Originally Posted by
Recycled Cycler
I've seen some nice looking bikes for sale that use Ti and carbon. Some tubes carbon/ other Ti and some with Ti lugs.
How do they make such a bike stay together with these two disparate materials? Like the Seven Elium SG, or Serotta Ottrotts? Seems dangerous or else it would come apart in a few years.
There used to be a lot of aluminum bikes with carbon stays, as well. Not to mention forks that have alloy steerers or crowns, bonded to carbon legs, which are then bonded to alloy dropouts. You just don't notice it on forks because they paint them.
I've seen a Seven like the one you mention. I'd absolutely love to own one. Back in the day, Lemond made some "spine" bikes, which mated a carbon top frame (top tube, seat tube, seat stays) with a steel, alloy, or titanium 'spine' (headtube, downtube, BB shell, chainstays). I haven't looked, but I don't think I remember hearing anybody mention catastrophic bonding failures on those bikes, either - and the newest of those is about 10-15 yrs old at this point.
If I found one in good condition, at the right time, I think I'd have to buy a used mixed material Serotta or Ti/Carbon Lemond - I find them fascinating.