Stelbel Rodano Disc or Kinesis GF Ti. Bespoke Steel vs. Titanium. Second, endurance bike

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ToffieBoi
Posts: 417
Joined: Fri Jan 31, 2014 4:54 pm
Location: Krakow, Poland

by ToffieBoi

Hello everyone,

I recently upgraded the wheelset of my Giant Propel and decided to not spend more on my regular road bike. So now, I'm looking for a new, second bike to use during long rides and some on-road bikepacking trips.
I narrowed down the search for two framesets, a Titanium Kinesis and a Steel Stelbel. Both, I'll be building Ultegra Di2 Disc groupset.

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https://www.kinesisbikes.co.uk/Catalogu ... ht/GFTi-V3
Titanium frame and size 55 fits me really good.

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http://stelbel.it/en/prodotto/stelbel-rodano/
Image

Both of the frames has great reviews and I'm sure will ride great. Doesn't matter which one I buy, I'll be happy for sure. Both I'll build with the same and both costs around the same (it is cheaper to buy groupset, wheels and finishing kit from Stelbel so final result will be really similar). I'll be able to get the bike I exactly want (there is 4 months of waiting time but I guess it is okay since, I will be riding MTB all winter long) but on the other hand there is a material upgrade.

So my question is, what would WW do? Custom steel bike or Kinesis titanium?
Last edited by ToffieBoi on Fri Aug 24, 2018 5:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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MayhemSWE
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Location: Stockholm, Sweden

by MayhemSWE

If you don't mind me asking, what made you decide on the Rodano rather than the SB/03? The more classic steel aesthetic?

And to throw another spanner into the mix, have you looked at Mason? Pretty sure he's about to also launch a titanium version of the Resolution any time now…

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ToffieBoi
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Location: Krakow, Poland

by ToffieBoi

SB/03 is a really nice looking bike, I agreee. But I'm only 65kg (after beers and burgers), and I thought I won't need the extra stiffness the SB/03 will bring. In that way, I also will save 250 grams and 200 euros :)

I'll be checking Mason also, thanks.

RyanH
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by RyanH

Hopefully this won't come across as snobbish but the only reason I see to get steel over titanium is to save money. Steel is heavier, has less snap, is less stiff in the BB and somehow rides harsher than titanium. The couple people that I know that have finally gotten a titanium bike (one on a Mosaic, the other a Firefly) remarked at how much better the ride was than their steel bikes.

DJT21
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Joined: Sun Mar 27, 2011 7:35 pm

by DJT21

RyanH wrote:
Fri Aug 24, 2018 6:29 pm
Hopefully this won't come across as snobbish but the only reason I see to get steel over titanium is to save money. Steel is heavier, has less snap, is less stiff in the BB and somehow rides harsher than titanium. The couple people that I know that have finally gotten a titanium bike (one on a Mosaic, the other a Firefly) remarked at how much better the ride was than their steel bikes.
Steel is stiffer than Ti and has a snappier ride. Ti is duller for sure. Of course different tube diameters can provide a different ride feel, but you're incorrect in your assessment.

For me it's a no brainer; some bog standard made in the far east Ti frame or a custom built steel frame. Don't know why you'd pick the Kinesis TBH!

romanmoser
Posts: 573
Joined: Sun May 06, 2018 8:30 pm

by romanmoser

I love the customisation and all the tubes profile you have in steel

But ultimately for a metal frame I would only go titanium from quality brands or makers ( Bad experience direct with titan product in China )
They are builders who do off the shelf and custom in Europe using Chinese or Russian titanium instead of US, Sandvik , reynolds , dedacia titanium tubing

Good experience with a good old litespeed ultimate 2000 ( even with ridiculus 393 mm chainstays for a L frame )

Or stainless steel ( Columbus XCR , Reynolds 931 953)
Stainless steel will be heavier generally tough
But you can have it with smaller diameter and thickness , cause of the young modulus

Not a fan of most of the off the shelf titanium frame these days tough ...
There is the van nicholas skerion that fit your goal I think too
https://store.pedalrevolution.co.uk/183 ... meset.aspx

Titanium will always be more all around than a steel frame if you made them as close as possible one from another .
It will adapt him self and good days you'll fly , bad days it won't put you lower more than you are

Eleven21
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Joined: Sun Jun 25, 2017 8:08 pm

by Eleven21

DJT21 wrote:
For me it's a no brainer; some bog standard made in the far east Ti frame or a custom built steel frame. Don't know why you'd pick the Kinesis TBH!
Without meaning to offend anyone on here I totally agree with this.

