is titanium overpriced?

[Anthony]

Surely everything in mtb is overpriced? With wheels costing over £1,000, cranksets costing over £500, headsets costing £200, £270 for a post isn't out of line with any of that.

Not that any of those things are all that much better than alternatives costing one tenth as much, but if you're obsessed you've got to have the best regardless of value - and that's the basis on which things are priced, not on how much it cost to make them.

 

[lumos2000]

I guess your right Anthony at least with Ti we can justify it, as long as its not abused it will probably last forever

 

[stevet1]

Of the 4 ti frames I've owned, 3 have cracked.
Despite this I'm still thinking about the Ti Stanton Slackline... Just because Ti rides so nice.

 

[M-Power]

^^ Yeah, it's all about the superb ride and natural shock absorbtion qualities of a good Ti frame and components. IMO Ti frames are best suited to XC use, not for regular big air and DH duties. Ti is too prone to catastrophic failure. When Ti frames first came out in the early 90s, they were pretty much the most expensive, then they seemed to be mass produced and of a lower quality for a few years.

Not all of course but now the prices are really up there for the top builders. In a way I applaud it, as it makes cycling sexy cool, which counteracts all the the endless TV Halfrauds ads telling us a full suss bike should be £100 and 1/2 price this weekend. The Race to the Bottom on price is never good for the trade.

 

[monty dog]

There are probably more skilled titanium welders in one city, Xiamen in China than there is in the UK - to say that Chinese QA is worse than the west is purely xenophobic nonsense peddled by certain US manufacturers to justify their high prices (and often poor quality). I like titanium it's an honest material - in raw, welded form it's pretty obvious if it's been done correctly and it's material properties are extraordinary, particularly fatigue resistance. We do some pretty clever stuff with it in the UK, but it's often hidden inside military aircraft...

 

[Woz]

....and let's not forget the Russians. This is an interesting read http://www.tirides.com/wp/fabricators/i ... zukauskas/

 

[lumos2000]

nice site, I think ive found the answer.

http://www.tirides.com/wp/titanium/manu ... bar-stock/

 

[Ian Raleigh]

I've been after a camp' record titanium seat post for ages and will not pay
over £60 but everyone I see forsale goes from £80 to £200 depending
on how good the condition it is in! Looks like I'll never get one.

 

[lumos2000]

I think if you set your mind on one brand then you have to pay the price, im happy to shop around and get the right price, though id like a pair of ti forks finding some for the right price is hard.

 

[WD Pro]

I've been after a camp' record titanium seat post for ages and will not pay
over £60 but everyone I see forsale goes from £80 to £200 depending
on how good the condition it is in! Looks like I'll never get one.

Dad's got one hanging around - I can have a chat with him if you like ?

It had been on the shelf for ages but he's just put in on his MTB - its only temp though until his birthday (Feb) where it will be replaced with a USE Carbon.

WD