Will ti frames be too bendy for saddlebag?

Still can't settle on which new bike, now thinking of really upping the budget and going from surly steamer build to a van Nichols chinook.

But, in the past I've been told that ti frames are whippy.

Would I have any issues having a full carradice camper long flap with expedition support on the back?

I'm interested to know why you'd go for a pretty thoroughbred race bike when you intend to sling a heavy load off the back?

For the price of Chinook you could possible get a Reynolds 953 frame built to your own spec but with the geometry dialed to take a heavy load too, with the addition of discreet bosses for a rack if you wish to tour it.

I've ridden ti frames and not found them too whippy, even at my size frames (64cm +). I'd put them on a par with outsized steel tubing. Not as rigid as aluminium, but I'm not a great fan of ally frames.

A road frame made from any material will not be designed with heavy load in mind. It will have tubes dimensioned to give the best possible ride for a rider in a certain weight range. Thats not to say it wont work, The extra weight is unklikely to push your total weight outside the design spec. But if you're looking to invest so much in this bike. You want the right tool for the job.

A touring/audax frame might well be built to the same stiffness/strength as a road frame. But the important difference will be that the geometry is more suited to loaded cycling. Seems mad to me to buy a flash Ti frame that handle poorly because it wasnt designed to be ridden back heavy.

Look at something like this....

http://www.fatbirds.co.uk/5911/products/van-nicholas-yukon-road-audax-frame-with-free-fork-and-headset.aspx

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s21p2573&z=3096

http://www.fatbirds.co.uk/26117/products/lynskey-sportive-ultegra-titanium-audax-bike.aspx

http://www.burls.co.uk/audax.php

Have you looked at Enigma?

I run a bob yak trailer + small ortliebs on my enigma etape

#lastbikeIwouldsell

Why on earth does no-one paint titanium?

They^ all look so dull.

I had a ti frame and they do look much better in the 'flesh'. The metal has a lovely lustre. I believe Serrotta paint their ti frames.

I'm a bit meh about it. Raw brushed metal is not a finish for a bike frame, in my eyes. I like flat paint, I like sparkle, I like flamboyant and metallic. What about that brilliant chromed with semi-opaque coloured lacquer on top, BQ has a red Quinn like this? GORGEOUS. Brushed ti just looks 'deconstructed' to me. Meh. Actually, coloured lacquer on top if ti might be nice!

I think I'd seen a partially painted Serotta, which makes sense to me. Leave the ends where it's more likely to get chipped.

Mine combines brushed and bead blast. Looks awesome. Plenty of folk paint them though. I've seen some nice Lynskeys with just the drop-outs, and name left bare Ti. Looked nice.

I guess most folk only ever own one Ti frame, and want the full experiance and look of Ti. I'll admitt to that one myself. Kinda like when carbon was uber flash, and everything was cosmetic weave with clearcoat. You dont see many clear coated carbon frames now its a far less exclusive material.

Yeah sorry I should of been more precise....

It's the one on the fatbirds website...the road going flat bar one with alloy forks.

Why on earth does no-one paint titanium?

Because you don't need to. Paint is primarily for protection of the material underneath.

Why on earth does no-one paint titanium...?

AndyP answered that very question 3 years ago.

What's the point? It doesn't corrode and is hard enough to resist scratching so most people leave it bare. Paint on titanium suffers from the same problems as paint on any other material, i.e. it'll chip or scratch over time.

Some ti vendors do paint frames, i.e. Independent Fabrication, Seven, De Rosa (they used to at least).