5 Companies making primo Titanium Gravel Bikes
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- Опубліковано 31 лип 2024
- #BigGravelMiles #titaniumgravelbike #gravelgrinder
Word is Titanium is the prime material for bike frames. Apparently it provides an unmatched ride quality, is half the weight of steel and twice as strong as aluminum. Here are 5 companies and the titanium gravel bikes they make.
Litespeed:
litespeed.com/
Moots:
moots.com/
Why:
www.whycycles.com/
Sage:
sagetitanium.com/
No. 22:
22bicycles.com/ - Розваги
Lynskey Ty, Lynskey. The runner you referred to that started Litespeed was David Lynskey. After selling the Litespeed brand he and his brothers formed Lynskey.
Ok right on! That is super cool. I actually read that about Lynskey starting litespeed and then founding Lynskey after they sold Litespeed when I was doing my research but I didn't realize he was the runner who built the first bike. That's awesome.
mark lynskey?
My Litespeed has David Lynskey‘s signature written on the left chainstay 😎👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
I still ride my 1997 Litespeed Obed hardtail. It's my instant grin bike. I've had a few bikes over the years but I always go back to the Litespeed. So comfortable.
I got a buddy I'll ride with occasionally who has a similar bike. He got it at a garage sale for $25. He crushes huge rides on his bike and keeps up with the group fine lol.
Another great video Ty. Thanks for sharing.
👊
Great vid ! Had some Litespeeds a few decades back (ouch!) and after trying everything....finally came back to Ti a few years ago with my beloved Moots....ain’t nobody taking my Moots away - what a sweeeet ride !
Litespeed is epic …! Love my Ocoee from 1993. Still rides like a charm.
Agree. Moots are wildly overrated. Silly prices for batch built non-custom framesets. You want a serious bike at that price range go with Brad Bingham of Bingham Cycles. Better fabrication and far better customization for the price.
There’s a reason why you see so many Moots for sale on EBay and The Pros Closet and it isn’t because they are magical. It’s because so many buy them and then soon realize there is nothing at all special about them. 😀
Solid video as always!
🙏 Appreciate you watching. If you are ever in KC, hit me up and we will shred some gravel...
i was waiting for my lynskey .. lol !
Thanks for the video as looking forward to buy a ti frame
I had a frame built by Carl Strong in Bozeman, Montana last December 2020. When I received the frame I immediately painted it and believe me it looks like a show bike. It rides like just about every other frame I've ever owned, I mean honestly people can't tell the difference, but the fit was more of a concern for me and he nailed it. I think the bike is more comfortable just because it is a perfect fit. I like knowing I went with a frame material that will last me the rest of my life and has all the modern technologies to lock that thought in because I think, for a lot of reasons, the bike industry is just getting nutz.
Sounds like you love that bike. I learned the hard way when I bought my first bike how important bike fit is. I imagine having a custom fit is incredible. Thanks for watching!
I have a Seven Alaris road bike that was custom made for me in 2006. Looks and rides the same way as it did 17 years ago. I just ordered a Lynskey GR 300 on their birthday sale. A titanium bike is a forever bike, but sadly my body isn’t. A broken hip and shrinking body have made the Seven stack and reach a little long. I still ride it, but it’s not quite the perfect fit it was for many years. One of the big benefits of Ti is that the frame requires minimal upkeep. Having ridden steel, aluminum and carbon frames I can say much of the end product feel has to do with geometry, construction and proper fit. My 1973 steel Peugeot U-08 fit me beautifully when I was 16 and well into my 20s, but I wouldn’t want to ride it now.
Great video. I am about a week away from taking delivery on my Watia (pronounced Wa-Cha). Cheers!
🍻 to new bike day!!! That's one of the things I'm struggling with most making these videos. I have no idea how to pronounce the names of half the bikes I'm talking about 😂🤣😂🤣. Thanks for the clarification!
