I tend to believe Dale that the Titan is anodized. In a couple of places where something had rubbed the frame, the metal underneath is clearly a lighter color. If the top layer were titanium oxide, these places should have reoxidized, as the bike had been stored for several years.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Peter Grenader wrote:
> Re:
>
> Darker vs. more silver titanium:
>
> It's all up to how the material is prepared. For example, many bikes are
> made from Ancotek DB 3.25 titanium - Holland and Ibis among them. If you
> look at the finish of the Ibis though, if you didn't know you would swear
> it was made out of different material than Holland, whose finish is much
> warmer/more silver-ish/"Merlin like" due to the series of Scotch Bright
> sandings it takes. The Ibis is darker and has no sanding marks.
>
> I am not certain about this, but I believe that Ibis's finish is totally
> unfinished. But of all modern frames, the Ibis is closest to the Teledyne.
>
> Remember, the Teledyne's were 100% ti, as opposed to an alloy and
> undoubtably those other metals have an effect in the color of the finished
> product. Haynes tubing, used by Merlin and Seven, has a distinctive warmth
> that cannot be easily duplicated exactly with other manufacturers, but some
> come real real close (Ancotek among these). Holland's 6/4 buikes use Valley
> Metals tubes and that has yet another hue to it.