Any of the clydes in here ride ti frames? I am looking at http://www.titaniumsports.com/mt.html frame, but was wondering if it willl be flexy under my 260lbs. My original ht is a jamis komodo, but is pretty marred up by the chainstay but very stiff. Also I sweat alot, and the tt has alot of corrosion, I figured the ti won't corrode since it is brushed and not painted or polished. Either looking at a cheap titanium or aluminum frame.

Thanks for the advice,

Pherret

Those frames look pretty nice for the price!

How tall are you? Your weight shouldn't be as much of a factor in choosing a Ti frame as your height....frame size. A frame made with 3Al-2.5V tubing in a LARGE frame size could be very flexy and unstable at speed. (I learned this researching my Ti build...)

I believe this is the reasoning behind Matt Chester making his frames "compact". The smaller front triangle will certainly provide for a stiffer frameset. The "bi-ovalized" downtube is a must, IMO and experience thus far.

My main ride is a ~year old Sofa King Ti King Pin in 20", the mfg. allowed me a good deal of input into the spec. 3-2.5 maintubes with a 6-4 2" tandem-rated bi-ovalized downtube. This frame is very stiff but quite forgiving and comfortable, as well. Absolutely the finest ride I've ever owned. Not "cheap", tho!

I'm 6'5" and currently 235lbs. Normally would ride a 22" seattube frame, my SK is 20" center-center with a 25.4" ACTUAL toptube! I use a long Thomson or Salsa seatpost with about 10" exposed. Also a 100mm Thomson stem (shortest stem I've ever used!)

Hope this helps.

Of the King Pin upon arrival.

My height is 6-2. I ride a 21 in my komodo. The tst I would get is the 20in. Hopefully I will get my weight down to 235. My goal is to get it to 215 in a year. You ever bend the thompson or salsa post? I have bent quite a few posts, and am always looking for a better seatpost. Right now I have a thudbuster on my HT, and have actually bent the post on it, but their warranty work and cust service took care of me.

I imagine you'd have to try very hard to bend a Thomson seatpost, even with a lot of extension.

I'm only running the Salsa 'cause the Thomson didn't allow enough adjustment with the Brooks saddle.

Page Bigwheel over on the 29'er board. He was on a 29" Airborne Ti when I rode w/ him last summer in CB, and might be able to give you some insight. He's gotta be a shade over 200#. And ask him about the Ti seatpost he was running. Don't know what brand it was, but it was long and flexing enough to give some real suspension to the ride. FWIW, my E-stayed '92 Merlin has held up fine, but doesn't get ridden much anymore.
- Joe

... i checked out the ti sports bikes after some friends had success, but decided against it in the end. size was partially a factor, as both frames i got to ride just didn't 'feel' right in the flex department. but i can't recall what their tubing specs, etc, were.

i decided that if i ever went ti, i'd only do it all the way, and go with the custom-with-lotsa-input route like xrmattaz did. of course, this means that i may not ever get a ti frame, but ...

I am riding a TiLite Bontrager and while owning the bike have weighed as much as 220. No problems at all with the frame. The TiLite is built by Titanium Sports Technology.

I had to wait until I was old and gray to afford a nice Ti frame. Always wanted one, and now have the means.

Save your pennies or buy a nice sturdy steel frame, ala Surly 1X1. I miss mine, and would have no problemo waking up tomorrow and discovering a 1X1 in the garage in place of the Sofa King....the Surly, IMO...was THAT good.

Sh*t....I've eight thousand dollars tied up in bicycles, and I LONG for another Surly 1X1.

Telepathic comes to mind. When I do purchase another, the Ti bike may become a garage queen.




... i checked out the ti sports bikes after some friends had success, but decided against it in the end. size was partially a factor, as both frames i got to ride just didn't 'feel' right in the flex department. but i can't recall what their tubing specs, etc, were.

i decided that if i ever went ti, i'd only do it all the way, and go with the custom-with-lotsa-input route like xrmattaz did. of course, this means that i may not ever get a ti frame, but ...