Yes indeed I love my Why R+ it's a super super great bike. Clean frame, excellent geometry.Just amazing.
Everyone I've talked to who rides Ti loves it.
@@TysRides I was riding MTB aluminum for years. When I started doing more gravel and road stuff a gravel bike made sense. I started on an aluminum gravel bike and when I was looking for a frame that was better for me geometry-wise. I Found a deal on my frame.
I hadn't planned it (to go to Ti) but now that I have ridden close to 3,000 miles on it. I don't think I could do without a Ti frame.
I had been looking at the Niner RLT9 - but I couldn't find one in the years pre/ mid/ covid. LOL
@@fennec13 that's what I'm afraid of haha. If I get Ti that's all I will want to ride.
@@fennec13 how does the R+ feel on the road ? It is still fast and responsive ?
@@blambmtb6189 Why Cycles (now Revel) R+, was started as an "all road bike" (mine is a 2018 bike - and thats before "gravel" became a thing) so it has clearance for 47mm, I have two wheelsets for fun on or off the road.
Yes, I have found it to be fast and snappy bike on and off road.
I have over 6,300 miles on this frame now. Love it.
Nice list and there are so many Ti frame builders these days, new and old. I own two Seven Cycles Ti bikes and have friends that own Merlin. Those two brands have a long history of building Ti and fabricate the ti tubing “in-house” for a more customized design than frame builders that aren’t able to do that and just purchase ti tubing and assemble frames. Just a thought to consider if you’re interested in purchasing a ti frame.
I think one day the a will have a Ti frame and when I do it, I will do it right. Get something that is more on the custom side. For now, carbon will have to do. I appreciate the feedback!
Something that wasn't mentioned is that there is a big caveat with Titanium bikes. It - really - depends on the capabilities, but more to the point fastidiousness of the manufacturer, in whether your frame is going to live up to it's reputation as the ultimate frame material (light and strong) or whether it's going to crack and fail. LiteSpeed isn't that well known for being 'fastidious' anymore.
That's fair and a good point. Just like there is cheap carbon, I'm sure there is cheap titanium.
Van Nicholas worth a look.
Also look at DeSalvo Cycles in Ashland, OR. He does ti and custom geometry. Best bang for the buck. Mosaic is another great company.
For sure!!! Two companies I will definitely look into and maybe mention in a future video. Thank you!
Framed(Minnesota) makes the Titanium Bikes too
I'm sure you know Lynskey. If you search for Titanium bikes on UA-cam or just a web search it will give you Lynskey, ...but you chose to feature lesser-known brands except for Litepeed and Moots.
Yep, thanks for watching. I have another video where I included Lynskey.
what about Lynskey?
Lynskey, Planet X, Kingdom, Knolly, Salsa, Esker, Chumba, and Nordest are my honorable mentions
All very good!!!
I was looking at a sonder titanium frame a few years back. It cost £1k. Same frame is now 70% more at £1.7k. The recent price increases are insane 😫
Yep. It sucks. Hopefully we start to see things come back down soon.
What's your thoughts on the cgr Ribble ti bike line
To be honest I don't know much about it...I included them on one of my other videos I did and they seem like a pretty awesome company. Been around forever. I imagine they make really quality bikes.
surprised Lynskey was not on the list
Yes, that was my mistake.
Im looking at getting an upgrade Gravel bike to replace my current more "beginner" gravel adventure bike the 2018 Giant Toughroad SLR2.
I don’t need a $12000 pro bike..
But I do think I want to go Titanium instead of Carbon.
Id definitely like to use a reputable brand like Litespeed. They've been around awhile.
Im going to budget myself for $4000-$5000 and Im between 2 bikes from Lightspeed.
Cherohala & Ultimate G2 with either a 105 & Ultegra 2X set up.
I will be buying a bike that Ill be keeping probably till I die. So.. I think a $4000-5000 investment into a solid bike should get me there.
