Which titanium bike brands holds its value the best?

[yinzerniner]

Originally Posted by jeffreng58

Hey guys.
I'm looking for a titanium road frame to ride with a group but would like to buy a brand that has good resale value.
Background: I currently ride a old 90s Trek with old 90s parts and am the ugly duckling in the group.
This bike will be my biggest investment to date because I plan on putting aero wheels and a new groupset onto a titanium frame.
If possible I'd like to stretch my purchasing dollar on a titanium brand that holds its value over several years in case I plan on selling.
Titanium is nice because it is the most durable material besides steel on a bike and the bikes seem to hold its value longer than carbon or aluminum.
Question: Can anyone help give me tips about which brands to buy?
I've gotten mixed reviews from other forums from other people feeling something more unique like titanium/carbon seatstays from Airborne, or something made by a veteran frame maker like K Bradford, or something more common like a Lynskey for more name brand recognition will have a higher resale value.
Any advice is helpful at this point.

Best investment for making you faster and no longer feeling like the “ugly duckling” of your group?
1- bike fit $250
2- 5-10 training sessions. $250-500
3- power meter and head unit to verify gains $400-600 (which you can sell at a minimal loss)

For less than the price of some fancy deep carbon aero wheels you’ll be dusting the others in your group ride with your 90s trek. And any bike you get afterwards will only go up in value since the Merckx of Williamsburg was seen riding it.

Improve the engine before improving the tool.

[PeregrineA1]

Bikes are a poor investment. I should know, I currently have 20+, all relatively high end, that I could get pennies on the dollar for. Wouldn’t trade them for anything. Find a bike you like buy it and ride it.


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[joosttx]

Originally Posted by yinzerniner

Best investment for making you faster and no longer feeling like the “ugly duckling” of your group?
1- bike fit $250
2- 5-10 training sessions. $250-500
3- power meter and head unit to verify gains $400-600 (which you can sell at a minimal loss)

For less than the price of some fancy deep carbon aero wheels you’ll be dusting the others in your group ride with your 90s trek. And any bike you get afterwards will only go up in value since the Merckx of Williamsburg was seen riding it.

Improve the engine before improving the tool.

Brilliant.

[9tubes]

Titanium, especially custom Ti, definitely holds resale value better than carbon, unless the carbon bike is special in some way (e.g., Pinarello Dogma). Ti doesn't degrade with time or miles, and it can't have invisible cracks like carbon, so a good strategy is to buy a used but really nice Ti bike. They won't depreciate much.

Buy a beautiful used $3000 Seven Titanium and you can sell it three years later for $3000. Buy a beautiful new $3000 Specialized carbon and you can sell it three years later for $1200. Buy a used Specialized carbon for $1200 and you'll worry whether it will catastrophically fail from a hidden crack the next time you hit a pothole at 30mph.

Brands? Moots, Hampsten, Seven, Merlin, 333Fab...people have various opinions but once you get to a certain quality level these marques are simply different flavors of 10 on a 10 scale. Avoid cheap titanium because...well, life is short and so it should include the sweetness of a top quality ti frame.

I'm new here so I don't want to be too strong with an opinion so just take this as one guy's view.

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by yinzerniner

Best investment for making you faster and no longer feeling like the “ugly duckling” of your group?
1- bike fit $250
2- 5-10 training sessions. $250-500
3- power meter and head unit to verify gains $400-600 (which you can sell at a minimal loss)

For less than the price of some fancy deep carbon aero wheels you’ll be dusting the others in your group ride with your 90s trek. And any bike you get afterwards will only go up in value since the Merckx of Williamsburg was seen riding it.

Improve the engine before improving the tool.

Originally Posted by joosttx

Brilliant.

I also recommend shaved legs - pretty cheap, very pro

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by PeregrineA1

Find a bike you like buy it and ride it.

THIS.

Life is short, ride what you want because it's fun - and then ride more because you're having fun. ROI should be measured in miles and smiles, not resale value.

