Litespeed
Titanium No22 Great Divide likes and dislikes
Titanium No22 Great Divide likes and dislikes
#Titanium #No22 #Great #Divide #likes #dislikes
“My Life on 2 Wheels”
My opinion on the good and the not so good on this bike…
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When I bought my Ti bike, a narrowed it down to No. 22, Firefly, and Sage. Ended up with the Sage and couldn't be happier. I bought just the frame and seatpost and sourced and built the bike myself. Dave at Sage was an absolute blast to work with. We spent a lot of time going over each component and geometry and we both made sure there was not going to be any toe overlap.
I do get a lot of looks and people gawking at the bike. Sometimes it's cool, sometimes it makes me nervous. I cannot leave this bike out of my sight.
The only other complaint I have is that it's like owning a stainless steel appliance. Every time I touch it, there are finger prints everywhere. ROJ had a video about there where he bought a spray coating for it.
What type of dampening was added to the rear brake bridge? Having similar issue with my bike! Thanks
I just stumbled across your video and channel; really enjoyed it! I am starting a No22 build (aurora) and like you, never rode a full Ti bike. I am mainly a full carbon rider (SL7, Dogma F, etc) and also envision your initial impression of Ti. You mentioned the stiff like feeling compared to your full carbon, how about the responsiveness when out of the saddle? Any reason you chose a carbon seatpost vs the Ti offering that No22 has? Thank you for making the video and sharing your thoughts!
A bike worth 10k…that’s a car
Appreciate you sharing your experience with the bike. Many thanks!
Thanks for your honest review. The feel of the bike, for me, isn't a minor hair-spliltting drawback, but a major issue between buying and not buying. I've been on the fence when it comes to Ti simply because I've never ridden one before.
Already watched the Steel bike video, that was awesome as well. I grew up riding steel frames, even before aluminum alloy became common. Of course those steel frames were relatively heavy and certainly nothing like your modern steel bike. I think your color choice was perfect as well, almost looks like Ti.
Ride quality can be a function of the Ti alloy used in the frame build. 6Al/4V tends to be more stiff and less vibration damping than 3Al/2.5V. Not sure about the No 22 but I have a Lynskey R340 that is made with all 3Al/2.5V alloy tubes and the ride is very smooth. Of course no rigid frame is going to swallow up big bumps but the Ti will definitely smooth out the high frequency road buzz that you sometime feel on roads with a more course surface and small cracks and imperfections. The other thing that could be affecting your ride quality is the wheel choice. Deeper dish carbon wheels are way stiffer than lower profile alloy rims. There is a trade off as with all component choices. They are going to be faster (if that really is important to you) but they will not be as plush. Having a set of low profile alloy hoops for more casual, long distance fun rides, is a great option and they are generally pretty cost effective. Then you can use the carbon rims for race paced competitive club rides or races. Loved the video and the bike.
Old guy here. I've acquired a stable of Ti bikes over the years. General rule, small diameter tubing means more flex. More flex equals softer ride. Older bikers know that a smooth cadence with frame flex is all day comfort. Todays pedal smashers get every inch of forward momentum with stiffer frames. Larger head tubes, down tubes, seat stays take away frame flex. My older Litespeeds, lightweight Seven Aerios, and basic R150 Lynskey are comfy bikes requiring a smooth pedal stroke. My larger tubed Seven Axiom, and tube manipulated Lynskeys ride stiffer. Much like my thinner steel Gunnar roadie flexes more than my heavy steel Soma Smoothie. Oh FYI, the Enve single bolt saddle clamp on a lynskey Ti post works much better (no expansion).
Hi, I have a bit of the same problem with my steel bike, the noise and vibration in the rear break. What kind of damping did you guys use? Thanks in advance.
15 grand for a bicycle, just smoke the money instead
Amazing beauty. I can imagine the looks you get on it. Interesting feedback on the ride feel…the mystique of Ti for sure.
Just under 8lbs????
Similar experience. Got a Moots and yes, the ENVE seat post was more difficult to adjust than my other bikes (sworks rodies). I get toe rub. Mine got disc, so getting front disc squeal after long descent. First world problems. Love the bike. 🙂
Cheap titanium bikes, let me know if I missed some I'm looking to get a sub 3000$ titanium bike:
Ribble cgr ti
Planet x tempest
Titus road runner
Motobecane le champion ti
Dolan titanium adx
Spa cycle elan
Sonder colibri ti
Triban 900 ti
Chumba tengula ti
Waltley custom
Thanks for your review. Wow the dislikes you mentioned sound like a major issue with me. Being a high end boutique those dislikes are a no no. Now I will have to reconsider getting this brand.
Nice breakdown video for the likes and dislikes. I’m a full steel kind of guy but always have been curious of titanium. I wonder if there’s titanium builds with titanium forks instead of carbon?
Nice review video, I also have a Ti Bike, Serotta, made in the US, with a carbon seat stay system, and a unique suspension between the seat stays and the chain stays, using a pivot system. I've had many carbon frames over the years, but the Serotta rides best of all of my carbon frames. Is your frame made in the West, or is it a Chinese built frame? Your bike looks nice and it has a nice groupo from what I can see. By any chance are you also an audiophile? I see a lot of CDs in the background. Many bike fans also are into audio and music as another hobby. Stay safe and enjoy your new Ti bike.
