Gravel bike. Carbon or Ti?

[numtumfutunch]

Opinions welcome

A number of gravel bikes are available in carbon and titanium for a minimal difference in price

Carbon gives a more compliant ride but I have an irrational fear of fragility when hammering it off road. Titanium versions of the bikes I’ve looked at are criticised for a harsh ride and my old Ti Road bike actually rode nicely but was flexi as hell

Steel is still real but carries a weight penalty

It would be so much easier if the Canyon Grail was available before new year

Cheers

[IroningMan]

The vast majority of the gravel bikes sold since they became a 'thing' have been carbon, so I'd be inclined to agree with you about the 'irrational' bit.

[Daveyraveygravey]

I don't get why people want a high end gravel bike. It will get covered in ste, never mind how hard you ride it. I would be looking at steel or ali with low end components. The "consumables" will be cheaper and easier to replace, and if you damage the frame, there is a chance you can get it fixed for a reasonable amount.

[mikees]

Don't rule out steel, what about a CAAD-X?

[ddom]

There's not much weight penalty with an Ally frame. And they're cheaper.

[stepaway]

For the reasons stated above I went with a cheap alu Dolan frame when building mine this year.

Really pleased I did, as again for exactly the reasons above I’m far less worried about it when hammering it along tracks/trails etc. and it getting covered in dust and dirt when the autumn starts coming on.

No really noticeable weight penalty over carbon/Ti in the real world riding, and my best bikes are there for the sunny road rides without getting ruined.

[TwistingMyMelon]

Id go with Steel and 105

Ive an alu frame and on the really rocky stuff I miss steel (I have had steel bikes)

Ive also had some nasty and comic offs that I wouldn't want to have on a carbon frame

No experience with titanium

As per above posters if you use it properly they get through consumables bloody quickly, I have to do every bearings on mine each year at least

[ChocolateFrog]

I thought it was the other way round.

Carbon bikes have unforgiving rides whereas Ti were a bit more compliant?

[ddom]

One other point is try a set of the new wider rims and 40+ tyres. They have totally changed things for me. When I first started on a CX bike on bridleways etc I packed it in as it was so rough, good fun for 30 mins but after 90 was a faff. Now, i'd take the bike everywhere apart from really gnarly stuff. 30-40 psi tubeless off and on-road.

[frisbee]

TwistingMyMelon said:

Id go with Steel and 105

Ive an alu frame and on the really rocky stuff I miss steel (I have had steel bikes)

Ive also had some nasty and comic offs that I wouldn't want to have on a carbon frame

No experience with titanium

As per above posters if you use it properly they get through consumables bloody quickly, I have to do every bearings on mine each year at least

If you dent a titanium frame or even a steel or aluminium frame what are you going to do?

You can snap a carbon frame in half and get it repaired.

[TwistingMyMelon]

frisbee said:

TwistingMyMelon said:

Id go with Steel and 105

Ive an alu frame and on the really rocky stuff I miss steel (I have had steel bikes)

Ive also had some nasty and comic offs that I wouldn't want to have on a carbon frame

No experience with titanium

As per above posters if you use it properly they get through consumables bloody quickly, I have to do every bearings on mine each year at least

If you dent a titanium frame or even a steel or aluminium frame what are you going to do?

You can snap a carbon frame in half and get it repaired.

Ive dented 2 x Alu frames and they were fine for years after

Ive bent a steel frame and they bent it back on a jig & vice

Im sure carbon would be fine as a gravel bike but it would be last on my list as frame types

[IroningMan]

TwistingMyMelon said:

Id go with Steel and 105

Ive an alu frame and on the really rocky stuff I miss steel (I have had steel bikes)

Ive also had some nasty and comic offs that I wouldn't want to have on a carbon frame

No experience with titanium

As per above posters if you use it properly they get through consumables bloody quickly, I have to do every bearings on mine each year at least

Does the current 105 chainset still have the 'fins' on the back that the previous one did? Nightmare for collecting mud and stones and then mashing them into the chainstay.

[alolympic]

I’ve recently sold my titanium road bike and bought a carbon gravel bike.
I should theoretically be able to offer some perspective but it is a very personal choice.
There are so many other variables such as geometry and the build kit that I think would be just a big an influence on the ride.
I went for carbon as I am trying to go as lightweight as possible.
Any painted frame is probably best covered in invisiframe. No worry there with titanium.
Just go with what you desire most.

