Titanium road bikes
 

Just keen to hear what people know about weight limits on titanium road bikes compared to carbon.

Currently ride canyon on the seat post weight limit, and looking at a titanium option down the track

Hope you can help.

Blow the bank account. Buy a Baum Correta.

Lynskey advertises that their Backroad touring frame does not have a weight limit! You might check the websites for the various manufacturers. If you need help with that, post which ones most interest you and someone will probably assist. If you post your weight folks will be able to know if they have relevant personal experience. Also, we have an entire subforum devoted to "Clydes." I predict you will enjoy a Ti bike if you get one!

Isn't it more than just the bike? Aren't there limits on your wheel build and hub selection that likely supersedes any weight limit for a particular frame?

Well I have a very nice Wilier CF bike I bought in 2013. Then in 2017 I bought my Habanero TI and it weighs about 17.8 pounds without pedal and the Wilier is maybe around a pound lighter tops. In any case have not road the Wilier more than maybe 6-7 times since then. The TI just has a better ride and much more quiet. It makes hardly a sound especially with Shimano Ultegra Hubs no clicking too. I just feel a lot better off on the TI it has zero flex but yet is not harsh and to me it is the best of steel ride in a much more powerful frame. Also I am totally against pressfit bottom brackets and buried cables. This bike takes nothing to put in new cables and I don['t see any gain in a CF bike except it might weigh less if you want to go that direction.

And of course there is not weight limit on this TI frame although a given wheelset might have a weight limit. I weight about 169 pounds but I am sure a 300 pounder would have not problem on a good well built sturdy wheelset.

Get a TI and your are done looking.

Leonard Zinn can build you a ti bike that is safe and suitable for your weight (and an excellent bike).

Yes, Zinn's specialty is building bikes for large people. However, there are plenty of off-the-shelf bikes (ti and steel) that can handle very high weights. Even most cf frames effectively have no weight limits. Most good frames are stronger than the wheels and cockpit components attached to them.

Ti bikes are known for their flexibility. If the flexibility is optimized for an average sized person, it might be too flexible for a heavier person. Still rideable, but with more flex than is ideal.

There are a number of custom ti bike builders in Australia. If you're heavier and plan on staying heavier, maybe custom ti bike is worth the cost.

Clyde on a Lynskey
 

I am right around 230 lbs. I have a Lynskey R350 with maybe 10k miles on it. No issues. The bike is wobble free up to 35 MPH peddling as hard as I can with a little help from a good strong tail wind.

As others have mentioned, wheels and some of the other components will be the biggest issue. When I weighed 270 I had a custom wheel set made with 36 spokes, Hope hubs and DT Swiss rims and spokes.

Current wheels are Rolf Echelon and the front has been flawless. I broke a couple spokes on the rear which Rolf fixed and they say I should not have any issues.

I have a carbon seat post and at 230 it is not a problem. I did break one on my MTB by landing off a jump while seated. Not the most fun I have ever had. MTB now has a Thompson alloy post, which is less than 100 grams more than the carbon post.

I'm about the same size. I also have a carbon seat post and bars on my TI (Bikes direct) bike. I also have an aluminum Trek Emonda but the TI bike gets most of the rides. Its a real pleasure to ride. My other components have held up just fine. I have a set of wheels with 20 spokes front and 24 rear. They stay true just fine.

I am a heavy rider and my ti Foundry Chilkoot has held me quite well. I have 32h wheels handbuilt with White Industries T11 hubs, Sapim Force spokes and SecureLock Brass nipples on H+Son Archetypes and my finishing kit is Ritchey Classic seatpost and stem and Zipp Service Course SL-70 Ergo bars and I am running Ultegra Di2 6800. The bike is extremely comfortable and doesn't feel extremely flexy on me.

I also have two titanium mountain bikes that I am building up.

I would love to have one of these.

