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Which is the best welding & highest quality titanium frame?

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#1 ·
Which is the best welding & highest quality titanium frame?
...something smooth welding,perfect welding,high quality finishing titanium frame...
Which one?Any suggestion?
 
#2 ·
All titanium frames are welded the same and generally look the same when built. Some companies, like Moots, shot peen the finish and welds to smooth them. But you will get a high quality frame from any of the well known ti companies (Moots, Serotta, Lynskey, Seven). They have stock sizes and upcharge for custom. For about the same as the others stock price, you can go to a custom ti builder like Kish Bikes, Ericksen, etc. and get whatever you want.

I posted my Kish cross bike here:
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=202922

I've owned (Litespeed, Merlin) and own several ti bikes (Kish, Serotta, Seven) and quite happy with all of them. The Litespeed and Merlin were stock, while the others are custom.
 
#247 ·
All titanium frames are welded the same and generally look the same when built. Some companies, like Moots, shot peen the finish and welds to smooth them. But you will get a high quality frame from any of the well known ti companies (Moots, Serotta, Lynskey, Seven). They have stock sizes and upcharge for custom. For about the same as the others stock price, you can go to a custom ti builder like Kish Bikes, Ericksen, etc. and get whatever you want.


I posted my Kish cross bike here:
New custom Kish titanium

I've owned (Litespeed, Merlin) and own several ti bikes (Kish, Serotta, Seven) and quite happy with all of them. The Litespeed and Merlin were stock, while the others are custom.
Thats a nice looking bike
 
#3 ·
veloduffer said:
All titanium frames are welded the same and generally look the same when built. Some companies, like Moots, shot peen the finish and welds to smooth them. But you will get a high quality frame from any of the well known ti companies (Moots, Serotta, Lynskey, Seven). They have stock sizes and upcharge for custom. For about the same as the others stock price, you can go to a custom ti builder like Kish Bikes, Ericksen, etc. and get whatever you want.

I posted my Kish cross bike here:
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=202922

I've owned (Litespeed, Merlin) and own several ti bikes (Kish, Serotta, Seven) and quite happy with all of them. The Litespeed and Merlin were stock, while the others are custom.
Wow,your Kish bike is very nice.
Moots, Serotta, Seven are nice but not Lynskey.
 
#5 ·
veloduffer said:
All titanium frames are welded the same and generally look the same when built.
Some frames (Moots, Eriksen, Merlin, probably others) have 2-pass welds to improve the strength and/or appearance. Carl Strong deliberately mis-aligns the frame before welding so that the heat slowly moves the frame back into alignment so little or no cold setting is required. Some builders weld small parts like the brake bridge and some are brazed on with a torch.

Using argon gas and a TIG welder are about the only way in which all Ti frames are welded the same.
 
#6 ·
european.dr said:
Wow,your Kish bike is very nice.
Moots, Serotta, Seven are nice but not Lynskey.
I would highly recommend Jim Kish. He was very easy to work with and prompt with his communication (both phone and email). His prices are reasonable and he is well regarded (www.kishbike.com). Initially I was going to get a Moots Psychlo-X but the upcharge for customizing was more than ordering with Jim. I solicited a few references from here and the Serotta forum, and got very positive feedback. He is also one of the frame building instructors at the United Bicycle Institute, so he knows how to weld.
 
#9 ·
Asking who makes the best ti frame is like asking who makes the best sports car. I'd say if you took a frame from all the top builders, like Sevenm Serotta, Moots, Lynskey, etc, and put them all side by side, there would be one or twon aspects of each frame that you liked best from each. One might have smoother welds, one might have nicer dropouts, one might have better details on things like brake bridges, shift bosses, etc. Like anything else in life, you pays your money and you makes your choice.
 
#10 ·
Ask 10 cyclists who makes the best ti frame and you are likely to get 10 different answers. I would pay closer attention to which frame has a geometry that fits you best within your budget.

My ti bike is an Eddy Merckx that was made by Litespeed to Merckx specs. I love it because the geometry is identical to my steel Merckx Corsa, and both frames fit me perfect.
 
#238 ·
I'll vouch for the Praemio. The head tube on the stock version is a bit tall, and the BB drop is a tad lower, so I have to be careful about pedals touching pavement, but overall a great bike. But as others have mentioned, there is no shortage of great builders. I was at NAHBS last month, and pretty much all the examples I saw had flawless welds (mostly 2 pass). Decide which one moves your spirit, make some geometry choices and pick. Personally, the one that kind of impressed me at Denver was Mosaic. They're generating kind of a following in CO.


Try GURU

http://www.gurubikes.com/enUS/main.php

Beautiful ti bikes, custom and available painted or not.
 
#17 ·
european.dr said:
Which is the best welding & highest quality titanium frame?
...something smooth welding,perfect welding,high quality finishing titanium frame...
Which one?Any suggestion?
The best Ti welds in the indutstry used to be Moots, but when Kent Eriksen left and started Eriksen he brought his welder Chris Moore with him. Lynskey...please, not even in the top 5.


 
#45 ·
Hey, that's my Eriksen hardtail. What's that doing on a road forum?

I've seen and ridden quite a few Ti frames. The (older) Litespeeds and Lynskeys are nice, so long as the tubes are round. Although, I seriously doubt the twisted tubes affect weld/tube quality, just aesthetics and good taste. :wink5: I've never seen a Moots that didn't look great. I have a few friends with Baums, one of which is Ti, and it looks great. My only knock against Baum is that they like to paint their Ti, and I have no idea why anyone would do such a thing.

All that said, I've never seen a Ti frame that turn me away from an Eriksen.
 
#20 ·
cyclust said:
Asking who makes the best ti frame is like asking who makes the best sports car. I'd say if you took a frame from all the top builders, like Sevenm Serotta, Moots, Lynskey, etc, and put them all side by side, there would be one or twon aspects of each frame that you liked best from each. One might have smoother welds, one might have nicer dropouts, one might have better details on things like brake bridges, shift bosses, etc. Like anything else in life, you pays your money and you makes your choice.
+1. Reading all of these answers will confirm that.
 
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