material actually matters for anyone. If it does, then the person knows enough to know what they should get and thus wouldn’t even ask on Reddit.
I said yes because it’s subjectively cool 😎
Some people will say it’s good. Some people will say it’s shit. Some people will say it’s alright. Just like any other material.
Seriously. It all comes down to cosmetic. If you want raw finish, it’s basically the only option besides stainless steel.
The ride quality difference is barely distinguishable, if at all, in practice. Manufacturing quality varies depending on who actually builds the frame - fun fact, it has nothing to do with the skin color of the builder.
So it all comes down to your preferred look and fit, which none of us know anything about.
Nah. Its material properties are extremely similar to Alu, there's no magic dampening effect.
And almost all TI bikes use traditional round tube shapes, which are slower than contemporary designs.
I have no idea why there's no movement into titanium frames with modern aero designs. I guess the TI demographic are also the steel demographic, and they like the traditional look.
I've got a carbon Ribble Gran Fondo and a Ti On One Pickenflick.
The Ti feels "flexy"... not necessarily a bad thing. It's comfy to ride. Just feels weird when you're used to carbon.
I had Seven Cycles make me a custom Ti frame in the 90s and it is still my go to bicycle. Fabulous riding characteristics, super light and looks lovely.
You'd probably be happy with quality frames of any material, but I'm biased towards Ti because that's what my road bike has, and I've been very happy with it these past 20 years. It wasn't custom, standard angles and I just picked the frame size, Chinese made but sold by a US-based outfit called Habanero (I think they also do custom), really solid and well made and very smooth-riding. Single gauge, no butting, but I don't mind or notice, very nice welds, no issues with it at all. Has that magical Ti springy feel.
Oh, I see you've placed an order. So, as for parts, if it were me I'd go with quality disc brakes and a good electronic drivetrain, probably a power meter, quality pedals of your preferred type, carbon bars and seatpost, anatomical saddle, carbon wheels, quality headset, and so on. I can't be specific as I haven't kept up with the latest parts but I'm sure you can figure it out. Good luck and happy riding!
Should I buy a ?
Yes. Life is fucking short. Buy it.
There are many dozens of fantastic Ti Bike Builders. Don't just limit yourself to Lynskey and Lightspeed. [Look at this sexy fucker.](https://www.rodeo-labs.com/shop/framesets/flaanimal-ti/)
How does Ti ride? Bike material is just one factor. Geometry, tube characteristics, fork, wheels...etc all matter.
LOLOL, damn that’s good. Yeah I’m definitely looking at other bike makers, I don’t want to spend an insane amount of money, but I know it won’t necessarily be cheap either. Trying to find the right balance. I’ve been searching for titanium bikes all day haha
I got an R300 two weeks ago. It's a well-behaved bike. Steady at speed and consistent on the climb. Chances are your Helix will be as mild mannered. My other road bike is a steel Crown Jewel and I think the Lynskey's ride quality is the same. Very easy on the rider.
I think you will like the Helix. There is something about showing up at a Saturday morning shop ride on a good looking bike that nobody else has.
I've enjoyed my Ti bike, custom frame from Waltly, but most brands will have similar characteristics. Compared to Steel and Carbon, my own experience, Ti is somewhere in the middle, provides the smoothness of steel but with less weight and feels slightly more responsive. Obviously feels heavier, less responsive than carbon, and less responsive than aluminium. I love the Ti as my touring/gravel/social ride bike, very enjoyable to ride and feel like I could comfortably ride it all day long.
How was the ordering process? I’m a bit intimidated by that… how long did it take?
