TITANIUM! (final build Page2)

Bought this frame 2nd hand back in 2006 off ebay for around 1000GBP - which seemed pretty good value as the new custom price was over 3.5k GBP and although built to someone else's specs, the geometry is standard and size was perfect for me.

Have built up in various forms over the past few years (rigid, front sus etc) and have occasionally posted up the results. However, I've never really been happy with the build so have been continually changing/upgrading/modifying things.

I think I'm finally happy with it now. The goal was not to stick to components from any particular era, but to use as much titanium as possible (excluding chain, cassette and spokes) and to end up with a combination of strength/durability and light weight.

Here are a few photos...

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2005 19" Seven Sola Olympic edition frameset – limited edition made with their cirrus-argen, ultra butted seamless 3-2.5 titanium tubing.

It came with an aluminium seat-post - seemed to let the frame down a bit. The beautifully made Ti stem was a little long at 120mm.

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I had the stem shortened and re-welded by Steve Potts to 90mm, keeping the 4 degree rise but using a more robust Paragon Machine Works clamp that he also uses for his own stems. Here it is without bolts and face-plate:

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Kent Eriksen SweetPost to replace the stock aluminium post. Alloy clamp has since been updated to gold...

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Was aiming for 1 x 9 set up as I have been running this config since the early nineties when I couldn't afford to renew the outer and granny rings on my Marin's chainset - so had to just run a middle ring for everything. Realised that I didn't need the other rings as if it was steep enough to needed the granny ring, then it was usually more efficient to sling the bike on my back. Likewise I was happy going as fast as gravity would allow and didn't miss the additional speed from an outer ring.

I sourced a NOS Boone 34T 110BCD middle ring from ebay which has remained in storage for a number of years until now...



EDIT: I've just seen replaced this ring with a KA-engineering shark-tooth one (see post on page 3)

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Always wanted a pair of titanium cranks but options are limited. Morati cranks are always a little too expensive and come up infrequently on e-bay. There are also a few pictures floating around of cracked ones. They would also have a fair bit of redundant material on them if I was planning to use them just as a single ring set up. So I put my name down on the waiting list for a pair of Groovy Cycles Ti Hot Rods. These finally arrived this year (3 years after joining the list!). They were worth the wait. Every aspect of the design/engineering is thoroughly thought out...

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In 2008 I bought a Home Brew Cycles Ti bash guard - not just to protect the chainring but because I also wanted to commute on my bike and didn't want to shred my jeans. The ring took months to arrive and it turns out I was lucky to get it at all (there are heaps of threads on other forums about the company/owner taking orders and money then never delivering the product)...

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Was running Fox forks on the bike but never really warmed to them or indeed the whole front suspension idea in general. So went back to rigid forks and asked people on here about what size to go for (thanks to those of you who helped with advice).

I initially approached Black Sheep but never got a reply. Was about settle for a pair of steel Steve Potts Type II forks when I saw a build that Chris DeKerf had done which included his Ti Tuning Fork. The engineering behind the fork is amazing - check it out here:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... amp;type=3

Here is my finished one (photos originally from DeKerf's facebook Page):

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I was using Hope Pro2s with Stans rims previously and although they were/are great wheels, they didn't match the stupidly excessive nature of the rest of the build. I thought I'd go for the usual top-end hubs (Chris King/white industries/Phil Wood etc) and then saw Royce's titanium hubs. These are machined from 6AL4V solid Ti billet and then coated in Ti-Nitride because, you know, 6AL4V is not tough enough.

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Picked up a Brooks Swallow Limited Edition Saddle with Ti rails in a closing down sale: