budget Ti road frame?

[pinoy]

Hi there guys and gals, I am planing on getting a TITANIUM road frame but I still want to eat atleast twice a day. I found a couple of budget Ti frame on the web and I would like to get any feedback from anyone who used them. First is the Titanium Sports Tech.(TST) for $499.00 +tax/shipping and HABANERO cycles $795.00 + shipping. So what do you think guys. any comments?

PS- let my know if there some more budget Ti road frames out there thanks.

 

[cydewaze]

The Hab is a great bike. I have a friend who owns one (he had a custom geometry done) and he loves it to death. Impossible to go wrong with a Hab.

 

[RapDaddyo]

The Hab is a great bike. I have a friend who owns one (he had a custom geometry done) and he loves it to death. Impossible to go wrong with a Hab.

I checked out their site. What a great looking bike. This might be the way I go for a TT bike next Spring. Thanks for the info.

 

[Doctor Morbius]

I read a post on here recently that stated Titanium Sports Tech.(TST) was who made the Douglas Ti bikes for Colorado Cyclist. I don't know if this is true or not. Just offering some input. Many people seem to be happy with their Douglas bikes.

 

[mitosis]

Hi there guys and gals, I am planing on getting a TITANIUM road frame but I still want to eat atleast twice a day. I found a couple of budget Ti frame on the web and I would like to get any feedback from anyone who used them. First is the Titanium Sports Tech.(TST) for $499.00 +tax/shipping and HABANERO cycles $795.00 + shipping. So what do you think guys. any comments?

PS- let my know if there some more budget Ti road frames out there thanks.

Budget Ti is an oxymoron.

 

[artmichalek]

I read a post on here recently that stated Titanium Sports Tech.(TST) was who made the Douglas Ti bikes for Colorado Cyclist. I don't know if this is true or not. Just offering some input. Many people seem to be happy with their Douglas bikes.

It's true. I have a TiSport branded TST that's identical to the Douglas Precision. TST has a pretty impressive list of other companies that they've built frames for (Dean, Ibis, etc) My frame came out of the box ready to build with no additional prep work needed. The welds look just as clean if not cleaner than anything I've seen on a Litespeed or Serotta. It's 3.25 lbs for a 56cm, which is average for straight 3/2.5 frames. I've got about 2k miles on mine and the ride is great. It's pretty stiff on climbs, but if I really hammer it the back end does flex a bit. I'm pretty light though (about 155 lbs). A heavier rider might find the frame a little too soft.

 

[cydewaze]

I checked out their site. What a great looking bike. This might be the way I go for a TT bike next Spring. Thanks for the info.

The only drawback to a Hab is that they use straight gauge tubing, not butted (thus the lower price), so they're a wee bit heavier than some of the other Ti frames. But the workmanship is outstanding.

Personally I'd take the weight hit and use the money I saved to just get a really nice wheelset.

 

[artmichalek]

The only drawback to a Hab is that they use straight gauge tubing, not butted (thus the lower price), so they're a wee bit heavier than some of the other Ti frames. But the workmanship is outstanding.

Personally I'd take the weight hit and use the money I saved to just get a really nice wheelset.

Same with the TST, but the weight penalty isn't that bad. If you look at companies like Seven that make the same frames out of butted and straight tubing, the difference is about four ounces and a thousand dollars.

 

[JohnO]

Check ebay. I've seen Litespeed framesets on there in the $500-700 range. Caveat emptor and all that, but instead of getting straight tubes at a lower price, you can get butted tubes and a few scratches at a lower price.

 

[ajo]

I would never go for a budget TI frame, a top alu or alu/carbon frame (for the same amount of money) will be much better.

 

[artmichalek]

I would never go for a budget TI frame, a top alu or alu/carbon frame (for the same amount of money) will be much better.

I think that all depends on what you mean by better. My "budget" Ti frame was built in the US by a company with 20 years experience in the field who's CEO personally reponded when I e-mailed with questions. They showed a level of attention that's virtually unheard of in the sub $2k frame range. I'm not going to get into the aluminum vs. Ti debate because it's apples and oranges. Each material has it's own strengths and weaknesses, and I can see very few reasons not to own both.

 

[pinoy]

I would never go for a budget TI frame, a top alu or alu/carbon frame (for the same amount of money) will be much better.

Can you please explain the reason why? Is it because I used the term "BUDGET" in my query?

 

[artmichalek]

Can you please explain the reason why? Is it because I used the term "BUDGET" in my query?

Titanium requires a lot of skill to weld properly. Unlike steel or aluminum, you pretty much only get one shot to get the bead right. The consequences of a bad weld run all the way up to catastrophic failure. The common perception is that if a company isn't charging a lot, they're not employing the best welders. This isn't always true. There are some extremely talented people building lower priced frames. On the other side are companies like Roark Industries. They're an experienced defense contractor that decided to try their hand at titanium bike frames. They certainly weren't cheap, and a few months ago they issued a recall on every single road frame they ever built because of weld failures. It's kind of scary to think that those guys are back to building helicopter parts now.

