so no heat treating at all huh? will it lose its bendability if heat treated?
why is it that much of a pita to weld over Al or steel?
Custom ti frame build has begun.
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why is it that much of a pita to weld over Al or steel?
Yup, none at all. It won't lose anything. Nothing will happen.
Ti is actually quite easy to weld, especially compared to alum. It's the other factors that make it a PITA. Your prep has to be surgically clean. Any contamination at all and the frame is done. You might not even know it. That's a huge liability when you think about so builders need to be REALLY careful that they don't F up. The material is much harder to cut and takes more expensive tools. If you scrap a tube, it's $200 vs $30 for a steel bike.
byo - doesn't ti also need special (read expensive) gases during welding?
I don't think it is any different than other shielding gasses. I think the difference is instead of a ****ty weld you end up with a fire.
Oh man, the suspense is killing me.
not really
not really
Just bail and buy the yuppie Moots already. You obviously want it more and will probably be happier in the long run. Stop worrying that you are going to hurt his feelings, you have nothing holding you to it, and send the no go email.
Seriously. A friend was having some work done on his FJ40 Land Cruiser. It was supposed to be done in two months. Nine years later and he finally got it back.
Aren't they in Boulder? This really isn't a ski town.
Well it sure does look nice. Photo was taken before he welded everything up. Seat stays go on tomorrow, Then I assume they are preloaded and the shock mounts go on.
I've known many a colorado ski dude. Just reminded me of a guy I knew who was a ski hippy, thats all.
Holy hideous toptube.
I disagree I think the top tube makes it looks sick, but the moment you nut your self it won't look so cool.
was he having rust work done?
Kinda what I mean. I hate curved tubes on bikes in general (aesthetically), but having a toptube that curves up? Not only is it hideous, but it's functionally and geometrically useless as far as I can tell, unless I'm missing something. All you're doing is losing standover really.
Ok?....
CJ: I think the end result is pretty nice. Stand over isn't bad at all.
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The tube doesn't arch up, it bends down. Not any different than a sloping toptube.
I disagree....besides, sloping downward is essentially the same as arching upward. the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. If you used a straight tube from the headtube/toptube junction to the seattube/toptube junction, your standover would be improved. On the contrary, using a curved toptube that arches down allows you greater standover for the same given geometry (read: functionally advantageous).
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sounds like some people are confusing concave/convex
Who? Me or Wumpus?
Don't they have to fill the frame with some sort of gas before they weld it? Hence the hose going into the downtube?
Looks flexy. For real.
yes. argon i believe.
With the linkage it should be stiffer than this: http://www.funkcycles.com/la_ruta_bike.php and I've played with one of these and they are surprisingly stiff.
I think he was referring to the fact it's a softtail and literally flexes.
idk the notion of a softtail is just kinda silly
the CDale Scalpel has been pretty popular with us and we have a ton of orders for the 29er Scalpel.....which has a pivot 
Yes...and Ti has to be back purged, which is the reason for the hose. The back side of the hot metal can suck in atmospheric contamination, so the entire weld has to be gas shielded.
Its pretty cool, I just read up on it a bit... they are trying to create an oxygen free environment ion the backside of the weld. Fascinating... why is it that ti takes such special treatment?
Special treatment materials for special treatment people.
because its soft.
Nope, titanium is actually pretty hard, especially compared to aluminum.
I'm assuming the special treatments have to do with its chemical composition, but I'm far from a material expert.
Molten Ti is highly reactive with atmospheric gases, mainly oxygen and nitrogen. The thinner the material, the more shielding the backside of the weld is a concern. You can have the same issues when welding stainless. All welds must be shielded somehow, although with steel is can also be done using flux covered rod or wire. The flux floats on top of the molten pool and once cooled it is chipped or brushed away. Having the base react with atmosphere can cause embrittlement and porosity, which leads to weld failure. Done properly, a weld is stronger than the base metal.
Very interesting... I thought since you were removing the oxygen that it had something do do with preventing fire.
It really has nothing to do with preventing fire. It's about preventing weld contamination. SS is sensitive to contamination too, just not as much as Ti. Ti machines very similar to SS though.
All mechanical, I believe. The body was actually in pretty good shape when it went in.
I owned a GT Xisang ti road bike. Old skool 105, XTR seatpost and a original Flite saddle. It was a amazing bike. Ti has a really good ride quality. I owned a Paramount Series 3 at the same time and it spent it's life in the Garage after I got the GT. I was never a good sprinter. But I could jam on that GT.