Just read the recent post on XACD. I'm thinking of ordering a custom Ti bike from them. Anybody have experience with them and their bikes?

I purchased a frame from them beginning of the year. Just make sure you double check the drawings they send you... I have very positive things to say about the whole process. From the day that I confirmed the order and sent the money order over, till the box landed at my workplace was about 3.5 weeks.
Keep in mind the shipping costs adds a good bit to the cost of the frame, and then sending a money order my bank charged me a nominal fee. But still cheaper than ordering a habanero..

The frame looks great, welds are nice, finish isnt much to look at as its sand blasted. I requested some oversized tubing, which they accommodated, and I basically took the geometry of my specialized Allez and gave that to them.

1) How much was shipping?

2) Sandblast finish? I've seen the plain titanium frames of Moots, Seven, Serotta, Litespeed. This is the frame finish that I want. Is sandblasting a rougher finish? More pitted? I don't want the finish to be shiny and polished like chrome. I just want a regular Ti frame that I can rub once in a while with a dish pad. Is this what I'll get?

Shipping was 145, so the total was 625 for me. The finish looks pretty plain... a bit more dull than I would have liked, but not pitted. I'll see if I can post some pictures later tonight. It's definitely not shiny/chrome. I would describe it more as a gunmetal gray. Even though its plain looking, I actually like how it looks.

Sounds like what I'm looking for. I don't want any painted frames anymore where the paint chips. Plain Ti always looks brand new.

Now I'd like to here from you after you have it put together and have ridden it. How does it ride? Does it absorb the road vibrations or do you feel it? I thought Ti always absorbed road vibrations until I recently read about someone who bought a non-brand not well known Ti frame and was disappointed with the way it rode and the vibrations he felt.

If you can put up with the money thing, the potential risk of not getting your money back, the lack of a warranty, the hassle of dealing with someone you don't know and in a place that you can't visit, it's worth it to save this kinda of money.

I found a Chinese guy in NYC that sells Ti frames he buys from a Chinese factory but he does no custom work. He sells what he has in stock or what they send him. He wants about $700 but it's not custom. I found some other custom Ti manufacturers for $750-$900 that less scary because they are not in China.

I've put maybe 50 miles on it so far. I don't know if its because I'm a larger rider (250#), or I'm don't have enough experience riding different types of bikes, but it felt pretty similar to my old M2 Allez frame. Its a bit more responsive, and tad less stiff. I also threw on a Reynolds Ouza Pro fork, so that might have affected the ride some as I had an older Kinesis Carbon fork before.

Personally though, I like it a lot. Maybe its because my brain is telling me its Ti, so therefore its a better bike :)

I was worried about the whole warranty, foreign country, possible screwup headeaches, and was considering going with habanero. Everyone seems to speak highly of them at least from what I read, but I figured, well, you save about 300 bucks, and that could go towards some nice wheels...or at least some overhyped ceramic bearings...

Habanero & saving $300 and going towards something else is my thoughts exactly and why I would take a chance with XACD.

BUT how does the frame take road vibrations and bumps? I've two Ti bikes and they took the bumps and potholes like I had shocks on the bike. I then took my Al bike over the same roads and it shook me apart. What a difference.

I regret not taking pictures before I built up the frame. I like how the seat stays are curved. I asked for the welded on seat binder, though I sort of regret that now. At the time I thought it would look a bit cleaner, but I dunno... The welds look fairly nice to me, but I never really compared it to any other ti frame.

I have just received 5 custom mtb frames from them.
We got a good deal on the shipping and also a discount on the custom geometry.
It came to 530/frame.
One frame had the bb threads slightly crooked, so the BB would not sit absolutely flush with the frame. We have yet to resolve this problem - but the owner does not seem to be too bothered as it works fine. Personally I would have been upset.
Everything else was absolutely spot on - good clean & tidy welds.,

Hi deanyuan,
do you know the weight of your frame from XACD? Is it their standard road frame or with a custom geometry? How was the contact with XACD? What are the options for custom frames? only the geometry or also things like double / triple butted tubes, tube diameter, etc.? How is the stiffness of the bike?

Greetings,
KM

KM,
I wished i had weighed the bike before i built it up, but never did. Felt similar to my allez m2, but who knows.
The guy who works at XACD, Porter, must live with a computer welded to himself as he replies immediately. On my frame, I spec'd the geometry as well as the tube thickness. I don't know what kind of tubes they are, whether theyre double/triple butted, but I think mine were all straight gauge. Since I'm a heavier rider, I specd out some thicker down tubes and chain stays.

dy