CentralCoastCA

@2 Piece which Axiom rack did you get. Thanks for telling about the modifications? Pictures of attachment?? I like your comment, "Rock Solid". Thanks

2 Piece

It is an axiom Streamliner Road DLX. Ill try and get some pics of attachment.

DropBarFan

I see a fair # of Ti bikes on the local path mostly used by commuters & fitness roadies. If Surly made a Ti Trucker I'd snap one up pronto.

veganbikes

A Ti Trucker...mmmmmmmmmm! Would love a Ti Steamroller for sure.

saddlesores

you may have that, if tis your desire.
just have to fork out the loot.
quite a few chinese builders advertising on taobao.
tell 'em what you really want.

this guy advertises custom ti frames starting about $700.
https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm...d=554889710018

geoffs

My wife did have an LHT but as she's petit and the LHT weighs about the same as a boat anchor I had a habanero custom made for her. It's only 2/3 the weight of the LHT and handles everyday use with panniers no problem. It's got a Tubus titanium Fly rear pannier rack.
A 48-32 at the front with a 11-42 at the back will get you up any hill

Tourist in MSN

I am very happy with my Lynskey Backroad.

But, I will be the first to admit that a Titanium loaded touring bike makes little sense and is not very cost effective. Having a Titanium frame knocks maybe two pounds off the weight of the frame, but it still is a bike designed to carry a load. For example, my Backroad frame (not counting the fork) weighs less than the rear wheel with a tire on it because it still needs a set of wheels that are robust enough to handle a touring load. Once loaded down with camping gear, cutting a couple pounds off the frame weight is not really that noticeable.

I am glad I built it up, but I got a fantastic price on the frame. I would not have bought the frame at the manufacturer price.

fantom1 

Looks way too small for you. Maybe just the picture I guess. Cool bike nonetheless.

Where I see the most possibilities for Ti is in racks, but aside from some BG custom ones (drool), I haven't ever seen any.

noglider 

Myth 2: Titanium is Lighter than Steel

Tourist in MSN

Based on top tube length, fit is perfect. It is their size large.

alan s 

I dislike the approach that some take, such as Jan Hiney, who proclaim to know it all, but offer nothing more than their personal opinions. Reading the comments and responses, I get a sense the guy is more interested in winning an argument than actually listening to others who have equally valid opinions. There is no correct opinion.

Marcus_Ti

I always liked the Backroad.

My Carver is OEM'd by Lynskey based on the GR250 but with slider dropouts...yea I didn't "need to" put as much money into it as I did. But it puts a dumb grin on my face whether riding loaded or unloaded or just plain commuting. And with Ti I don't have to worry about rust or paint nicks (good for our rural MMR/gravel roads out here):

CentralCoastCA

I have a Motobecane Century Pro Ti and am putting on my old Blackburn rack. I have it on but need the attachment to the frame under the seat. You have yours fixed to the fender mount; right? Anyone know of the attachments that go to the other two frame mounts....thanks

CentralCoastCA

I have a Motobecane Century Pro Ti and am putting on my old Blackburn rack. I have it on but need the attachment to the frame under the seat. You have yours fixed to the fender mount; right? Anyone know of the attachments that go to the other two frame mounts....thanks

Marcus_Ti

Your best bet with that old Blackburn rack is to contact Blackburn as ask them WTF you're supposed to do to attach it. You're missing parts. I suspect you need a similar style of arms as my front rack. Blackburn did something whacky non-standard and inconvenient.

saddlesores

something doesn't look quite right.....there should be some sort of mounting
point on the rack for the bars or sliders or whatever was used.

also......the arms at the top of the strut nearest the frame are close together,
while the center strut arms are even with the sides of the platform/top.

i'm thinking normally....struts are at the outer edges of the rack platform
except for the end struts away from the bike frame. not sure if that is
functional or just aesthetics.

and where is the lip/bend upwards that blackburn usually puts on the end
of the rack nearest the frame?

can you provide a photo of the other end of the rack?

sure looks like you might have a front rack mounted backwards.

