A question for titanium bike owners

[GruB]

Why oh why has the ride of ti been kept a secret or so quiet for so long?

I got to work today and was grinning my face off.  Smooth?  Hell, so smooth that I kept thinking I must have punctured and had a slow release.  Forgiving is an understatement.

Power?  Oh yes, so responsive whereas the chap from Pearsons warned me that ti would include a power delay and was best avoided.

I can't understand why more don't have ti bikes.  I will seriously have to force myself to use the TCR now as this bike is so ACE to ride.  I can't believe just how good it is.

[rae]

I've been telling anyone who'll listen.    Normally you'll get a load of abuse from the "steel is real" brigade...

[clarion]

Steel is wonderful.  But that doesn't stop me from wanting a Ti framed bike (with a steel fork )

[ed_o_brain]

I'm a big fan of Ti.

But steel is an affordable compromise. My Airborne was hardly getting used because I don't really do epic rides, although I do lots of miles on fixed gear bikes, and I can't afford to trash 'spensive drive trains for everyday riding.

I am thinking in the distant future, my steel fixed may morph into a Ti fixed on the grounds it will never corrode and look factory fresh every time I wash it. However, for now I have all the bike I ever need and then some.

[border-rider]

This is why I have 3

(although to be honest the On-One rides exactly like a steel Pompino - but the MC doesn't)

[Biggsy]

It's no secret at all that Ti bikes are supposed to give a great ride.

My Ti bike feels lovely as well - though I'm not convinced that's due to the frame material.

My Al bike feels relatively rubbish - though I'm not convinced that's due to the frame material.

Is it about time I put two and two together, or am I right to remain skeptical because bike frames have very little vertical give, whatever they're made of.

[GruB]

I've been telling anyone who'll listen.    Normally you'll get a load of abuse from the "steel is real" brigade...

Yep, I still recall that one with the ball bearing thing at the back, sort of suspension like that you rode on The Dun Run that year.  That was the first time I'd ever seen a ti bike.

[GruB]

It's no secret at all that Ti bikes are supposed to give a great ride.

My Ti bike feels lovely as well - though I'm not convinced that's due to the frame material.

My Al bike feels relatively rubbish - though I'm not convinced that's due to the frame material.

Is it about time I put two and two together, or am I right to remain skeptical because bike frames have very little vertical give, whatever they're made of.

Pete,
Are you saying the frame design is a big factor?

[Jurek]

Why oh why has the ride of ti been kept a secret or so quiet for so long?

Just about to go out on mine. 

[Fidgetbuzz]

I'm a relative newbie to this cycling caper - but I think my Ti frame definitely beats my steel "heart" with both carbon forks and a rear triangle, for comfort on long rides
 Both bikes were custom fit - so no difference there.

My advice ( if ever asked) would be - buy Ti

[GruB]

Aside from the actual ride, there is also the lifeability factor.  One chap at work says he has never bought ti as he would lose the excuse to buy a new bike in say 5 years time 

[Greenbank]

Pete,
Are you saying the frame design is a big factor?

Paging Gonzo...

[Biggsy]

Are you saying the frame design is a big factor?

To be honest, I find it hard to identify factors to do with the frame, because I've never had precisely the same components and riding position with two different frames.

[Biggsy]

ps. The nearest I got to that, the bike did feel pretty similar, just mainly lighter, after I swapped a steel for a Ti frame (along with the forks and a couple of other things).

[Ian H]

...or am I right to remain skeptical because bike frames have very little vertical give, whatever they're made of.

I've always thought that it was more about design than materials. I have a Ti frame with gears and an ancient 531 frame with fixed. Both are set up to pretty much the same position, despite the very different geometry (saddle's forward on the relaxed steel frame, well back on the Ti). Both are comfortable to ride. Another 531 frame, a road iron that I used to TT on, is less comfortable, but the big difference is the bars - different design and no cushioning. I've never had an ali road frame until the new TT bike, but that's such a different position that it's impossible to do a comparison based on just the frame.

[sg37409]

I went to ti last year after only ever riding steel. I had / have the same thoughts each time.
My good bike is a ti with carbon forks and 26c tyres and it floats over rough road surfaces beautifully.  My other bike(s) is a steel frame which keeps the smile factor fresh everytime I use the ti.

They look boring though, as noted in another thread just now.

[Greenbank]

They look boring though, as noted in another thread just now.

Paging Gonzo again!

[nuttycyclist]

Most of my bikes are steel.  They all ride completely differently.

Frankenfixie is Alu, and it's great to ride, quite similar to my CroMo MTB tbh.  The Airnimal is also Alu (I believe) and that feels different too.  Actually, isn't the Windcheetah Amuminium?  The really feels different to ride.

The Audax bike (531) is great to ride, unless I've taken the luggage off, when it feels light and wobbly.  The one time I rode a carbon bike that too felt all wobbly, but I was scared of dropping it and shattering the frame.

Even just changing a basic component makes a bike feel different.  FrankenFixie annoyed me with fairy attacks, so I stopped at the LBS to change the tyres from whatever was fitted (paper thin ) to Marathon Plus.  I had to learn how to ride the bike again, it felt so different.

Ti?  yeah I'll probably ride one at some point and say it feels different.

[Ian H]

...The Airnimal is also Alu (I believe) and that feels different too...

Oh yeah. I've got one. I'd forgotten. Different position - flat bars, a little more upright. A bit jiggly on rough surfaces, but that might be the small wheels.

[gonzo]

Pete,
Are you saying the frame design is a big factor?

Paging Gonzo...

Hello!

Frame design...ah yes. I've had two ti bikes, both from the same designer. The second one came about due to an insurance payout on the first. The fit of the bikes was damned near identical as one was a direct replacement of the other.

Bike number 1 was like riding an armchair. As Grub said - I'd keep stopping to fix a puncture that wasn't there! It happened to ride like a wet noodle, but that could have been due to some very bendy bars & stem.

Bike number 2 was designed for short distance racing. Still a 100% ti frame but utterly different to ride. It's like a better fitting version of my old trek 1200 (which I though was great!). I can feel everything on the road and there is no detectable flex, yet there is a little high frequency damping due to the material properties of ti.

They look boring though, as noted in another thread just now.

Paging Gonzo again!

They don't have to be boring-
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v255/208/68/204504692/n204504692_33387436_7790.jpg

[GruB]

Bloody hell Gonzo, that looks great 

[ChrisO]

F8ck me, Mario Cippollini has died and been reincarnated as a bike.

[saturn]

They don't have to be boring

Tape's a bit plain, was you not aware that it's possible to get zebra tape? 

[Ian H]

They look boring though, as noted in another thread just now.

Remind me what's boring about a well-designed, nicely proportioned, unadorned frame.

[Frenchie]

I don't have a Ti bike but the design of my various steel makes them feel very, very different (one uber comfortable where the other is a pure racing bike with no give but super response!); it seems that with Ti you get the same and that buying a high end frame will ensure that to be the case, i.e that you can get a responsive machine. For a new road play bike I'd be tempted by a carbon wonder though; but for my super fixed It'd probably be a good Ti frame.