LeTurbo Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 Decisions, decisions. My wallet is trembling, my credit card weeping, my cheque book in tatters. Should I or shouldn't I ... Get a titanium bike (seems to be a "Victoria", but I can't find details by Googling) with Campy Chorus and Khamsin G3 wheels, from a reputable dealer, for R8000? This would be my step into the new century, to a lighter bike with a whole 10-speeds and newfangled gear ratios. But is it a good price, what's Ti like, etc?
javadude Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 Theres an old guy at City Cycling Club that rides a titanium Victoria. Very nice bike but I think its quite old. Not sure if the company is still around.
Christie Posted January 11, 2011 Posted January 11, 2011 (edited) Ti is a very very difficult material to work with. It is difficult to weld, and difficult to machine and shape because it work hardens. So I would advise to steer clear of cheap Ti frames - chances of problems are high. Even well known famous brands sometimes stuff up. If you can't resist, buy a well known brand, and make sure it has a lifetime warranty. As an engineering material for bicycles, it is not as good as carbon in almost all aspects one can think of, except impact resistance. If your current bike has a lot of dents and scratches because of repeated crashes, carbon is not the way to go. Well, then again, you can probably buy 2 carbon frames for the price of one Ti frame... Ti also had some poser value, due to the fact that it is extremely expensive, and could be identified from far away. I suspect that Pinarello has cornered a lot of those buyers, though. Edited January 11, 2011 by Christie
LeTurbo Posted January 12, 2011 Author Posted January 12, 2011 Theres an old guy at City Cycling Club that rides a titanium Victoria. Very nice bike but I think its quite old. Not sure if the company is still around. Ah, so at least there's some heritage beyond Beijing. Old is fine - it has nice lines and is in excellent condition with very neat welds. Thanks Velo.
LeTurbo Posted January 12, 2011 Author Posted January 12, 2011 Ti is a very very difficult material to work with. It is difficult to weld, and difficult to machine and shape because it work hardens. So I would advise to steer clear of cheap Ti frames - chances of problems are high. Even well known famous brands sometimes stuff up. If you can't resist, buy a well known brand, and make sure it has a lifetime warranty. As an engineering material for bicycles, it is not as good as carbon in almost all aspects one can think of, except impact resistance. If your current bike has a lot of dents and scratches because of repeated crashes, carbon is not the way to go. Well, then again, you can probably buy 2 carbon frames for the price of one Ti frame... Ti also had some poser value, due to the fact that it is extremely expensive, and could be identified from far away. I suspect that Pinarello has cornered a lot of those buyers, though. Thanks Christie. At least the bike seems to have been around a bit so anything that might break should've done so already, I think. I must admit that I find the longevity aspect appealing. Though (touch wood) I've never had a serious prang in my life, my heart can't warm to carbon however hard I try. Maybe it's a step-by-step approach? But I think you hit the nail on the head with the poser value. Damn, that's me!
MariusL Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 If my memopry serves me correct - Peter Wheeler used to import Victoria ti bikes. The likes of James Perry, Jeremy Maartens, Daniel Spence used to ride for a team in Cpt in the late 90's (1998/99) - think it was called Ryder or something. James Perry seemed pretty happy with it when I spoke to him back them, but it's probably pretty outdated technology by now
MintSauce Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 Friend of mine rides a Victoria ti fixie. Think he paid 4k for the frame only. He got it from Crosstown Cycles in Kenilworth. There's another one of them there last time I checked, think it's a 58 or 60....not sure. Would make a nice pair.
LeTurbo Posted January 12, 2011 Author Posted January 12, 2011 Hmmmm ... I can see I'm going to have park this decision on the back burner for a while. Thanks for your input guys, it's much appreciated.
RodTi Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 Hmmmm ... I can see I'm going to have park this decision on the back burner for a while. Thanks for your input guys, it's much appreciated. My 2 cents - baring in mind that I'm quite unbiased in this regard - older Ti frames from reputable companies are very often seriously undervalued, imo... Back then - early 90's, many of the big cycling companies were getting into/possibly about to exit their fascination with titanium... Frames produced during that era, were - for the most part - very well made, with frame breakage issues not really featuring... My guess is that this probably has much to do with the simple fact that there were (relatively) many competitors in the market - and this in turn ensured decent quality titanium being sourced, and being properly welded/designed etc... It was towards the end of the boom-period, when it became apparent that Ti was probably unjustifiably expensive as a frame material - and several other options became more acceptable, that some companies were accused of cutting corners - to some extent with R&D, but more frequently, with the quality of the titanium being used... 'Exports' from the old USSR and China were certainly bandied about - and this, if you believe the web-forums, even filtered into the most reputable of Ti frame companies... Do a bit of research in frame breakage involving Ti, and you would note that it's often limited to a particular year (or two) of a particular model... Obviously there are exceptions, but the general feeling out there is that such incidents can most often be attributed to certain cost-basis decisions being taken by the companies in question... Regarding your Victoria - do some research into its status and frame-reviews back in the day. If by all accounts the company, and the frame was rated - and the frame still appears to be in good nick, I would be pretty confident in it not becoming a problem... As someone here pointed out - if it hasn't broken by now, it probably wont... And at the risk of really stirring the pot, Ti (along with steel?) is probably one of the few frame materials that can offer this sort of longevity 'guarantee'... As stated - I'm biased. I'm no lightweight - and whereas I don't go bombing off serious drop-offs etc. - my weight being hammered downhill, puts some serious stress on a frame. I'm still on a 1994 Ti HT - never had a smidge of problems... I'm also in the process of taking the plunge on a 2001 Ti softail. Bit more nervous about it, due to the inherent stress that is 'built-in' to the frame, purely due to its design... So I guess what I'm saying is, old-skool geometry issues/technology aside - if it's a hardtail/roadbike, made by a reputable company - then even if it's old - "they simply don't make 'em like they used to... Hope this helps!
LeTurbo Posted January 13, 2011 Author Posted January 13, 2011 I'm learning to never go look at a bicycle twice. In for a penny, in for a pound: I'll pick her up tomorrow! Then see how she behaves in anger on the Cobra on Sunday. Grrrr!
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