A bike I left of this list and should have had on the list was Lynskey! I just met a guy who got a Lynskey with full wireless for like right around $4k! He loves it.
@@TysRides oh wow I will give them a look
@@TysRides I just checked them out, I like how they already have options already on them that I want without having to add them.
I do mount Racks to my bike because I often bring stuff with me that I'd like mounted to the bike rather than on my back.
@njrivetelite yep. I have an old steel Koba I use for commuting and then my carbon cervelo. I feel like TI makes sense because you can do everything with one bike!
Lynskey are right up there top 3 imo
Quite a list, you mentioned litespeed and forgot lynskey! Interestingly, this is a list of titanium bikes made in USA. And then you omit quite a few famous US brands!!
Moreover, you said yourself, you never own a titanium bike!!
Yea I should have included Lynskey. And no I have never owned titanium. Just made a list of 5 titanium brands. Thanks for watching.
Sage Cycles from Portland, OR! Check them out… I have the Storm King and it’s amazing.
Watia = “ Wah-Chuh”
Cherohalla = “Chair-Oh-Holla”
🤘 still learning about all these awesome brands and doing my best to pronounce the names of the bikes. Thank you for watching ✊
Dean and Funk Cycles are also great
I will look into them and try to get them on a future list! Thank you!
I paid a lot of money for a new Merlin Works CR frameset over ten years ago... After riding it for less than a year it developed an annoying clicking sound every time I got out of the saddle on a climb.. No visible cracks in any of it's beutiful double pass tig welds.. A friend who is a welder/fabricator was of the opinion it was most likely a bad mitre making the clicking sound.. I believe Colorado Cyclist took over the Merlin brand several years ago and they are honoring warranty claims... For the last three years I have been mostly riding a Planet X spitfire titanium frameset made in China by Waltly, and it's been fantastic despite one third the price of the Merlin...
Man isn't that crazy?! I like learning about these small companies and doing the research is fun but with some of these brands being so small, you have to imagine there are issues with the bikes here and there. The people making them are human after all. I'm going to look into that spitfire. Thanks for the comment!
@@TysRides The Spitfire is their rim brake road bike... Their gravel bike is the Tempest, They also do an adventure gravel bike called the Titus Gold rush...
@@germanhugger41 awesome! I'm going to check this out for sure!
Why didn’t seven make the cut?
They are on another list in a different video I believe.
@@TysRides that doesn't explain why seven was not in the top five.
@@pgreenx probably should have been after I learned about the company. I'm no expert though. Videos are strictly opinion.
@@TysRides I have no affiliation with them. Just trying to pick a good bike. You appear as an expert though on the video
NO mention of Mosaic in Boulder, CO ... Build quality above the rest in this list. Their customer service, above the rest also. It would seem that either you do not know about them or did not get any sort of endorsment.
Ha! I wish I was endorsed by someone. I don't believe I ever said these were the best Ti bikes. I just talked about five I thought were nice. But yes, I agree with what you said. Mosaic makes INCREDIBLE bikes. I talked about them in another video but I can't remember which one.
I think “ 5 American companies “ .......would have been a more appropriate title. There are some fantastic Ti frame builders elsewhere in the world.
I'm sure there are.
Litespeed = Lynskey back then. use the name of the founder please. Litspeed's quality dropped like a stone after it was sold but is has come back but it took years.
Moots did not start using Ti until 1991. What you say or do not say has a lot of implications. Why Cycles might be designed in the US but the Ti frames are fabricated in China. You might say so what but they just order them fro a Chinese fabrication company. You can send your personal specs to that company and they will build you custom frame for $900. Sage is exactly Sage, meaning they are true to form.
Noted. The research for these videos takes a lot of time and I do my best to get the information correct. That being said, I am human and make mistakes. If you did not enjoy the video feel free to hit the thumbs down.
#22 just like Moots are another silly price for a batch built non-custom frameset with a cheap bead blasted finish for over $5K. Silly 😀
Steel is really heavy? You've not owned a Reynolds 853 frame I guess.
