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• #103
^^^ According to Van Nicholas:
Because of titanium's strength and long fatigue life, it is not necessary to use a replaceable derailleur hanger. The general consumer has been educated by manufacturers of aluminum bikes/frames that this is necessary, and it is, for aluminum! Aluminum fatigues 5 times faster than steel. If you were to bend an aluminum hanger, you would not be able to bend it back without losing a significant amount of strength in that area, hence, the replaceable hanger. The force required to bend a 7mm titanium hanger is enormous. Van Nicholas and a number of other titanium manufacturers use CP (Commercially Pure) Titanium for dropouts because of its ability to be repaired (bent back into place) using shop tools. I personally have never seen a titanium frame that has encountered this problem. In addition, component manufacturers (Shimano, SRAM) have engineered a number of their products with aluminum mounting bolts so that the bolt will actually break off before damage is done to the frame.
Should bend back.
But:
Our warranty like any other bicycle company, is against manufacturer defects in materials or construction. If your derailleur hanger was bent due to a semi running over your bike, the resulting damage is not covered by the warranty. If on the other hand, a defect in materials or workmanship is apparent in the frame, then we would replace the frame with a new one without question.
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• #104
FWIW Spin frames are made in China and all their 'products' are simply rebadged OEM stuff.
I have three titanium frames - 2 custom builds from XACD, the first is 6 years old, takes a hammering in it's current guise as a SSCX. I recently had ti Breakaway CX clone built as well as ordering 2 other custom builds for friends. Using a BB90 shell gives plenty chainstay width and drivetrain stiffness. It's light and fast enough for fast club rides and yet easily handled 5 hours offroad last weekend fitted with a pair of 40mm studded snow tyres.
Another Chinese option is Titan Cycles.
Apart from racing (I have 2 carbon bikes) IME titanium is the best all-round bike frame material and currently plotting my next design.
Finally, somebody mentioned above that Indy Fab make Moots - that is so wrong -
• #105
I've gone for a separate hanger on my Ti order. Seemed worth upgrading to paragon adjustables. Partly because I wanted the hanger separate.
I plan to beat the shite out of this frame off-road though.
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• #106
Behind the scenes @ Litespeed/ABG...
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/Search/Search.aspx?EventId=133128595&EditorialProduct=News#
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• #107
my vote is indy fab (they make moots) or lynksy (they made litespeed)
Sorry! Indy fab do not make Moots! and IMHO if I had the budget there are builders in Ti which have been discussed in this thread I would consider before either of these two ..
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• #108
nope, only steel and some custom Ti bikes are made in UK. Most of the stock geo bikes are made in Taiwan.
Off the peg Esprit is made in the UK (as per Mark R telecon this week)
if you have got their details get the frame written off and get a new one
(possibly then ask a good mechanic to realign your mech hanger - though this could break it off, there is a special tool for this purpose to ensure it is correctly aligned)