naked ti is boring/ugly - help!

[tv_vt]

Reading the thread comparing Legends to Ottrotts made me think of the one real bummer about unpainted all-Ti bikes - they are ugly! Naked ti frames just does not do it for me. I recently posted a thread about two of my bikes, one bare ti, the other steel painted red. Every comment was about the red frame.

So how do you make a bare ti frame nice to look at? Please post pics if you want.

At this point, I'm thinking of getting my frame painted. I like the Serotta 1/2-1/2 style - it keeps the high-wear areas unpainted, which is smart, since they'll end up chipped anyway.

Thx.

Thom

[Ozz]

saddle, bartape, wheels, tires, stem.....see final iteration of Legend Ti below :cool:

[Pete Serotta]

THe half and half is my all time favorite for Ti. Another nice one is a panel painted on the down and seat tubes (as well as painting the fork the same color as the panels.)

THe cheapest was is to use COLOR handle BAR tape and a color seat (and maybe color cable housings......


Just my thoughts AND I will never go down as a leader in fashiion ;)

[tv_vt]

Agree with the blue tires (see photo). Have used both light blue and dark blue. But it does seem that most folks do a black and white look with these naked frames. And it does look good, I admit. Just a bit boring compared to others.

T

[SoCalSteve]

The nice thing about bare Ti compared to paint is that there is no paint chipping, scratching, etc...

And, I must say that the Moots "look" is very beautiful (in an industrial way) to my eye.

Thats why they dont paint all Ti bikes green.

Steve

[rwsaunders]

I know what you mean, as it's fun waxing a nice painted steel frame, as opposed to smelling the lemon Pledge wipes on your hands. Do the Dave T. tricks and try some exotic bar wrap (elk, bison, moose, sheep) or add some color in your headset or hubs. Here's a photo of a cool Ti ride that doesn't need any paint to add excitement to your day.

[CalfeeFly]

I recently saw one that had a tint added to clearcoat before spraying the ti. I don't remember where unfortunately.

[Ahneida Ride]

If I stayed in, I woulda commanded one of those puppies.

Scarry thought :eek: ... eh my phorum buddies?

[Ozz]

I know what you mean, as it's fun waxing a nice painted steel frame, as opposed to smelling the lemon Pledge wipes on your hands. Do the Dave T. tricks and try some exotic bar wrap (elk, bison, moose, sheep) or add some color in your headset or hubs. Here's a photo of a cool Ti ride that doesn't need any paint to add excitement to your day.
I think it was this one that had the titanium hull....do the NSSN's have it too?:

[gt6267a]

more blue on a naked bike

[Delpo]

It depends on what you are looking for. There is an aesthetic beauty to the materiality of the titanium or of the carbon. I agree that it is a personal issue. In my case I prefer to experience the true nature of the material. Most of my house is finished in exposed concrete and some people would call it ugly but it works for me. In regards to bikes I have about two years to find an argument to convince Mr. Sachs to finish the Sachs in exposed steel with some type of industrial rust protector.

Delpo

[Kevan]

http://www.truesecretsof.com/Images/Pink%20Sub.JPG

I happen to agree that plain Ti gets a little boring looking.

[Ti Designs]

Titanium has a greater range of finish than just about any other metal, people just don't know how to use it. Titanium can be pained, etched, annodized, heat treated for color, or polished - and there are few limits to the combinations because the surface doesn't rust or for oxides like steel or aluminum.

Somewhere out there is a polished Ti Merlin Newsboy with etched and annodized pinstripes for a true retro look. There's the IF show XS from two years ago with polished lugs and etched accents. There's also an etched IF Ti Crown Jewel annodized pink... Just the bikes that I've worked on, I'm sure there are way more.

As for doing the work, many of the tools can be found at Reactive Metals Studio, for etching or blasting you'll probably want a blast cabinet and compressor (or really strong lungs) and coloring by heat can be done with any neutral burning torch. Surface finish work can be done with sand paper, steel wool or scotchbrite, and you can combine surface finish with color work to get just about anything you want. I once did wood grain using masks and different media for blasting.

[mcoven]

..... :beer:

[mosca]

My bright red Klein gets far more compliments than my bare ti Ibis, but I still kinda prefer the Ibis.

I'd like to see a classic panel job with bare ti in some areas, that could look cool.

Also I liked swoop's bike although it's technically carbon/ti - still a nice original solution. http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=25450

Also Ti Designs' comments are intriguing regarding some of the unexplored potential for ti finishes - let's see some creativity!! :D

[C5 Snowboarder]

My 1/2 and 1/2 Legend.

[swoop]

.
eye o the beholder.

[davids]

I think this one (http://forums.thepaceline.net/showpost.php?p=381957&postcount=1) is a pretty nice example of a bare Ti bike.

But I agree with you - If I'd bought a La Corsa I would've gone with the 1/2 & 1/2 scheme - Arancio with Red/White decals...

[cadence90]

Painting ti is like having Monica Bellucci model Haz-Mat suits. Imho.

[PK9]

It ain't baroque (and it ain't for everyone).