... when i hear things like that, i wonder if i'll ever go ti - even when the means are available. and i can't get these damn smilies to work.

but truthfully, i also must confess a certain 'fear of high-endedness' which compliments my newfound 'i don't require/warrant the best of everything' attitude that comes into play with ti. (custom steel, however, i think would be okay - winking smiley here).

see, it's kinda like when as a teenager, my parents always had great cars: so that's what i learned to drive on/had to drive around. yes, it may seem contradictory to say "had to" drive a bmw 5 series, or the dodge stealth twin turbo, or the big infinity, or the mercedes s class - but there was constant worrying and stress involved. am i going to grind the gears? am i parking/driving too close to other vehicles? did it get scratched? etc. so parents out there, don't ever do that to your kids. or yourself. eventually my sister and i bought a neon to share.

part of me can't escape the feeling that in the back (or front) of my mind, i'd always be worried about the ti, and hurting it. hurting frames happens even to the best of us, which i am certainly not.

thus while i don't like the 1x1 geometry, maybe i'll just dream and save for that on one, or the karate monkey, or something, and leave the ti be.

I have always wanted a ti frame, mainly because I have never riden a ti frame, and especially that it won't corrode under my sweat (all my bikes have the paint on the tt/seat tube bubbled) and people tell me it will last a life time. I don't want to spend over a grand on a frame alone because I will scratch it, drop it, nick it, hurt it. Not saying I am cheap, since I have 4 bikes with to much money involved in cycling, but I like to think my dollars have been spent wisely. Also spending over a grand in a botique frame is something I won't do, because its a waste of money in my opinion since at the end it is just a bike a bike to me...no offense to those that have 3-4 grand invested in one bike:)

unfortunately I can't test ride the bike before I buy, so I either have to commit or look at a different frame/material. I know I can get a steel or al frame for under 350 that would work great...and when I trash that in 4 years get a new one.

xrmattaz how do you like the SS. I have always wanted to try that. Whats the best deal on a SS crank and BB? thinking of converting my komodo into a SS and building up a new HT for my regular trail bike. It's marred up on the chainstay badly, but should last another 6-12 months.

Wow. Best deal on a SS crank and BB...??

My best deal involved the thirty dollar TruVativ Stylo 180's somebody on this board sold me a year back. Some hate 'em...I like 'em just fine. Wish I could find some more....hint.

Probably the bestest deal going today would be the Shimano LX cranks (if you can do 175's) mated to the appropriate BB. I like square taper. I've used them for more than twenty years, and have no issues. They work. The LX's use the Shimano Octalink, which most of us (?) feel is mas superior to the ISIS crap.

My two cents.....search your LBS's for a nice old pair of square-taper XT cranks. You'll be limited to running no smaller than a 33 (34) tooth chainring, make it up with an ENO in the back. Maybe a new wheel with the ENO eccentric hub will be necessary.

I have been up near 225 and rode my Unicoi hard for two years and then sold it. I think it may be a better frame for a clydesdale since the Ti will flex and absorb more. Most Ti's have a lifetime warranty and can be repaired if cracked. There is nothing like the feel and lightness of a quality Ti frame.

I rode a Pisgah convert for about 4 months. It rode very well, but after a few flexy frame incidents (tire rubbing on chainstays, tt wobble) I sold it off. IME if you are over most Ti manufacturers 175lb target weight you are going to have problems. If I do Ti again I will go to a buotique builder like Matt Chester and have him custom build a frame taylored to my weight.

I have been riding my Ti frame from Ti-Sports for a year now. They make a quality frame. The welds are some of the nicest I have seen. I picked it up for about the price of a good steel frame.

I weight about 210, but ride a 15" c-t frame (they do not make one this small anymore). Yes, I'm built like a tree stump. I have had no issues with unwanted frame flex, just the smoothest hardtail I have ever ridden.

I run a 100-120 Manatou Black fork (set at about 110mm travel). I also have it set up with a 40/30/20 chainring set, 12x34 XT casssette, custom 9 speed thumb shifters. It make for a great light and fast trail bike.




Any of the clydes in here ride ti frames? I am looking at http://www.titaniumsports.com/mt.html frame, but was wondering if it willl be flexy under my 260lbs. My original ht is a jamis komodo, but is pretty marred up by the chainstay but very stiff. Also I sweat alot, and the tt has alot of corrosion, I figured the ti won't corrode since it is brushed and not painted or polished. Either looking at a cheap titanium or aluminum frame.

Thanks for the advice,

Pherret