[moonigan]

According to Strava I've done 5100 miles on my Diverge in 2.5 years and I ride it everywhere in all weathers. I have just this week refreshed:
- Gear cables
- Pads, discs, fluids (second set of pads)
- Headset
- Cranks (The FSA carbon ones had taken quite a few pedal strikes and looked worse for wear)
- Chain
- Bar tape

Gone through a lot of tyres and sealant in those miles though.

The carbon is in spectacular condition but I had it wrapped from day one and the film has taken most of the damage. The choice of frame is really dependent on what you ride. Smooth bridal paths and fire roads then fill your boots with a nice shiny metal frame. If its rough then carbon will dampen much better than metal. Also a lot of metal frames dont have the tyre clearance that the newer carbon frames have because they use old designs from back in the day when a 33mm tyre was massive. Again smooth bridal paths then 33mm is fine but you need something more substantial for proper off road riding.

[TCX]

I've an old,canti brake,replaced by v's alloy giant tcx lol continental cyclo cross speed tyres,105 gears,rotor 27/40 oval crankset,never felt need to go for better frame

[Barchettaman]

frisbee said:

If you dent a titanium frame or even a steel or aluminium frame what are you going to do?

You can snap a carbon frame in half and get it repaired.

Hmm. Not sure I would want to ride a carbon frame that had been snapped In half and repaired anywhere other than on rollers/trainer.

Anyway, just get something with decent tyre clearance for a cushy ride.

[WindyCommon]

I’ve long thought it would be interesting to see a “blind” test of identically dimensioned and equipped frames, each made from different materials.

[upsidedownmark]

Barchettaman said:

Hmm. Not sure I would want to ride a carbon frame that had been snapped In half and repaired anywhere other than on rollers/trainer.

Anyway, just get something with decent tyre clearance for a cushy ride.

But that is largely superstition. Done properly, repairing carbon isn't really any different to the way plenty of frames are assembled in the first place (i.e. bonding tubes/pre-formed shapes) - just with a whole bunch of elapsed time between the build stages

That said, particularly where 'gravel' bikes are concerned (anything with significant tyre volume), I'm pretty much inclined to believe that there's more marketing than real difference between the frame types. To that point, I recently test rode and alloy and TI version of the same frame back to back. The Ti was noticeably less smooth. I suspect one had harder tyres!

[PomBstard]

As others have said, go with what you like and what fits you. Get a decent drivetrain and wheels, and go and ride.

For what its worth, I've got a 4 year old Norco Search that's done about 12,000km on varying terrain from smooth Tarmac to rooty, rocky singletrack. Its a carbon frame with 2x11 105 kit throughout - that was the deal at the time - carbon frame gets the 105 kit.

The frame has a scrape on the chainstay where the chain jumped the inner ring and got snagged. That was about 2 years ago and its not killed me yet. I've had it checked but not bothered about repairing. My mtb is also carbon, and has taken some fairly big hits and seems OK. The alu frame I had before was dented all over but eventually succumbed to fatigue, and cracked.

I've also changed the wheels for a set of 29" mtb wheels with 23mm rims as the originals didn't really have the strength. These are probably a little heavier but have needed very little fettling since fitting.

Otherwise the bike's in pretty good health. Still on the same chainrings and cassette. 160mm rotors are great, pads a cinch to change.

Would I be better off on steel, alu or Ti? Feck knows. Just get what you're happy with and keep the kit in good fettle.

[wobert]

Ti seems to be the ‘in-vogue’ material for high end bicycle frames.

As an engineer, titanium is suited for applications where high strength is needed at elevated temperatures, e.g. jet turbine blades, a bike frame is at the opposite end of the spectrum.

Welding titanium creates issues with ‘material embrittlement’, which affects the UTS and yield strength of the metal. To weld successfully, to avoid issues, needs a dedicated environment, an atmosphere devoid of oxygen, usually argon, which itself is an expensive gas to purchase.

This isn’t suited to volume frame manufacture, where cost is paramount.

The link below is an interesting listen, as it extols why titanium isn’t suited to low cost bike frames.

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-cycling-...

I’m a member on a gravel related FB group (UK-wide) and there are almost daily posts from people buying ‘low-cost’ Ti frames that have failed prematurely.

I would (or did) go aluminium, steel or carbon.

Edited by wobert on Monday 17th August 10:06