PromptCritical 

I’m thinking of buying a titanium gravel bike frame.

The prices vary widely. For roughly similar (as far as I can tell) frames, Lynskey is about $1100, Litespeed 3x that, with Seven and No. 22 at 4x and 6x that, respectively.

I know one usually gets what they pay for, but that seems like an unusually large spread.

Can someone give me some insight into this?

Kontact

A Litespeed Flint gravel frame is $2100 currently on sale for $1600. Where are you getting your numbers? What's "roughly the same"?

I like Lynskey, but I've noticed their frame weights tend to be on the high side.

PromptCritical 

Numbers are from their websites. "Roughly the same" means "as similar as one can tell from a website created by marketing folks".

Steve B.

Habenaro gravel is $1195 plus $50 shipping plus $200-$300 for a fork. They sell complete bikes as well.

Cyclocross Components - Habanero Cycles

Kontact

I got those numbers from Litespeed's website.

PromptCritical 

Very helpful. Thank you.

Polaris OBark

One of the problems is that titanium is trickier to work with than steel, and if not done properly, welds have a tendency to fail. So part of the price spread may reflect the reputation of the builder. Also, getting a mass-produced frame from (eg) Taiwan will be considerably less expensive than a hand-built, perhaps custom one from the US.

Finally, if you are willing to take an older model, you might get a good deal. I picked up a Sage Titanium Barlow frame (and Enve fork) for my wife for about $2K a couple of years ago (at Jenson). The current version lists for $5K or so on their website.

Kontact

Lynskey and Litespeed do not have a reputation for weld failures, and are two of the least expensive US titanium brands.

It doesn't cost less to weld titanium poorly in the short term, and is much more expensive in the long term to warranty broken frames.

mstateglfr 

Cost varies widely because...
- some finishes take more time and materials than others.
- some cable routing designs take more time and materials than others.
- some frames/brands are cleaned up better than others.
- custom geometry is usually more than stock geometry.
- personalized touches cost more than bare stock.

Kontact

Certain brands are luxury items and priced accordingly. And this works, because when a quality company like Lynskey offers a lower price consumers assume that something is wrong with the product and that a titanium frame should cost $3000. But a lot of the price difference is branding.

PromptCritical 

Thanks. Any real differences between Lynskey and the luxury brands?

mstateglfr 

Yes.
- custom geometry vs stock geometey(can be custom, for more $).
- more finishes. More extensive finishes.
- cleaner looking finish of frame.

Kontact

Sure. But not differences that amount to three to five times the material or labor costs.

I have personally seen examples of the very finest brands with serious flaws, so they are no immune to quality issues even with that sort of pricing.

I'm not trying to steer you to one brand or another. Whether it is features, design, aesthetics or prestige - you get what you pay for one way or the other.


It is little different than comparing a Taiwanese made Ishiwata lugged frameset for less than $200 new and a Columbus tubed Colnago. They are more alike than different, but the prices are grossly different. Which is "better"? Which would you rather own?

Personally, I would consider Lynskey and Litespeed on the lower end of the price, skip Chinese made stuff, and look at a solid brand like Seven on the higher end without going to the real pricey stuff. Just my opinion.

PromptCritical 

Thanks. That's very helpful.

DangerousDanR

I have three Lynskeys. One is a road bike, one is a hard tail mountain bike, and one is a MTB frame with a rigid fork and drop bars. None are abused. but they are not babied either. The hard tail has an Ohlins fork and gets ridden pretty hard. They are all about 8 years old.

I bought them because Ti doesn't corrode when exposed to road salt. I have been happy with all three. If I wanted another Ti bike I would buy another Lynskey.

PromptCritical 

Thanks!

PromptCritical 

I looked at the geometry on the Lynskey site last night, and it looks like I'm going to need a custom frame (long legs/short torso and arthritis). Bummer, as they are having a wicked sale right now.

Polaris OBark

I'm the opposite. Maybe I should have a look. We only have 12 bikes in the garage at the moment.

I just looked. Their M-sized road frame is very close to the dimensions of my custom steel bike. Is the sale over, or on-going?

PromptCritical 

Well, 12 bikes is a good start....

Polaris OBark

I realize this is a bit of a haul from Sandy Eggo, but worth it: https://caletticycles.com

PromptCritical 

Do you have one?

Polaris OBark

A steel one. It is by far the best bike I have owned.

Duragrouch

Wow, you ain't kidding. $750 for an R300 road disc frame (+$500 for their carbon road disc fork). But shows only S size, and it's closeout of 2023 stock. But yeah, that's a good deal. Unfortunately I'm also a retro grouch for road style and like a level top tube, also to reduce the bending moment at the seat-tube/top-tube juncture, but am willing to accept road discs. But not a 4-arm crank spider, but I can still find with 5.

shelbyfv

What you are riding now is custom?

chaadster

Geez. Few, if any, have the heritage and experience in making Ti frames to match Lynskey, and I’d suggest that having 40 years of Ti manufacturing history in Chattanooga is exactly why they can offer the best prices around. Even though they had a few years without a brand of their own, when the Lynskeys sold off Litespeed, Mark Lynskey stayed on to shepherd the new business, so really Lynskey has an unbroken travk record as the most preeminent name in American Ti bicycle manufacturing.

I give them— and that includes Litespeed under ABG ownership— a lot of credit as founders, innovators, and icons of the American cycling world. I ride a T-Lab X3 titanium rig out of Montreal, but I’d be proud to ride Lynskey.