[DaveW]

Hi all I have a bit of cash coming my way soon, so it's time to look at bike bling!!!

Right I'm thinking of getting a titanum hardtail for xc racing AND back country adventure rides.
What frame titanium manufacturers/frames do you guys and girls rate?

I've been toying with getting either a Dean Scout or maybe a Cove Hummer, but I'm open to other suggestions.

Although I quite like the look of THIS!!


Thanks for your advice.

 

[jacksonpt]

I know nothing about these things, so take this with a grain of salt... but I've been drooling over that cove for a loooooong time now.

 

[McGRP01]

If you want BLING, and you want Ti....

www.sevencycles.com

 

[skinny mike]

www.ifbikes.com

 

[Heidi]

I ride the DEAN Ace and love it, simply beautiful and sexy.

 

[MMcG]

Do a google search for Moots, Kish, Jeff Jones, there may be a few more.

For a lower budget Ti frame maybe look at Litespeed or Airborne frames.

 

[SkaredShtles]

Moots!

 

[indieboy]

IF, seven, serotta, or moots are seriously the only way to go with Ti. between those four companies you will not see a better produced ti frame from anyone in the industry.
moots offers bikes at a bit cheaper price point, but they are barebone stock frames. if this is what you want, cool go for it. what's nice about the other 3 companies is they offer a completely custom set up. tube lengths, angles, tube diameters, etc, OH and clean welds, VERY clean welds.

 

[DaveW]

Cheers folks!

That gives me a few more manufacturers to eye up.

 

[blue]

That Moto Rapido is a hot frame, I almost got one, but it's going to be a different animal than the Ti...won't last as long, possible harsher ride (But with a carbon rear end, who knows?), but it will be lighter.

From what I know, Indy, Moots, and Seven are the premier Ti companies, but there's something an Airborne Black Widow that makes it the hottest hardtail in production...

 

[McGRP01]

Don't forget Ibis!!

"Greetings from Ibis Land!
Long time no chat. You see, Ibis has been taking a little break. But we're coming back soon to a trail and to a road near you. Our vacation is over and we’re on our way back. We missed you.

Where have we been? Sequestered in a secret location working to unleash some fresh new radness on the bike world. Velo Club Ibis returns in September 2005.

We think you’re going to like what we’re doing. If you sign up above, you’ll be (almost) the first to know about all the new Ibis news. We’ll keep you informed, promise. And we’ll tell you who “we” are. Tell your friends too!"

http://ibisbicycles.com/

 

[Mike Stone]

For all-around XC, if $ is no object, I would give my Merlin XLM the thumbs up.

 

[DaveW]

I was surprised at the price difference between the Seven sola (not the pro one.... the ordinary one) and the Cove Hummer......
Cove $2,900 frame only
Seven $6,000 frame only.

(prices in NZ dollars)

 

[DaveW]

I ride the DEAN Ace and love it, simply beautiful and sexy.

A matching pair.........

 

[indieboy]

i'd avoid airborne at all cost. merlin was a sweet sweet bike many moons ago.

 

[blue]

Whats wrong with AB? I don't really have any expertise in the Ti field, I just thought it was a hot frame

What constitutes a "good" ti frame? I've seen bi-oval and oval butted blah blah etc...what ride quality does each type of tubing get, weight, etc?

 

[indieboy]

ab and a few others have improved their quality over the years. they are welding a bit better each year and getting their hands on slightly better tubesets each year. ti's like any other material, there's different grades of it, beyond just 6/4 and 3/2.5.
most of the 6/4 frames tend to give a harsh ride. 6/4 is still being cold rolled and seam welded into tubing by most manufactures, hence why you see all the crazy shaped "tubes" from litespeed and others in this material. most of them will claim this gives a better ride, but in contrast the exact same thing can be done out of a properly butted 3/2.5 tube and be a fair amount cheaper.

a good ti frame is one that is welded properly and treated with care during the process of making the frame. not all companies take the steps needed to deal with this material properly, it's not an easy thing to work with. however, when it's done right you'll get a bike that feels like an old steel from but give you slight ascepts of an aluminum frame. great mix in my opinion

 

[sikocycles]

dekerf

 

[sanjuro]

I was surprised at the price difference between the Seven sola (not the pro one.... the ordinary one) and the Cove Hummer......
Cove $2,900 frame only
Seven $6,000 frame only.

(prices in NZ dollars)

When I was shopping around for a top end road bike, a point was made to me: an engineer commented that he did not care about the material but the construction and how it was designed.

I like to point out that Lance and I are the same height, but he weighs 160lbs and can generate 500 watts. I weight 200+ lbs and my power is not even Cat 2. However, because we are the same height, we would ride the same frame from Trek and any other production builder.

A custom frame from companies like Seven and Serotta take many measurements and considerations to produce a frame built just for you. That is the difference between a Cove and a Seven.

 

[DaveW]

dekerf

heh yeah I looked at his (one of the first names I looked for)
but alas I only have SOME money, I aint a billionare!



Thanks sanjuro I'll take that on board.

 

[sikocycles]

I have a dekerk team 853 steel frame. It is great.

