titanium frames ?

levitronix

Im kinda leaning towards the idea of splashing out on a van nicholas chinook frame for a winter bike/leisure bike, im totally sold on the lines of the bike and how it looks, has all the boxes ticked for what i want as a winter bike, tyres clearance/no paint to chip/easy to clean and should last forever

Anyone own one of these hows titanium ride compared to carbon, some say they re not as stiff, i ride a canyon which is said to be stiff as old boots i dont notice it i just think its a pleasure to ride. My winter hack is an oreba al with carbon stays the back end of that whipps around in a sprint i can really notice the flex, would love to hear how the van nicholas would compare to my canyon ?

kincsem

I read that one of the RAAM / ultra endurance riders said he couldn't tell on a dark night if he was riding steel, aluminium, carbon, or titanium.

I have a Setavento titanium, one steel bike, two aluminium, one carbon (I think.) The titanium is my best, and favourite. It is much steadier on a very fast downhill. Uphill I am too close to death to notice anything.

kumate_champ07

Titanium frames can me made as stiff as you like, its all in the geometry and tubing thickness+butting. Carbon fibre beats it in aero-ness and price

Strongframes do nice titanium frames

Ryder

planet x (lynskey) ti frame. 88kg, no flex whatsoever when sprinting. Great bike

Lumen

My titanium frame lacks the "magic carpet ride" that others speak of. Crappy roads are uncomfortable on any bike I've ridden on 23mm tyres.

Jawgap

I've a Sabbath - definitely not as stiff as my carbon fibre bike, not as sharp in the turns, and doesn't accelerate as well - but it is a much more comfortable / less harsh ride.

It would be my no.1 bike - great for looooooong spins.

granda

i'm going to put my order in next week for an enigma esprit and i cant wait to get it built up,all i have to do now is hide the reciepts from the OH

Lumen

granda wrote: »

i'm going to put my order in next week for an enigma esprit and i cant wait to get it built up,all i have to do now is hide the reciepts from the OH

Make sure you have agreed every detail. They changed the finish on mine without asking me (because they thought it was nicer), and by the time I found out it was too late to change before delivery.

kumate_champ07

Lumen wrote: »

Make sure you have agreed every detail. They changed the finish on mine without asking me (because they thought it was nicer), and by the time I found out it was too late to change before delivery.

my ex dentist did that to me once, she was workin on my teeth and started changing the shape of my canines without asking me, making them blunt/flat, they werent exactly vampirish but I liked them the way they were. she did the left one only, didnt like her very much.

kumate_champ07

http://www.strongframes.com/back_from_paint/?page=3&material=&type=

fat bloke

Ryder wrote: »

planet x (lynskey) ti frame. 88kg, no flex whatsoever when sprinting. Great bike

That's shockin' heavy man. Even a cheap steel frame would be less than 2kg.

fat bloke

levitronix wrote: »

i ride a canyon which is said to be stiff as old boots

Old boots are pretty pliable:)... mixed metaphors aside though, I'd be wary about listening to anyone's opinion ever on a bike.

This review
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/review-ridley-bikes-orion-09-33037

nearly put me off a purchase. Having bought and ridden the frame I can't understand where the reviewers got their opinions. "Uncompromising rigidity...zero-tolerance policy towards flex.....too rigid for many"

What a load of c0ck. It's as comfortable a bike as I've ridden. :rolleyes:

UCDCommuter

I got a Chinook frame on the b2W last year for similar reasons - long lasting, loved the bare metal look, recommended for sportive riding (Did the W200 on it although I was DNF ). I assume you've read the bike radar review? Google if not. Got mine from Fatbirds Don't Fly, I got a free upgradew from a Mistral frame because they accidentally shipped mine to the wrong person who woudln't give it back!

levitronix

fat bloke wrote: »

Old boots are pretty pliable:)... mixed metaphors aside though, I'd be wary about listening to anyone's opinion ever on a bike.

This review
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/review-ridley-bikes-orion-09-33037

nearly put me off a purchase. Having bought and ridden the frame I can't understand where the reviewers got their opinions. "Uncompromising rigidity...zero-tolerance policy towards flex.....too rigid for many"

What a load of c0ck. It's as comfortable a bike as I've ridden. :rolleyes:

i know what you mean, but i like how a race bike feels, some people might call it harsh or to stiff, i was hoping for race bike feel from a titanium frame

doozerie

I took my titanium Enigma (Eclipse) for its first spin today. I'd transferred over the majority of the parts from my aluminium frame, bar the handlebars - the new bars are shallower and slightly shorter reach (and also narrower thanks to 3T's odd way of measuring their bars!). I also have the bars slightly higher on the Enigma too so this translates to a different fit versus my aluminium but not very different. I rode a hilly route that I've ridden many times on the aluminium and also on my carbon fibre (a Canyon) and I was very impressed. I found the Enigma was good on the climbs and handled well on the descents too. It's tough to compare exactly as I haven't been on either of my other bikes in a couple of weeks but overall I'd say it was more comfortable than the aluminium and possibly more comfortable than my Canyon too, and that's saying something 'cos I like my Canyon in particular a lot.