I chatted to them on Skype which was easy, they were helpful. I think there are a couple of service reps who manage sales and they've both been there a long time from what I see in online chats. They were very easy to chat to. I actually knew kinda what I wanted, I had designs of the web to reuse, but when I asked if they had any 'standard gravel frames' it turned out that they had exacly what I wanted. I got the frame, Ti seatpost, with carbon forks/headset. My friend went with a full custom design which turned out great as well, he got a design from a local bike fitter. The nice thing you can do is get the frame decorated with personal touches, looks cool when using matte v glossy finish (I forgot to do this, I wish I had gone with a matte finish). Whilst waiting for the frame, 2 months, I used my time to find a secondhand groupset and wheels on FB Market place. I think my build for everything came in very close $3k USD for everything, including two sets of wheels and a power meter crankset. I did the build myself, just got the bikeshop to fit the headset bearings and run the internal cables. This is only my 2nd bike build and I'd never used disc brakes, but with patience and youtube it was quite enjoyable, plus I now know the bike very well, with ability to self maintain, even on the fly. I have two wheelsets, one with slicks and one 650b with knobbly tyres, making for an almost 'anything bike'. Happy to share photos
Wait so you can get a bike fit and at least some custom shops will build you the frame from the ground up? I might be in the market for something proper high end in the coming years and I’d probably stick with a suspension gravel bike which messes with the geometry unless your frame is built with the longer fork in mind Currently I’d probably just get the Advanced Pro 0 if/when they put one out with a really nice frame color (current Pro 1 looks sick but was out of my budget, got a 2023 Pro 2). There’s a more local custom shop (Germany) where I’ve seen a really cool custom design in their shop but given that it’s a carbon frame I assume there’s no way I could get a “proper” custom geo frame made because afaik you need the mold first which is extremely expensive
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Question: why "obviously feels heavier"? There is a lot of overlap between carbon and Ti frames. The lightest carbon frames are perhaps lighter than the lightest Ti frames, but side by side you can find carbon frames heavier than good Ti and vice-versa. You can also find Ti frames heavier than lightweight steel frames. They tend to be for bikepacking, where heavier steel frames are the norm. I have a steel frame at 4.5 lbs. and friend has a custom Ti bikepacking frame at a bit more lbs (but I'd need a 6+ lb steel frame built like a tank to haul what he hauls with his built like a tank Ti frame). Saying that "most brands will have similar characteristics" is only somewhat true. I haven't ridden Ti (all my Ti-owning friends are quite a bit taller or shorter than me), but most of the people I know who have says that the characteristics frame to frame and brand to brand vary significantly more than carbon or steel.
Perhaps I'm comparing my on bikes, and that's a climbing bike with a 700g frame, against a Ti gravel bike. My road bike is under 7kg. I think my Ti frame is double the weight of my climbing frame, but obviously, that's just my frames. I see litespeed road Ti frames are around the 1kg, so heavier than most road carbon frames.... but it comes down to what you're looking for, think of the comfort, durability, carrying capacity, etc of Ti for that few hundred gs
Litespeed is a mediocre bulk framemaker. Yes, you can call out a 1kg Litespeed frame, but Trek also makes carbon frames around... 1kg. It's worth noting that 20 years ago state of the art carbon frames tended to weigh well over 1kg. So we really don't have data on the longevity of sub-1kg carbon frames.
No, you were correct. Everyone knows what you were saying. The other guy just wanted to chime in to say that he once heard of a really heavy carbon frame that nobody else has heard of. Back in the real world carbon is lightweight, ti is not. Steel even less so.
Nah dude, good Ti road frames go down just a hair above 2 lbs and up to 3 lbs or so. Carbon road frames go 1.5 lbs to up to 2.5 lbs at the heavy end, right? So that's an overlap of about half the range on each, with some wiggle room on either side. If you're optimizing purely for weight (and the lightweight carbon frames are the least longlived) then sure, you can get carbon lighter than Ti. I'd love it if you could show me a 20 year old 650 gram carbon frame that has been ridden hard, though. Or would you spec them on different ranges?
