#titanium

tag

Chumba Cycles: Alexandera’s DKXL, TDR, CT Singlespeed Stella Titanium 29er

Radar

Chumba Cycles: Alexandera’s DKXL, TDR, CT Singlespeed Stella Titanium 29er

Thanks to Chumba, Industry Nine, Kogel Bearings, Wanderlust Gear and MRP, Alexandera is outfitted properly for a season of ultra-endurance racing this year. After an amazing DKXL story, she’s on her Stella Titanium in the throes of the Tour Divide. Perhaps you’ve recognized her in Spencer and Rue’s galleries? At any rate, Vince from Chumba sent over some photos of Alexandera’s bike, which you can check out below and please, if you have time, give her blog a visit and read her DKXL story. Personally, I can’t wait to read her Tour Divide tale!

French Framebuilder Caminade’s Titanium ChillEasy Full Suspension MTB

Radar

French Framebuilder Caminade’s Titanium ChillEasy Full Suspension MTB

Wow. We get a lot of emails from framebuilders, from all over the world, but rarely does something this interesting come across our inbox. Caminade is a French framebuilder and his latest project will melt your mind. The ChillEasy is a titanium full suspension mountain bike with a side-mounted rear shock, inspired by motos, which makes total sense since a lot of mountain bike technology has been adapted from motos over the years. Talk to Keith Bontrager about that one!

Check out more photos below and see the full spec sheet at Caminade.

Y’all Like Fenders? No22 Drifter X All Road

Radar

Y’all Like Fenders? No22 Drifter X All Road

Fenders, fenders, fenders! They’re important and when people put them at the forefront of their product design, they can look damn good. Case in point is the No22 Drifter X, which comes optionally with these new titanium fenders. The Drifter X is an all-road with slightly shorter stays, a higher stack, and the same construction and detailing that No22 is known for.

Check out some more photos below and all the nitty-gritty details at No22

A First Look at Thomson’s New Titanium All Road Bike and New Titanium Seatpost

Reportage

A First Look at Thomson’s New Titanium All Road Bike and New Titanium Seatpost

Perhaps you recall Thomson making bikes with Lynskey a few years back? Those US made frames were a unique move for the component manufacturer and even though they didn’t sell a ton of the collaboration bikes, it set a precedent for the brand, prompting this project. Yesterday, I met Mike from Thomson, who was in town en route to NAHBS in Sacramento. Mike was unpacking and building up this flashy titanium bike when I saw the Thomson logo on the downtube. While it looks like a polished, finished product, this frame is, in fact, a working prototype. Not the first Thomson bike, but one of the first bikes Thomson has developed to be made overseas in Taiwan.

Why Cycles: Pure Road for SRAM eTap AXS

Radar

Why Cycles: Pure Road for SRAM eTap AXS

No cable bosses, no frame drillings for wires, nada. Just a Pure Road bike made from titanium. Why Cycles wanted to make a road frame, designed specifically for SRAM’s eTap AXS group, tripping it of bosses and focusing on the frame’s details and construction. With clearance for a 32mm tire, it’s a straight-up road machine. Head to Why Cycles for pricing and availability options.

Kingdom Bike: Ti-Ronin Stem

Radar

Kingdom Bike: Ti-Ronin Stem

Kingdom Bike, the manufacturer of rowdy titanium mountain bike frames announced their newest product, a shorty MTB stem called the Ronin. These stems are available in a 31.8 or 35mm clamp, in 35mm and 40mm lengths and in a raw or polished finish. The Ronin comes in at 135g for the 35mm and 140g for the 40mm, and like all good things, it features titanium fixings.

The stem is a very limited edition as a pre-order for the start of March. The RRP is €155 (+/- $177.69 USD) and we will have stock at the start of March. Pre-order discount if you want to pre-order this stem to ensure you get one then use the code IAMRONIN at the checkout to claim a €30 pre-order discount.

See more at Kingdom Bike.

Why Cycles’ New R+ V3 All Road

Radar

Why Cycles’ New R+ V3 All Road

Use it for bikepacking, as an all-road bike, or a flat bar hybrid. The newly designed R+ all road by Why Cycles brings the performance and ride quality of titanium at a pricepoint starting at $4,849 for a SRAM Rival complete build. The R+ will fit a 700×46 or 27.5×2.1” tire and as you can see, has multiple bosses for bags, bottles, and cargo cages. See more at Why Cycles.

Chumba’s New Terlingua Titanium 700c or 27.5 All Road

Radar

Chumba’s New Terlingua Titanium 700c or 27.5 All Road

With its roots in the mountain bike industry, the Terlingua Steel set the stage for Chumba’s entry into the drop bar category. Consequently, the Terlingua has quickly become one of their best selling models. We’ve seen a handful of builds over the years, including Austin’s single speed at the Land Run 100. Well, the Texas brand is excited to announce the Terlingua is now available in Titanium as well as in Steel and all Chumba frames are Made in USA.

Check out the press release below!

