Best Titanium Road Bike

[Ralph]

Well....I'm the kind of guy who would just as soon drive a Camry as a Lexus, and keep the difference in investments.

Not saying a volume production Ora same as a Moots. But, I would never pay retail for a Moots. Just wouldn't.

There are brands out there for everyone.

[GregL]

Can't believe this hasn't been said yet - the best ti (or carbon, aluminum, or steel...) road bike is the one that fits you best. All other considerations are secondary. Pick the stock geometry that fits you best or get a custom from a well-regarded builder. And add Carl Strong to your list of potential builders.

Greg

[b33]

a riding buddy of mine has had a moots for the past 5 years and seems to love it. It's been sometime since I have been one myself but it's great to see all the builders.

[Mikej]

My list would be Eriksen / Bingham Built, Firefly, Mosaic or Seven. I really like the feel of butted ti- it’s a bit snappier imho, nut you can spec thinner walled tubes from some builders that may give you a bit more lively feel. Also, I am loving the 1” chain stays on my ERIKSEN- I would like a flat mount disc bike. Maybe search the classifieds, there were some nice ti bikes up recently 😏

[Lionel]

Don't worry about the 1996 looking website and call Tom Kellog.

[choke]

As you can see you're going to get lots of opinions.

If I was going to buy a "performance oriented" Ti bike the first person I would talk to hasn't been mentioned yet....Doriano De Rosa (Bixxis). That's the only type of bike that he makes and he's been doing Ti a long time. His prices are also very competitive.

[oldguy00]

Originally Posted by TMD

I am currently riding a steel Serotta from 10 years ago. I'm in the market for a new road bike and am seriously considering titanium over a run on the mill carbon one. I'm looking for a bit more performance over comfort. What brands/models could hold their own against a carbon road bike on a fast group ride?

I think you need to be more specific about your budget, and what your feelings are on resale value.


If lower on the budget side, probably an off the shelf Lynskey.

If higher on the budget, and are OK with resale being low, maybe Spectrum.

If higher on budget and also want to hold value, Moots, Firefly, etc.

All of the above will likely ride equally great and hold up just fine. Your choice of tires and tire pressure will make more difference in feel than the different frames, IMHO.

[Mr. Pink]

Strong

[Mikej]

That Bixxis is nice looking!

[sparky33]

Originally Posted by TMD

What brands/models could hold their own against a carbon road bike on a fast group ride?

Moots RSL works well for me in the go-fast group rides - it has that notably electric feeling of direct speed. The Vamoots CR gives up some of that in exchange for an exceedingly plush ride.

Mosaic RT1 feels similar to the RSL, based on a couple brief demo's of that one.

IMO Moots and Mosaic have their tubing and design dialed to perfection in having made a zillion units, and that is the benefit of an off-the-shelf metal frameset vs a custom.

[R3awak3n]

if you are a 57.5, that eriksen with campy for $2500 in the classifieds is a steal

[Butch]

My 2 cents. I have visited the Ora factory, met with the Hsu family and gotten a tour of the facility. They do decent work for what they do, use thicker materials and seeing their offerings it looks like a Paragon Machine Works history lesson for many of the various fittings and dropouts. I also know and have been to some of the US builders talked about. It depends on where your priorities lie. The less expensive frames from facilities that need to produce a certain number of frames per hour using materials that are within a budget, to have a business model that works, are fine. The smallish US builders are the best in the world at building with Ti in my opinion. Yes they cost more. For me "knowing" who made your bike can make a ride better. The list of US builders making really nice frames has never been stronger. My comparison is more in line with going out for a "nice" meal, PF Chang's versus a local place using high quality ingredients.

[Kirk007]

Lots of great options. I've had three Spectrums - the 2 JR59 mentioned and my current made just for me. Each had a different nuance based on what the purchaser discussed with Tom. Each was/is stellar. As you've seen, other folks will describe the same result with many of the fine builders here. If you can't keep up with the plastic bikes in a race, it won't be the bike's fault as chances are your custom ti bike will easily be the measure of or better than most of the other bikes in the race.

[enr1co]

Originally Posted by weisan

TMD pal, if you can keep up at your current fast group rides with your 10-year-old steel Serotta, you can choose any bike you want whether it's made out of titanium or steel or aluminum or carbon or wood....it doesn't matter.

YOU are the Best Titanium Road Bike, and unfortunately we can't purchase you on the market.

My Hampsten Ti used to hold its own against a bunch of modern carbons on fast group rides.

Have been off the bike for ~month and joined the same ride last SAT and the darn bike went OTB!

Still comfortable though on the solo ride home

[benb]

From what I can tell if you have a Concours or Legend from 2007-2009 or so the only thing a brand new custom Ti bike could give you that the Serottas didn't have would be the larger diameter head tube and fork.

I like the feel of the larger diameter headtubes & forks but I had a 2007 Concours and realistically that bike handled flawlessly without any need for the beefier head tube & fork.

The Concours was double butted and the Legend was triple butted and both were externally swaged (spelling?) IIRC.. I'm not sure if anyone is doing triple butted & swaged frames like Serotta did anymore.

But the bike that fits you best is the best bike anyway.

If it was me I live right near Seven so I'd get a Seven. I almost bought one a few years ago and probably still will at some point... there are too many advantages to going to them since I live < 5 miles from their "shop" Ride Studio Cafe and I can get fitted directly by them as opposed to there being a man in the middle.