Looking to buy a titanium gravel bike

[phishrabbi]

Habanero can do a full custom frame for $1700 in ~4-5 months.

[EliteVelo]

Originally Posted by jason5906

Howdy, I heard this forum was a good place to get some info on bikes.

I am looking to buy a titanium gravel bike. I have done a good amount of research and wanted to see if anyone had any advice or experience. I'd like to have a builder make one to my specs instead of a standard sizing, I'd like to get a lifetime warranty on the frame, and I'd like to find a lead time of 6-12 months or less.

Example chumba bikes offer a 3 year warranty, which I'm not really interested in.

My top 3 choices as of now are:
1. Bingham built
2. DeSalvo
3. Seven

I was interested in Firefly but their lead time is 2.5 years. DeSalvo is currently 1-1.5 years. I haven't heard back from Bingham bikes yet but I'm hoping it's 6-12 months. I have also talked to Seven and their lead time is the best so far, being a bigger company. I was also interested in Moots but they don't really do a custom sizing and you're paying extra for the name too, though I know they are great bikes still.

Long story short does anyone ride any of these makers or have any other suggestions.Thanks!

Marco Bertoletti will build you a Ti gravel frame to your specs. Wait time is 10-12 weeks currently. Considered one of the most accomplished in Titanium with a resume that goes back further than we can remember. Email me at info@elitevelosolutions.com for further questions.

[nmrt]

if you want a pure titanium straight gauge frame (not titanium-carbon or butted tubes), Bingham is the way to go.

but if you want to save a few grams and go butted tubes or Titanium-carbon mix, Seven would build you a great bike.

if you do not care about weight and just want the best riding Ti bike, it is Bingham who you should be calling.

good luck in your search.

[AngryScientist]

Where do you live Original Poster?

I believe there is some value in selecting a localish builder if that's a logical/realistic option.

For my first custom bike, I was happy to visit my builder's shop, have him do a brief fitting and a proper chat about what I wanted the bike to do. I felt more confident that nothing was lost in translation that way.

of course, doing it remotely is entirely possible and common, but if a local option is available it's worth considering and assigning some priority.

[jason5906]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

Where do you live Original Poster?

I believe there is some value in selecting a localish builder if that's a logical/realistic option.

For my first custom bike, I was happy to visit my builder's shop, have him do a brief fitting and a proper chat about what I wanted the bike to do. I felt more confident that nothing was lost in translation that way.

of course, doing it remotely is entirely possible and common, but if a local option is available it's worth considering and assigning some priority.

I live in Kansas City MO, but if I'm going to spend what I think I'm about to I don't mind visiting somewhere. I have a good chunk of airline points saved up too

[verbs4us]

Jason, if you're shooting distance from Philadelphia, consider hitting the Philly Bike Expo (Oct 29-30) where you can visit a high density of gravel bike makers in a small area. You can chat with the designers and makers and get a real feel for how they think about their craft. The continuing innovation continues to amaze me.

[rice rocket]

Originally Posted by veloduffer

Just make sure you know what your custom needs are. If you have any uncertainty, it's probably best to get a bike fit from a well-respected bike fitter.

Along with this, make sure you know what kind of tires you want to run and geometry you want too.

In the last 10 years, gravel bike geometry has been to both extremes, it's worth trying a few options and getting a basic understanding of if certain geometries suit your terrain before plonking down your hard earned money for a custom.

[Buzz Killington]

I’d recommend you get a production bike that’s as close to what you feel is optimal as you can. Ride that for a bit, and think about what you like/don’t like/want changed before you take the plunge on a custom. Maybe even sell off the frame and transfer the components over to the custom.

Get a Bingham.

[Andy sti]

I recommend going with a builder you mesh with and trust their geo recommendations. Each builder has their own ideas on overall geo and may not want to go too far outside of that. Obviously, individual bikes will very but i'm sure each builder has an overall geometry design concept. And they likely know what works. I fully trusted my builder to give me what I wanted and my bike rips!


I really need some new pix of this thing!

[Overshot]

Originally Posted by nmrt

if you want a pure titanium straight gauge frame (not titanium-carbon or butted tubes), Bingham is the way to go.

but if you want to save a few grams and go butted tubes or Titanium-carbon mix, Seven would build you a great bike.

if you do not care about weight and just want the best riding Ti bike, it is Bingham who you should be calling.

good luck in your search.

Just another plug for Bingham. Brad has an excellent compliment of skills to listen to you as the rider and body type, design up something that speaks to you, then the fabrication skills to meticulously carry it out. I’ve been a repeat customer with him now for 2 builds and both ride exactly as how I wanted when we got the ball rolling. I think it would be hard to be disappointed with a frame from him.

[jason5906]

Originally Posted by Overshot

Just another plug for Bingham. Brad has an excellent compliment of skills to listen to you as the rider and body type, design up something that speaks to you, then the fabrication skills to meticulously carry it out. I’ve been a repeat customer with him now for 2 builds and both ride exactly as how I wanted when we got the ball rolling. I think it would be hard to be disappointed with a frame from him.

That's good to hear. There has been a lot of positive feedback for him and his work in this post. I'm hoping they email me back this week and hopefully the leadtime isn't too crazy. Glad you're enjoying your builds!

[robt57]

Non road bike properly dirty!! As it should be IMO.

Tires G-Zeros?

Originally Posted by Andy sti

I really need some new pix of this thing!

To OP, if I could not land a killer Lynskey deal as I have twice in as many years [2019, 2020] I'd sure consider the Habanero path. Mark been around selling those for a very long time.

[callmeishmael]

That's a very fine looking bicycle (and it looks capable, with a change of tyres, capable of being pretty quick on tarmac, too)

[Hilltopperny]

I have owned a bunch of gravel bikes over the years now. The only lifetime warranty AFAIK is Lynskey. I know No22 was 10 years when I bought mine back on 2017. The crew is great over at No22 and the bikes are as nice as anything else I have owned!

My Drifter was the bike I had for 3 full seasons before parting ways with it. All the rest lasted around 5-6 months. Highly recommend a No22 to anybody who is in the market! That being said my Lynskey Urbano was a great bike as well. The finish on the No22 was a step above the Lynskey and being built 15 minutes from my home also gave them an edge over all the others. They are at the very least worth chatting with!

Sent from my SM-S127DL using Tapatalk

[skiezo]

Check out this guy in Alabama. I spoke to him a few times and he seems like a great guy and knows his stuff. His lead times are pretty decent also.
Email him and exchange phone #s and go from there.
3Kish for a custom Ti is pretty reasonable IMHO.