[sevencyclist]

http://richardsachs.com/unpaintedgallery/pages/Jerk-102.html

It depends on what you are looking for. There is an aesthetic beauty to the materiality of the titanium or of the carbon. I agree that it is a personal issue. In my case I prefer to experience the true nature of the material. Most of my house is finished in exposed concrete and some people would call it ugly but it works for me. In regards to bikes I have about two years to find an argument to convince Mr. Sachs to finish the Sachs in exposed steel with some type of industrial rust protector.

Delpo

[gaxi]

As said before - the half paint / half polish is a absolute Serotta classic! I saw this back in the early nineties in a PI catalogue - and was intrigued. At least the dream came true in 2003 - a Legend Ti half paint / half polish in arctic blue / silver decals / O2 fork in platinum (as you can see here Gaxi's Legend Ti (http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=1700) ).
The bike has undergone some minor changes - the saddle is now a SLR, the rest is the same. The bike has now about 10.000 miles on it and works perfect...
Some time ago I said to a friend that it was a great mistake to buy this bike: it doesn't go better (Ottrott & MeiVici are financially out of reach). And the look is still as sweet as on the first day when I had the frame in my hands...

[Ray]

Eye of the beholder. I have two ti bikes, one half painted, the other bare. Different aesthetics, different rides, different purposes - I like 'em both in different ways.

Here's small pics, scroll down a little...

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showpost.php?p=303148&postcount=29

-Ray

[Grant McLean]

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showpost.php?p=163634&postcount=1

My vote is for all paint, or all ti.

The 1/2 thing doesn't work for me at all.

-g

[guyintense]

If you don't like that monochromatic thing than don't own one. And stop staring at mine.

[jthurow]

I don't have a decent pic of it so you'll have to use your imagination. I put a yellow regal and the green Vittoria Pave's on my Lemond (http://farm1.static.flickr.com/129/346861246_915e904a08.jpg), and it looks trick, if I do say so myself. They bright colors are really set off against the brushed ti.

But, I've always liked the 1/2 & 1/2. You get a splash of color and the durability of bare ti where you need it.

jimi

[Tony Edwards]

It does get dull. I am seriously thinking of sending my VaMoots off for paint this winter. I'm thinking of Gios blue with white or ivory panels and black decals, and the chainstays (or perhaps just the right one) bare and perhaps polished.

[tv_vt]

The Jerk's Sachs is amazing! Wow, that is beautiful. But it's the lugs that really make it. If Ti came lugged....

Noticed Tom Kellogg clearcoats his ti frames. Maybe just a new set of decals, or having some graphics airbrushed, and a clearcoat would do the trick. Along with some cool tape and seat.

Anyone notice the Brooks version of the Arione coming out? I think it was in some other thread. Very elegant.

T

[RADaines]

I appreciate the dilemma of the OP. I have gone around and around with this issue myself. My solution, as someone else mentioned, was to choose a color accent that I liked with the bare Ti. In my case it was red and black. I chose red lettering for my decals, red pedals, red tires and black bar tape (matches the carbon fork). I originally had a red saddle but currently have a black one. I will probably replace the black saddle with a red one in the future. If you go to the link below, my bike looks very similar to the one pictured in terms of color scheme.
http://www.sevencycles.com/road_detail.php?bike=axiom_sg

Yesterday I was out riding and a few of the roads were freshly resurfaced with tar and loose stones (chip seal?). Man, was I glad that I didn't have any paint on my bike. The loose stones were pinging on the metal like crazy. Surely I would have lost some paint if I had it.

A second benefit to bare Ti is that it is supposed to be environmentally friendly (no volitile organic compounds).

[Grant McLean]

I appreciate the dilemma of the OP. I have gone around and around with this issue myself. My solution, as someone else mentioned, was to choose a color accent that I liked with the bare Ti.

Another thing to keep in mind is what you're wearing.

The neutral bare Ti bike means your colour choices for matching jersey and shorts are unlimited!

g

[cadence90]

Another thing to keep in mind is what you're wearing.

The neutral bare Ti bike means your colour choices for matching jersey and shorts are unlimited!

g
Really???
You'll say anything to rationalize wearing your Leakygas kit, won't you? :banana:

But, seriously, I don't "get" this whole thing....
Why is all red oooh-oooh-oooh, and all-ice blue is aaah-aaah-aaah, and all-clear-coat steel is wow-wow-wow, and all-white the "new black" etc. etc., but all-ti is boring/ugly? :confused:

[Sir Maldoror]

Reading the one real bummer about unpainted all-Ti bikes - they are ugly! Naked ti frames just does not do it for me. I

la pintura es sobreestimada (paint is overrated)

Sir Maldoror

[Big Dan]

nekkid

[bironi]

Spectrum Powder Works. They can do almost anything that a painter can. It is very durable. I could not bear owning a bike for long without color on the frame. Maybe it is just me, but perhaps you want to join the Navy. :beer:

[vaxn8r]

I don't know who does it but one of the nicest ti bikes I've ever seen was a Seven with a copper clear coat. I understand it's hard to do but in this case it worked.

I'd vote for color. Unpainted ti, like unpainted carbon is so....90's.

[Skrawny]

I saw an anodized naked Ti bike that looked like tie dye. Not my bag, but certainly not boring.
(but, I guess if it is anodized it isn't exactly naked; more like wearing a teddy)

For my $ the naked Ottrott with red tint CF is the prettiest Serotta out there.

-s