I was trippin when I said that...I have a HEAVY steal bike but have since learned that there are MANY very light steel frames...
Yep!
Or...the new 2205 Swedish engineered stainless steel. 👍
Add Bearclaw to this list
Be sure to catch my next video 😏
Bossi in australia
?? Seven Cycles ??
Yes, a bad ass company that I overlooked for this list. I need to get them in a future video for sure.
Rob Vandermark was at Merlin before starting Seven. It’s been 20 years since I went bike shopping, but at the time, Seven was one of the few Ti frame builders that didn’t charge extra for custom. You could get a fully custom Ti frame for the price of a stock Litespeed or Merlin.
where's seven and lynskey? why?
I put Seven on the Boutique Gravel Bike Part 2 list. Need to Lynskey on a list!
Did you intentionally withhold key information about the founder of Litespeed bikes, or are you just ignorant of the facts? The information is critical and makes one wonder why you did not mention the pioneers of Titanium bikes.
I did not do that initially. My apologies.
Bearclaw?
I covered Bearclaw in a different video. Super cool company!
@@TysRides Even cooler bikes! Me likey... biiig time :-)
Everyone complaining should make your own damn video. Stop the whining and show some gratitude. Geeez.
You know what? I really appreciate that more than you even know.
@@TysRides I just don't understand why people can't get over themselves and think about how long it takes to make a video like this one.
Besides your video, I really appreciate the people pointing out that not all custom bike builders in the US do the build, but rather they ship it to Taiwan or China to have it done. That's nonsense. I want to be able to talk to the guy/girl who is building my bike. That is LEGIT custom.
If anyone knows any legit builders in Texas please let me know. I'm looking at CHUMBA out of Austin right now, but I'm not sure because that's the only one I know of. I would like to have someone in Texas to do my build so I can maybe go by while it's being built and see it while it's in the process. If Mark or Vince at CHUMBA read this, can I stop in and chat with you sometime, albeit briefly as I know you guys put in the work? Thank you again, Ty. Despite the negativity from some people, I hope you keep 'em coming. You can always hit me up if you are unsure about something. I certainly don't know everything like some people, but I've been around a little while and have had some great teachers.
No way Titanium offers the same ride quality of steel. Two identical frames in either material with identical builds will reveal that. Ti is squishy and lethargic. Steel is firm and still more comfortable. And while how one defines comfort is relative, there are objective characteristics that can't be denied when it comes to ride qualities. Both are amazing, but steel will provide more comfort with a more controlled feel than Ti.
Plus, Ti is far likelier to fail structurally than steel. The final reach for Ti? "It won't rust! It'll last forever!" except when one looks at the wonderful stainless steel bikes coming out now and the 1/2 century old steel bikes still on the road outliving everything else.
Titanium is lighter and faster though.
Steel is NOT as heavy as you make it out. R & E Cycles have steel bikes as light as 13.5 POUNDS.
I'm sure the re-badged Litespeed Lance the Liar had was the difference, not the piles of PED he did.
At least you went with makers using US made titanium tubing, not Chitanium ones.
My steel bike is SUPER heavy but yes, I am learning that they aren't all super heavy...
There's a 6.4kg build based on my stainless steel frame. We're living in wonderful times for metal bikes these days. Nothing against Ti, but steel is making a comeback with a vengeance thanks to the engineering being put into them.
My 105/Ultegra build is 18.68lbs and that's with a 50mm wheelset. If I swapped in my DA group & the bits off my EVO, she'd be down to 16.7lbs and all well under $3000.
LYNSKEY IS THE BEST TI BIKE OK
🤦 I have heard this a few times now...I may need to make a video all about Lynskey!!! Sorry I missed them the first time. I'm still learning. Glad all these Lynskey fans spoke up!
hahahaha
Lynskey is actually „the real Litespeed“. My Litespeed was made by David Lynskey back then…love the bike from day one.