Frame failure experiences

[greencat]

First up, very surprised about a 4T failing, but weren't they more in the lightweight department and like you mention pulling a trailer. It would perhaps be like putting one of those child seats that clamp on the seat-tube on a thin walled frame?

There's a few things going on, but yes when Ti fails you feel very let down. Owners who buy from new and a failure occurs outside the warranty must be utterly miffed - in part due to the high initial expense, the myths like you say around Ti, and then to add insult to injury the availability and cost of any repair if possible.

Now what I don't believe is that "a significant number" fail. I would be fairly certain the numbers are comparatively low. What tends to happen is when they do fail they will get splashed around the web in "shock" "horror" "didn't expect that". The umpteen cracked steel or AL frames mostly get dumped with little press or fuss (of course a few exceptions).

On the MTB side there was a period in the early / mid-90s of practically everyone needing to have a top model race bike in Ti flavour in their catalogues; Wheeler, KHS, Mongoose, Parkpre, Diamond Back, Sunn, Orange, Lapierre, Gazelle, Kona, Raleigh, Crescent, etc. etc. etc. Some got it right, some got it wrong. Have in mind too many more budget Ti frames were produced overseas in Asia or former Eastern Soviet block. I'm not saying that means they are all bad, far from it. The ones that have survived up till now will probably survive in the future with some respect.

It is fairly rare to read about say a Dean or similar produced by Sandvik USA failing. Same with Lynskey, Serrota and Morati.

Probably worth saying the trailer was attached to bunch of steel and aluminium frames without incident...(and the 4T failed after about 2 years of ownership, and pulling a trailer no more than a dozen times - again don't know for sure that was what caused it, but perhaps - and it never pulled a trailer again after the first weld, and then failed again elsewhere afterwards).

My guess is there are lot fewer titanium frames out there. Maybe less than a few % of overall sales? I also suspect most are not ridden as daily drivers either. Unless one of us can provide data on relative % of frame types failing it's hard to say. Outside of crashes, frame failures are rare for any material.

Worth saying, I did also have a Sunn Morati which came to me with a failed v-brake fixing (the area where the spring locates weld had failed - and I had that done too).

 

[bikeworkshop]

I've definitely seen more broken ti than I should have, and I've examined hundreds of broken frames.

As always, failure of the cheaper models is less surprising.

3 of my most used bikes are titanium though
(owned 20/30 years, well used)
and although i'd like them to last forever
(or my demise whichever is sooner)
I don't fool myself that
"Failure is not an option"

of course people might pay the premium for ti because they are going to get used hard, so there's always an element of self- selection