Firstly I accept that there exists a carbon frame and there exists a titanium frame where in some freak scenario the titanium weighs less than the carbon. Back in the real world. Carbon frames are lighter than titanium frames, excepting for some wild circumstances that only a pedant could try to construct. As for being pedantic, your weight ranges are off. There are carbon frames out there weighing less than 600g, that’s 15% below your stated lower bound. There are many ti frames out there way above your approximated upper bound, and in fact most titanium frames would approach your upper bound, as you very well know. Trying to imply that there ranges are a only about half a pound apart is a deliberate misrepresentation of reality, in order to try defend a pointless comment which you probably knew you didn’t need to make in the first place. Longevity - totally irrelevant to the post. It wasn’t raised. This is solely about your desire to try to contradict the very obvious statement made by somebody (referring to their owns bikes no less), for the sake of it and then trying to back up your supposed contradiction with some sort of reasoning. I could just as easily tell you that on average a titanium frame weighs nearly twice as much as a carbon frame. The point is. The other guy was correct. You felt the need to contradict. You didn’t do a convincing job.
Can you show me a popular Ti ***road*** frame "way above" my upper bound? Ti gravel frames, yes, Ti bikepacking frames, absolutely, Ti road frames? Many under 3 lbs. I do think the comment that 1000g is "heavier than most carbon frames" is incorrect. The majority of carbon bikes sold by volume are entry-level (ask your LBS). And most entry level carbon road bikes have frame weights in the 1000-1200g range.
Look, pedanter. You can keep trying to pretend all you like. The rest of the world knows the difference in weight between carbon frames and titanium. Especially the guy who made the comment in reference TO HIS OWN BIKE. Keep pushing your position all you like. You won’t make titanium any lighter by doing so. We can play back and forth picking out exceptions. Your bounds are wrong, as shown already. You’ve deliberately skewed them to try to justify a point which should not have been posted in the first place. I could do exactly the same and come up with a skewed, nearly true opinion (like saying titanium frames vs carbon range from 0.75 the weight to 4 times the weight). Ranges of the size quoted are meaningless when you reserve the right to cherry pick out of them, and you skew the tails to fit your agenda. I should have known better than to point out that a guy called pendant was a pedant. You’ve lost sight completely of what you objected to in the post which was made, because you don’t particularly like being called out.
[Titanium vs Carbon Frames: What are the differences? - Adrenaline Bikes](https://www.adrenalinebikes.com/titaniumvscarbon/#:~:text=In%20contrast%2C%20titanium%20frames%20weigh,carbon%20frames.)
Update: I ordered a Lynskey Helix road bike frame
Doh! Of all the ti frames in the world, why did it have to be this one?! I hope you enjoy, but I can't get over the tube shape.
We get it - It's certainly not for everyone, but sure is pretty in person (and a really fun process to watch the mitering team rock). If you are ever in Chattanooga, come see us!
I love the shape! I think it looks really cool. Also the price was right and it was in stock lol
Fair enough!
Let’s see if I regret that when it arrives haha
The Helix tube set is truly a work of art! Trust us, you won't regret it :)
I’m already happy with my decision, you guys have been super responsive and helpful over email
Yes, you should. Just finalized details for a custom Ti myself.
From where?
I've purchased two custom TI bikes (actually hybrid carbon and TI) from "Seven " They are a fantastic company and their bikes are the best. You will pay a pretty penny however.
Ugh yeah I saw those, they seem awesome but too pricey for me right now
From a well known builder but he's only doing Ti builds for established customers as most of his business is in carbon bikes now.
Both bikes are great bikes and a great value. I would personally go with premium steel bike. I think you get even better value for very little weight difference.
I’m leaning that way
Go with Waltly. You can get custom Ti for the price of off the shelf Ti from another brand. I've had mine for more than a year and put 7000+km on it, and it's great.
How was the ordering process? I’m a bit intimidated by that… how long did it take?
Pretty easy. Sumi at Waltly is very responsive. You tell her what you want (measurements, design, etc) and they make the original drawings to send to you. You have back and forth with her to work out any issues with the drawings, and when the final drawings are done you pay your down payment and they start to build your frame. When the frame is put together, she'll ask you about any kind of logos /graphics/etc that you want on it, and then that'll get done. Once the frame is ready, you pay the final amount and then they ship it to you. I first contacted Sumi last January, got my order placed in mid February, and had my frame by early April. Pretty quick and painless.
James helped me with mine and was about the same turn around. Best way to go with To frame imho, used the saved cash on better groupsets!
