Carbon, Titanium, Aluminium or Steel?

[Neil Bedwin]

Just found out my good friend is a good friend of Terry Dolan...... and Dolan Bikes is a 2m ride away!

Available for pre-order.....drool.

 

[Ridgeway]

£3k with Ultegra Di2, looks a very nice machine !

120kgs max weight recommended, i guess there's some tolerance on that if you talk with them though.

 

[Neil Bedwin]

£3k with Ultegra Di2, looks a very nice machine !

120kgs max weight recommended, i guess there's some tolerance on that if you talk with them though.

And then they say..... 'The ADX-Disc Titanium has mounts for a rear pannier rack and accommodate 20kgs of luggage with ease.'

So a 120kg rider with 20kg of luggage..... or just a heavier rider.

 

[Ridgeway]

yeah it's got to be able to cope with more weight, worth a call to them or a visit as they are almost in your back garden

 

[bigtree]

My preference is titanium having bought my first one 27 years ago, I said at the time this bike would see me out but after injuring my back I found that after an hour or two riding my back would start to get sore. It was down to the longer stretched out position so I put on a shorter stem and riser bars,this helped . I get emails from a Spanish company called Motocard and spotted a new Ti 29r that GT had made so went and tried it,liked it and bought it. So after my original GT Xizang sitting unused for 5 years I stripped it and sold it to a guy I know who will cherish it, the retro scene is really big for '80's - '90's bikes. So much so I sold the frame and forks for more than I paid for them all that time ago. The geometry of MTB frames has changed a lot and I'm thinking of getting something with slacker angles and have also heard about Waltly doing custom builds.

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[MattR]

And then they say..... 'The ADX-Disc Titanium has mounts for a rear pannier rack and accommodate 20kgs of luggage with ease.'

So a 120kg rider with 20kg of luggage..... or just a heavier rider.

Check the weight capacities of the wheels. They might struggle with a heavy load and rough roads.

 

[Onemanandhisdog]

Titanium for me too, I've got a vintage Cove hummer 26" mountain bike and just love the feel compared to my other steel or aliminuim framed bikes

Three guys I rode regularly with a few years ago had Cove Hummers, all the frames cracked, you can imagine how nervous the last guy was before his finally cracked!

Did you get the "Steel is Real" from Niner by any chance? I have a Niner SIR9, and that is their motto.

When I ordered the frame it was supposed to be a week or two. After a couple of months and no sign of it it I bought an ally frame off ebay to chucked all the parts on I'd collected for the build and rode it until the SIR9 finally arrived. I swapped the parts over as was, didn't change a thing. The difference in the ride between Reynolds 853 steel tube and Ally is unbelievable. I'd read lots of articles on the frame before I bought it and they said it was like having an inch or two of suspension travel, I chortled and thought what a load of bol$%£s, but it really is!

I also have a full suspension carbon Lapierre 714 from 2010, the frame had a 5 year warranty, has been used all around the UK , Wales and Scotland, visits to the Alps, many trips to Italy where a friend lived and it's still as good as gold, but a lot lighter

So, from my experience, if you aren't racing and you aren't posing, I would go for Steel, Reynolds 853, the single speed build of my SIR 9 is also surprisingly light, even with hefty wheels.

 

[Jim]

Never owned a Titanium or Carbon bike, My Orange Ali bike, all xtr, is 26 years old and is still a fast and lovely ride. But my 520 cro mo Ridgeback expedition heavy, really heavy, but nimble under load, With my trailer I can carry 5 slabs (120 cans) of beer, or a weekly shop, and get it back to the campsite without breaking a sweat.

 

[Neil Bedwin]

Ok...forgo the carbon wheels for sturdy aluminium (Mavic Allroad Elite), and make it a gravel bike! I'm not into racing but their gravel version is 0.1kg heavier with the same drive train and cassette. Even the same size and type of tyres. So should go just as fast. What's not to like.....

 

[Big Stevie]

Just found out my good friend is a good friend of Terry Dolan...... and Dolan Bikes is a 2m ride away!

Available for pre-order.....drool.
View attachment 393046

I have the Dolan ADX Ti, lovely bike.

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[Neil Bedwin]

Popped into the shop today...... like a kid in a sweet shop! So many drool worthy bikes I could have come home considerable poorer!

After a 20 min chat with one of their builders and a good look around a 54cm GXT I have now ordered a 56cm version with titanium seat post, 50/34 up front and 11/34 at the back with Di2 and hydraulic disc brakes.

They will fit my aero handlebars and own saddle when it is ready and I can then ride it home!

Just have to wait for the frames to arrive from Italy sometime in early July.

 

[Ridgeway]

Shame the shop is so close, you won't want to stop at your house when you arrive back home after picking that beauty up !!!

 

[Squirepete]

It would be a bespoke steel frame built to my measurements by a UK frame builder.

Go back fifty years you could get a HARRY QUINN

 

[Neil Bedwin]

Didn't realise how much my friend is into his cycling until I called round to see his bikes.....

He has a steel bike that he made himself 40 years ago.
Has three Dolan bikes including Terry Dolan's own bike that he made a hole in and was then repaired.
On a shelf he had a pair of Chris Boardman's shoes that Chris' kid had scribbled on.
Hanging off his ladder was a set of TT bars he made for a UK Olympic rider in 1997.

I thought he just played guitar and rode a bike to work......

 

[The Lord Squid]

Go back fifty years you could get a HARRY QUINN

40 years ago I had a Pennine made for me, Reynolds 531. I now have a Pennine 753R, but not bespoke. Pennine are still in business and still build frames.

Pennine Cycles | Bradford Bike Shop & Online Store

Bicycle shop in Bradford, West Yorkshire, established in 1946. Prestige cycling brands stocked and Pennine frames made on the premises. 01274 881030.

penninecycles.com

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[Neil Bedwin]

Later than originally expected due to covid19 in Italy the new bike is here.........

All my gadgets have been put on and it is ready to go.

 

[tonyidle]

120 cans) of beer, or a weekly shop, and get it back to the campsite without breaking a sweat.

That's more human desperation than anything to do with the bike .

 

[SIFTA SAM]

Some one told me that one of the advantages of a carbon fibre bike is that the speed camera's can't detect you?

 

[busby]

So out of the above what would you want your 'keep it forever' bike frame made from?

There is a company in China that will make me a bespoke titanium frame with titanium fork. To me this seems better than a carbon frame that, will be a couple £100s cheaper but only last 5 - 10 years, and, with my weight, could well catastrophically fail!

I have an aluminium frame at the moment and as good as it is I want something a bit more aero....

Steel may be real but so is rust.

What would you do.......

My dad had a Raleigh that was 50 years old and still going strong, BUSBY.

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

Have a Carbon ebike, only got Carbon as I liked the colour plus it has Ohlin shocks so very good down hill

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