Titanium - Who to look at?

[Kermit power]

Hi all,

I am looking for a Titanium Sportive/Audax type bike with a max budget of £2k to fit into our cycle to work scheme.

So far, I've found Van Nicholas, who are Dutch designed & Chinese made, but conveniently have a good dealer local to me.

I like the idea of buying from a British company if possible, so I've also looked at Sabbath, who unfortunately only deal through Evans anywhere vaguely near me, which is no good for our CTW scheme, and Sabbath, who claim Pearson as one of their dealers, but Pearson have no mention of them on their own website.

Is there anyone else I should look at? Does anyone have any of the above and have a view on them?

[offendi]

I can heartily reccomend Van Nic, also you can get Sabbaths at Fat Birds and Spa Cycles (check out there Ti Audax too.

http://www.fatbirds.co.uk/534/bikes---titanium.asp...

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s...

If you are feeling flush Check out these guys http://www.spincycleworks.com

[anonymous-user]

I dont know anyone who acatually welds ti in the UK, Enigma are designed in the UK but made in Taiwan. Their bikes are stunning and the craftsmanship is very high. Pretty sure Van Nicholas are made in Taiwan not China. The Kenesis Ti Gran Fondo is also worth a look too, saw it at the bike show and it looked very nicely finished, again, designed in the UK and welded in Taiwan.

Personally though, I would go for Lynskey because they are the masters of Ti, end of. I dont think you could build up a Sportive or a Cooper for under £2K though as the frame alone is about £1200. They are welded by good ol' oys in Tennessee...
They are beautiful bikes and the attention to detail is top class, it really is a close thing between building a Lynksey up into a bike or hanging it on the wall...

[The Walrus]

And lucky for you dauphin cycles at the top of box hill sell Lynskey have you been up to see them yet ?

http://www.cyclesdauphin.com/index.php?option=com_...

[Digga]

Took me fking ages to remember the name (despite it already being mentioned) and even though I knew where they were based I couldn't find them on Google without it; Sabbath. http://www.sabbathbicycles.co.uk/

A mate has a hardtail mtb and a road bike, both Ti from these guys. he is a pretty handy welder himself, so he's a stickler for a decent frame and also reptty beefy, so asks a lot of them and suffice to say he's very impressed with them. I was on the verge of 'phoning him when I remembered.

[Kermit power]

swerni said:

Why do you want to go titanium?

From everything I've read about it, it seems pretty much the perfect material from which to make a bike, with the only downside being the higher cost of working it, compared to Aluminium or Steel.

From what I can see....

- It's almost as smooth to ride as steel, but with no risk of corrosion.

- It's far more comfortable to ride than Aluminium.

- It's near enough indestructible, especially when compared to Carbon, making me feel more comfortable about it getting locked up in a communal storage facility at work.

- Mmm.... Shiny...

[Kermit power]

The Walrus said:

And lucky for you dauphin cycles at the top of box hill sell Lynskey have you been up to see them yet ?

http://www.cyclesdauphin.com/index.php?option=com_...

Sadly, much though the Helix got me all dribbly, I think even their cheaper offerings would be well over my budget.

[anonymous-user]

Kermit power said:

The Walrus said:

And lucky for you dauphin cycles at the top of box hill sell Lynskey have you been up to see them yet ?

http://www.cyclesdauphin.com/index.php?option=com_...

Sadly, much though the Helix got me all dribbly, I think even their cheaper offerings would be well over my budget.

then save up more cash. the whole point of getting a ti bike is that it is a bike for life. IMHO there is no point getting a low end ti frame.

[Kermit power]

pablo said:

Kermit power said:

The Walrus said:

And lucky for you dauphin cycles at the top of box hill sell Lynskey have you been up to see them yet ?

http://www.cyclesdauphin.com/index.php?option=com_...

Sadly, much though the Helix got me all dribbly, I think even their cheaper offerings would be well over my budget.

then save up more cash. the whole point of getting a ti bike is that it is a bike for life. IMHO there is no point getting a low end ti frame.

Not an option, as it puts it beyond the limits of cycle to work.

[anonymous-user]

Kermit power said:

pablo said:

Kermit power said:

The Walrus said:

And lucky for you dauphin cycles at the top of box hill sell Lynskey have you been up to see them yet ?

http://www.cyclesdauphin.com/index.php?option=com_...

