Best light Titanium frame for a large rider?

[airwise]

The Seven custom fit sheet gives you the option of selecting your build based on weight versus performance. Do bear that in mind.

I love Ti but would look to save weight elsewhere in the build and have a frame that is built for the purpose. I have s Sturdy Seven. The frame weighs over 1400g but with some Lightweights, bb30 and Hollowgrams, SRAM Red and a Ceradur cassette I'm down where most people's plastic rigs are without compromising stiffness.

Sure it's more expensive to do it that way but saving weight without losing performance always has been in my book..

[elviento]

One addition -- even heavily butted tubing may not benefit larger size frames as much, because most butted tubes have a relatively "fixed" length of thin walled section in the middle, so on a larger sized frame, you tend to have more "thick walled" section in the longer tube, which partially defeat the purpose of butting. It will be quite expensive to have tubes butted individually to suit a particular size.

Another reason not to be fixated on weight of the frame.

[Wingnut]

Are you kidding? I find it very hard to believe high end companies such as Seven, Firefly, Moots, Baum etc would be using tubing with limited generic butting...

[Tinea Pedis]

Not sure where you get your info from elviento, but I know for Baum at least that is incorrect.

[reggiebaseball]

Hey OP if you are still around

What you didn't like about your carbon bike, was that it is too light and too stiff for you, that is why it rides the way it does.

So, speccing a new bike primarily based on low weight and high stiffness is not going to solve your problems.

There are more comfortable carbon bikes you could find,
There are superior (and heavier) Titanium or steel alternatives.

Shave weight on wheels, allow a few more grams for a proper frame. If you want stiff and strong, I like Moots - straight tubes no butting. Skip the RSL that is more of what you dont like about your carbon bike (racy, light, stiff, ugly IMO).
Steel is real too, and dampens road chatter way better.


If you find an uber-light titanium clone of your carbon bike you will have exactly the same ride complaints.

[TMK001]

+1 for Baum... 85kg, 182cm rider, peak power is 1786w. Never had an issue on my Baum Corretto. I rest assured knowing they have a great warrant system.

[KB]

What you didn't like about your carbon bike, was that it is too light and too stiff for you, that is why it rides the way it does. ... So, speccing a new bike primarily based on low weight and high stiffness is not going to solve your problems. ... If you find an uber-light titanium clone of your carbon bike you will have exactly the same ride complaints.

Good post. I've tried carbon, alu, TI and steel, but I keep going back to steel and now ride that exclusively. My current ride comes in at 6.5kg with my lightest wheels and it rides on rails because of the geometry. For me it's about comfort and the ride delivers that. I found carbon in general to be too twitchy for me although maybe that was partly due to geometry.

[ticou]

I've really enjoyed this thread. I'm still 12 kg off the OP's weight, and am still more than content with my swift steel;have porkies ever enjoyed Ti bikes? Maybe one day. Is the 2lb weight diff worth it? My bike is 5 lb's lighter than my steels of old, and much stronger,which gives a satisfying lack of weight when I lift and ride it.

[TuplaO]

Not sure where you get your info from elviento, but I know for Baum at least that is incorrect.

I happened to stumble upon some info that seems to confirm this. From the horse's (the horse being Darren Baum himself) mouth: ... we do everything from start to finish - from butting the tubes to the paint. (There's a short bit on Baum in RBA's July issue.)

[RedRacer]

I can assure the OP (and anyone else not reading the whole thread) that you could get a Corretto for that weight that will be more than stiff enough for him.

Also quite sure other brands would be able to come close too.

A big to everyone who has replied to my question. Sorry for the slow reply but I was away on vacation riding my bike!

I will try to answer a few of your comments and add more details to help narrow down my selection.

-A typical ride for me is on rolling or hilly roads where the average speed over ~50 miles would be no more than ~22mph. My technical skills are very good thanks to 25+ years of mounting biking (some amature racing) and DH'ing (Black Diamond terrain + freeride) but there is no danger of me winning the next local stage race!

-In terms of power output (Watts) I really don't know. I am not a sprinter but I can crank it up when required. Still, most of my riding is done while seated.

-I am a big time WW hence posting my Titanium frame question on this site! I also have a great appreciation for beautifully made products and bikes that are kind on the eyes. There is no question that I want a bike that looks stunning as well as one that rides well....and it has to be sub-14lbs but with the right mix of parts I could probably get there using a ~14XXg frame.

-There really isn't a firm budget for the frame/fork (already have the other bits) but it would be nice to keep it to $5k or less.

-My 'main' road bike is a couple of year old Scott Addict w/ISP. It is very light and plenty stiff but the overall geometry has never felt quite right and the ride can be unforgiving on rough roads or coarse pavement.

So where do I go from here?

I hadn't heard about Baum until now but they are at the top of my list! Is there any reason to think that any of the other brands could offer a better bike than Baum builds? The others that still have my attention are Lynskey (Helix OS or R440), Moots (Vamoots RSL) and Seven (Axiom SLX).

[LionelB]

All the brands you are looking at are good. I do not think $5k will get you a Baum though.

[RedRacer]

All the brands you are looking at are good.

Fair enough.

I do not think $5k will get you a Baum though.

I can go beyond $5k if needed, plus I would order a raw Ti finish, not a fancy paint job.

[LionelB]

The AUD is high so it does not play in Baum's favor.

[bikedoc]

i have a helix and a L4 custom, both are great
Im 6'7 90kg National TT medal winner so pretty powerfull and i have no issues with flex from either of them.

My custom lynskey TT'er is not bad either (-;

[Tinea Pedis]

The AUD is high so it does not play in Baum's favor.

If the OP is in the US (which I get the impression he is) then he would be working through Above Category Cycles, not direct with Baum. So price a little less influenced by the up and down exchange rate.