Titanium touring / audax / adventure / do it all bike. (Assistance appreciated!)

Also I'm not sure how much I agree with (understand) about using a legit Ti company

Ti frames can often crack around the welds if they haven't been built properly. Because of the incredibly high cost of the frame you want a company with (1) a lot of experience, and (2) a robust guarantee policy.

I think the companies I'm looking at have quite a few years behind them and would hope they have decent guarantees. Kinesis, Enigma and Burls are top of the list at the moment, I reckon they're all pretty reputable.

Yep I think so.

Just pointing out what IMO the specific reason for choosing a good company is, with a good guarantee policy. You see Internet-cracks on even well established brands like Van Nicholas.

If you are going all out on Ti I would be tempted to look at Burls. That way you get something custom. They said Enigma have a better looking logo ;)

Kinesis crack too. Realistically a Triton/Burls is probably the best shout.

Never thought about Triton, I wonder if @gabes would have anything to say?

He's been back for more, so one assumes he's very happy with his.

Triton every time. You won't find better welding anywhere, and the whole process is very rewarding, Dmitry is a great bloke to deal with and fun too. The wait could be quite long, and I know the prices are higher these days, plus my last frame was partially sponsorship, so I didn't pay full whack.

Triton also now does a fusion pass weld, followed by a tig weld pass, super strong, super clean.

I've had 3, and would happily get them to build me a cross/road frame in the future too.

Also, My CX bike is kinesis, aluminum, but I like the brand, and design is good. Might be worth a look at their Ti offerings.

Aaaaaand maybe 1x10!?

I really trump 1x10! had my Surly set up like that for 6 months or so and no issues. Would be a little concerned on longer and more hilly rides though, for a 600km+ audax you might want a larger range. I have 38t at the front and 11-30t a the back and did cambridge-brighton-london over christmas no worries with minimal touring gear. On my new bike I am going double (compact) with a 11-28t, was toying with the Sram CX1 as I have ridden a couple bikes with it on and the range feels nice, also its a nice set up with the hydro brakes combined with the shifters..only issues are if something goes wrong on a long tour and that it only comes in 1x11.

@lightbluejosh what's the new bike?

Still cracking value vs an Enigma, which I really do think are very, very expensive.

In the bike for life thing, if the bike is still in the same shape in 20 years does that mean that you will also?

Btw my iPhone has decided to change on for in, I find this annoying.

Presumably going for a more audax-y geometry would make it more future-self-proof? As long as it's comfortable to ride over distance, you can tweak the saddle and stem to take into account reduced flexibility in later years.

Ant Man over the holidays answered all questions titanium.

Maybe. I think people should build the bike they want to ride now, without compromises- and if that bike isn't what they want in five years then so be it.

My Criterium is lovely- a thing of beauty. It's also 26 years old and representative of thinking and technology from 20 years ago (Kleins were always ahead of their time).

Change is constant, take the best of today and accept it as that- dont make decisions based on a 20 year planning horizon that may not do you any favours.

There's also this. Not sure if it meets your geo criteria though.

custom one Fin's building me. Audax style with discs and front rack...will tell you more next weekend

Think I read about this. Instinctively it's a no, wheelbase is nutty.

Boom! Got a Roberts that needs some attention from him.

Hopefully in better shape, I've let it slip recently.

That was pretty much my thinking I think.

So I've been thinking about this bike before I go to sleep and as soon as I wake for a couple of weeks and am wondering if I'm spunking too much money on it, especially with a young family. I've set up an ebay search for second hand Ti, perhaps with new carbon forks. What a flake. Hopefully going to visit Enigma and maybe Fatbirds to see what's up though. I think I'll know what to do when it happens. It's funny 'cause I'm generally all about the second hand.

Yeah, I take your point. But having gone from being in pretty good shape to being in very bad shape as the result of having my knee rebuilt over a two-year period following an incident with a car, I was quite glad I bought an audax bike rather than a racer, as with a very aggressive geo I would have struggled to get back in the saddle so quickly given the ensuing general deterioration in flexibility.