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

This. The bike will inevitably come to you in my experience.

I haven't gotten my bike from Burls yet, but the experience so far has been quite good as is the value: a bit less than Triton at least at base and the bikes are also made by experienced Ti welders in Russia. (Value could change a bit depending on whether Triton include certain options like canti studs or 44mm headtube, etc. in base).

There is also XACD, these frames aren't much more than used Ti, but I'm not sure they'll last a lifetime. Custom v. used--it may come down to how unusual you want your bike to be. If you can find a standard model you like, it's difficult to justify the extra cash....

Cam, I bought a couple second hand Ti bikes on eBay to end up with the 2007 Litespeed that I use now (frame/fork of one bike, groupset from another). You regularly get bargains and most people take care of expensive bikes so you're less likely to buy a lemon.

Best decision I ever made: I got an excellent bike for cheaps that should last me ~20 years. Do some research into a the TiBikes of the past and you should find something with the geometry you like... I found a few old manuals online that gave the geometry of various frames.

The only drawback for me was the lack of disc-equipped bargains, this might be a deal breaker for you?

Seen this?

http://www.lfgss.com/conversations/280032/

Are you anywhere near Euston, in which case you can drop me a line and come and have a look at my burls ti.

I have not read the whole thread, but my points would be

1. as per usual buy what you lust after
   
2. tbh I am pretty underwhelmed with my ti bike and its NOT a lot lighter than an equivalent steel (say a vaya) in the same spec
   
3. Canyon delivery can be suspect given the information on the net
   
4. Burls guarantee is only 5 years.
   

There is also XACD

My 2p is they're a false economy. If you want to save money, buy a PX or an Allez. Ti is about enjoying your 40s and fulfilling your dreams.

Was holding out to have a look at Enigma and Kinesis at the docklands cycle show but just stumbled on an XL pickenflick frame for £500. Geo is probably a bit aggressive but the price is favourable. Perhaps it could be a good interim solution.

Ends in an hour though...

GO!

Or roll a dice.

i've just sold my kinesis tripster and kept my pickenflick - much prefer the geometry of it..

That's interesting, what terrain or type of riding do you usually use them for?

Think i'm going to push the button on the Pickenflick, it's not quite right but it's pretty much a grand less than the alternatives.

And while I'm making questionable decisions, I may stick a pair of these on them.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Good-Price-Cyclo-Cross-Bike-Carbon-Fork-Chinese-700C-Disc-Brake-Thru-Axle-1PCS-/281900760798

I looked into a pickenflick - Vermon barker cycles near derby can add mudguard mounts on ti frames (I think £45pp), I think they're some of the only people in the uk, and I'm sure they could do rack mounts too

Jesus Christ, how do you deal with wet feet?

Eh?

Looks like an early version of a display model but he's knocked £70 off so I don't think I'll find something as good value as that.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/litespeed/titanium-cx-frame-2014-ec115097#reviews

reduced from £1655 to £665

That mudguard, you must have been drying your shoes every time it rain.

I got Vernon to add canti studs to a ti frame. For £50 he did an excellent job.

commuting via road/canal towpaths/bridleways/farm roads etc. I lied I actually have two, one set up with 2x11 ultegra hydraulic and one with cx1. I've bought a Moots to replace them both, probably won't be any better but I've always wanted one

@JonoMarshall Thanks for the advice Jon, I think discs really are a deal breaker as I can get quite a lick on going downhill when fully loaded. It's definitely limited my options though.

@Lieven_De_Vlaminck Cheers for the link but they're all a bit small. Also who has that many nice rides sitting spare in their garage?

@user48109 Thanks for the offer, I spoke to Justin Burls a couple of weeks back, really nice guy. It's a possibility for the future but I think for now I'm going to have to stick to a bit of a budget.

@Tenderloin That's a great deal, I didn't even think about looking at Evans, if they had an XL I'd be really tempted.

@fredtc @andyp It's good to know about Vernon Barker being able to work with Ti and his prices seem quite reasonable.

So as it stands I'm just waiting for my confirmed offer on the Pickenflick to go through. It should be fine geo wise, the shorter tt shouldn't be a problem as I don't get on with being too stretched out. I'm a bit concerned though that I'll need a load of steerer spacers to get a comfortably high touring position. I won't be using rear panniers so the chainstay length should be ok and these plus some Macgyver shit should fix the rear mudguard sufficiently.

The next big question will be thru-axle carbon forks, no-one's mentioned the Chinese carbon ebay forks. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Good-Price-Cyclo-Cross-Bike-Carbon-Fork-Chinese-700C-Disc-Brake-Thru-Axle-1PCS-/281900760798

Along side my concerns about them being poor quality is that the seller has a 0 user rating, but they're £81 posted so... These TRP forks would probably be the alternative but they're £350.

I'll go to the bike show to see if that throws up any other ideas and I've also messaged BigxTop about luggage. I'm still thinking about trying to tour on 1x11, most of my bikes have some knackered gears and I'm also a bit of a spinner so hopefully it can work out.

This bike should see me through a few years when I'll do a proper splurge for my 40th. There should be some interesting developments in the all road market by then (or everyone will have seen through the hype and have moved on to the next thing).

Peace.

Aliexpress for forks. The TRP forks are nice but they will be similar price to your frame.

Never heard of AliExpress, thanks for the tip. Just checked it out and they look identical to the ones on UK ebay (which I'd prefer to go through as I guess you get a paypal guarantee thing). Will investigate further.

I'm guessing I should be pretty safe with the dimensions of a CX fork? (Steerer taper, A-C etc). Also what's the compatibility with headsets? They're not internal are they?

I got a really good deal on an Enigma Etape as a full bike second hand, a bit of juggling with parts since to be able to afford it so safe to say I'd not have it otherwise as I'm skint 99% of the year. It's a lovely frame, very stiff and lots of rack mounts and I think the clearance is pretty decent if you're wanting to run guards and 28c for touring, if you want to run 42c a la Scoblesque then you might struggle of course.

I guess when you get a 'do it all' bike you inevitably end up compromising on some things though-the wheelbase and the ti dampens a lot of the feeling I'd get out of my much sportier steel Roberts even so it can feel a bit ho-hum at times. That said, if I was riding my Roberts now I'd have fucking annoying clip on mudguards rubbing away, one bottle mount and have to worry about cleaning it down every ride to prevent rust. My main problem with it is that it's kind of made my tourer and cross bike redundant and I don't know how I feel about that!

Last Ti bike I had was a Sabbath Silk and that was lovely-really responsive and lively with sportier compact geo and shorter head tube, but alas I hit a monetary speed bump and it got punted, which I guess is the main challenge to owning any Ti bauble, it's like riding a payday loan.

Anyway, I'd go second hand if the price is already troubling you-the market for used Ti is pretty much a buyers one simply because they don't corrode or wear the same way other frames do and there's a lot of them around now.