Columbus Titanium Frame ?

[Brian Cdn]

Ti gurus...

There's a CL posting here for ti frame stating it's made of Columbus Ti.

Curious to know... did Columbus make or offer ti tube sets ?

Here's a link..

http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/bik/4103240596.html

PS: no relation to seller..

[Scooper]

The Columbus decal shown in the ad is early eighties and was used for SL and SP steel tubing. I see nothing on the Ti sticker indicating it's Columbus.

It appears to be a 3Al 2.5V titanium frame with an old Columbus steel tubing sticker.

The Columbus website (http://www.columbustubi.com/eng/1.htm) shows steel, carbon fiber, and aluminum tubing under the "materials" tab, and there's no titanium in the on-line downloadable pdf catalog, so I think the seller is either confused or intentionally misleading potential buyers.

[sales guy]

Columbus did in fact have titanium tubing. It was barely used. It was only out for like three years in the early to mid 90's.

[JonB]

Columbus offered a Titanium tubeset around '97. I believe it was Hyperion.

I recall a review of a Titanium Bianchi in Bicycle Guide around that time.

[sales guy]

Correct correct Jon B. That is the one. The had it out in 93/94 and ended in 97/98. They didn't sell a ton. Bianchi had it in the line and so did a few others. Mainly euro companies. No one USA wise. That's why it didn't last. They figured the USA would pull it. But Sandvik was and is still just so huge and they supplied everyone with ti in the US. Tough when you have the world leader in Washington selling and making custom drawn tubing locally.

[Scooper]

Mea culpa; live and learn.

The decals on the bike in the CL ad the OP posted doesn't look anything like that Columbus Hyperion decal though.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d7/k4drd/Bicycles/TorontoCLTi_zps4538172c.jpg

[Steve in SLO]

I owned a De Rosa Titanio made from Hyperion tubing. It was a comfy but somewhat flexy ride.

[sales guy]

Stan,

I'm not sure who that frame is made by. Those are generic Columbus decals. The Hyperon decal is correct for their titanium. To the OP, I would be wary of the purchase. Again, not sure of the frames actual maker.

Yeah, DeRosa was one who used the Hyperon tubing. There weren't many companies. While the tubing was nice, it was a bit under built for bike use. I doubt many of the frames are out there now. If there are some, cool. Lucky collectors item. People post em! Would love to see them.

[Mark McM]

That Columbus sticker is positively out of place, leading one to assume that someone just stuck it on that frame at a later date. We know the Columbus sticker doesn't belong because on the left side it says "acciaio" - this is the Italian word for steel, which it would never say for a sticker meant for a titanium tube set. Here's what the sticker looks like:

http://hilarystone.com/images/sale%20images/decalstransfers/Columbus-SL-SP-decal_big.jpg

[Black Dog]

That looks like a crude early Ti frame and is not even close to being worth $700, especially with an aluminum fork! I wish the seller good luck with the sale.

[Brian Cdn]

Looks like overzealous decal application and CL Babble.

As usual it's caveat emptor.

Thanks to all for the comments.

[Steve in SLO]

Yeah, DeRosa was one who used the Hyperon tubing. There weren't many companies. While the tubing was nice, it was a bit under built for bike use. I doubt many of the frames are out there now. If there are some, cool. Lucky collectors item. People post em! Would love to see them.

As you wish...

[sales guy]

Very nice Steve.

[Steve in SLO]

Thanks. Gone but not missed.
I really did like the Team Batik paint job, but after I got into a 45 mph high speed wobble during a Death Ride, I never truly let it rip again.