Adding color to a titanium bike
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Have you added a splash of color to perk up/accent the [dreary] grey that is Ti? Maybe a powder-coated fork, or even painting the frame...not necessarily the whole frame? There's only so much that changing handlebar tape can do.
Looking for suggestions for a possible Salsa Fargo Ti build.
Thanks!
Looking for suggestions for a possible Salsa Fargo Ti build.
Thanks!
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I've gone with green accents on my titanium bicycle. I have a green Brooks saddle, and a green Carradice Pendle, and when the bicycle is complete, it will have a green fork and green handlebar tape. We've got the paint and tape already, it's just a matter of me switching to another bicycle to ride so the work can be done.
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Look at the date of the thread before you post. The thread died 10 years ago and doesn’t need to be raised from the dead. Start a new thread.
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Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
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Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
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I saw the date, it's an old post, but obviously not dear and buried. I don't want to start a new thread asking for that specific picture.
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I am, and I reached out. Last update I got was that I was on the waitlist (probably a few months) to get into the queue which would be an additional 12-24 months. I love the work I have seen by Engin but the bike I was riding got totaled, so the prospect of waiting 2+ years is tough.
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Have you added a splash of color to perk up/accent the [dreary] grey that is Ti? Maybe a powder-coated fork, or even painting the frame...not necessarily the whole frame? There's only so much that changing handlebar tape can do.
Looking for suggestions for a possible Salsa Fargo Ti build.
Thanks!
Looking for suggestions for a possible Salsa Fargo Ti build.
Thanks!
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I am, and I reached out. Last update I got was that I was on the waitlist (probably a few months) to get into the queue which would be an additional 12-24 months. I love the work I have seen by Engin but the bike I was riding got totaled, so the prospect of waiting 2+ years is tough.
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#37
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Since the dominant color on my unpainted Litespeed is yellow (the large downtube decals), I went with yellow as the color theme - yellow/black Rubino Pro tires, yellow/black "splash" bar tape, yellow Jagwire cable set. At one point, I had a nice yellow/black Selle Italia MaxFlite saddle, but it wore out and NOS replacements on eBay were crazy money, so a plain black Max Flite will do. No pics handy, alas.
#38
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Since the OP is back, I thought I'd share my story. I've got two custom ti's from the same builder 2008 and 2011. First one I had painted red. Red forks and frame back to just behind the brake bridge and chainstay support. A black panel on the DT with red builders name. Simply because I always wanted a red bike. Second ti has a red painted fork. The rest is the builder's brushed ti.
I am hard on finishes. Somewhat clumsy and bikes will always be tools for me. I've dabbed pant into several paint chips on the red bike. Not perfect but the chips no longer scream at me. The builder has refurbished the ti on the second bike at least once; putting on new decals. Overall the work to keep them good looking is near a toss. The first bike stands out in a crowd. The second bike is considerably harder to find.
I look at ti as just another metal like steel or aluminum except - you do not have to paint it. There are places for the color "cloud flat grey". Between winters in Ann Arbor and years in the PNW, I've gotten to know that grey really well. But I only need so much of it in my garage.
I am hard on finishes. Somewhat clumsy and bikes will always be tools for me. I've dabbed pant into several paint chips on the red bike. Not perfect but the chips no longer scream at me. The builder has refurbished the ti on the second bike at least once; putting on new decals. Overall the work to keep them good looking is near a toss. The first bike stands out in a crowd. The second bike is considerably harder to find.
I look at ti as just another metal like steel or aluminum except - you do not have to paint it. There are places for the color "cloud flat grey". Between winters in Ann Arbor and years in the PNW, I've gotten to know that grey really well. But I only need so much of it in my garage.
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i like the look of the early nineties —-
battleship grey brushed Ti with anodized accessories.
recently refurbished my old Ti bike - it was originally painted but i stripped it to reveal the dull gray underneath (the chai stays are still polished, but I did not bother to touch them)
It was honestly the plan to source the anodized bits n pieces to color coordinate it, but it seemed like stuff like that was a lot easier to fuss with when i was younger
The folks making quality anodized stuff (Ringle’ Control Tech, Cook Bros, Pauls etc) have gone out of business so you’re stuck looking for good condition old parts or getting creative
i’d rather be riding- but those art projects are fun to look at
battleship grey brushed Ti with anodized accessories.
recently refurbished my old Ti bike - it was originally painted but i stripped it to reveal the dull gray underneath (the chai stays are still polished, but I did not bother to touch them)
It was honestly the plan to source the anodized bits n pieces to color coordinate it, but it seemed like stuff like that was a lot easier to fuss with when i was younger
The folks making quality anodized stuff (Ringle’ Control Tech, Cook Bros, Pauls etc) have gone out of business so you’re stuck looking for good condition old parts or getting creative
i’d rather be riding- but those art projects are fun to look at
#40
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i like the look of the early nineties —-
battleship grey brushed Ti with anodized accessories.
