Building Titanium Audax Bike

[Csantos]

Hello,

This is my first post in this forum, and I hope it will be the first of many.

I am the happy owner of a Scott Addict 20, 2014 model, with a beautiful stealth look. I like the Scott very much, it is light and fast and climbs really well. It is also quite rigid, which is simultaneous good and bad, all the power goes down to the wheels, no flexes, but any ride above 100km starts to get uncomfortable.

I plan on doing longer rides, I would like to do some audax events, and, who knows, maybe even try the 2019 PBP. So I decided to build something that would deliver more comfortable long rides, and that at the same time could be used as a winter bike (I tend to use the Scott only on sunny days, since it is a pain to clean the matte frame). I have long been an admirer of titanium bikes, and think one of those would really suit my needs.

I could go down the easy path, and just buy a complete bike, but I like the fun of building something from scratch. Last summer I completely rebuilt by dad’s old steel bike, and I really enjoyed it. Furthermore, I live in Portugal, and most of the bikes/frames I like are UK brands, some of which are hard to find around here, and it is much easier to buy a frame online and getting it through the post, than a complete bike.

I made a list of the characteristics that the new bike should have:
- Must be titanium
- Must be able to mount mudguards
- Must be able to mount 25mm tyres with mudguards (preferably 28mm)
- Must have disc brakes
- Must have a comfortable/relaxed geometry
- Must have fittings for rear carriers

After much reading, including in this forum, I came up with the following shortlist for frames:
- Enigma Etape Disc
- Kinesis GF_Ti Disc
- Linskey Sportive Disc
- Sabbath September AR-1 Disc
- J. Guillem Orient Disc Titanium Audax

After even more reading and analysis, I am very inclined towards the Enigma.

The Kinesis is very nice, checks all the boxes, and even has internal routing (may be good, may be bad, but it sure looks nice and tidy), but it is quite expensive. The Linskey is also expensive, and the looks don’t really fir my liking. The Sabbath also checks all the boxes, but I do not like the finish they put on the standard frame (they call it the “bright brush”). The J.Guillem is just beautiful, a real piece of art, but tyre clearances are tight, and the price is also a bit on the high side.

The Enigma ticks all the boxes, the looks are also quite stunning, price is reasonable, and I really like the attitude of the folks at Enigma. I have not yet contacted them, but I have several posts here where they are not afraid to explain why they developed the product as they did, and are quick to answer queries people have regarding their bikes.

I am sharing this since a lot of people here have probably come across these issues many times before, and it would be good to hear some opinions.

[chocjohn9]

This has just been launched and Spa bikes are very well regarded on this Forum. You can tweak the spec to suit, if you ask nicely. In their shop they keep all their bikes, in all the sizes and encourage you to go for a test ride - and I'm not talking about going down the street. I can not recommend highly enough their wheelsets. I only buy them from Spa.

http://spacycles.co.uk/m1b0s21p3552/SPA ... -triple%29

http://spacycles.co.uk/m1b0s21p3553/SPA ... draulic%29

Price wise, sometimes I wonder how they do it.

[PH]

They all look like great frames, I'd be happy to have any of them. I don't know enough about any of them to pick a favorite, but a couple of observations anyway.
The one thing I know about Audax is that I can't find a relationship between a riders success and the quality of their bike. Plenty of people have completed PBP on entry level road bikes and others struggle on a 200 riding something many times the price.
There is a growing trend for carbon bikes, a few years ago a large proportion of the bikes I'd see were steel light tourers, then the same sort of bike in Ti now a large proportion if not the largest are carbon.
Tyre size - I quite like 28s for Audax and if you use caliper brakes that's pretty much as wide as you get, I really don't see why you'd restrict yourself with disks. Who knows what you might want to do in the future? There's some UK Audax where wider tyres would be an advantage, or... well just about anything. I'd not choose a frame with such a limitation.

The Sabbath also checks all the boxes, but I do not like the finish they put on the standard frame (they call it the “bright brush”).

I don't understand this? The Sabbaths I've seen are either bead blasted or brushed. This brushed is the pretty standard finish, looks the same as a Van Nicholas or an Enigma or a Linskey and just about every other Ti frame I've seen. What is it you've seen that puts you off?

Do you understand what it is about your Scott that makes it uncomfortable? This ought to guide you in your choice more than anything else. Buying at distance is always going to be a risk, you know a cheap flight and a few nights in a Travelodge and you could probably test ride some of these bikes without it putting a huge dent in your budget.
Enjoy choosing and enjoy your bike when you get it.

[Csantos]

Tyre size - I quite like 28s for Audax and if you use caliper brakes that's pretty much as wide as you get, I really don't see why you'd restrict yourself with disks. Who knows what you might want to do in the future? There's some UK Audax where wider tyres would be an advantage, or... well just about anything. I'd not choose a frame with such a limitation.

Sorry, but I did not get the point. Are you saying disks limit tyre choice? I initially wanted to go for a caliper brake version, since I have some spare wheels that I could use, but the future seems to be disks, and calipers usually restrict the maximum tyre size you can use, so I changed to a disks configuration (I was thinking perhaps a pair of Avid BB7's).

