jayhawkpanic

Should I trade my carbon 2018 Salsa Warbird with sram apex for a titanium 2015 warbird with ultegra? I知 thinking yes but what say you?

mstateglfr 

If I wanted ultegra and titanium, then maybe.
If I wanted carbon and sram, then maybe not.

Glad I could help.***

Bryan C. 

No, I would not.

CliffordK

Is there a difference in weight?

It may well depend on how you are riding the bike. So, touring, bike packing, etc... I'd probably lean towards the Titanium.

Racing & competition... probably lean towards the Carbon.

If it was me, I'd be most happy to purchase a bare frame and configure as desired. Hydraulic?

ridelikeaturtle

I wouldn't, simply on looks alone.

What makes you think you would want to do this?

Gconan

I think titanium is the better frame material and Ultegra is better than Apex. But how has the 2015 bike been taken care of? How many miles on it?

Marcus_Ti

I'd take the Titanium bike, because it is Ti and not SRAM...then again as my rigs-list shows...I have a thing for the metal.

CliffordK

Looking around, you should be able to find carbon and aluminum bikes, but at least for your Warbird, the Titanium frames are harder to locate.

Pass this one up, and you could have a time finding the next one.

A lot will depend on details like the ultimate condition of both bikes. Do you like your groupset?

Chi_Z

the old ti only has clearance for 38mm, not a gravel bike at all

jayhawkpanic

that痴 really the only thing that is holding me back

i feel like a mid 2010s ti warbird will be a true classic bike one day

tdilf

I would not trade. There are other Ti bikes that I think are better than a four year old Salsa. You can always upgrade the Apex on your carbon rig.

gus6464

Ti Warbird is not really a gravel bike but more of a CX bike. You want a CX bike?

CliffordK

Certain Titanium bikes may have "vintage" appeal in 20 or 30 years.

I do think they'll age better than their Aluminum or Carbon Fiber counterparts. CF Forks?

However, I wouldn't expect earning a fortune on Vintage bikes. I think the used Titanium frames I'm seeing are slowly depreciating, even when similar models are still being offered.

Those of use that have 20+ year old bikes, very few of them are at the price they were sold new. And, if they are, they haven't kept up with inflation.

gus6464

The odds of a modern bike becoming a "classic" is extremely unlikely. If you are wanting to do this trade because you think you going to make some cash in 20 years you going about this the wrong way.

CliffordK

A lot of stuff becomes "classic" or "collectable" in time. Especially if well maintained.

At say 10 to 20 years old, there is a great culling of stuff.

Thinking of cars. Back in the 70's, one might have thought of the 40's and 50's cars as "classics". Oh... HAPPY DAYS!!!

By now, those old 70's cars are the hot thing. My first car, a '76 AMC Hornet Sportabout (station wagon). I was at a classic car show a couple of weeks ago, and an 80's Concorde was there. Similar body, just slightly newer. Oh... those were the days.

20 or 30 years from now, everything we are seeing on the road today will be the future classics. Of course, some will be more remarkable than others.

Same will be true with bicycles. A lot of junk hybrids. But, a few will likely stand out. And, those that may stand out will be the quality bikes just a little off the beaten track.

Marcus_Ti

I'll honestly be surprised if any bike of the last 20-30 years achieves "classic" status. Most of those brands got bought out and evaporated into ignominy.

I fondly remember Klein's fade-paint jobs, and owned a Kestrel Talon. Both of which are gone and not sought after, the later being the first monocoque frame CF bike and was actually a pretty good bike too. Both brands got devoured and no one really cares for either, much, now--certainly nothing approaching retail new value.

I actually still have my 2002 (pre-buyout) Talon in BMW-blue still hanging up. I could not sell it for enough money to justify the PR effort to sell it, so it is wall art.

jayhawkpanic

not trying to make cash in the future. Just mulling trading a really cool bike for another really cool bike with more durable frame material that I could see myself having forever.

thanks for everyone痴 input

shoota 

The Ti Warbird is iconic. I love it.

chas58

The other thing that would hold me back (besides tire clearance) is the comment from Salsa that their V5 Aluminum Warbird is 5% more compliant than their obsolete Titanium Warbird.

Its really an emotional decision - do you want a "classic" slightly outdated Ti bike? Emotionally the answer might be yes. Don't expect it to be a better bike (or even as good). I'm still riding around happily occasionally on bikes I bought in the '90s. Road bike frame geometry hasn't changed much since then (although components have). Gravel bike frames are still evolving.

thehammerdog

Daaa
Yes
Titanium is more better

Hmmm

Same thing

chas58

So, what are you thinking?

Does this help (or hinder?)
https://gearjunkie.com/salsa-warbird-gravel-bike
of course it's 2013 technology - and gravel is still changing fast. It is a classic though
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As for the comment above: of course both gravel and CX bikes today are now designed to work better on gravel than bikes did in those days.

dwmckee

If you want a bike for serious gravel riding stay with Carbon. Ti looks better though and may hold value better, but for ride quality on gravel, Carbon!