Originally Posted by
velopig
My over the top comment was a poke at those that still assign these mythical qualities to Titanium as a frame material. For the record, I find some beautiful and most likely one day I will purchase one. Carbon, Steel and Aluminium all produce great framesets and can be tuned to deliver the type of ride one looks for. Typical dig at carbon is that it fails spontaneously and is not reliable however 90%+ of people who ride titanium use carbon forks and other critical components. If someone built a sub 750 gram titanium bike I am sure its reliability and rideability would encounter a problem as well. This ongoing justification for paying a premium for titanium because it's superior to all other materials is a bit much for me.
I own a Rolex and like the watch just because. I would like a Titanium bike for the same reason (plus they don't show scratches as readily).
there is the myth that carbon spontaneously fails randomly on many bikes which simply isnt true but my issue with carbon is pre catastrophic failure warning, which is a lot less definitive and easy to detect on carbon than metal bikes. Also there is no denying carbon just isnt as crash resilient as metal bikes. Hey if you are a carbon guy or race all the more power to you. Honestly Ti loyalists can come off as crazy but my only suggestion is to ride one. Either it totally changes your perspective or you will stand by carbon. Granted the biggest issue for me is still price for Ti. I'd takes a SWorks any day over a $7k+ Moots but at that price range every gram matters and having a SWorks is probably more luxurious and Rolex like than anything.
Also yes a lot of Ti bikes use carbon forks but like someone stated repkacing or repairing just a fork is more cost effective than if it was made out of Ti. Also most carbon forms break due to user area like slamming the headset or over tightening more than anything