taɪˈteɪniəm

• The second batch of custom titanium frames are on the way into the shop, which means its time to build up and ship out the initial round. Mine is a late 80s "century" geometry design: 1375g of colorless perfection. The rear triangle does admittedly lack a little elegance, and the dropouts look like they could support a rider twice my size, but these are comforting, rather than troubling attributes to my eyes. It won't have a drop of carbon in the build, which is fine by me.
  • Frame: Custom Butted 3-2-5 Titanium
  • Fork: NOS Kinesis Alloy 1" Threaded
  • Headset: Tange Custom Sealed
  • Stem: Nitto Pearl
  • Bars: Nitto 176
  • Gruppo: NOS 2003 Campagnolo Centaur, Grey Anodized
  • Hubs: NOS 2003 Campagnolo Centaur, 36h
  • Rims: NOS 1985 Mavic GP4 Tubulars
  • Saddle: 1991 Selle Italia Flite, Tan
  • Tape: NOS 1988 Toshi Leather Wrap, Tan
  • Pedals: TIME

  If you're on the fence about a custom bike, one look at these frames in person and it's unlikely you'll be leaving the shop without a fit session. And while it's perfectly possible to build one of these into the stratosphere, even I am stunned by their value.