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Carbon vs Titanium

by Noelieboy
Thu, May 02, 2013 12:42
38

AaaHhhhh Can somebody, anybody help me please....or maybe shed some light...???
I'm drowning in confusion, I have a list of bikes about as long as my legs & I don't know anymore.
I have a budget of £1,500 - £2k & I'm looking to upgrade my steed to something more worthy.

I Originally had a small list of Carbon bikes maybe a ribble R872, or a BMC roadracer, or a Specialized Roubaix, or a boardman road team, or a cinelli saetta, or a dolan (as I'm NW based) but then I heard about Ti & the Van Nich has been drawing me in.
Titanium sounds amazing but now I'm not sure if Ti is right...

I had ruled out aluminium as (generally) the ride is quite rigid & the roads in & around Greater Manchester aren't the best. my current Alu bike has me whincing in pain over the bumps but I've heard alu is on the comeback. I just don't know anymore.

i went to edinburgh cycles in manchester & the assistant then suggested more bikes to me, argh headache. these were the mekk potenza (sounds great for £1,100!), the focus cayo evo 4/6 & the cube agree gtc.

I suppose what I'm getting at is, would any of these (particularly Ti)stack up in a race if I was to start racing (which I'm considering) & is there a good allrounder to stop me buying 2 bikes 1

thanks in advance

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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38 comments

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Noelieboy | 11 years ago
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Cheers guys all very helpful.
I will check out the Spin bikes, hadnt heard of those.
I have seen the Lynskys but I wasn't overly impressed compared to the Van Nic's.

Where I'm at now is I think its a straight race with the Van Nic & a new contender - A Wilier Izoad XP 105 which I have just test rode tonight & loved it! Very responsive & a great ride.
I had test rides on the mekk potenza 5, Merckx emz, specialised roubaix & focus Cayo 6 tonight & just as I was leaving the store guy suggested the Wilier. I wish he hadn't as its thrown another spanner in the works now.

I would like to try out a dolan tho before making my final decision.

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700c | 11 years ago
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Your options sound pretty racy so if you do go for ti make sure it's on the lighter side /with racier geometry.

Due to the virtues if the material, most manufacturers design ti bikes as distance machines rather than out and out racing machines.

Personally I love my Ti kinesis and with light wheels it fairly flies along, and I can recommend this if you're not just racing on it, but I do believe Spin or Lynsky make lighter, more aggressively sporty models in Ti.

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tomisitt | 11 years ago
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Have you thought about Spin titanium bikes...pretty racy, especially the Spitfire Mk3 and the Lightning (they even have a their own race team) and reasonably priced. Few Ti bikes are as "raceable" as the equivalent carbon ones, but unless you're at a high level of racing, the chances are you won't notice a huge difference (except in comfort).

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spongebob | 11 years ago
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That's because carbon riders are out riding and titanium are hanging about outside the cafe ;);)

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simonkenyon | 11 years ago
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What makes you think you wouldn't be able to race on it?

Anyhow, this may or may not help your decision making - but in my experience, when it comes to carbon vs. titanium, nobody ever comes up to you and says "wow, that's a cool bike" when you're riding carbon ...

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Noelieboy replied to simonkenyon | 11 years ago
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simonkenyon wrote:

What makes you think you wouldn't be able to race on it?

Anyhow, this may or may not help your decision making - but in my experience, when it comes to carbon vs. titanium, nobody ever comes up to you and says "wow, that's a cool bike" when you're riding carbon ...

this is very true, Titanium does stand out from the norm. is the gratification worth the £400 price difference...???

I wasn't sure if the Van Nic was a full racing spec.
The van nic website states: "The Mistral has been designed with all-day saddle occupancy in mind. It’s ideal for riders who want great performance without a ‘professional’ price tag"
where as the Ventus states: "A performance racer with a silky-smooth ride, the Ventus delivers all the magical qualities of Titanium at a wallet-friendly price."

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Cycle_Jim | 11 years ago
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Got a mekk poggio, its very nice!

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Noelieboy replied to Cycle_Jim | 11 years ago
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cheers Jim

I'm going to test ride the Mekk Potenza tonight...

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