Obviously the geometry of the frame will play a big part in how the bike handles. The geometry of my Enigma is quite different to that of my aluminium, it's actually quite close to that of my Canyon. My aluminium is quite old-school race oriented (very low front-end), the Enigma is higher and a bit slacker (longer wheel base), but for all that it doesn't feel any slower or significantly less responsive. The Enigma is a compact frame while the aluminium isn't so there is more exposed carbon fibre seatpost on the Enigma which probably helps give a bit more shock absorption.

One spin isn't enough to properly judge the new titanium frame but I'm optimistic that it'll work out well.

morana

I can never really tell to be honest. The only thing I notice is the weight. I feel that each new bike I have bought has been better than the previous one.

I had a titanium once. a raleigh dynatech. As I was explaining to a lad on the spin today Raleigh bought a load of titanium from the Russians but it was crap and tbh I dont know if they knew how to fabricate them correctly, anyway it broke. david hourigan also went thru a number of them in that season.

Now I am on Cervelo with Zipps and I dont think I would change for anything...well maybe a newer Cervelo with di2...but I am too fat to even think about that at the moment..

granda

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=59265
found this today so the enigma frame my have to wait s lynskey for tht price would be hard to beat

The tax man

granda wrote: »

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=59265
found this today so the enigma frame my have to wait s lynskey for tht price would be hard to beat

Depending on your frame size,Planet X have the Van Nicholas made Ti Pro Road frame for £799. Only L or XL left.

granda

doozerie wrote: »

I took my titanium Enigma (Eclipse) for its first spin today. I'd transferred over the majority of the parts from my aluminium frame, bar the handlebars - the new bars are shallower and slightly shorter reach (and also narrower thanks to 3T's odd way of measuring their bars!). I also have the bars slightly higher on the Enigma too so this translates to a different fit versus my aluminium but not very different. I rode a hilly route that I've ridden many times on the aluminium and also on my carbon fibre (a Canyon) and I was very impressed. I found the Enigma was good on the climbs and handled well on the descents too. It's tough to compare exactly as I haven't been on either of my other bikes in a couple of weeks but overall I'd say it was more comfortable than the aluminium and possibly more comfortable than my Canyon too, and that's saying something 'cos I like my Canyon in particular a lot.

Obviously the geometry of the frame will play a big part in how the bike handles. The geometry of my Enigma is quite different to that of my aluminium, it's actually quite close to that of my Canyon. My aluminium is quite old-school race oriented (very low front-end), the Enigma is higher and a bit slacker (longer wheel base), but for all that it doesn't feel any slower or significantly less responsive. The Enigma is a compact frame while the aluminium isn't so there is more exposed carbon fibre seatpost on the Enigma which probably helps give a bit more shock absorption.

One spin isn't enough to properly judge the new titanium frame but I'm optimistic that it'll work out well.

how long was the delivery time for the frame from enigma and i still cant decide on the esprit or eclipse but leaning heavily towards the esprit

doozerie

granda wrote:

how long was the delivery time for the frame from enigma and i still cant decide on the esprit or eclipse but leaning heavily towards the esprit

I ordered my frameset on a Monday, it was shipped the next day and arrived on the following Friday, so 3 days delivery or 4 days from date of order.

I've just had a look at the Esprit versus the Eclipse again to remind myself of why I went with the latter - I bought it a couple of months back so I can't quite recall all of my reasoning. The geometry of the two is very similar, the main differences being that the Eclipse is a compact frame plus the Esprit has a shorter head tube. The frame styling alone would have pushed me towards the Eclipse - I don't like the traditional look, I much prefer the compact frame styling. That's very much a personal thing though and I'd be deemed a phillistine by some. The difference in price was another important factor as even the Eclipse was stretching my initial budget.

Don't forget to check their sale section too in case they have anything in your size which might appeal to you.

Oh, and as Lumen mentioned in an earlier post, do go through with them exactly what you want and check it when it arrives. I was buying frame, forks, and headset, and they said the frame would come with the headset fitted. I wasn't fitted, it was sitting in it's own packaging inside the box. That wasn't a problem for me as I have a headset press which made the task easy, quick, and safe, but if I'd had to dig out a hammer and a piece of wood to fit it (oh the days!) I would not have been impressed.

kumate_champ07

anyone 'need' a 58cm?

its nos
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/NOS-DACCORDI-TITANIO-Titanium-Frameset-amazing-paintjob-/290665615958?pt=Road_Bikes&hash=item43ad055256