A modern steel frame built to fit the intended rider verses an off the peg Ti. I know which one I’d pick.
Last edited by Eleven21 on Sat Aug 25, 2018 11:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Seedster
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Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2015 11:05 pm

by Seedster

I don't even think it is a comparison. I would go Stelbel every day of the week unless you were doing a reputable Ti builder, which will cost a lot more.

Unless you're going with moots, firefly, Legend, Mosaic or something along those lines, please stick with the Stelbel.

grnrcr
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Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2011 12:23 am

by grnrcr

What kinda riding do you do mostly where you live? If you climb a lot, the Rodano has a lot more mass for you to push up steeps. No matter how strong you are, mass is mass.

I have a Rodano and a C59. I’m not a good climber but don’t hate it either. Same gearing on both bikes and I reach for the C59 everytime I know I’ll be climbing on a ride.

romanmoser
Posts: 573
Joined: Sun May 06, 2018 8:30 pm

by romanmoser

If we are going to talk about ti
You might wanna look on ebay you might find your hapiness

If we speak ti custom , they are plenty of others one man shop or smaller brands even than Firefly , Mosaic :
Strong , Eriksen now Bingham Built , De Salvo etc

Clean39T
Posts: 181
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2016 5:29 am

by Clean39T

grnrcr wrote:What kinda riding do you do mostly where you live? If you climb a lot, the Rodano has a lot more mass for you to push up steeps. No matter how strong you are, mass is mass.

I have a Rodano and a C59. I’m not a good climber but don’t hate it either. Same gearing on both bikes and I reach for the C59 everytime I know I’ll be climbing on a ride.
You can feel the 300-400g static weight difference? Or is your C59 built light and your Rodano heavy? Or maybe you have heavy or wider tires on your Rodano?

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Clean39T
Posts: 181
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2016 5:29 am

by Clean39T

Don't see why folks are throwing shade on the Kinesis - they're a solid brand, with a warranty.

I'd either go custom steel (f/f) from a local builder or the Kinesis titanium.

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genzowakabayashi
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Location: Bergamo, Italy

by genzowakabayashi

It depends on how long you're gonna ride per day and per week in total.

You don't mention SB/03 but I'd like to suggest you to have a look at the article about it here https://cyclingtips.com/2017/08/stelbel ... et-review/ done by CyclingTips.

Image

ToffieBoi
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Joined: Fri Jan 31, 2014 4:54 pm
Location: Krakow, Poland

by ToffieBoi

Thanks for all the answers. I am also a bit surprised that you guys conside Kinesis as a "not-well-known" brand. I was thinking they are good and reputable. It is surprising. I guess titanium is "fancy" once it is from a more unique brand, and mainstream Kinesis is not one of them.
grnrcr wrote:
Sun Aug 26, 2018 12:22 am
What kinda riding do you do mostly where you live? If you climb a lot, the Rodano has a lot more mass for you to push up steeps. No matter how strong you are, mass is mass.

I have a Rodano and a C59. I’m not a good climber but don’t hate it either. Same gearing on both bikes and I reach for the C59 everytime I know I’ll be climbing on a ride.
It is mostly flat with some short hills. In the end, I am getting 1000 meter attitute per 100km in average. But for all flat, I have the Propel. It's also only 7000 grams with nice and light tubulars so it gives me the performance I need. On this bike, what I want is comfort only :)

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flying
Posts: 2861
Joined: Mon Dec 19, 2005 9:16 am

by flying

What a lovely problem/decision to have to make :beerchug:

I have no direct experience with either but have found myself many times drooling over Stelbels pics :wink:

The only thing I wince at is the lower cable routing :noidea:
Stelbel_SB03-31.jpg

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