Unfortunately I am poor.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e0d01c74cc.jpg

I ride a Lynskey R270 Disc at 183-191lbs, no complaints. Fat down tube actually makes it feel pretty stiff laterally, too.

That Dekerf though... shmexy.

Don't stress about the frame. Stress about good wheels. Pretty much all weight is absorbed by your tyres and spokes.

I ride this thing at 280lbs and it's pretty much all carbon. I've ridden carbon bikes and alloy with good wheels as high as 330lbs. Never had anything go on me except thin spokes on low spoke count wheels.

https://i.imgur.com/cVQcFOe.png

How much weight savings do you get between titanium and steel?

The short answer is what steel frame and what Ti frame?

I have a steel Ritchey Breakaway 60 cm frame and a Lynskey R350. with a 61 cm frame. With the same wheels on them, the Ritchey is maybe just a little bit lighter. It has Super Record brakes and the Lynskey has Record. The Lynskey is EPS and the RItchey is the lighter cable shift shifting. Both are sitting in the 16-17 pound range, so they are not weight weenie bikes. The Lynskey frame is about 3.5 pounds, the Ritchey is maybe 3.25, but with the slightly lighter components it is a bit lighter. The Lynskey is more stable at speeds above 30 MPH. Both are very comfortable on 20-30 mile rides. Ti is not about light. It is about comfortable, durable, and for me no rust issues in the spring when the ice melting crap is still in every puddle.

A steel Rodriguez Outlaw would probably be a couple pounds lighter. But at 17 pounds in a 61 cm Effective Top Tube frame with a 230 pound rider, the difference is bupkes.

FWIW Steel Bianchi Veloce: 10 kg, Ti Motobecane Ultegra: 8.5 kg, carbon Bianchi Infinito Chorus: 8 kg. All in their default configurations as I bought online or in LBS.

Climbing Mount Diablo in SF Bay Area was about the same on Ti or carbon and noticeably harder on steel.

I'm intrigued by Ti but haven't found anything that seems to tick the boxes for me.

What are some opinions on Litespeed? I have looked at the Ultimate and T1SL. Are they really bikes that once purchased would satisfy the owner for years?

I'm still riding my Litespeed Tuscany I bought in 1999.

Historic, 20th century Lightspeed is now Lynskey - the family sold the brand sometime in 1999. They started Lynskey under their own name sometime in the next decade after their initial non-compete expired.

weights listed on weight weenies would suggest that the Lynsey frame is just about a pound lighter than the Ritchey, so the weight difference you’re seeing is likely in the build.

I agree though with your point that you have to compare specific bikes.

That said, the difference between a steel frame and a comparable steel frame is usually around 300-400 grams or so.

For example my Merlinextralight frame ways 1200 grams. While you can find steel frames under 1500 grams, they’re not going to be as stiff as the Merlin. A comparable steel frame would be something like a Colnago MasterXlight that comes in at 1598grams.

you can certainly find lighter steel frames, but I’d suggest that most super light steel frames would be more reasonably compared to an ultralight Ti frame such as a Litespeed Ghisallo at 898 grams.

I would never buy a bike from the American Bicycle Group. IMHO, they ran the Litespeed brand into the ground after purchasing it from Lynskey. There are multiple threads on here, about ABG screwing Litespeed owners on warranty claims. I personally have jade teammates treated very poorly by the ABG Litespeed.

IMHO, if you want a “litespeed”, buy a true one made by the Lynskey family.

More importantly - how's it staying up?:foo:

My main ride is a 2000 Vortex I bought used in 2003 - it really is a forever bike. Although Litespeed ownership changed hands in 1999 I think, I doubt if the actual fabricating/welding personnel changed straight away (my frame still has a David Lynskey signature in the chainstay). However, just because currently LSs aren't "Lynskey-built" doesn't necessarily mean that they're somehow inferior. That being said, if I were in the market for a Ti frame, I would look at Lynskey first simply because they still use threaded BBs. LS appears to have gone all-in on press-fits