 

[sikocycles]

http://www.sycip.com/bikes_ti.html

 

[reflux]

http://www.sycip.com/bikes_ti.html

If someone is in the market for a smooth ride, a Sycip may not be in their best interest. I have a foco hardtail from Sycip and it is easily the stiffest steel bike I've ever ridden. Perhaps I'm spoiled having ridden a Dean 853, but the Sycip just left me with something more to be desired.

SPAM: If anyone's in the market, it's in great shape and is a 19", with a 23 5/8" ett.

 

[Zutroy]

Custom hand built Cherry bicycle. Have a Ti MTB and love it and a Steel road bike. Gotta like it when one guy does everything on your bike, from machining to welding. The guys a freak about clean welds, i saw him toss a frame cause he THOUGHT the contimated a weld and couldn't tell if it was or not.

 

[DaveW]

Right well I had an expensive afternoon yesterday.

I ordered a Cove "Hummer" frame 18 inch
Fox "Talas" forks
Hope titanium hubs
Hope mono mini rear brake
Hope Mono M4 front brake
Sram X.0 groupset (except the crankset/front deralier I went with XT for that)
Crank Bros eggbeaters.

The other parts like stem handle bars etc I will get when the frame arrives so I can get the sizes right for how I like to be positioned when riding. :love: :love:

Frame will have to be ordered in espesially from Canada as the New Zealand importer doesn't carry any in stock at the mo....2-3 weeks to delivery. :nuts:

 

[pbr]

<spam>I have a Seven Sola I'm selling, if anyone is interested.
http://www.ihatebikes.net/salebikes.html
</spam>

I like Ti a lot, but I can't justify having two super nice xc hardtail frames and I'm making my XC hardtail single speed. My friend Fred at Wolfhound Cycles(www.wolfhoundcycles.com) in Ashland is going to make me my new ride.

 

[teambender]

If someone is in the market for a smooth ride, a Sycip may not be in their best interest. I have a foco hardtail from Sycip and it is easily the stiffest steel bike I've ever ridden. Perhaps I'm spoiled having ridden a Dean 853, but the Sycip just left me with something more to be desired.

SPAM: If anyone's in the market, it's in great shape and is a 19", with a 23 5/8" ett.

Foco bikes do have an aluminum-like ride quality to them....it's due to the shaped tubing....

 

[teambender]

Right well I had an expensive afternoon yesterday.

I ordered a Cove "Hummer" frame 18 inch
Fox "Talas" forks
Hope titanium hubs
Hope mono mini rear brake
Hope Mono M4 front brake
Sram X.0 groupset (except the crankset/front deralier I went with XT for that)
Crank Bros eggbeaters.

The other parts like stem handle bars etc I will get when the frame arrives so I can get the sizes right for how I like to be positioned when riding. :love: :love:

Frame will have to be ordered in espesially from Canada as the New Zealand importer doesn't carry any in stock at the mo....2-3 weeks to delivery. :nuts:

Sound like a frikin' sweet ride.. post pix when you get 'er built!

 

[reflux]

Foco bikes do have an aluminum-like ride quality to them....it's due to the shaped tubing....

Curses to Sycip for recommending that frame tubing. Shoulda' done ma research...

 

[DaveW]

heh the frame is arriving at the bike shop tomorrow!

 

[Meat Foot]

Dean Scout

I have contemplated selling mine on occasion. BUT every time I get back in the saddle on it, it is like butter. I love the way the Ti feels. The curved stays help get that job done. Everybody talks about welds and blah blah, but I will say the Dean Scout I have, appears to have nice consistant welds all around. If you get a Dean, do plan on a wait (if you have not heard). They are notorious for "taking their time". Even off the shelf, basic model. You will be happy, and with the cash you save on the frame you could put towards the trimmings.

 

[DaveW]

Whoops ... forgot to post up the pic

Still waiting for the X.0 deralliers to arrive.

 

[indieboy]

looks good man, looks good!

 

[DaveW]

24 pounds
I could ligten it some more..... but I wana play safe for survivablity on back country epics.

 

[indieboy]

looks like a killer build to me bro. go thrash on it for the weekend and give us a write up

 

[DaveW]

heh it's already got a first place podium finish under it's belt!

 

[kicknitLivE]

You might be better of with a custom steel hardtail thats fitted to your liking. Otherwise I would just say get one that fits and has short chainstays. Hardtails with short stays get way better traction, also wheelie, manual, and bunnyhop better. If youve got a wad, Ive always liked the Moots ybb.

 

[jaydee]

I agree; avoid Airborne. A friend of mine got one a couple of years back and it was crudely made, cobby welds and not exactly true. You get what you pay for, up to a point.

I have an old Diamondback Axis Team Ti made by Sandvik way back in 1995 and it's awesome. But I wouldn't pay a ton for a Ti frame these days unless you have too much money and a serious ugly grey metal fetish. Mind you, they are indestructible, just way too expensive to justify. The Hummers are OK and not a bad price. All the boutique bikes look real good but are way too expensive for what you get, IMHO. Comparatively, they're not even that light.

I'd also avoid Scandium (aka tin). I broke 2 high end Scandium road frames JRA, no crashes at all. And I'm a lightweight, no framecrushing quads on me. They just wore out, got noodly, and blew up.

 

[maxyedor]

those coves are pretty damn cool and fun to ride plus its an american made canadian bike hows that for nafta, have a sierra nevada and take a good long rolling ride on that thing!
cheers