Steve Potts for Ti Road

[jtakeda]

I've yet to get a custom and I've been yearning to get back to Ti.

I know there are a couple on the board and I have a couple questions.

1. Does anyone know what they actually cost?
2. Does he have a a long queue?
3. Lastly--he seems to make a lot of gravel grinders. Anyone with experience with a Ti road Potts? Something with larger clearance--30mm ish is fine.

Thanks in advance.

Ps. I know there are other Ti bikes available--I'm a Bay Area boy and I love my Bay builders.

[d_douglas]

Potts was runner-up for building my CX bike and it was a tossup. Going to NAHBS and seeing one in person shows an incredible level of craftsmanship - it was gorgeous.

To answer your question, I've never ridden one. I would love to - I would say he's the top of my ti lust list. I am sure Steve can do anything you want - he is a master builder in the modern bike world. As for cost, I think he charged $3300 for the frame when I was looking - it might be a bike higher now, but close. It's not cheap.

[cadence90]

I went with Kish for a custom ti road because at the time he was local (SoCal) to me.

If I lived in the Bay Area, I would definitely have Potts at the very top of my list.

I think there are a few Potts owners here; K u r t (with the spacing like that) has a beautiful one and knows Steve and son...maybe PM him.

[donevwil]

deleted

[bicycletricycle]

got this pricing from him earlier this year, may not still be accurate-



Here is some approximate pricing:

1. Mini Type II Fork: $800.00

2. Custom titanium stem: $425.00

3. Custom Titanium Road / Gravel ( with rack and fender mounts: $3650.00)

[jtakeda]

Originally Posted by bicycletricycle

got this pricing from him earlier this year, may not still be accurate-



Here is some approximate pricing:

1. Mini Type II Fork: $800.00

2. Custom titanium stem: $425.00

3. Custom Titanium Road / Gravel ( with rack and fender mounts: $3650.00)

This is exactly what I was hoping to see.
The wait isn't an issue for me, I'm young.

Well...that's expensive...I'll have to see how much I get and weigh whether it's worth it for me to go full custom

[kingpin75s]

Pricing above seems reasonable based on what I paid within the last couple years.

Lead times vary but are generally 9-12 months. Mine was longer as I was in the move, floods and knee period.

His work is impeccable. If you are a weld weenie, his work is at the top of the list. Moots, Eriksen and Potts welds are all really nice. yes, I have all 3 to compare.

Road bikes with clearance for 30mm should be in his wheelhouse just fine. He has done batches of road bikes in the past in addition to his custom work and he and his son are building steel road bikes now.

I am not sure if the Type II pricing will be valid for a road fork. Meaning, not sure he does a Type II road fork. The mini-type II crown is built around a 40mm tire based on the one I have. For this reason cost should be a little less I expect.

He does not build with butted tubing and I do not think that will change.

The cost is a little more but opportunity to support a local builder and one of the original mountain bike crew. Steve was at the top of my list for my first custom built for me.

[jtakeda]

Originally Posted by kingpin75s

Pricing above seems reasonable based on what I paid within the last couple years.

Lead times vary but are generally 9-12 months. Mine was longer as I was in the move, floods and knee period.

His work is impeccable. If you are a weld weenie, his work is at the top of the list. Moots, Eriksen and Potts welds are all really nice. yes, I have all 3 to compare.

Road bikes with clearance for 30mm should be in his wheelhouse just fine. He has done batches of road bikes in the past in addition to his custom work and he and his son are building steel road bikes now.

I am not sure if the Type II pricing will be valid for a road fork. Meaning, not sure he does a Type II road fork. The mini-type II crown is built around a 40mm tire based on the one I have. For this reason cost should be a little less I expect.

He does not build with butted tubing and I do not think that will change.

The cost is a little more but opportunity to support a local builder and one of the original mountain bike crew. Steve was at the top of my list for my first custom built for me.

Agreed. I don't care about weight or wait at that matter.

It's not about price vs. value. It's about whether I can make it work in my budget. To be perfectly honest I feel like I can find a used ti frame for much cheaper and it will fit my needs. If I can justify it I'd love to go through the experience of having one built for me, by someone I admire, by someone local and I understand there's a premium on that. It's just about whether I can make it work financially.

