Titanium audax bike

Jim Harvest said:

I am looking to buy a lightweight audax bike and believe a titanium
framed Van Nicholas may be the best choice.

Has anyone had any experience of this supplier?

Are there any other alternative titanium bike suppliers who are known
to be reliable?

Finally, I'm looking for a bike weighing about 20lb. Are there any
other options other than titanium which will be suitable as a long
lastinfg audax bike? I am assuming that steel will be too heavy, and
carbon too much hassle if the frame has to be inspected and possibly
scrapped after a crash.

A lightweight quality steel frame will be at most 1lb difference in the
total bike weight. I suggest you contact a couple of the better known
custom steel frame makers to see what options they offer before dismissing
the steel option.

I have a Roberts audax which is low 20-lbs in weight, with mudguards, triple
crankset, normal wheels, 28mm tyres, etc. It has carbon forks.
I know of at least one which is well below 20lbs, including frame splitting
couplings,
http://www.sandsmachine.com/a_rob_r1.htm
And the owner then went on to get a second very expensive one which is
12.5lbs (!!!).

That said, one of my friends has a nice new titanium framed + carbon fork
racing bike, built up by the local specialist bike shop. I cannot recall
the frame makers, except that its not Van Nicholas.

Quoted message said:

My budget is £2k.

Well within most custom builder's price bracket.

- Nigel

--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

Nigel Cliffe said:

A lightweight quality steel frame will be at most 1lb difference in the
total bike weight.

that's very true, but i would add that a ti frame will last for ever and
never needs painting. Two features alone that make ti a worthwhile first
choice frame material IMHO, especially after watching my mate cry
earlier this year as his trusty steel frame developed a small hole in
the top tube due to water ingress - the small hole was obviously only
the outer appearance of a much worse corrosion problem inside...

T

Nigel Cliffe said the following on 16/04/2008 08:58:

Quoted message said:

A lightweight quality steel frame will be at most 1lb difference in the
total bike weight.

Yeah, but cyclists "need" titanium frames :-)

(Wishes I could afford a titanium hard-tail, but at least the one I have
is steel!)

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

Quoting Jim Harvest <[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

Finally, I'm looking for a bike weighing about 20lb. Are there any
other options other than titanium which will be suitable as a long
lastinfg audax bike? I am assuming that steel will be too heavy,

Well, I may be working from a sample size of one here, but I did an AAA
ride last weekend and plenty of the bikes on it were steel - my own
included (also because I'm an idiot I carried a lock all the way round the
course). If you have trouble on the hills, it's probably not an extra kilo
of bike weight doing it, I'm afraid.

Of course if you've got the money there's no reason _not_ to get a Ti bike
of a suitable frame design for Audax.
--
David Damerell <[email hidden]> Oil is for sissies
Today is Sunday, April - a weekend.

"David Damerell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoting Jim Harvest <[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

Finally, I'm looking for a bike weighing about 20lb. Are there any
other options other than titanium which will be suitable as a long
lastinfg audax bike? I am assuming that steel will be too heavy,

A wrong assumption - many of the bikes that I see on Audaxes are steel
framed:
Mercian's
Roberts'
Longstaff's
Woodrup's
Bob Jackson's
Dawes'
Thorn
in Audax or touring guise.

The remainder are mainly aluminium framed road bikes and a sprinkling of
hybrids and MTBs. I've only seen a handful of titanium framed bikes in the
past fifty or so audaxes that I've participated in.

For my sins I ride a Dawes Galaxy. My performance on the road would be
enhanced by a greater extent if I lost a couple of bikes worth of weight in
lard than to buy it via a bike that's a handful of pounds lighter ;-)

For your money you could get a couple of decent bikes and keep one of them
'for best'

But like David Damerell says:

Quoted message said:

Of course if you've got the money there's no reason _not_ to get a Ti bike
of a suitable frame design for Audax.

vernon said:

"David Damerell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoting Jim Harvest <[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

Finally, I'm looking for a bike weighing about 20lb. Are there any
other options other than titanium which will be suitable as a long
lastinfg audax bike? I am assuming that steel will be too heavy,

A wrong assumption - many of the bikes that I see on Audaxes are steel
framed:
Mercian's
Roberts'
Longstaff's
Woodrup's
Bob Jackson's
Dawes'
Thorn
in Audax or touring guise.

The remainder are mainly aluminium framed road bikes and a sprinkling of
hybrids and MTBs. I've only seen a handful of titanium framed bikes in the
past fifty or so audaxes that I've participated in.

