Has anyone directly compared Habanero Ti vs TST/Mongoose Ti?



R

rniak?away with [email protected]

Guest
Since people here have mentioned both of the above names in regards to
quality, "budget", pre-fab Ti frames, does anyone know of any direct
comparison tests of these respective frames?

Things to look at: (Objective) Bb & rear triangle stiffness,
handling/responsiveness, longterm durability/fatigue resistance, weld
quality... (Subjective) Comfort?

Regards,

Rick
 
On Fri, 04 Jun 2004 06:31:02 -0700, rniak?away with [email protected] wrote:

> Things to look at: (Objective) Bb & rear triangle stiffness,
> handling/responsiveness, longterm durability/fatigue resistance, weld
> quality... (Subjective) Comfort?


For one thing, I know of no longterm durability comparisons among any
collection of bikes, much less these. There were fatigue tests, but it is
somewhat debatable whether they really measured long-term durability since
the forces involved were more severe than you could expect in normal
riding.

I am currently conducting my own long-term test of Habanero durability and
comfort. I've been doing this test for a bit over two years. I'll let
you know if anything untoward develops. So far, it's great.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | It doesn't get any easier, you just go faster. --Greg LeMond
_`\(,_ |
(_)/ (_) |
 
"David L. Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:p[email protected]:
> For one thing, I know of no longterm durability comparisons among any
> collection of bikes,


Most new bikes (except for a few ultralight racing bikes) will last your
lifetime, unless you crash it. A hard crash can destroy any bike. If you're
the type who crashes a lot, buy a cheap bike.
 
I own a TST. It is very nicely made and I have no complaints about
the quality. I actually like this bike a lot. One thing to consider
and double check is that some have said the TST was made to accept a
fork with slightly shorter blades than are generally available today.
I have a Kestrel carbon fork with alloy steerer installed and the
length of the blades make it look as though the bike has a slightly
up-sloping top tube. I can't feel this in any detrimental way in the
handling, but am a club rider at normal speeds. If I had it to do
over again, I would let Mark Hickey design and build me a custom
Habanero and get exactly what I wanted at his reasonable price.


[email protected] (rniak?away with [email protected]) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Since people here have mentioned both of the above names in regards to
> quality, "budget", pre-fab Ti frames, does anyone know of any direct
> comparison tests of these respective frames?
>
> Things to look at: (Objective) Bb & rear triangle stiffness,
> handling/responsiveness, longterm durability/fatigue resistance, weld
> quality... (Subjective) Comfort?
>
> Regards,
>
> Rick
 
On Sat, 05 Jun 2004 02:53:19 +0000, Ken wrote:

> Most new bikes (except for a few ultralight racing bikes) will last your
> lifetime, unless you crash it. A hard crash can destroy any bike. If you're
> the type who crashes a lot, buy a cheap bike.


Well, I have had one fail through a fatigue crack, and many others have as
well. But who knows whether that was an anomaly from a bad weld, or
something common to that particular bike? I imagine there is enough
inconsistency in welds to cause most failures. In that regard, the welds
on my Habanero are very smooth.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Accept risk. Accept responsibility. Put a lawyer out of
_`\(,_ | business.
(_)/ (_) |
 
>> Things to look at: (Objective) Bb & rear triangle stiffness,
>> handling/responsiveness, longterm durability/fatigue resistance, weld
>> quality... (Subjective) Comfort?

>


I own a '95 Sandvik (now TST) made for Diamondback. It has over 25,000 miles
on it so far and I have been completely satisfied with it. I feel that with
their experience in the nuclear industry that the durability of a TST can't be
beat.

Jim Toth
 
"David L. Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:p[email protected]...
> On Sat, 05 Jun 2004 02:53:19 +0000, Ken wrote:
>
> > Most new bikes (except for a few ultralight racing bikes)

will last your
> > lifetime, unless you crash it. A hard crash can destroy any

bike. If you're
> > the type who crashes a lot, buy a cheap bike.

>
> Well, I have had one fail through a fatigue crack, and many

others have as
> well. But who knows whether that was an anomaly from a bad

weld, or
> something common to that particular bike? I imagine there is

enough
> inconsistency in welds to cause most failures. In that regard,

the welds
> on my Habanero are very smooth.


I cracked three or four steel frames and a couple of poorly
designed aluminum frames (the now defunct Cannondale 2.8 with the
cantilever drop-outs). This is why I like those life time
warranties. But I also think that Mark sells a good bike,
although he is a right-wing radical party doll. Mark, are you
going to the funeral? I hear that Al Franken is going to deliver
the dissenting eulogy. -- Jay Beattie.