will a ti charge duster be a lot better than the steel bike?

racefaceec90 · Jun 26, 2011

have asked on singletrack,but thought i would ask here also.basically am going to p'x my 10 anthem x2 towards a charge ht.have been changing my mind between going for a titanium frame (have never owned a ti bike before/always wanted one) or a steel bike (the duster mid as it seems to be the only one that i can get in small).basically i know that ti is corrosion proof/lighter than steel,but in the real world,would it ride better than the steel (justifying the extra £1000 roughly) as much as i would love the ti frame,being realistic if it wouldn't ride any better than the steel one,then i would rather save the money and go steel.what are your opinions on this (has anyone ridden either/both?)thanks in advance

beagle · Jun 26, 2011

Depends what steel it's made of. If it's just boggo "Charge butted chromoly" 4130 stuff the Ti will ride miles better.

suburbanreuben · Jun 26, 2011

An extra £1000? :shock: What is the total cost?
Let's assume it's £1400. For that , you will get a handmade, custom steel frame made by a framebuilding god. He will select the pipes and geometry to optimise the ride to you stature, weight and style. It will be better than a ti bike made from cheap, or even not so cheap, titanium of dubious origin.
A top quality steel bike is going to be better than any midrange ti bike, and most likely better than ANY ti frame.

beagle · Jun 26, 2011

^ Sound advice.

FluffyChicken · Jun 26, 2011

the mid is Tange Prestige Skinny butted tubing (whatever that means), but Prestige is good stuff.

It all on their website http://www.chargebikes.com/products/bik ... l.php?id=7

All the Dusters seem to come in the smallest 16", I assume the more expensive use slightly better tubing ? as they subtly change the name of it.
But the proper technical details are not there.

Ti doesn't seem to feature at a glance ?

EDIT I found them Duster and Duster Ti XC under parts as frames.
Ti =
Seamless Tange ultimate butted titanium tubing

anyways as for difference...

racefaceec90 · Jun 27, 2011

thanks for all the replies and apologies for not putting tubing in the thread.basically the mid bike costs £1199.99,and titanium frame is £1299.99 (going up to £1499.99 next year :shock: have read some great reviews of both bikes (they both ride great/great shock absortion,but will still get up to speed quickly) pic of the mid bike+parts list http://www.wiggle.co.uk/charge-dust...=google&utm_medium=base&utm_campaign=products and the 2012 ti frame (no 2011 left i think?) which retailes for £1499.99

again thanks for your advice

FluffyChicken · Jun 27, 2011

I guess what they are saying is you could have something like a DeKerf SST even a custom geometry one for less or similar to the Ti frame
http://www.dekerf.com/Pricing.asp?id=1

Since you don't seem to actually want/must have the Ti frame, else you would already know the answer.

But take them both for a test ride and see how they feel.

andrewl · Jun 27, 2011

I love steel and nice paint, but if its a rider to be kept for the long haul, I prefer Ti myself.

I'd also consider a few other frame options to those too. I settled on a Lynskey for my last brand new hard tail and for an off the shelf frame its pretty awesome.

Harryburgundy · Jun 27, 2011

As Nick says....£1300-£1500 on a frame is in high-end custom made steel territory, well within budget if you buy 2nd hand. No brainer for me.
You could even get a 2nd hand Ti frame from a top custom builder for that money, but you would have to be patient finding one I guess.

makster · Jun 27, 2011

You can get a 2010 Ti Rock Lobster, with full XT for around £1800.
They got really good reviews, and I've hovered over the 'buy' button may an evening

Check the Merlin website if this interests you

will a ti charge duster be a lot better than the steel bike?

racefaceec90

Devout Dirtbag

beagle

Senior Retro Guru

suburbanreuben

Old School Grand Master

beagle

Senior Retro Guru

FluffyChicken

racefaceec90

Devout Dirtbag

FluffyChicken

andrewl

Senior Retro Guru

Harryburgundy

makster

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