Domain: litespeed.com
Stories and comments across the archive that link to litespeed.com.
Comments · 8
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No exaggeration?
So these guys aren't exaggerating?
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Bicycles, Wedding Rings, and Metallurgy
I'm a cyclist, and the Ti wedding ring is OLD news in the cycling community.
Here are some tips... CP(Commercially Pure) Ti is relatively easy to draw into tubes and usually comes from the states in the former U.S.S.R.
3Al/2.5V is the most commonly used alloy for Road and Mountain Racing Ti Bicycles.
Litespeed (Very Happenin' Frame Maker) Actually uses 6/4 Ti in some of it's top framesets cha-ching $$$
Great 6/4 vs. 3/2.5 vs. CP vs. Al vs. scandium from litespeed site... -
Bicycles - a materials primer
Titanium has been used in high-end bicycles for some time. Litespeed and Merlin are the two big original manufacturers, although some others have come on board. Ti's pretty hard to work, though, so Joe's Bike Shop and Espresso isn't going to be able to buy the kit necessary to work it.
Litespeed cold works a lot of their tubing, which they say creates a stronger tube. They make some breath-taking bikes. And they're breath-takingly expensive, too, believe me.
For some time now people have been arguing the relative benefits of different bike materials. For most of bike history it was steel, but steel's heavy, plus it rusts. You're lucky to get a steel frame under 5 pounds. Some people still swear by the loose feel of a steel bike, but steel is on its way out. Because it's so damn heavy you can't make a really stiff bike from steel - tube stiffness squares as diameter doubles.
This is a win for aluminum, and the reason Cannondale can make such fat-tube aluminum bikes. The Litespeed Blade (Ti) has skinny, horizontally stiff and very aero tubing, but it's not so laterally stiff. Let me tell you, when you weigh 220 and you really pound on the pedals, you appreciate the extra width of aluminum tubing. Some people think it's too stiff, though. A nice aluminum frame (like mine, even if it's a few years old) can weigh 2.75 pounds. Unreal.
Carbon fiber has gotten big lately, too. Tell me this doesn't make your mouth water. That's right - it's got no seat tube. No way can you do that with any metal. Carbon's frighteningly light, but fragile - little scratches really build up and can adversly affect the frame. If you T-bone a carbon bike, one of two things will happen: (a) nothing, (b) you're walking home carrying $2,500 worth of plastic. Trek makes a lot of carbon bikes, including the one Lance Armstrong has been dominating the Tour with. That frame weighs 2.25 pounds.
Trouble is, the start-up cost for a carbon bike fab is astronomical - higher than any other material. If you want a custom frame, you're likely SOL. This is where Ti shines - custom frames are almost as easy as steel.
Thus endeth the lesson :) -
Bicycles - a materials primer
Titanium has been used in high-end bicycles for some time. Litespeed and Merlin are the two big original manufacturers, although some others have come on board. Ti's pretty hard to work, though, so Joe's Bike Shop and Espresso isn't going to be able to buy the kit necessary to work it.
Litespeed cold works a lot of their tubing, which they say creates a stronger tube. They make some breath-taking bikes. And they're breath-takingly expensive, too, believe me.
For some time now people have been arguing the relative benefits of different bike materials. For most of bike history it was steel, but steel's heavy, plus it rusts. You're lucky to get a steel frame under 5 pounds. Some people still swear by the loose feel of a steel bike, but steel is on its way out. Because it's so damn heavy you can't make a really stiff bike from steel - tube stiffness squares as diameter doubles.
This is a win for aluminum, and the reason Cannondale can make such fat-tube aluminum bikes. The Litespeed Blade (Ti) has skinny, horizontally stiff and very aero tubing, but it's not so laterally stiff. Let me tell you, when you weigh 220 and you really pound on the pedals, you appreciate the extra width of aluminum tubing. Some people think it's too stiff, though. A nice aluminum frame (like mine, even if it's a few years old) can weigh 2.75 pounds. Unreal.
Carbon fiber has gotten big lately, too. Tell me this doesn't make your mouth water. That's right - it's got no seat tube. No way can you do that with any metal. Carbon's frighteningly light, but fragile - little scratches really build up and can adversly affect the frame. If you T-bone a carbon bike, one of two things will happen: (a) nothing, (b) you're walking home carrying $2,500 worth of plastic. Trek makes a lot of carbon bikes, including the one Lance Armstrong has been dominating the Tour with. That frame weighs 2.25 pounds.
Trouble is, the start-up cost for a carbon bike fab is astronomical - higher than any other material. If you want a custom frame, you're likely SOL. This is where Ti shines - custom frames are almost as easy as steel.
