mtalinm

I'm looking to get a titanium frame with disc brakes and clearance for studded tires. Currently considering three paths:

Lynskey, either their Cooper CX or Sportive Disc (though the latter maxes clearance at 28).
+ ships TODAY because you buy off the rack
+ cheaper (relatively speaking)
- not sure how well it will fit...I can send them the output of my BG Fit, would that work?

Seven, either a Mudhoney or Expat
+ ships in four weeks, not too bad
+ complete custom, probably good for me as I'm chubby and could use thicker tubing. plus, their retailer is the shop where I got my current road bike fitted so they know me
- pricey vs. Lynskey

Firefly (recent offshoot of Independent Fabrication)
+ complete custom, work directly with the framebuilder as they are just a couple miles from where I live/work
- probably even pricier than Seven
- half a year lead time :-(

no need trying to talk me out of Ti. any thoughts on the above?

arcticbiker

Wow, those are all appear to be good choices (although I'm not familiar with Firefly). Whatever you select, I'm jealous!

ruindd

I had a mudhoney (until it was stolen), it was a phenomenal bike. It was incredible to ride. I hate to say it, but I liked it more than my Tarmac that replaced it.

marqueemoon

I dunno. To me "studded tires" says "bike I will dump on a semi-regular basis". I wouldn't personally spend a bunch of money.

Now a Firefly built for 28s and fenders? Sign me up for one of those.

Salsa Vaya Ti or Warbird Ti are probably your best options in my opinion.

Habenero and bead blast off the gross logos? They will do custom geometry for an upcharge. The only potential downside is if they can't do a tapered or 44mm head tube. Not many non-tapered disc cross forks out there that are worth a damn these days.

I like these too. Not fender friendly since it takes a 26" MTB fork, and still the same issue with not playing nice with tapered forks, but I like the concept a lot. I've seen a few built up with drop bars and they looked pretty sweet. You may want to look into the bottom bracket width though. Being a modern mountain frame it may have a 73mm shell which would stick you with MTB cranks and the q factor associated with them.

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/M...?ModelID=50055

If you must do custom I would add Dean and DeSalvo to the list.

Ride-Fly

I recently ordered the Lynskey Cooper. I didn't even consider any other builder because of how good a deal the Cooper was. I opted to get S&S couplers. I got the industrial mill finish, carbon disc fork, and Lynskey Ti seatpost. The total price was less than that of the Seven. can't wait to get it!

marqueemoon

The Warbird Ti is $2499 for the frameset which includes the (about $550 retail) ENVE fork. Last I heard Salsa frames were still built by Lynskey, so if that's still the case it's a pretty comparable deal if you want the fancy ENVE fork.

But yeah. If you want stuff like couplers it makes sense to go custom.

MegaTom

Lynskey, but I'm far from unbiased.

halfspeed

Carver custom. Cheap, works for me. You have to know EXACTLY what you want, though. https://www.carverbikes.com/

marqueemoon

This is interesting.

Filing it away for future reference. I think I know someone who could do the design work for the idea I have (and build the steel fork)

mtalinm

it's a commuter, and I like to ride when it's icy. thus the studs. but yeah, maybe keep another bike for that and stick with 28 clearance. that brings the Lynskey Sportive Disc into the picture.

from what I can tell the Vaytanium isn't much cheaper than a Lynskey. I'll probably go that way

eofelis 

I just got a Vaytanium, a tiny 50cm one. It was 30% off at Competitive Cyclist, but I think they are out of them now. I've only got about 10 minutes of riding on it so far though. Took it for a spin around the block with the stock parts. Now it's in the bike stand getting most of the parts off my LHT put on it. Hope to be riding it regularly this weekend.

PhotoJoe 

No experience with other brands, but I love my Lynskey R230. ZERO regrets in buying it and a great group of people to deal with. Especially around this time of year, it's worth calling them and talking. Can't hurt to talk, can it?

Abu Jack

I looked at Lynskey ended up getting a Motobecane Phantom Team Ti. I'm very happy with it. I have raced it all season and had no problems. Handles great and is responsive. I did upgrade the wheels to tubulars. I just couldn't justify the additional 1k+ for the Lynskey. It didn't come with disk brakes but is set up for them. If cost is an issue check it out.

giantdefy

Get a lynskey, ships the soonest, fantastic workmanship, and the most inexpensive of the bunch. Allows you to get a better groupo. They are all very good brands, and I seriously doubt you would notice a difference in quality. If you dont care about price and time, I would look at geometry and ride characteristics based on how they manipulated the tubes.

mtalinm

great point. and, come to think of it, the extra performance of a custom frame is probably wasted on me (I'm hardly a pro or even cat 6).

thanks all for the feedback. do they have slow-season sales btw?

speedemon

When I shopped for my 2nd titanium bike upgrading from my Litespeed, I looked towards the top of the echelon. I looked at Eriksen, IF, Lynskey, Moots, Serotta, Seven, and Spectrum, I didn't look at Baum nor Crisp they're harder to find since they're out of the country. I have taken a serious hard look at the Lynskey as they're are always talked about and as so many here on the forum have praised them. But overall after doing over six months of extent research I ended up choosing a Seven. I choose the Seven based on the workmanship, fit and finish quality which is awsome, overall value and availability of quality dealer network. Aside from that they have all the accolades that goes along with that.

c0lnago

I love Ti + CX...great combo...I'd probably go FF for more custom. Give some consideration to internal routing in case you run eshifting.

My Moots has been perfect for cx...I went with Di2 + KEdge rear der + BB7, flawless.

Dfarlow

Also biased (Firefly) even though mine is not CX w/disc brakes, but 6 month lead time is worth the wait. Could be worse, Crisp is a one year wait.

mtalinm

finally got some pricing. looks like I can get a Lynskey Cooper with couplers for the same price as a Seven without couplers. Firefly is even more, understandably.

madfx

Lynskey for me.

Ride-Fly

DYPTT???

Mine is scheduled to ship ~ 07Feb13. I am looking forward to getting this badboy.

mtalinm

no idea what you mean by this.

Ride-Fly

Did You Pull The Tiger???

mtalinm

ah, not yet. going to see a Lynskey at the closest local dealer (2 hours away). but leaning strongly toward a Seven given there's a local dealer who knows me well