Titanium - how long will it last

[dekindy]

Could not any frame material be made strong enough and with proper care and maintenance last forever? Given the constraints of everyone wanting as light a frame as possible titanium would not be the cheapest, but would have the highest ratio of durability to $ spent.

[Chris]

Ugo Derosa commented in an interview in cycle-sport magazine that he thought ti was the best material of the main four in current use. He said that its only negative was the cost. I've had a Legend ti and two Moots among all the other bikes I've had. The Moots and my Speedvagen have been my favorite bikes. In terms of peace of mind though, ti wins out for me because I don't have to sweat the paint chips on a ti bike since it won't rust.

[Seramount]

our judges would have accepted 'FOREVER'...

thanks for playing.

[Z3c]

Originally Posted by 54ny77

Approximately 18 years, 6 days and 4 hours for typical 3-2.5 straight gauge, give or take a few minutes.

I get really annoyed when someone beats me to a great opportunity to be sarcastic.. Well done!

[guyintense]

[QUOTE=firerescuefin;1391158]How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll tootsie pop.


3

[cnighbor1]

when welding Ti you have to keep oxygen away from welding. so you flood the weld with argon gas. If oxygen does get in contact the weld become brittle and can fail. I know of one Ti frame that cracked and was repaired.
So how long can a Ti last is a moot question. It depends on how good the welding was.

[professerr]

Titanium is forever? I have seen pictures over the last few years on various forums and ebay of a fair number Merlins cracked in various places - typically near the bottom bracket or the shifter bosses. Not sure if that's because Merlins were one of the first (the first?) titanium frames so they've had the most wear and tear or because they were still working out productions kinks.

But in any case, I'm not so convinced titanium is a "lifetime" material at all.

Wouldn't stop me from buying one though.

[bikemoore]

Until you tire of it or crash it.....otherwise, pretty much forever....just like any other metal frame that is taken care of.

[Louis]

Any material can fail, even under "normal" usage, if the design or manufacturing are bad.

[KidWok]

I crashed this fairly inexpensive Ora built Redline Ti 'cross frame back in 2007...car ran a red light and pulled out in front of me as I went through an intersection. That is a Ti fork as well. Took the bike to Elliott Bay/Davidson Bicycles and the Ti welder took a look at it...frame was straight and welds were solid on both frame and crashed fork. The frame is now serving a hi mileage buddy of mine very well. Ti is definitely a lifetime product, especially from a reputable builder.



Tai

[Jack Brunk]

This may the lowest topic of the month. Really? Do you guys get paid on the forum payroll by the number of topics? I'm going to log off now.

[TPetsch]

...Ti Love You Long Time!

[martl]

Originally Posted by j_roe

any good write ups on TI vs ALU vs Carbon??

I own a couple of steel frames which are going strong into their second century. My most used bike is an aluminium Principia which i bought in 1996 and which has seen around 100k km; my buddies Klein Quantum II from 1994 probably has twice as much on the meter. All of these are still going strong. My 1998 Moots looks like new apart from cracked decals and some cospetic spots where the cables rubbed it gently.

I have seen quite a few CFK frames that showed several signs of fatigue, though. Usually the glued-in or molded-in parts like the BB casing or the headtube steerer mounts become creaky or even loose.

So i'd say if it is a well engineered and well made metal frame, unlimited lifespan. Ti has the advantage of the "immune to anything" finish. CFK - not so sure.

[gearmeister]

Originally Posted by gearmeister

What is the life expectancy of a titanium frame... Any thoughts on what to look for in terms of wear signs or potential integrity issues?

Thanks for all the sincere responses...the scarcastic ones, not so much.. I am the original owner of a 1999 Litespeed Ultimate. I am very happy with it and would like to think I could ride it forever... I would estimate it has about 35,000 miles on it.. I am well aware that time and wear fatigue are factors and at 15 years of age I am looking for specifics of these indicators... The bike is meticulously maintained, but am searching for ideas such as should I be doing things like inserting a flashlight into tubes looking for light cracks... I don't even know that the above is even a reasonable example... Thoughts??

[zennmotion]

Originally Posted by gearmeister

Thanks for all the sincere responses...the scarcastic ones, not so much.. I am the original owner of a 1999 Litespeed Ultimate. I am very happy with it and would like to think I could ride it forever... I would estimate it has about 35,000 miles on it.. I am well aware that time and wear fatigue are factors and at 15 years of age I am looking for specifics of these indicators... The bike is meticulously maintained, but am searching for ideas such as should I be doing things like inserting a flashlight into tubes looking for light cracks... I don't even know that the above is even a reasonable example... Thoughts??

Yep. Do that and report back.