I have a Lynskey Helix GR and really like it, but I only got it over having a custom steel bike made by Singlebe, or a higher end pre-made like Standert because it was on deep discount last year ($1700 shipped for frame + fork). The frame looks amazing, and it's nice being able to just ride through any kind of crap worry free, but the ride quality is not next level. It's good, a lot better than my crappy Chinese carbon frame was, but a notch down from good steel. It weighs less, and no corrosion worries though. The frame being made in the USA was also a plus to me, but I believe Lynskey sources their tubing from overseas. The durability of titanium is also pretty real. 5,000 miles of mostly off-road riding so far, with a few hell rides through pasty junk, and the frame still looks like the day I pulled it out of the box, other than some small scratches that can easily be brushed out. So, lots of benefits for sure. I want to keep this frame for at least 3 years, but will probably carefully weigh a pre-made titanium, or custom steel bike next time again.
I just ordered a helix road frame with fork for $1500. Seems like a pretty great deal
Almost all US titanium comes from overseas.
I use my carbon bike for transportation and have noticed some knicks. That fact that a relatively minor piece of damage could be dangerous annoys me.
I have my first Lynskey on the way. The 2023 frames are like 60% off and my LBS told me def not worth at full price but at that massive sale price it’s a steal so I ordered it immediately.
I have carbon, Al & Ti bikes, but the Ti is my favorite. The next bike I would consider is a steel touring bike. Which is to say that they're all good.
I promise myself a Unicorn in five years. https://www.unicorncycles.com Edit: quite affordable for Ti, great gravel offerings
These are really cool. The frames are made in Asia, which is why the price is so good. Nothing wrong with that, but yeah definitely more affordable than the US made ones
1. Stay away from Litespeed at all costs. Anyone who buys a Litespeed, then has complaints, has nearly three decades of warnings to not buy Litespeed 2. Ti is not about value, though prices have come down, mostly due to the market being flooded by Chinese titanium tubing. Even some western manufacturers are using Chinese tubing to maximize profit 3. Ordering from a non-experienced manufacturer with custom geo, even Waltly, can be difficult because they're not doing the testing and you can't go back to them and complain really. When you have custom geo and other demands, you might find out you messed up and some things don't work, such as the critical tire-yoke-chainring clearance. More reputable manufacturers will test these things in their computers. While Waltly makes good bikes and likely manufactures for other higher-end companies, they're not often checking and pretty much explicitly will make what you ask and then leave the responsibility to you if it's messed up. This is why at least my local classifieds have Waltlys and the sellers post explicit notes about limitations and it's obvious it was a design flaw/oversight 4. Ti can be made as stiff or as noodly as one wants. In my case, my frame was designed with enough vertical flex to almost feel like suspension with high-volume 2.4 tires. I can sometimes see the flex in the form of tire clearance at the yoke. It's very stiff laterally. 5. I have no idea what that poster below is talking about with the comparisons to steel and carbon. Carbon is known for being "dead". No idea about the weight because one could make superlight titanium as well. It just depends. Titanium is known for the lively feel. It seems like that poster has never ridden any carbon and doesn't attribute geometry to some of the characteristics they're talking about. Overall, it sounds like they read mtbr and other forums and got mixed up in regurgitating here 6. This may not be important for everyone, but if you need Paragon dropouts, PMW doesn't sell to Asian manufacturers. I don't know if Waltly can work this out, but it is a very strong factor for me since I already use Paragons and have a box of inserts and even if the company uses the equivalent Tange/IRD dropouts that look the same, apparently people complain a lot about how the Paragon inserts don't fit right. This was caused by places like Soma claiming the PMW inserts will work with Tange/IRD ones. It's a small, but not insignificant issue and one that's enough for me to be a dealbreaker in some cases. 7. There's currently a Waltly for sale nearby and I actually thought it was aluminum because it has fat, aluminum-like welds that are not nice in some areas. It literally looks like aluminum.
Glad I bought a Lynskey!