1. The Enve seatpost you don't like…I have one, but it's a set-back. Installed it w/no problems, and the increased vibration absorption is well worth the cost. The adjusting bolts on the side of the mounting apparatus makes adjusting it much easier than traditional seatposts. I think your dislikes of this seatpost are unique to you.
2. Toe overlap: as you said, 99% of the time it's not an issue, so hardly worth mentioning. Especially if you love the frame.
3. Your brake vibration issue: you got that problem fixed, so it didn't even need to be mentioned. I've had titanium frames for over 20 years and never a problem with brake vibration or noise.
4. Ride feel: my titanium frame feels more like steel than anything else (which I love), but won't corrode or need paint, so that aesthetic makes it very desirable. If your titanium frame feels a lot like carbon, it's not the titanium. Regardless of frame material, vertical compliance is the same for almost all frames. What makes the biggest difference in feel is tire width & pressure, and seatpost flexibility (which can be increased by using a set-back post, carbon fiber, and suspension).
5. If you get a custom titanium frame, you have to start with a competent bike fit (did you do that? sounds like you didn't), get the frame built to the exact dimension you need for the type of riding you do, use a set-back seatpost and as low pressure tires as is practical. I ride on 28 mm clinchers and am very comfortable.
I have three bike but if I bought a 4th it will be a Ti. Now how and who do trust to take the measurements? I have a small and a medium frame bikes and I honestly still dont know what is my size.
Attention? People wave at fixies with colored rims. This? Frame isn't even painted!
So, it depends. Bike nerds will notice your Ti bike but for most of people flashy painted entry level hybrid with matching handlebars and pedals will look more unusual and adorable.
get some berd RD35 and some 30mm tires and welcome to cloud country. No22 is my dream but i settled for a lynskey at the moment…
Sweet bike. And not sure if you been to the factory
I recently replaced my old titanium bike frame with a new smaller one, because the old one was too big (I had to use a six or seven centimeter stem). Even though I've gone from a 56 top tube down to a 54 top tube, the new bike frame is actually about 200 grams heavier. I think the bike builders have decided that the best way to counter flex in titanium frames is to not grout them as heavily as they used to. It is more responsive, but I had thought the smaller tubes would've made it more responsive anyway. Another trend I've noticed is for frame builders to want to use steeper seat tube angles. My old one was 73 degree but the new one is 71. It helps with the toe over-lap, I suppose, but it means the seat has to go so far back it adds to the effective length of the top tube. Both were bought from Enigma, based in Hailsham, England.
Surely a good custom frame design should eliminate toe overlap? Putting on 30mm tyres (taller, as well as wider) will exacerbate the problem.
No 22 makes a nice product for sure, but the reality is their prices are nosebleed silly bordering on nonsensical. They want $2K more for a stock frame than a fully customized ti frameset I can get from Mike Desalvo and they are almost $1k in pricing higher for a stock frame over a fully customized ti frameset from Brad Bingham. And anyone who thinks their product is superior to either of those 2 builders I just named needs a drug test. The reality is much of the industry has turned to price gouging and appealing to status symbol seekers and No22 fits that mold unfortunately. I'm sure they'll wax poetic about how that isn't true, but lets be serious, anyone who charges $5K plus for a batch built stock non-custom frame with a plain jane cheap bead blasted finish is price gouging.
When you consider the fact they add on hundreds of $$ in upcharges on top of that already bloated price for very simple things like extra water bottle bosses or internal cable routing the price for their stock frames becomes even more laughable. I have no issue spending buck on a nice product. I have owned very nice custom framesets from Strong, Vanilla, Kirk, Desalvo, Seven and Bingham. But there comes a point where certain makers are literally fleecing people with "status symbol" bikes based on silly pricing for batch built stock framesets. If someone is going to charge me anywhere near $5K+ for a bicycle frameset that stratospheric price better include custom fab, custom fitting, and pretty much any reasonable finish option I desire.
Too much pomp & narcissism here…” couldn’t build bike like this oday for under $15k…. Tell me what else you’re in the market for, love to sell you something. ✌️
I have a TI gravel bike (Lynskey GR250) and a Trek Emonda SL5 carbon road bike. The Emonda seems to be absorbing road vibrations pretty well; running 28 mm tires, the widest that my rim brakes can handle.
It’s the angle of attack on the brake pads
I love my Ti bikes, I honestly think on balance taking everything into account Ti Frame + Carbon components is the Apex for the non competitive rider that can only justify a small "stable". The biggest enemies of Ti are the preconceived notions that "It will be super light" and the old "It's like a magic carpet ride" Neither of these things are true compared to modern carbon and even some of the later high end Aluminium.
What you get with Ti is your best shot at a "forever bike" both in terms of sheer longevity, and looks. Plus the thing I love the most about Ti: 2 Hours some Scotch bright and a can of WD-40 and it looks brand new!
Kevlar is better
If you had to pick ONE material to ride, what would it be? And why?
Enve's seat post adjustment clamp is just plain dumb. There is NO REASON why it should be that complicated. Despite its beauty (without the two-bolt clamp) never will I have that post again.
This was really useful, but hard to watch because your music volume is about 10x louder than it needs to be (intro, transitions). Appreciate all the thought put into the video, though.