Titanium Rumors
January 24th, 2008 by Guitar TedTitanium seems to be making a bit of a comeback as a popular choice for hardtail mountain bikes again and 29″ers are not exempt. Twenty Nine Inches is hearing some rumors and soft news regarding the grayish hued wonder metal.
Lynskey Performance Designs, which showed a cruiser bike recently, is going to also show a belt drive titanium 29″er at the upcoming NAHBS in February. (By the way, they will also be using the Belt Drive idea on a city bike to be shown at NAHBS as well.) The belt is made by Gates, a company well known for making belt drives for the likes of Harley-Davidson amongst others. You can read about my test of a Spot Brand single speed set up with the Belt Drive system here.
Lynskey also figures highly in our next tidbit on titanium. On One, the United Kingdom based purveyor of fine steel 29″ers, amongst a slew of other cool cycling bits, is having Lynskey produce a run of titanium single speeds in the near future, including a 29″er. Details are not set in stone as yet, but we are hoping to bring you some images of the bike soon. More on the On One/Lynskey collaboration as we get the info….
Finally, one of the hits of the indoor portion of Interbike this past fall has to be the twin titanium bikes on display at the Niner booth. As promised, we are keeping up with the developments regarding which version will ultimately be produced. We are hearing a rumor that the single speed is going to be the version chosen to be produced and that in a very, very limited quantity. We are hearing less than 200 units. However; it won’t be anytime soon, as Niner is still busy putting the final touches on its upcoming J.E.T. 9 full suspension rig. Design work and production won’t even be looked at until the J.E.T.9 project is fully completed and going out the door to waiting customers. (We’re hearing that pre-order numbers are very high for the J.E.T. 9 too.)
More on any of these stories as we hear about it………
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Ti is a great selection for mountain bikes — avoids some of the problems that come up with carbon fiber.
Our 2009 Moto line not only includes a 26″ FLY TEAM Ti that is 19.5 lbs
But also includes a 29er in Ti [FLY 29 TEAM] which will be under $4500 with handbuilt custom tubing frame out of 3al-2.5v. Specs will include:
REBA RACE
VUELTA HANDBUILT 29er TEAM SL WHEEL SET
XTR SHIFTER & DER
NEW AVID CARBON ELIXIR BRAKES [UPGRADED 2009 FROM CARBON JUICY]
RITCHEY WCS BARS, STEM, POST
FSA AFTERBURNER MEGAEXO
this bike along with several others coming out in 2009 should put Ti 29ers in the budget of many riders
Motobecanes are not price controled; so dealers can sell at as much discount as they like; so this Ti XTR hardtail at 22 lbs could be under $2500 for many buyers
If that SS Niner comes Convertion Ready, sign me up!
Although I do love my Inbred 26er……
Damn I hate Dilemmas!
Mike @ Motobecane,
Are you unable to make a post without shilling for motobecane?
On-One is delving into into titanium, so maybe we’ll see a Ti Inbred one day.
vescus
I think you need to look up ’shilling’ – I am very clear about who I am in my post
I do not know what other companies have coming out in 29ers – just what Motobecane has coming out.
So the only thing I have to add here is news about Motobecane 29ers that are coming out. Which do include a Ti model and a version in Platinum OX and a higher end lighter AL one.
I wish other bike companies woud also come on and share their plans.
I think the growth in 29er options is exciting
mike
man, i’d love a titanium 29er to replace my old ti bontrager… i do love the feel of a great ti frame!
MIke at Moto:
I was looking at the KHS Solo One SE and the Motobecane Outcast and they really look similar. Are the Frames made by the same company? The geometry seemed almost exactly the same – just the KHS was steel and the Moto was aluminum.
Mike at Moto:
Will Motobecane be coming our with any dual suspension 29ers in for the 2009 model year? (Ti or otherwise.)
Thanks.
Mailorder titanuim? That’s not a very funny joke. It’s rather scary….
DUST- go with the KHS. I’ve seen numerous products from both companies and the quality of the build is WAY better on the KHS stuff than the Motorbacons, no matter who’s doing the actual assembly…
mike at moto
Thanks for the news.
A budget Ti 29er would be most welcome.
An OX frame would be a good move too.
Love what you’re doing. Motobecane could become a household word, again.
George
Now, how about a retro road bike?
Give it the look of a steel track bike. (NON SLOPING TOP TUBE)
Welded steel frame with separate seat post clamp and lugged steel fork.
Fits tires up to 38c.
SS and gear compatible.
Downtube shifter bosses.
Cantilever and caliper brake compatible.
Brake hoods where the wire comes out the top.
NO BLACK COMPONENTS.
Spike Shooter rider Katie Compton rides a custom Ti Primus Mootry Singlespeed 29er. Katie won the XC, Shorttrack and Super-D at last season’s Mountain States Cup in Keystone
There’s a piece on Joe of Primus Mootry in the latest Velonews buyers guide
Katie is planning on racing her Ti Singlespeed 29er all season except for the BC stage race where she’ll ride her geared 29er Scandium frame
I’d love it if MORE industry people would post here to let us know what product is around the corner. I’m on teh verge of buying a new 29er frame and would love to know my options.
PS, anybody out there have comments on the Misfit DiSSent? How is that 70mm BB drop treating you?
Mike at moto:
I just picked up a Fantom 29er and love it. I’m thinking about picking up a full suspension as well, like the Moto Trail DS. But if a 29er full suspension is in the works, I’d rather go that route. Any inside information?
thanks
We are working on a dual suspension 29er – it is aluminum
The Ti 29er is a hardtail and will be out winter time [or early 2009]
Also coming a SL version of the Fantom 29er PRO – which will be XTR/XT, Juicy Seven, and Reba etc
our current line of 3 29ers will expand to six models by middle of 2009
Mike at moto,
Any more news on the TI 29er?
what tubeset in the main tri and the rear tri?
it is prolly tough to price against the namesakes in Ti frames at this point. we might not see it from niner for some time to come
big chris: I’m sorry to say that the Niner titanium project looks to have been scuttled with no plans to resurrect that in the near future. Niner’s Chris Sugai told me at Interbike that there just didn’t seem to be enough buzz from consumers or dealers at the time it was shown and shortly afterward to make them very excited about it.
Then other more pressing projects started to happen and well, you know?