Originally Posted by
Banzai
Really? I kind of feel like Ti is pretty dead. Fewer offerings on the market, and not a lot of widespread “bike lust” for it.
I personally know more people with bike lust for a new steel roadie than for Ti.
I meant (and should have been clearer) Ti in the pre-carbon era.
I have bought and sold a LOT (some 200) of high end pre-carbon road bikes and in my experience a recreational rider will pay a hefty premium (over siimilar quality steel) for Ti. If I could do my bike dealing adventure all over again (which I won't), I have concluded that the easiest sales were A) anything Colnago and B) virtually anything Ti. I am not saying these buyers were rational. It always annoyed me that without a well known brand name, a frame was virtually unsaleable. so a hand crafted steel Reynolds 753 frame by a regional artisan builder in NE France for instance, is worth almost nothing in North America.
agreed though that the draw of Titanium it might be more based on sex appeal, show and exclusivity. LIke wearing a Rolex instead of a Timex.