As for the Sabbath maybe I got it wrong, but it seems to me that their finish is not as polished and bright as the Van Nicholas or the Enigma. Some people prefer it that way, since it is less seen, and hence more exclusive, but I really like the bright and shiny look.

I do not have a specific problem with the Scott, I have no pains or numbness, but after the 100 km the body starts getting tired of been hit by all those road vibrations. I can do 200 km brevet with it, but I was aiming for something that would leave me less beaten up after long rides. Furthermore, it is not very practical to put mudguards or dynamo lights on a Scott Addict. I would like to keep the Scott for summer days, and have the Titanium bike for long rides and winter. I also have a steel frame bike that I like riding (my dad's old bike), it is very comfortable, but really, really heavy, has impractical gear ratios and the frame is two sizes above my size, so it wouldn't be a good choice for Audax either.

[robgul]

You missed out Van Nicholas in the major Ti brands - the website is a bit vague on disc brakes but they are an option.

Rob

[Bonefishblues]

Get one built to your spec, perhaps?

Justin Burls has an excellent reputation. http://burls.co.uk/

[PH]

T I really don't see why you'd restrict yourself with disks. Who knows what you might want to do in the future?

Sorry, but I did not get the point. Are you saying disks limit tyre choice?

No I was saying the opposite, that with a disk brake frame there is no need to limit tyre size choice, I wouldn't chose a frame which did and that for me would rule out the J.Guillem.

As for the Sabbath maybe I got it wrong, but it seems to me that their finish is not as polished and bright as the Van Nicholas or the Enigma. Some people prefer it that way, since it is less seen, and hence more exclusive, but I really like the bright and shiny look.

They do (Or did) two finishes, bead blasted and brushed. The bead blasted is indeed a more industrial looking finish, with it's own sheen but not shiney like brushed. There are variations in brushed finishes between makes, due to the grade of abrasive they "brush" it with, but these are minor, they all look pretty similar. Here's a little about it
http://www.spanner.org.uk/2010/01/polis ... -finishes/

I do not have a specific problem with the Scott, I have no pains or numbness, but after the 100 km the body starts getting tired of been hit by all those road vibrations.

OK, seems you have that understanding, I can see that a different bike may ease that, particularly tyre size and although it seems to be becoming unfashionable, I wouldn't want an audax bike without mudguards.

[belgiangoth]

This has just been launched and Spa bikes are very well regarded on this Forum. You can tweak the spec to suit, if you ask nicely. In their shop they keep all their bikes, in all the sizes and encourage you to go for a test ride - and I'm not talking about going down the street. I can not recommend highly enough their wheelsets. I only buy them from Spa.

http://spacycles.co.uk/m1b0s21p3552/SPA ... -triple%29

http://spacycles.co.uk/m1b0s21p3553/SPA ... draulic%29

Price wise, sometimes I wonder how they do it.

^this^
I was going to suggest a spa audax and swap the front fork, but ... frankly I now need a new bike (if only they did it fixed gear).

[gloomyandy]

This https://www.alpkit.com/sonder/bikes/son ... e-and-fork seems good value. No idea what they are like to ride though!

[Bonefishblues]

Don't know as I haven't ridden one yet but a search will find a contributor that has.

[Rich_Clements]

I have a Lynskey Sportive disc and I love it, i suspect the wheelbase may be too short for panniers not that i have a rack on mine.

Edit: I built mine from scratch.

[hamster]

Just a point to note is that disc front forks have to be built heaver to avoid folding up due to braking forces at the tips. Rim braked forks can be lighter and flexier, making them more comfortable.

Several reviews of disc braked bikes note how much harsher the ride is through the bars.

[Csantos]

No I was saying the opposite, that with a disk brake frame there is no need to limit tyre size choice, I wouldn't chose a frame which did and that for me would rule out the J.Guillem.

Ok, I got it now. It is a very valid point, and that was why I ruled out the J.Guillem. But the looks on that frame are just stunning.

You missed out Van Nicholas in the major Ti brands - the website is a bit vague on disc brakes but they are an option.

When I was still aiming for caliper brakes the Van Nicholas Yukon was my favourite, but for what I have seen they do not have a disc version. Do they?

[Csantos]

This https://www.alpkit.com/sonder/bikes/son ... e-and-fork seems good value. No idea what they are like to ride though!

Looks nice, but I no not think it is possible to fit mudguards on that fork...

[The utility cyclist]

I can (just) fit 30mm tyres under my short drop Dura Ace rim brakes on my CF KTM racing frame, obviously no room for guards mind. The pros have just fitted deep drop brakes to some of their bikes to resolve the wider tyre issue.
Here's an FDJ bike (Lapierre Pulsium) from Paris Roubaix in 2014 with a 28mm fitted, you could easily get a retro-fit mudguard underneath that fork, point being you don't 'need' discs to be able to fit wider tyres and have mudguards.
There's a fair few people just sticking with a decent 'endurance' style racing frame with rim brakes and just adding mudguards despite there being no eyelets and it working out just fine for them but there are some carbon frames with eyelets such as the Dolan Dual, Hewitt carbon audaxbut I don't know the clearance.