For my sins I ride a Dawes Galaxy. My performance on the road would be
enhanced by a greater extent if I lost a couple of bikes worth of weight in
lard than to buy it via a bike that's a handful of pounds lighter ;-)

For your money you could get a couple of decent bikes and keep one of them
'for best'

But like David Damerell says:

Quoted message said:

Of course if you've got the money there's no reason _not_ to get a Ti bike
of a suitable frame design for Audax.

:-) My very first 'club' bike was a mercian - chrome with a gold lacquer
finish... Fond memories of that bike!

Graham

--
aghillo.blogspot.com <http://aghillo.blogspot.com/>

vernon said:

"David Damerell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoting  Jim Harvest  <[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

Finally, I'm looking for a bike weighing about 20lb. Are there any
other options other than titanium which will be suitable as a long
lastinfg audax bike? I am assuming that steel will be too heavy,

A wrong assumption - many of the bikes that I see on Audaxes are steel
framed:
Mercian's
Roberts'
Longstaff's
Woodrup's
Bob Jackson's
Dawes'
Thorn
in Audax or touring guise.

The remainder are mainly aluminium framed road bikes and a sprinkling of
hybrids and MTBs.  I've only seen a handful of titanium framed bikes in the
past fifty or so audaxes that I've participated in.

For my sins I ride a Dawes Galaxy. My performance on the road would be
enhanced by a greater extent if I lost a couple of bikes worth of weight in
lard than to buy it via a bike that's a handful of pounds lighter ;-)

For your money you could get a couple of decent bikes and keep one of them
'for best'

But like David Damerell says:

Quoted message said:

Of course if you've got the money there's no reason _not_ to get a Ti bike
of a suitable frame design for Audax.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

okay, thanks for all the comments. I hadn't realised that steel framed
bikes could be that light, and yes, 2 or 3 pounds is not that
important. I too carry plenty of lard. Presumably a ti frame of the
same weight as steel will be stronger, other things being equal?

Final query, I live in the coldest part of the UK, and whilst I will
not use the bike in winter, salt is put on the roads from Oct to May.
It would appear that ti would be best in these conditions, but I also
understand that fasteners can seize in ti frames. Anyone know if I
should be worrying about this?

Jim Harvest said:

Presumably a ti frame of the
same weight as steel will be stronger, other things being equal?

With the proviso that there aren't any Ti frames at the same weight of
heavier steel frames - its just not economic to do that.

Quoted message said:

Final query, I live in the coldest part of the UK, and whilst I will
not use the bike in winter, salt is put on the roads from Oct to May.
It would appear that ti would be best in these conditions, but I also
understand that fasteners can seize in ti frames. Anyone know if I
should be worrying about this?

No, instead of worrying you should have a beater bike to ride around in
wet salty conditions. Either that or take up cycle cleaning and
polishing as an obsessive compulsive disorder. The beater bike is also
an excuse to experiment with low maintenance options like
singlespeed/fixed gear or hub gears and brakes. And mudguards.

If you really must have only one good bike and ride it through the
winter, it is possible to get frames made of Reynolds 953 - a rather
exotic and light stainless steel. This is going to cost a big chunk of
your budget, and should be obtained from a custom builder with 953
certification. Expect to be measured thoroughly, as there is no point in
making a frame that exotic the wrong size and spec. You won't be left
with much money to add components to finish the bike though, and if you
don't crash it, it should outlast us all. Expect a small pool of drool
on the floor about arms length from the 953 sticker, and please don't
let it get stolen...

--
JimP
You're still going to want mudguards in January.

In news:[email hidden],
vernon <[email hidden]> tweaked the Babbage-Engine to tell us:

Quoted message said:

A wrong assumption - many of the bikes that I see on Audaxes are steel
framed:
Mercian's
Roberts'
Longstaff's
Woodrup's
Bob Jackson's
Dawes'
Thorn
in Audax or touring guise.

The remainder are mainly aluminium framed road bikes and a sprinkling
of hybrids and MTBs. I've only seen a handful of titanium framed
bikes in the past fifty or so audaxes that I've participated in.

I think Simon Proven's Van Nicholas is Ti, and there is a nest of Ti fixers
among Audaxing residents of Lambourn. Until Phil Chadwick moves, obv.

--
Dave Larrington
<http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk>
If you want a bicycle, buy a bicycle. If you want something
that folds, buy a deckchair.