Titanium bikes

[jefmcg]

I suppose the male version of the far more common female version

Yerbut .... do people call Victors Vickster?

 

[vickster]

Yerbut .... do people call Victors Vickster?

Dunno, never met anyone called Victor

My hint was clearly too subtle for BB

 

[Bonefish Blues]

It was. My apologies.

 

[Andrew Br]

I was going to recommend Burls as an alternative to Enigma (although I'd still go with Enigma).
My GF got her bike from him and she loves it.
AIUI, he'll design whatever you want (discs, TA, rack and guard eyelets etc) and then get it made in Russia (his wife is Russian). I think his frames are welded by people who used to make Ti aerospace components. I'm pretty impressed by the quality of the welds on my GF's bike.
The downsides to Burls are that he doesn't have demo frames and he only uses(d) straight wall tubes so no butting.
You'll also have to have a good idea of the geometry that you need. That might not be a problem if you already have a bike that you're comfy on.

As I said though, I'd still go with Enigma.
If you have any problems or aren't happy about anything, they'll bend over backwards to sort you out.

 

[AlanW]

R J.ACK is the none disc version as I think? If you drop them a line (email or phone) Dave is more than happy to arrange a test ride around a loop in Rutland they use and discuss what you are after in terms of build, components or what not. I've discussed a couple of changes I would go for if I had my time around. Perhaps the addition of a chain hanger and to have one of the set of rear bosses double sided to facilitate easier rack & mudguard mounting.

I'm 2000km in on mine now and quite happy with it, another 1400km next week LOL

They do a disc version, and very nice it looks to, but that is only going by pictures that I have seen on the net. I need to see one in the flesh and more importantly ride one. But my decision to get the Kinesis was based on two years worth of searching and looking, and really disappointed on two accounts. 1) the first frame I had only had a half welded bottle boss? 2) I have to keep ringing them only to be told its going to be another month.

I emailed them over the weekend after being offered a full refund, give me one good reason why I should wait another month.....their response, "its your choice".

Is it me but to have the delivery slip from 6 weeks to 5 months, and they still cannot tell me I am likely to get it, something doesn't sound right there somewhere, or is it me just being impatient?

The Engima Etape was originally a strong contender. I even paid to have a demo bike for a week, even if they did send me the wrong size!! While it did indeed ride very nice, it was just a bit same old, same old really and the rear disc mounting is a bit dated by todays standards. Yes they do a custom build, but at a cost that I wasn't prepared to pay. Plus the hydraulic pipe route to the rear brake looks so much of a add on to a normal braked frame, which it is really.

 

[vickster]

It's a gravel bike, Really I want a road bike. Having read @AlanW experience with Kinesis, I'm not going there

Had another look and chat about the J Guillem orient yesterday, hoping to have a test ride in the week, weather permitting. They're also developing a TA version, so it won't be an immediate purchase

 

[vickster]

Just above and other posts too

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/disc-road-bikes-and-thru-axles.217333/

 

[AlanW]

I find it quite disturbing and slightly worrying that in the middle of the busiest part of the year Kinesis cannot supply what they call their best selling frame because of QA issues. The only change for this years model is the addition of the thru axle front forks, I can only assume that because of the problem they encountered last year when I rider was killed as a direct result of a Kinesis fork failing, they are playing it very, very safe indeed.

But five months...really????

Either that or I am just making excuses for them? Plus, and of course it may just be coincidence, but the UK marketing manager has just left Kinesis, for reasons unknown.

But nothing else in the market place excites me like the Kinesis GFTi does, as it ticks every single box for my needs and requirements. So I guess that I am in it for the long haul, as nothing else jumps out at me. The only saving grace is that the longer it takes, the more money I can save in order to put better stuff on it, so every cloud and all that

 

[vickster]

Have you looked at J Guillem? Although there aren't many dealers. Luckily I guess, one is about 15 mins from me

 

[AlanW]

Have you looked at J Guillem? Although there aren't many dealers. Luckily I guess, one is about 15 mins from me

It wasn't a name that was on my list to be honest, but indeed a very nice looking frame. My nearest dealer is Yeovil, so 80 odd miles away.

The Laverack was my next possible option, but its finding the time to get over to their shop to see one in the flesh and to have a test ride

 

[vickster]

It wasn't a name that was on my list to be honest, but indeed a very nice looking frame. My nearest dealer is Yeovil, so 80 odd miles away.

The Laverack was my next possible option, but its finding the time to get over to their shop to see one in the flesh and to have a test ride

J Gulllem started by Mr Van Nicolas

I didn't personally like the look of the Laveracks nor the short warranty but ymmv

 

[AlanW]

......nor the short warranty but ymmv

Better than the three years you get with the Kinesis GFTi!

 

[vickster]

Better than the three years you get with the Kinesis GFTi!

Well yes, that would put me off completely too. I'm only considering the brands with a 10+ year warranty, preferably lifetime

 

[jefmcg]

And a reasonable expectation that the company will still exist over that timeframe.

Well, the lifetime in this case if Vickster's, or the company's; whichever is shorter.

 

[jefmcg]

At this point, further speculation might be unwise.

To be fair, lifetime warranties only apply to the original owner, and @vickster is fickle when it comes to bikes, so it probably won't come to that.

(Giant offers a better warranty on the Alu Defy, which probably is 1/10th the price )