There wasn't much info on his site about price or queue

[sparky33]

This is cool:

https://cyclingtips.com/2017/03/phot...-bikes-part-4/

No doubt Steve Potts is still putting some thought into making better forks. I can't tell if that one is titanium or steel, but the word is that he is going to offer a titanium gravel fork.

[K u r t]

Ditto the above comments & cost estimate.

I love my Potts for a bunch of reasons. As expected it fits and rides so well, but mostly I admire how Steve builds frames to last forever.

With all praise intended, Potts builds bikes for the apocalypse. (who else would love and make Type IIs for decades?) This aesthetic resonates as I'm a retrogrouch prepper sympathizer.

donevwil makes a good point re. no butted tubes. Steve also [sort of] rolled his eyes when I inquired about tapered HT. I recall his view was along the lines of: the very strongest HT joint could only be achieved between straight tubes. -This might be a window to how he thinks and makes frame building decisions.

I think it's commendable to support local hand-craft businesses of any type. Steve epitomizes hand craft in this industry.

[mhespenheide]

Originally Posted by jtakeda

...
To be perfectly honest I feel like I can find a used ti frame for much cheaper and it will fit my needs. If I can justify it I'd love to go through the experience of having one built for me, by someone I admire, by someone local and I understand there's a premium on that. It's just about whether I can make it work financially.
...

That's a nice summation. If you're willing to go with "smaller" (that is, the former normal width) tires, there's a pretty big pool of Ti road frames out there, frequently on the used market inexpensively.

And, of course, if you're in the 59-61cm size range, you can just hang out here and wait for Clean39T to cycle through the field of Ti frames.

But custom is custom, and Potts seems like one of the best.

[kingpin75s]

Originally Posted by sparky33

This is cool:

https://cyclingtips.com/2017/03/phot...-bikes-part-4/

No doubt Steve Potts is still putting some thought into making better forks. I can't tell if that one is titanium or steel, but the word is that he is going to offer a titanium gravel fork.

That is SO cool!

Thanks for the attach.

Heard he was looking into building Ti forks as well. I would say that is Ti. Not only based on looks, but based on the extended Willits style (?) ISO tab.

[kingpin75s]

Originally Posted by jtakeda

Agreed. I don't care about weight or wait at that matter.

It's not about price vs. value. It's about whether I can make it work in my budget. To be perfectly honest I feel like I can find a used ti frame for much cheaper and it will fit my needs. If I can justify it I'd love to go through the experience of having one built for me, by someone I admire, by someone local and I understand there's a premium on that. It's just about whether I can make it work financially.

There wasn't much info on his site about price or queue

Understood. Lot of great Ti frames out there. Has to be worth it for you. For Ti and currently building Potts, Hampsten and Eriksen would be my short list for custom or nicely used. Many other great ones on the longer list.

Can always keep an eye out for a silver Salmon. (Not sure tire clearance on them though).

[donevwil]

Originally Posted by kingpin75s

That is SO cool!

Thanks for the attach.

Heard he was looking into building Ti forks as well. I would say that is Ti. Not only based on looks, but based on the extended Willits style (?) ISO tab.

Last I spoke with him about a year ago he was planning or building a number of prototype Ti fork designs (had one at Sacto NAHBS) to see if he could come up with one that wasn't a big compromise. He was getting specially drawn and butted tubing, mandrel bent crowns, etc. to his spec just for prototyping. One Ti fork I'd ride would be one he built.

[sparky33]

Originally Posted by K u r t

With all praise intended, Potts builds bikes for the apocalypse. (who else would love and make Type IIs for decades?) ...
donevwil makes a good point re. no butted tubes. Steve also [sort of] rolled his eyes when I inquired about tapered HT. I recall his view was along the lines of: the very strongest HT joint could only be achieved between straight tubes. -This might be a window to how he thinks and makes frame building decisions.

Do you mean the frames are heavy relative to other makers' titanium? I do not have a good idea of what straight titanium tubes vs butted means in real terms.