Carbon Carbon Carbon (Page 2)

My initial disclaimer is I ride Ti and decided on this material after MUCH thought (similar to what you're doing now).

I chose Ti over Carbon for 3 reasons:

(1) the feel of Carbon is a dead wood feel...stiff but not springy...if that makes sense

(2) Ti is bomb proof as you can get with a bike; doesn't rust and for all intents and purposes...indestructable

(3) carbon doesn't stretch hardly at all so when it gives...that's it.  I tend to bang my bike around, place bikes on top of it in a car, it falls over sometimes when leaning on a wall, etc. and the last thing I wanted it to spend that kind of dough on a bike I have to walk on eggshells with (not really...but you get my point)

Ti on the otherhand is amazing compared to the carbon bikes I test rode.  As a frame of reference.  I was coming from an aluminum Cannondale R300 and an all-aluminum QR Tequilo.  While you sacrifice a bit of weight going Ti vs Carbon...I don't have a sponsor that can give me a new frame if I crash on mine.  I wanted as best of a "lifetime guarantee" bike that I could with frame material and not worry about how I handled it and if I cracked it in a wreck, etc.

After about 5,000 miles of riding on my Ti frame (QR Tiphoon) I simply love it.  It's not "soft" when mashing the peddles in a sprint like people suggested it might be.  It's as responsive as my old Tequilo was but significantly dampens the road vibrations without the dead wood feel.

Oh....be sure to find out where they make their frames.  If the company doesn't answer you or avoids the question, they are made by one of the 3 carbon frame manufacturers in Asia that make probabaly 90% of the carbon bike frames in the US market.  Kestrel is one of the companies that gets them there.  Aegis is one that doesn't.

Why does this matter....well that's for another thread.

While Ti is SIGNIFICANTLY more expense material than carbon...I opted for it due to the fact that there is only a SLIGHT weight differential but you gain bombproofness (is that a word?  ) that, for me, offset this weight differential.

Trust me, once you load down your bike with water bottles, aero bottles, air cartridges, air chucks, spare tubes, etc. the 450g to 700g weight difference isn't much.

X2

Well we are on the subject of Carbon... and I am going to be doing a lot of research on this over the course of the next few months... So spill it now! LOL

I was wondering when you were going to pop in on this thread Bear..

 Who makes TI Frames? I know QR does...who else?

Litespeed, Merlin, Moots, Airborne (now Flyte in the US) to name a few biggies, off-brands like Douglas (sold by Colorado Cyclist), and custom-manufacturers like Seven and Serotta.

Steve makes a great point about weight. I get to see at many races, athletes with VERY expensive light bikes, aero wheels and even aero helmets with 2 water bottles on the frame and/or bottle cages on the seat post plus and aero bottle on the bars, plus SEVERAL gels taped to the frame and/or a big bento box full with lots of stuff and a big saddle bag with more than a couple of tubes/CO2 plus other stuff! (the worst is when they have the portable air pump taped to their $$$ TT bike)

IOW, all the weight saving or aerodynamics from their $$$ bikes/equipments is lost by poor simple choices…

Nope, Last years Kestrel's are "cheap" by comparison. 

http://www.bloomington.in.us/~bikedoc/specials.htm  $2500 or so.  Granted, that's not cheap, but you know.

I love my Kestrel!

(2) Ti is bomb proof as you can get with a bike; doesn't rust and for all intents and purposes...indestructable

(3) carbon doesn't stretch hardly at all so when it gives...that's it.  I tend to bang my bike around, place bikes on top of it in a car, it falls over sometimes when leaning on a wall, etc. and the last thing I wanted it to spend that kind of dough on a bike I have to walk on eggshells with (not really...but you get my point)

This is what I need.  What a great thread.  I got more out of this thread relating to frame materials.  I am in the initial research stage on my search for the perfect bike for me.  I am going to have to consider Ti just because I am rough with my gear.  My local LBS carries Lightspeed so I am giong to drift on down there for a test ride.

After having owned an aluminum road bike, and later purchasing a carbon fiber bike, I'd say the CF is much better on long rides.  I'd never go back to aluminum.

Not in my experience. I feel the harshness of the Al bike more in my arms and shoulders than I do in my @ss.