Titanium frames

[davidj]

I started out as a retro fan boy, became a retro mod fanboy, then a mod fanboy and now I am a modern Orange fanboy.

I now have 4 bikes, three of them are Orange. If I sold them all on I could fund a Titanium Orange.

My main concern is every used Titanium frame (all brands) I seem to see has some kind of structural failure.

Are they just for the rich and the foolish, or is it just a minority of owners have failures?

 

[d8mok]

Re:

Titanium is always the material I think of when someone says “bike for life”

Where exactly are you looking to find all these broken titanium frames?

 

[M-Power]

Re: Re:

Titanium is always the material I think of when someone says “bike for life”

Where exactly are you looking to find all these broken titanium frames?

1000%

Owned many Ti frames and never had a failure or issue. There were some issues with certain brands that used the cheapest ( chemical plant ) grades of Ti tubing in the mid 90s and or poor quality tig welds. You get what you pay for. US made Ti bikes are worth a premium imo.

 

[itscervo]

Re: Re:

Titanium is always the material I think of when someone says “bike for life”

Where exactly are you looking to find all these broken titanium frames?

1000%

Owned many Ti frames and never had a failure or issue. There were some issues with certain brands that used the cheapest ( chemical plant ) grades of Ti tubing in the mid 90s and or poor quality tig welds. You get what you pay for. US made Ti bikes are worth a premium imo.

Premium US made brands :?:
viewtopic.php?f=39&t=391898
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=362209

 

[RickTheUncivil]

Re:

Perhaps it's only the broken ones that get sold on?

From experience, had an orange Ti, had a repair around the seat clamp. No idea how it happened, previous owner 'had never noticed'. Sold it on.

had another orange Ti, cracked on both sides around the seat tube at the top tube junction, repaired, sold (too big for me)

Had a ~95 kona Ti, no problem, sold on to get...

Now have a ~97 kona Ti with no problem and, as per previous comments, it's a keeper bike for life type plan.

Maybe some makes are more susceptible to failure?

 

[mk one]

I currently have 3 Ti bikes, none have cracks, have owned others in the past, none had cracks. None are for sale, if one does crack i would sell it, same as others seem to do

There are lots of variables to why frames crack, not just Ti either, also people tend to post more when something breaks, as opposed to positive reviews.

 

[Minifreak]

I had a Ridgeback/Merlin and Orange Vitamin T now own a 1991 Titanium Kona Hei Hei and 93 Merlin Titanium as 2 of my currently only 3 retro bikes, none have cracked. Go Ti (I’d say Merlin ) you will not be disappointed.

My Merlin is possibly for sale, only due to a house purchase and baby on the way, advertised on here if interested.

 

[Woz]

I've had only one crack - Parkpre Pro Elite Ti. I wouldn't say it was a common failure, bit a well known one.

Having said that, it did get some hammer. The secret to a good Ti frame is good design and good craftmanship.

I reckon you would be hard pushed to find a failed Dean for example.

 

[Gerard]

4 Ti frames, no cracks that I know of. As said, "bike for life".

 

[M-Power]

Re:

Absolutely a bike for life. Easy to clean, no rust worries, they can take a hammering and Ti frames are very customisable by a top framebuilder to create a preferred ride feel, more so than steel. You can get the stiffness of steel where its needed most, less weight but also that unique all day ride comfort that make them special.