Burls Ti Road

While I'm still (just about) young enough to entertain ideas of going quicker on a bicycle, I thought I'd finally pull the trigger on a custom road bike. All the bikes I own are steel, and I'm a bit ti-curious, so I plumped for Titanium. And the only place to get one without resorting to black market organ trading is from Mr Burls.

I had a fit with the Bike Whisperer a couple of years ago, so started with a return visit to make sure all was still good and to get my contact points mapped out. After Scherrit produced a BikeCAD for me, Justin came up with the final version.

From this:

To this:

http://www.lfgss.com/picture.php?albumid=1323&pictureid=16991

(long headtube is long)

Contact points are in exactly the same place, which is nice.

I have these to go on it

http://www.lfgss.com/picture.php?albumid=1776&pictureid=16885

And then in the summer, I'll get to ride it up some mountains.

Wow that's a nice collection of parts! What bars are they? Do they have a flat top?

3T Ergonovas - they've got a flattish top on them

Lovely.

Is it Force 22?

Yep! Picked it up when merlin had a good deal on

21 more gears than the Mercian then! A pile of fresh bits waiting for a frame must be the most frustrating thing. I remember trying to create a similar photo with some sram red and force bits a few years ago. The effect was scuppered by the hideous sofa in the flat I was renting...

This should be lovely!

I've certainly learnt patience, have had the group for a few months now, and it'll be a couple more until it's ready. Today's sunny weather has made me a little more impatient though!

Ti + Custom requires patience squared. Will be worth it though.

This is going to be lush, how long is the build time?

6 weeks lead on the frame apparently, but I'm setting no deadlines. As long as it's ready for the summer I'll be happy

Bike whisperer, Titanium, force, enve... damn, things are definitely being done right here!

Look forward to seeing this one together. Should be a winner and just in time for the epic summer we're gonna have, right?

It looks like it'll fit me perfectly. Very kind of you.

Swap it for your LOOK, yah?

Hmmmno.

While I'm still (just about) young enough to entertain ideas of going quicker on a bicycle

Then why Ti? Titanium frames are for old people who have given up.

It's either Ti or Steel if I want custom. And I have plenty of the latter.

Nothing about your geometry points to a need for custom. You could have a CAAD and be riding faster this weekend, or you can wait for months for something not quite as good :-)

We need to factor in my dislike of spacers and total snobbishness w.r.t. OTPs as well.

Just buy a CAAD10 as well. Winter / Spring bike. Problem solved ;)

Well it works for Eyebrows.

My winter bike is a CAAD5. Perfect for the job.
(in fact if I'm being honest- I could probably just have this one bike, as it serves as my commuter, is light enough to race on, and is comfy enough for long rides.)
Its also good on trails, through mud, and in a variety of other situations it was never intended for...
Best buy I've ever made.

I could probably just have this one bike.

That's not very 'on here' though is it?

LFGSS is all about the building/buying/selling/splitting/dibsing.

This will be awesome.

I share your same dislike having too much spacer (thought it's not hard to find a frame with the right stack to reduced it), and the custom gonna feel good to ride mentally.

the custom gonna feel good to ride mentally.

I ride all my bikes mentally, the more mental my riding the better they feel.

mental sod.