[tony_mm]

Yep buy the one that you can afford and ride it as often as possible!

If you just look at the money buy the cheapest and ride it as often as possible.

[mhespenheide]

Originally Posted by 9tubes

Titanium, especially custom Ti, definitely holds resale value better than carbon.

I'd have to disagree.

Custom is only custom for the original buyer.

After that, it's just as much of a crap shoot whether someone else's custom fits another potential buyer as a stock frame would. If you're looking at resale value, commissioning a custom frame is a money-losing proposition.



A Ti Lynskey is probably the best bet in terms of absolute minimum $$$ lost on a Ti frame bought new; hunt for their sales and you'll score something. But really, you should buy a used Ti frame (that can fit 28's, with rim brakes), and just go ride the snot out of it. The Ti LeMonds can sometimes be found used for sweetheart deals and they ride great.

[Dekonick]

Originally Posted by Ken Robb

If you really live in Brooklyn you might get the most bang for your buck buying an "old-fashioned" ti bike with rim brakes and clearance for only 27mm tires with 10 speed group. It's hard to find a hill on Long Island so you don't need disc brakes and 11 or 12 cogs. A nice MOOTS, Serotta, Hampsten, Erickson, Lynskey ti bike will NOT hold you back in the rides you have described and even if you "lost" 1/2 in a future resale it would only be a few hundred bucks at most.

And rim brakes worked for generations of TDF mountain stages... Giro stages... Hell, rim brakes are excellent.

A nice Ti bike by Seven, Serotta, Linksey, Can't go wrong. For that matter, Steel can be had for a song and a dance.

[corky]

Buy an Independent Fabrications TI frame....... you’ll never sell it so you’ll never lose any money.......simples👍

[Hilltopperny]

If you are looking at brand new then buy a No22. I have two and they are cheaper than any comparable Moots, Firefly, Baum and Mosaic at around 1/2 to 2/3 the initial cost. They are beautiful with extensive metal work and ride amazing.

The lead time is around 12 weeks and the customer service is great. These guys make a top tier titanium bike welded by Frank who used to weld for Serotta. Hard to beat IMO.

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[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by Hilltopperny

If you are looking at brand new then buy a No22. I have two and they are cheaper than any comparable Moots, Firefly, Baum and Mosaic at around 1/2 to 2/3 the initial cost. They are beautiful with extensive metal work and ride amazing.

The lead time is around 12 weeks and the customer service is great. These guys make a top tier titanium bike welded by Frank who used to weld for Serotta. Hard to beat IMO.

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Not really..Custom Moots Vamoots $4500..No22 road/rim brake-$3700..others about the same..remember, the $3200 $ for a no22 is w/o a fork(Great Divide)..PLUS pretty sure this company as well as others are using off shore sourced titanium tubes. It really means a whole lot of nuthing but it's an 'indicator'..Moots uses US sourced titanium..

PLUS no22 consumer direct so they are getting a much bigger margin compared to a dealer sold frame..

[Hilltopperny]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Not really..Custom Moots Vamoots $4500..No22 road/rim brake-$3700..others about the same..remember, the $3200 $ for a no22 is w/o a fork(Great Divide)..PLUS pretty sure this company as well as others are using off shore sourced titanium tubes. It really means a whole lot of nuthing but it's an 'indicator'..Moots uses US sourced titanium..



PLUS no22 consumer direct so they are getting a much bigger margin compared to a dealer sold frame..

No22 uses triple butted USA sourced titanium if I am not mistaken and is more in line with an RSL than a Vamoots. Moots makes a great bike as well, but an RSL is significantly more expensive.

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[Mzilliox]

this is such a weird question thats been answered a hundred times over and the answer rarely changes. moots hold value best, but who cares? if youd like to invest in something, i have this bridge...

[grateful]

These hold their value!

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=241100

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=241278

Just sayin.