DropBarFan

I've seriously considered a Habanero, costs more than ordering direct from China but price seems pretty fair considering they take care of a lot of the design etc problems. I'm avg height but light body weight so my Trucker is sturdier & heavier than I need. I like that Habanero offers S&S coupler option.

DropBarFan

Not very cost effective but OTOH trad tourers don't have many options to cut weight, apart from spartan UL packing. A good Ti frame can last for decades, right? So over time it might be worth it. & a lot of folks say that with the camping luggage, extra weight of Trucker or other heavy steel frames is only a small proportion. But when I'm climbing on loaded bike is when any weight saving could really help.

CentralCoastCA

@Marcus_Ti
What is the rear rack on this? Thanks

Marcus_Ti

Tubus Cosmo, in stainless steel

Tourist in MSN

A friend of mine is quite happy with his Habenaro. Not a very good photo, but I did post a photo of it on page one of this thread in post number 9 back when this thread started two years ago.

A year ago we did Florida Big Cyprus, Everglades and Florida Keys (pre-Irma). The first photo attached is of his Habenaro on that trip. I do not know where he got a Carbon fork that has the mid fork rack mounts, but he got it and it works for him. My fork on my Backroad (above) is steel.

On the Habenaro, with no front panniers he had his rear panniers as far forward as he can get them and still have heel clearance, when he had more heel clearance, he had some shimmy and poor handling. That is why the photo below has front panniers but the photo I posted two years ago did not. After that first long trip with it he decided he needed to spread the weight across the bike better.

I do not know what the deal is with Lynskey, but they occasionally post bike frames on Ebay that are new at a substantial discount. They also carry full warranty. That is where I got my Backroad frame. If you are very patient and know what model and size you would want, it might become available. Or it might not, but there is no way to predict. But if you are patient and interested in a Lynskey, figure out what model(s) you are interested in and the size. Then keep an eye on Ebay.

I was not watching to buy a Backroad when suddenly one showed up in my size on Ebay. I bid higher than other bidders but still got a great price. I think my total cost (which includes new SP dynohub and new Luxos U for light and charging) was less than the manufacturer price for just the frame. Some of teh parts I put on it were over 10 years old and used on a different bike, some parts I bought used (1990s vintage rear XT derailleur), but a lot of the parts were new. And I did almost all the work, the only labor charge was to install the headset at a bike shop.

Some Titanium frames have thick chainstays that can interfere with a triple. If you want a triple, consider that. The second photo below is of my Backroad. The drive side chainstay was designed so that there was plenty of room for a triple on the Backroad, but that is not common to all Lynskeys.

Marcus_Ti

Another afordable option is Carver: Carver Bikes - It's the Ride.

Although his stocks frame sets really don't have the low BB serious tourists want...so a custom job might be needed. My Gravel Grinder frame is one of his, with the slider dropouts set to 44.5mm


ATM there are 3 aftermarket carbon forks with engineered rack points...with discs:

Niner's which is what I use: NINER RDO GRAVEL FORK

Fyxation: https://www.fyxation.com/products/ca...adventure-fork

Rodeo Labs: Rodeo Spork Bicycle Fork. A carbon fiber adventure bike fork.Rodeo Adventure Labs, LLC

AFAIK only the Rodeo and Niner are engineered to CX conditions (rated for 6" drops). Specialized has a carbon fork for their Diverge line with rack points, but AFAIK it isn't available retail separately. OFC the catch with CX/MTBN rated carbon forks is they aren't that light--like 600 grams.

With the Niner, the caveat is you need a 3rd part bolt-head thru-axle as the stock maxle doesn't work with pannier racks.

jspurlin

What fork are you using?

Tourist in MSN

Whom are you asking?

jspurlin

That was intended for you. I'm thinking of getting a
Backroad and I'm not sure what fork to buy. Thanks.