A Rad Rod Retrofit: John’s Firefly 2.0 Chubby Road

Reportage

A Rad Rod Retrofit: John’s Firefly 2.0 Chubby Road

When I began working with the team at Firefly on my first disc brake road bike back in 2014, I wanted it to be perfect. The problem was at the time, the industry was very imperfect when it came to disc brakes on road bikes and all the accompanying standards. That was three or four years ago. Flat mount wasn’t on the table, many road forks used a 15mm thru-axle, and SRAM’s 1x XD driver had just switched to the road market after a successful introduction into the MTB market years prior. Trying to figure out the specs on this bike took a lot of back and forth for both me and Firefly. I wanted this bike to be perfect… this is, after all, a dream bike!

Since getting the Rad Rod in 2015, I’ve had this bike built up a number of different ways, traveled the globe with it, toured on it, and came to the conclusion that I truly do love it. So when Tyler emailed me, asking what I’d think about sending it back for a retrofit, I was intrigued.

His proposal was a rear-end retrofit, with a new Firefly thru-axle dropout but most importantly, a new 3D-printed titanium yoke that would allow for a large tire and the use of a 2x drivetrain. By this point, I’d ridden a number of other drop bar “all road” bikes, but really wanted a straight up “chubby road,” or a disc brake, 650b, 2x road bike.

Viral Bikes Launch the Dérive and Skeptic Titanium Hardtails with Pinion Gearbox

Radar

Viral Bikes Launch the Dérive and Skeptic Titanium Hardtails with Pinion Gearbox

The Pinion gearbox brings a virtually hassle-free, low maintenance riding experience, ideal for everything from bikepacking to shredding trails but the biggest hurdle to overcome riding one is the cost for a gearbox and a frame that accommodates one. Viral Bikes just launched two titanium hardtails, the Dérive (120mm travel) and Skeptic (140mm travel), complete with a Pinion C1.12 gearbox for $ 4,495.00. Now that’s by no means cheap, but $2,000 of that cost is the gearbox.

See more at Viral Bikes.

Sklar Bikes: Titanium Seatposts

Radar

Sklar Bikes: Titanium Seatposts

Want a way to Sklarize your bike? In need of a new seatpost? Want a little more compliance on your ride? Well, hold your horsies. Adam Sklar just posted up a few titanium seatposts, with 0mm, 15mm, and 18mm setbacks, all at 310mm lengths, and featuring ENVE clamp mechanisms. The posts are made in Bozeman, Montana by Adam and are in stock now. Head to Sklar for more!

DeSalvo Titanium All Road

Reportage

DeSalvo Titanium All Road

As a big rider, I commend when a big bike can look so balanced. Perhaps that’s what drew me to this De Salvo All-Road the guys at GSC recently built up for a customer. It just looks so balanced. Part of my attraction to this machine is also due to Mike DeSalvo being such a stand-up guy and capable frame builder, but it’s not every day that you see a big bike like this have such a pleasant stance.

The formula is simple, the components to the equation began with a custom titanium frame. Custom in its fit, not necessarily its use. Mike DeSalvo builds lots of disc road bikes for his clients and while the others might not have a pump peg or a third bottle cage on the downtube, they’re two easy details Mike can add to his beautifully-fabricated titanium frames.

For a build kit, the client chose SRAM Red eTap, Boyd Wheels, Fizik, White Industries, and a Parlee Fork. Staple brands void of ostentatious flashiness. Why distract from such pristine titanium construction? Mike DeSalvo’s work is impeccable and this build came out so clean that I’m stoked to be able to share it here. Check out more at DeSalvo Cycles.

____

If you want a custom build like this and live in Los Angeles, hit up Golden Saddle Cyclery.

Builder’s Camp in Bozeman: Alliance Titanium 29er

Reportage

Builder’s Camp in Bozeman: Alliance Titanium 29er

Each year at NAHBS, a selection of builders at the show lament on how we should actually ride bikes together more, not just talk about them once a year at the show. I get it. Sitting in a convention center, under that horrible lighting, discussing how a bike rides is worlds apart from actually riding out on the trails. This year, Adam Sklar took the initiative to plan a weekend and then some of fun times in Bozeman and sent out an open invite to numerous builders. His idea was to expose people to the culture here, the town’s local builders, eats, drinks, and shops, in an event playfully dubbed the “Builder’s Camp.” Squid, Breadwinner, Retrotec, Falconer, Horse, Alliance, and Strong, along with a few other locals, all prepared for 5 days of non-stop riding and relaxing in this beautiful mountain town.

Alliance Titanium 29er

Erik from Alliance makes some damn fine bicycles, yet they have flown under the radar for me and I’m not sure why. Perhaps because I’m often overwhelmed at NAHBS and don’t spend enough time really vetting the display booth. Each year, when Erik has displayed, I’ve missed his booth. But what I will say is after shooting this bike and watching Erik shred it in Bozeman, those days are over. Alliance is perhaps one of the most underrated, or maybe “unknown” is the correct nomenclature, titanium frame builders in the US.

Look, this bike doesn’t use plus tires, or the latest fancy mountain bike group, or carbon wheels, and that’s why I like it so much, because all that flashy stuff isn’t there to distract from Erik’s impeccable craftsmanship. Also, how cool is that Fix It Stix holder?
____

Follow Alliance on Instagram and follow along with the #BuildersCamp hashtag.