#1
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Ti tubing: Butted vs. straight gauge?
I'm fairly new to all the biking technology while considering a Ti bike. I understand that butted tubing might make the frame slightly lighter than straight ti tubing but does butted tubing give a better quality ride? Relative to that, is it worth the significant extra cost??
Please enlighten me. Thanks |
#2
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Quote:
http://www.spectrum-cycles.com/faq.php http://www.spectrum-cycles.com/materials.php http://www.strongframes.com/blog/200...ed-titanium-2/ http://kenteriksen.com/faqs/ http://www.habcycles.com/techstuf.html http://velonews.competitor.com/2009/...t-simple_91078 |
#3
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Serotta, Moots, Ericksen, Spectrum are among
my most lustful. As to straight gauge verses butted based on a 57 or smaller frame - i bet a bottle of red we can not tell the riding difference. I just got back from tx Hillcountry week of riding on my Ti from 2000 which has been many places in and out of north america continent. To original buyer, I will bet again that structural defects will be covered under warranty. I have yet to have a problem with the SEROTTA TI BIKES THAT I HAVE NOR HAVE I HEARD OF ANY DEFECTS ON MOOTS, ERICKSEN, SPECTRUM IN THE LAST 10 YEARS.
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L-o-n-g bike luster |
#4
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tough topic
as those who build them have mostly been sworn by their cabal to secrecy or obfuscation. you gotta spend about $3K to find out. most who do would probably say it makes no difference...cause they never had a chance to compare. and after spending $3K you gotta love that thing...at least for a while. been there, done that, not with ti...yet.
seems like for butted steel most would say it's lighter and gotta somehow ride better than straight pipes. would logic not suggest the same for ti? or maybe the molecular structure of each makes this an apples and oranges comparision. it is easter though, so many are probably contemplating things much more cosmic than bikes.
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Crust Malocchio, Turbo Creo Last edited by eddief; 03-31-2013 at 01:09 PM. |
#5
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Ti tubing: Butted vs. straight gauge?
Good points.
So I guess I spend $6k +++ and get one butted Ti and one straight gauge Ti and then I'll know for sure, right?? That's certainly not happening! I gather from the various reads and links that the difference is rather insignificant and not worth the extra $$ ? Just get what you like and fits, ride it, enjoy it and don't look back?? Unless someone more knowledgable than I can refute, that seems to make sense. |
#6
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There is no appreciable ride difference between my old Vamoots and current Vamoots SL. Speaking to the Moots folks, that's how the DB SL was designed: to ride just like the straight gauged frame and to be a bit lighter. This tells me a good builder can tune any way they want to.
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#7
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Quote:
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#8
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Like many things with high-end bikes, seems to me that the law of diminishing returns applies here. If you have to have the absolute best, then you'd get butted tubing.
Whether any of us can tell the difference is another matter. I bought butted (Merlin and Serotta), but I'm sure I can't tell the difference. Never had the chance to test straight gauge vs butted back-to-back though. Seems like comparing current Campy chorus to Record or SR. One costs more and is a wee bit lighter, but doesn't have an actual functional difference. When I bought the Merlin the corporate saying was that the the tubes were a wee bit larger in diameter so the frame was stiffer, yet it was lighter due to the butting. I never compared the tubing diameters so that could have all been BS. I do know that I don't regret buying the butted models as it kept me from thinking "maybe I should get something better" quite so soon..... |
#9
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Oh, are you right and I'm wrong...I got my wires crossed. I will hang my head and resume my mind-numbing train ride.
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#10
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My agilismerlin rides pretty well - straight g. And all
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ui\ |
#11
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Quote:
This topic has long since gone to the glue factory here if one does some searching in the archives. Butted tubing gives a builder more variables to play with—same stiffness, less weight; stiffer, same weight, etc.—but comes at a cost. Can one feel the difference? That really depends on the design parameters. Last edited by happycampyer; 04-01-2013 at 05:57 AM. |
#12
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with a
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L-o-n-g bike luster |
#13
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Quote:
I think 'in general', ti tubes are butted to save weight and perhaps to have thicker butts when the welders cannot comfortably tolerate welding thin walled, straight gauge ti tubes. IMHO.
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Chisholm's Custom Wheels Qui Si Parla Campagnolo |
#14
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Butted tubing was introduced to save weight on steel frames, lugged ones in particular. The thick end was necessary for the brazing process and of course for welding too. They butted AL frames as well. The problem with TI is that the stuff is already pretty light and it's more flexible than steel. The process of butting makes the tubing more flexable. So the builders have to be careful with that and I think you risk a more flexible frame at the expense of less weight. Of course there is nothing wrong with a flexy frame either.
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