xizangstan

I'm still riding and loving my GT Xizang, a titanium-framed hardtail mountain bike, that I bought new back in 1995. She was made in the USA (Longmont, Colorado I believe).

I'm super happy with her, and hear stories all the time about what a great bike the Xizangs were. So I'm wondering: are there any exceptions to the general rule that titanium bikes, though more expensive, are always better bikes? Did someone screw up and sell a really crummy titanium bicycle? If so, WHO???

LarDasse74

No material inherently makes a 'better' bike. Ti is more difficult to weld and make bikes out of that Al or Fe, so perhaps the builders are more careful with construction or QC and so real crapola bikes are rare.

I think there may have been quite a few ti bikes that were too damn light and broke. Or were flexy like wet noodles. There were a few companies that made full suspension bikes out of ti and that may not have been the best application.

I have a 'budget' ti frame made in Russia. I worked for the company that was importing them and I saw only one failure over the years (out of hundreds of ti bikes sold).

I don't know of any real lemons, though.

Bob Ross

I think there's a huge thread right here on BF about Pride Cycles...not suggesting that company's work is always a "disaster" but the OP certainly needed FEMA after their particular experience.

dcrowell

I once heard a tale of a custom framebuilder building a very expensive recumbent out of Ti, and messed it up. It was shipped in its messed up state. The buyer sent it back multiple times but never got it right.

I don't remember the details, but the important part is that it had nothing to do with it being titanium, and everything to do with a poor job by the framebuilder.

Bruzer

One of the main reason for me going with my ti mountain bike was durability. I managed to tear the down tube while doing some hard riding in Colorado. The company took the frame back and fixed the problem without any hesitation. The frame was out of my hands for a few months while they re-welded the bike. I no longer hold any illusions that ti bikes are "stronger or more durable" but they can be repaired.

fietsbob

Teledyne's were using too pure a Ti for Tubes , some 30 years ago..
the alloys have improved since.

tadawdy

Yikes! I read the entire thread on roadbikereview, and I don't know if I'd ride one of those if you gave it to me. The company is now defunct, I believe, and with good reason.

david58

Funny part of that is that it is a former Teledyne company that developed and makes the 325 alloy tubing today.