recently refurbished my old Ti bike - it was originally painted but i stripped it to reveal the dull gray underneath (the chai stays are still polished, but I did not bother to touch them)
It was honestly the plan to source the anodized bits n pieces to color coordinate it, but it seemed like stuff like that was a lot easier to fuss with when i was younger
The folks making quality anodized stuff (Ringle’ Control Tech, Cook Bros, Pauls etc) have gone out of business so you’re stuck looking for good condition old parts or getting creative
i’d rather be riding- but those art projects are fun to look at
battleship grey brushed Ti with anodized accessories.
recently refurbished my old Ti bike - it was originally painted but i stripped it to reveal the dull gray underneath (the chai stays are still polished, but I did not bother to touch them)
It was honestly the plan to source the anodized bits n pieces to color coordinate it, but it seemed like stuff like that was a lot easier to fuss with when i was younger
The folks making quality anodized stuff (Ringle’ Control Tech, Cook Bros, Pauls etc) have gone out of business so you’re stuck looking for good condition old parts or getting creative
i’d rather be riding- but those art projects are fun to look at
Also, Paul Component are still around; I’ve got their Boxcar stem and Tall & Handsome seatpost adding flair to my Ti rig:
Last edited by chaadster; 11-23-21 at 01:54 PM.
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#41
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A company near me does mirror polishing on Ti bikes. I would love to have my Litespeed polished up but think it might be a nightmare trying to keep it looking good.
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Last edited by DMC707; 11-23-21 at 03:53 PM.
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Ooooops - everything sold out at Pauls. But i still havent seen much outside of Alibaba and Amazon type stuff . Your bike looks great BTW !
Last edited by DMC707; 11-23-21 at 03:50 PM.
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#45
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Have you added a splash of color to perk up/accent the [dreary] grey that is Ti? Maybe a powder-coated fork, or even painting the frame...not necessarily the whole frame? There's only so much that changing handlebar tape can do.
Looking for suggestions for a possible Salsa Fargo Ti build.
Thanks!
Looking for suggestions for a possible Salsa Fargo Ti build.
Thanks!
#46
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I don’t know what you’re looking for, but you can get ano’d stuff like stems and seatposts from well-known brands like KCNC, Tune, Woodman, and Hope Tech, who also do ano disc rotors. Anodized chainrings chainrings from Absolute Black and Gabaruk; chainring bolts, seat clamps, headset spacers from Wolftooth; ano hubs, headsets, bottom brackets and axles from Chris King; more hubs, headsets and seat clamps from Phil Wood and White Industries; bottle cages from Supacaz and Silca; cranks and brakes from LitePro; all the water bottle cage bolts and headset caps you can stand from Kustom Caps, and colorful pedal options from Xpedo.
I’ve got, on this and other bikes, ano bits like barrel adjusters, disc and cassette lockrings, handlebars, brake calipers, cranks, brake levers, GoPro and compiter mounts.
Really, there are so many options for anodized color bits, don’t blame me if your bike winds up looking like a Christmas tree!
Back in ‘93, I ordered a Fat Chance Yo Eddy! Team frameset and had to custom polish cranks, seatpost, stem, bar ends and rims to get the gold look I wanted to go with the metal flake purple frame. It came out fantastically— too good, even; it was targeted for theft within two months— but would be much easier to do similar today because of the growth of the bike industry.
#47
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One thing to think about is the inherent flexibility of titanium and its effect on paint.
Many years ago, a customer at a shop I worked for brought in a painted titanium bike that was showing cracks at the driveside bottom bracket/chainstay weld. In order to determine if it was just the paint cracking as a result of frame flex or if it was actually a frame crack, he ended up having to strip the paint in that area. Fortunately, it turned out to be the paint, but stripping it ruined the look of the bike.
I've always assumed that this was the reason ti frames are usually unpainted.
Many years ago, a customer at a shop I worked for brought in a painted titanium bike that was showing cracks at the driveside bottom bracket/chainstay weld. In order to determine if it was just the paint cracking as a result of frame flex or if it was actually a frame crack, he ended up having to strip the paint in that area. Fortunately, it turned out to be the paint, but stripping it ruined the look of the bike.
I've always assumed that this was the reason ti frames are usually unpainted.
#48
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One thing to think about is the inherent flexibility of titanium and its effect on paint.
Many years ago, a customer at a shop I worked for brought in a painted titanium bike that was showing cracks at the driveside bottom bracket/chainstay weld. In order to determine if it was just the paint cracking as a result of frame flex or if it was actually a frame crack, he ended up having to strip the paint in that area. Fortunately, it turned out to be the paint, but stripping it ruined the look of the bike.
I've always assumed that this was the reason ti frames are usually unpainted.
Many years ago, a customer at a shop I worked for brought in a painted titanium bike that was showing cracks at the driveside bottom bracket/chainstay weld. In order to determine if it was just the paint cracking as a result of frame flex or if it was actually a frame crack, he ended up having to strip the paint in that area. Fortunately, it turned out to be the paint, but stripping it ruined the look of the bike.
I've always assumed that this was the reason ti frames are usually unpainted.
The reason Ti often goes unpainted is purely for aesthetics, IMO, a way to distinguish and make special the material.
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That's probably one reason, but paint can chip more readily on titanium; it requires some kind of etching primer to get paint to adhere well.
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How's the Cerokote holding up, Mr. Indyfabz? Any cracking?