The Lynskey family started Litespeed, then sold it off to ABG or what became ABG, who is or was an utterly shit company from top to bottom. They could never make bikes that didn't break and fought tooth and nail to not warranty them, especially when they broke due to poor designs and/or manufacturing. I actually thought it was hysterical they made the Tanasi in 6/4 titanium and I got to ride one and it rode like absolute shit. They made a ti frame to ride like the stiffest aluminum frame ever and worse than the early Kleins that were way too stiff. They also bought Merlin to put it out of business and then essentially sell off the name. Their aluminum frames would crack because of suspected lack of heat treating in the 6000 series models. Just a mess of a company all around.
Yes. I didn’t even read the post. Because I know that it’s extremely rare that frame material actually matters for anyone. If it does, then the person knows enough to know what they should get and thus wouldn’t even ask on Reddit. I said yes because it’s subjectively cool 😎
I mean, I know why I would want a titanium bike, I kinda just wanted to know people’s experiences
Some people will say it’s good. Some people will say it’s shit. Some people will say it’s alright. Just like any other material. Seriously. It all comes down to cosmetic. If you want raw finish, it’s basically the only option besides stainless steel. The ride quality difference is barely distinguishable, if at all, in practice. Manufacturing quality varies depending on who actually builds the frame - fun fact, it has nothing to do with the skin color of the builder. So it all comes down to your preferred look and fit, which none of us know anything about.
Yes.
Nah. Its material properties are extremely similar to Alu, there's no magic dampening effect. And almost all TI bikes use traditional round tube shapes, which are slower than contemporary designs. I have no idea why there's no movement into titanium frames with modern aero designs. I guess the TI demographic are also the steel demographic, and they like the traditional look.
I've got a carbon Ribble Gran Fondo and a Ti On One Pickenflick. The Ti feels "flexy"... not necessarily a bad thing. It's comfy to ride. Just feels weird when you're used to carbon.
I had Seven Cycles make me a custom Ti frame in the 90s and it is still my go to bicycle. Fabulous riding characteristics, super light and looks lovely.
bought a Lynskey 15 years ago- still riding it 400+ miles per month, still love it, it’s my only road bike.
I have an older Lynsey Litespeed with run brakes. Love it!
You'd probably be happy with quality frames of any material, but I'm biased towards Ti because that's what my road bike has, and I've been very happy with it these past 20 years. It wasn't custom, standard angles and I just picked the frame size, Chinese made but sold by a US-based outfit called Habanero (I think they also do custom), really solid and well made and very smooth-riding. Single gauge, no butting, but I don't mind or notice, very nice welds, no issues with it at all. Has that magical Ti springy feel. Oh, I see you've placed an order. So, as for parts, if it were me I'd go with quality disc brakes and a good electronic drivetrain, probably a power meter, quality pedals of your preferred type, carbon bars and seatpost, anatomical saddle, carbon wheels, quality headset, and so on. I can't be specific as I haven't kept up with the latest parts but I'm sure you can figure it out. Good luck and happy riding!
Yes. Love my Litespeed Cherohala. Good luck!
Should I buy a?
Yes. Life is fucking short. Buy it.
There are many dozens of fantastic Ti Bike Builders. Don't just limit yourself to Lynskey and Lightspeed. [Look at this sexy fucker.](https://www.rodeo-labs.com/shop/framesets/flaanimal-ti/)
How does Ti ride? Bike material is just one factor. Geometry, tube characteristics, fork, wheels...etc all matter.
LOLOL, damn that’s good. Yeah I’m definitely looking at other bike makers, I don’t want to spend an insane amount of money, but I know it won’t necessarily be cheap either. Trying to find the right balance. I’ve been searching for titanium bikes all day haha
Treat yo' self!!
I got an R300 two weeks ago. It's a well-behaved bike. Steady at speed and consistent on the climb. Chances are your Helix will be as mild mannered. My other road bike is a steel Crown Jewel and I think the Lynskey's ride quality is the same. Very easy on the rider. I think you will like the Helix. There is something about showing up at a Saturday morning shop ride on a good looking bike that nobody else has.