Antonio Barba has gone down the carbon road but doesn’t like it. Some people don’t! So he wants our suggestions as to what he could be riding with a mixture of Titanium and Carbon. We tell him which frame we like the best.
Question: I am a larger rider about 215 pounds and 6 feet tall
I had a sampson (z7 ti bike for 7 years and loved it, 2 years ago I got the carbon itch and bought a kestrel talon, I just am not comfortable with the ride..
I may go back to ti or a carb/ti mix but woould like a recommendation..my max amout to spend is $5500
thanks..look forward to your input.
Answer:
Hi Antonio,
Some people, like yourself, find the Carbon ride too harsh and do prefer the Titanium Carbon mix to give comfort and lightness. There are quite a few manufacturers of Titanium frames that now fit. The carbon rear chain stays seat stays or the complete rear end.
We have three favorites, Airborne (sold in the U.S. as Flyte), Seven and Litespeed, all beautifully designed, and built. Airborne/Flyte seems to be going through a change and has possibly gone out of business, so we won’t waste time on them, except to say they were very nice.
Seven Bikes
The best titanium/carbon mix Seven is the Elium SG. The Elium not only has carbon seat stays it also has carbon seat and top tube. The frame has a sloping, compact design and looks great. If you don’t want so much carbon, then the Seven -ID8, which has carbon seat tube and seat stays and everything else, is titanium, the same design, and beautiful lines as the Elium. Very nice looks and very well made.
Litespeed Bikes
Now the problem with Litespeed is that they no longer make a titanium frame with carbon rear end, which is a shame, but if you want all-titanium, then Litespeed is the one to look at. The Ghisallo is their top model, we also like the Vortex Compact, both bikes all titanium and are a sloping design, good styling, and precise handling.
Of all the titanium carbon mix frames, we like the look of the Elium SG, it has a lot of carbon, but in the best places. The titanium is where it is wanted to dampen any road vibration to soften the ride, but still have the attributes of both materials, which is what Antonio wants from his bike.