Thus endeth the lesson :) -
Bicycles - a materials primer
Titanium has been used in high-end bicycles for some time. Litespeed and Merlin are the two big original manufacturers, although some others have come on board. Ti's pretty hard to work, though, so Joe's Bike Shop and Espresso isn't going to be able to buy the kit necessary to work it.
Litespeed cold works a lot of their tubing, which they say creates a stronger tube. They make some breath-taking bikes. And they're breath-takingly expensive, too, believe me.
For some time now people have been arguing the relative benefits of different bike materials. For most of bike history it was steel, but steel's heavy, plus it rusts. You're lucky to get a steel frame under 5 pounds. Some people still swear by the loose feel of a steel bike, but steel is on its way out. Because it's so damn heavy you can't make a really stiff bike from steel - tube stiffness squares as diameter doubles.
This is a win for aluminum, and the reason Cannondale can make such fat-tube aluminum bikes. The Litespeed Blade (Ti) has skinny, horizontally stiff and very aero tubing, but it's not so laterally stiff. Let me tell you, when you weigh 220 and you really pound on the pedals, you appreciate the extra width of aluminum tubing. Some people think it's too stiff, though. A nice aluminum frame (like mine, even if it's a few years old) can weigh 2.75 pounds. Unreal.
Carbon fiber has gotten big lately, too. Tell me this doesn't make your mouth water. That's right - it's got no seat tube. No way can you do that with any metal. Carbon's frighteningly light, but fragile - little scratches really build up and can adversly affect the frame. If you T-bone a carbon bike, one of two things will happen: (a) nothing, (b) you're walking home carrying $2,500 worth of plastic. Trek makes a lot of carbon bikes, including the one Lance Armstrong has been dominating the Tour with. That frame weighs 2.25 pounds.
Trouble is, the start-up cost for a carbon bike fab is astronomical - higher than any other material. If you want a custom frame, you're likely SOL. This is where Ti shines - custom frames are almost as easy as steel.
Thus endeth the lesson :) -
Bicycles - a materials primer
Titanium has been used in high-end bicycles for some time. Litespeed and Merlin are the two big original manufacturers, although some others have come on board. Ti's pretty hard to work, though, so Joe's Bike Shop and Espresso isn't going to be able to buy the kit necessary to work it.
Litespeed cold works a lot of their tubing, which they say creates a stronger tube. They make some breath-taking bikes. And they're breath-takingly expensive, too, believe me.
For some time now people have been arguing the relative benefits of different bike materials. For most of bike history it was steel, but steel's heavy, plus it rusts. You're lucky to get a steel frame under 5 pounds. Some people still swear by the loose feel of a steel bike, but steel is on its way out. Because it's so damn heavy you can't make a really stiff bike from steel - tube stiffness squares as diameter doubles.
This is a win for aluminum, and the reason Cannondale can make such fat-tube aluminum bikes. The Litespeed Blade (Ti) has skinny, horizontally stiff and very aero tubing, but it's not so laterally stiff. Let me tell you, when you weigh 220 and you really pound on the pedals, you appreciate the extra width of aluminum tubing. Some people think it's too stiff, though. A nice aluminum frame (like mine, even if it's a few years old) can weigh 2.75 pounds. Unreal.
Carbon fiber has gotten big lately, too. Tell me this doesn't make your mouth water. That's right - it's got no seat tube. No way can you do that with any metal. Carbon's frighteningly light, but fragile - little scratches really build up and can adversly affect the frame. If you T-bone a carbon bike, one of two things will happen: (a) nothing, (b) you're walking home carrying $2,500 worth of plastic. Trek makes a lot of carbon bikes, including the one Lance Armstrong has been dominating the Tour with. That frame weighs 2.25 pounds.
Trouble is, the start-up cost for a carbon bike fab is astronomical - higher than any other material. If you want a custom frame, you're likely SOL. This is where Ti shines - custom frames are almost as easy as steel.
Thus endeth the lesson :) -
Bicyclists have known about Ti for years
Of course it's sexy. It gets you your Glow In the Dark points, too.
:-)For examples of Ti bikes, see Litespeed, Merlin, and Santana Tandems.
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Re:Rugged? Try TitaniumTitanium in such minimal thicknesses is actually very flexible. (and also very lightweight). I'm no engineer, but look at the tubes of titanium bike frames. They are always oversized in diameter compared to steel, otherwise the bike would flex like a noodle.
Check out the cool Ti bike stuff at Litespeed
Ti is nice, but there is nothing necessarily indestructable about it.
P.S. If you really ran a TiBook over with a car, it would be completely destroyed. You can flex the screen a scary amount by hand. (not that x86 laptops are any different).