 

[pinoy]

I am leaning towards TST because of their experince and knowledge of what they are donig. Somebody from a different forum sent me some photo of their bike that uses TST frames. I am very satisfied with what I saw and you guys are right the strenght of Titanium frame are on the "weld" and not the materials. Thanks for the input guys and gals and your help was really appreciated.

 

[wilmar13]

Can you please explain the reason why? Is it because I used the term "BUDGET" in my query?

Really it depends what you are looking for and why you want Ti. If you want to race or like to hammer hard, I tend to agree in that cheap Ti is not the way to go. If you want a bike that has a great ride will last forever and does everything pretty well, cheap Ti is fine... My own experience with cheap Ti (Litespeed Natchez) is that it is a little flimsy for powerful efforts, and my cheaper Cannondale frameset is lighter, and much stiffer and faster. However for just general riding nothing at all wrong with the Litespeed and it is more comfortable.

 

[Rudy]

Really it depends what you are looking for and why you want Ti. If you want to race or like to hammer hard, I tend to agree in that cheap Ti is not the way to go. If you want a bike that has a great ride will last forever and does everything pretty well, cheap Ti is fine... My own experience with cheap Ti (Litespeed Natchez) is that it is a little flimsy for powerful efforts, and my cheaper Cannondale frameset is lighter, and much stiffer and faster. However for just general riding nothing at all wrong with the Litespeed and it is more comfortable.

Being an owner of 2 carbon bikes and a Ti bike (Litespeed) I must say that ....
Umm I forgot...

Oh yea, if you want to race, I would stick with carbon, definitely not budget Ti. However, for pure enjoyment in ride quality, there's nothing like a good Ti frame. Nuttin!!! It's just has that sweet...silky ..a little springy like ...comfy smooth ride. There's nothing out there like it!!!

 

[bobbytee98]

Hi there guys and gals, I am planing on getting a TITANIUM road frame but I still want to eat atleast twice a day. I found a couple of budget Ti frame on the web and I would like to get any feedback from anyone who used them. First is the Titanium Sports Tech.(TST) for $499.00 +tax/shipping and HABANERO cycles $795.00 + shipping. So what do you think guys. any comments?

PS- let my know if there some more budget Ti road frames out there thanks.

just asking....did you get a tst ti frame after all?
plan on getting one myself.

 

[pinoy]

just asking....did you get a tst ti frame after all?
plan on getting one myself.[/QUOTE


Well I tried to contact the seller for several times now but to no avail. Just incase its already been sold I may just place an order at TST. The current price on their website is around $850.00 . IMHO is not bad for a US made frame. HABANERO frame is around the price range but they are I believe made in china. So far I am still enjoying my 2005 GIANT TCR composite bike but I am planning to use it on racedays or Sundays only .

 

[Dave539]

I was skeptical about the HABANERO but it is one GREAT frame. I can say that after having 20 top TEN finishes in my races this summer. Although my hard training has paid off, the HABANERO was flawless and I love it. The bike went together perfectly, everything was aligned well, and the BB threads were perfect. Upon sprinting, I found the bike to be perfect and it tracks so well. It's predjudice to think that a China manufacturer can't weld a Ti frame. In fact, I have heard of more Ti frame failures that are not CHINA made. Straight or double butted, the HABANERO is a great buy and Mark, the owner of the company, is great. I was on a strict budget and I wanted a Ti frame, and I'm very happy with mine. If you notice on Ebay and such, there is very little or nearly nil turnover of Habanero Ti frames. I think people like them and hang on to them. The only thing I'd improve on the Habanero is the decals, as they are a bit frail, but that's a very minor issue. I was critisized by a few people when I purchased this bicycle, and even a pro bike shop, but once a seasoned racer tried it, he could not believe the bicycle. He took all his comments back. If your looking to save some money and deal with a nice guy like Mark, I'd highly reccomend the HABANERO. David Smith

 

[jasong]

PS- let my know if there some more budget Ti road frames out there thanks.

Don't rule out:

http://www.xacd.com.cn/

especially if you have custom design needs. Several of us in the forums have purchased from them and I've had no problems with my custom frame (roughly $550).

If you inquire for pricing, please post your results to the thread, as they've changed over time and it's interesting to note these differences.

Someone else's comment of the alu/carbon frames really makes me wonder if that idea will persist. The bikes of this "generation" that we'll see in 20 years like the 80s bikes we see now are not going to be the ones cutting all corners trying to reduce weight or improve absorption through bonding different materials. I want something that if the bike falls over, I don't wonder if a hairline fracture just occurred.

Another point: the "lifetime" frames like the expensive lightspeeds don't really take into consideration a few very likely to occur situations. Bike theft, bike damage (not through design related issues), and owner desire refinements.