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Titanium Roadbike Build...any advice?

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    #32
    halvis
    Registered Users Posts: 64 ✭✭halvis


    I have thought long and hard about buying a Ti frame and I still haven't ruled one out as my next frame. However, I have come to the conclusion that you have to assume that the welds WILL fail at some point.

    Given that most people buy a Ti Frame for longevity reasons, I think therefore you should buy from a reputable manufacturer that is easy to deal with here in Ireland.

    Van Nicholas are probably the best Ti frame manufacturer represented in Ireland and do have a good name for their warranties. Read any bike forums and you will see that they have no problems replacing frames that are 10 years old or more.

    I was thinking of the Yukon for Audaxing purposes, but to be honest, its very similar to my current steel frame and not really any lighter. Therefore, I am having a hard time justifying the change.

    I rode a test build that was floating around bike shops here in Ireland a few years ago - Zepher. It was fitted with Mavic Carbon SSC wheels though and I couldn't feel the road the same as on the steel. I put this down to the wheels more than the frame, but anyway, I didn't like the lack of feedback and gave it a miss.

    So, my advice is to consider what happens if it goes wrong, as there is a good chance it will and you are going to need manufacturer support when it does.


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    #33
    ridelikeaturtle
    Registered Users Posts: 312 ✭✭ridelikeaturtle


    halvis wrote: »
    I have thought long and hard about buying a Ti frame and I still haven't ruled one out as my next frame. However, I have come to the conclusion that you have to assume that the welds WILL fail at some point.
    I'm genuinely curious: on what is this conclusion based?

    Are people jumping their road bikes off houses, Danny-MacAskill-style, expecting them to last forever?

    I've two Ti road bikes, and I think they're awesome - and both are @ 20yrs old (1996, 1997). (I also have Al & steel, which I also like.) But I'd never expect any of them to have welds that just "fail".


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    #34
    halvis
    Registered Users Posts: 64 ✭✭halvis


    Just to be clear, I was stating that when buying a Ti frame you should ASSUME that the weld WILL fail, so I wasn't suggesting that every Ti frame will fail for certain.

    I am no metal worker, but I understand that the welds have to be performed more carefully to avoid contamination. If contaminated, which is hard to detect, it weakens the weld making it prone to cracking overtime. This is often sighted as the reason for titanium frame failure. These risks do not apply to steel.

    Given this, I would prefer to buy from a reputable Ti manufacturer who will stand over this kind of issue and replace the faulty frame.

    I am not sure how common this is, but it doesn't take much Googling to find many real instances.


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