Sadly, much though the Helix got me all dribbly, I think even their cheaper offerings would be well over my budget.

then save up more cash. the whole point of getting a ti bike is that it is a bike for life. IMHO there is no point getting a low end ti frame.

Not an option, as it puts it beyond the limits of cycle to work.

You could spec a Ti bike under £2K but unless you have the cash to upgrade the components shortly after purchase i wouldnt bother as you will have to spec it with tiagra and budget wheels which dont do the frame justice.
speak to a dealer, they might be able to help with a spec to budget but prepare to be labelled a heathen!

[Kermit power]

pablo said:

You could spec a Ti bike under £2K but unless you have the cash to upgrade the components shortly after purchase i wouldnt bother as you will have to spec it with tiagra and budget wheels which dont do the frame justice.
speak to a dealer, they might be able to help with a spec to budget but prepare to be labelled a heathen!

A Van Nicholas Euros with full 105 groupset is €2,267, so should be £2k or near enough. Yes, the wheels may want upgrading, but I've always got next year's CTW allowance for that!

[Kermit power]

swerni said:

Kermit power said:

swerni said:

Why do you want to go titanium?

blah blah blah blah blah

- Mmm.... Shiny...

let me fix that for you


I'm getting a custom steel one made with 853 tubing

Why would I want steel though?

[Rouleur]

Kermit power said:

A Van Nicholas Euros with full 105 groupset is €2,267, so should be £2k or near enough. Yes, the wheels may want upgrading, but I've always got next year's CTW allowance for that!

The forks are crap too. My LBS sells a fair few Van Nicks and buys them as a frame only to avoid having to use the forks.

[Kermit power]

Rouleur said:

The forks are crap too. My LBS sells a fair few Van Nicks and buys them as a frame only to avoid having to use the forks.

Thanks for that. I'll check with Corridori where I'd get it to see what they do.

[Raoul Duke]

My advice ( for what its worth ) is get something with fairly traditional, and therefore timeless geo - the Van Nicolas Chinook being a good example of this.
Ti is a great frame material, I am a total convert - included mine in readers wives, er i mean bikes some time ago.
Its lighter than steel, doesn't rust, never needs re-painting - a quick wash and polish and its like new again, and the ride is sublime. Its a bike to keep for sure.
As for build quality, most are now made in the far east and some are most certainly better than others - ti welding isn't as straightforward as steel and i have seen some frames that have come away at the welds. Stick to a well known and recognised brand and you should be ok - mine came with a lifetime warranty on the frame so ought to outlast my cycling days easily.
It will never be as light as carbon without sacrificing stiffness / comfort so dont be distracted by the frame weight and go for one that fits. You can always save weight on wheels / components as you go along.

[anonymous-user]

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/FRPXTISPORTVN/...

I'm sure Planet X will build you one, based on this frame..

[The Walrus]

GO AND SEE THE GUYS AT DAUPHIN IF YOU WANT A LYNSKEY !!!

I only say this as 1 they have a very good rep and 2 they may have something that fits your requirements.

Worst case is that you go to a nice shop and come away with a nice trip up boxhill.

[itsnotarace]

offendi said:

If you are feeling flush Check out these guys http://www.spincycleworks.com

Thats another rebadged China frame again, welded together by Xian if i recall

http://www.xacd.com.cn/product.asp?rootcl=1

In fact you will probably find most of the lower end titanium frames come from this factory

Burls is also within OP budget, they are made in Russia

http://www.burls.co.uk/titanium.php

Edited by itsnotarace on Wednesday 15th February 17:07

[3216]

pablo said:

I dont know anyone who acatually welds ti in the UK,

Robin Mather does, but don't think he's actually taking orders at the moment.

IIRC the custom Enigma stuff is UK made, the off-the-peg is foreign though.

[angeleye]

i decided to go ti a few months back i bought a planet x road pro frame and then built the bike myself within your budget , the planet x frames are made by van nic and the quality is excellent, you won't regret it ,the ride is sublime and it really is a bike for life
she has a fuji carbon fork,campag chorus crankset,and campag veloce for the rest of the kit