Re: [CR]Teledyne Titan Questions...

(Example: Framebuilders:Jack Taylor)

Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 20:01:41 -0700
Subject: Re: [CR]Teledyne Titan Questions...
From: "Bill Bryant" <bill_bryant@prodigy.net>
To: Questor <questor@cinci.rr.com>, classicrendezvous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
In-Reply-To: <000a01c24401$cc091ac0$59f51b41@cinci.rr.com>


on 8/14/02 7:16 PM, Questor at questor@cinci.rr.com wrote:
> I remember teledyne framesets from the mid 1970s and lost track of the
> manufacturer. Is there any truth to rumors that titanium frames become
> brittle with age?
>

I don't know about Ti getting brittle with age, but a helluva lot of Titans broke before they were very old. Indeed, many were rather new. :-( If modern Ti bikes had the same longevity as the Titans did, they wouldn't have the market share/customer satisfaction they currently do.

If you are going to ride a Titan frequently, check it regularly and very carefully for cracks, especially the forks and downtube. Harder to inspect, but equally worrisome is the steerer tube. I saw quite a few Titan failures in those locations (and more).

This has been discussed on CR before; maybe review the archives for more info?

Bill Bryant
Santa Cruz, CA