I have had carbon road bikes and for this “all road” build I also wanted it to be the bike I can travel with since I do bring my bike on work trips. Titanium seemed like a low maintenance material and didn’t require painting. Every mark that’s been on my frame has been buffed out with some 3M scotch brite.
My experience with Ti has been good. It’s slightly heavier than carbon obviously and that affected what I pack in my bike case. Riding up steep gradients feels different than a carbon bike and I’m not sure it’s purely down to weight. I’m not exactly a powerhouse so the gear is not my limitation.
I didn’t realize you would run a mullet set up with a 2x up front. I am leaning towards a 2x because of the road riding I plan on doing. That said, I like the simplicity of a 1x, I feel like it will simplify things if I do any gravel races.
I haven’t given the power meter much though, partly because I have never had one. But I love the suggestion and plan on adding it to the build.
How does titanium ride compared to carbon? Especially in this price range. I was leaning towards carbon, but definitely apprecaite the simpilicty.
Appreciate the recommendation! Looking into it now.
I’m thinking more of the AXS 2x Wide. It’d be 30/43 up front with 10-36 in the back. Although I’ve seen people talking about running double chainrings up front with the XPLOR 10-44 cassette in the back.
Like others I invested most my $$ last year for my 50th on a Ti frame (Litespeed Ultimate Gravel) and then will upgrade parts as I get my kids out of college ; Ti was my choice because it’s robust, polishes up like new even after scratched, rides super steady over all the surfaces, etc. I swap out wheels when going more on road than dirt and now save my Sworks Tarmac for pretty much summer group rides only. Best purchase choice I’ve made
On mountain bikes, I like Shimano brakes, on drop bar bikes I dislike them.
I have had a Shimano disc brake group set on my previous road bike and tried various other 11-speed Shimano groupsets. My new road bike has Force eTap AXS 1x12, and I love it.
I vastly prefer SRAM brakes on drop bar bikes. I have way more brake feel, Shimano brakes always felt wooden in comparison.
I only tried them briefly on a demo bike and they were horrible. But demo bikes are notorious for having been set up badly. Plus, 10+ years ago I had Magura MTB brakes and they were excellent. I heard from Rony Kuba that they need a break in period.
I opted against Campagnolo as I don’t like their thumb shifter. If they had had double tap, I’d be riding a Campag group set now.
Titanium looks nice and would suit this purpose nicely.
3T also offers mullet setups, but only for their Exploro with more tire clearance.
Yup. A power meter should be part of any dream bike. That makes GRX or SRAM’s 2x gravel crank a more difficult proposition. You’d have to get a pedal-based power meter for those.
I’m jealous, not at that stage in life, yet. Now my two cents.
Threaded BB, custom steel or ti, either custom or high end (moots, IF, Seven, maybe 44Bikes).
Budget close to shot with ti, maybe you have a parts bin or could move parts over? Upgrade when something wears out, or during tax return season, or when it goes on sale.
Wheels have always been a wear and tear item for me… but I’ve never gone super high end, because, well, super high end wheels tend to be built for people 30kg lighter than I.
If going custom, just pay for the rack and fender mounts, it could be the slickest light tourer ever, or your buddies in your draft could stay really dry on the spring rides (if it makes you feel better, pay for ti bolts in those bosses, too).
Counterpoint/deflection, not an attack: As I noted above, backup wheels for me have been a necessity in a gravel or commuter… I wouldn’t go road specific, I might go “heavy gravel” and “playful path” differences, but having a BACKUP wheelset is more important (to me) than having significantly different tires mounted and at the ready.
But I do have my “nicest” bike nearly permanently mounted on the trainer for like 4 years now because I can’t find the time to jump in with the group road rides.
No offense taken at all
My suggestion seems to be compatible with what you wrote: you’d end up with one nice wheelset (= the upgrade) and the previous, robust, but probably not so light and aero wheelset that came with the bike. You could use the former for commutes, rough stuff, etc., and dedicate the latter to your quick days.
From my initial research, I think that this is something that I will require on the bike. Most people recommened against pressed BB.
While I may not need them, I like the flexibilty that having the mounts bring.
Based on this discussion I think I have the following requirements:
SRAM Groupset
Thredded Bottom Bracket
Power Meter (SRAM Force or Red)
Fender/Rack Mounts
Carbon Wheelset/Fork
Tire Clearance of up to 42mm, with 45mm preferred.
Decisions I need to make:
Ti or Carbon Frame
1x or 2x Up Front on the Groupset
I like the Titamium frames that some have mentioned, some Ti frames are way outside my budget. I have also considered a Ventum Carbon Frame, or for value, a Cannondale Topstone.
For the combination of SRAM and threaded bottom bracket, I’d try to find one with a T47 rather than BSA to get the larger bearings. Although I have been using Chris King threaded BB’s with SRAM dub cranks for mtb use and have had zero problems.
Yeah, last I checked (with them via e-mail) they won’t add rack and fender mounts to any frames they don’t come standard on… I love my Sportive (that has rack and fender mounts, that I’ve only played around with once or twice), but I won’t buy from them again until I can get what I want in a CX/light tourer.
I’m doing that just now - I’m in the process of ordering all bits and pieces and hopefully I’ll build it in a couple of months.
I’ll probably get some criticism on not getting a renowned brand frame and wheels but well, my money, my choice:)
The wheels I already got and tested on a gravel frame - they’re just great!
One of the reasons of wanting to get this frame (besides the friendly price) is the fact they have very small sizes - I’m 155 cm tall and the xs sizes of many brands are just too big.
So here it goes:
Frameset + handlebars: ELVES Falath Pro Disc
Wheels: Elitewheels Drive 40D
Groupset: Ultegra Di2 12spd
BB: WheelsMfg Thread-together
Powermeter: 4iii
; Ti was my choice because it’s robust, polishes up like new even after scratched, rides super steady over all the surfaces, etc. I swap out wheels when going more on road than dirt and now save my Sworks Tarmac for pretty much summer group rides only. Best purchase choice I’ve made
