44 Bikes

[dgaddis]

Cool. The low spoke count (24/24) caught my eye as an "interesting", choice for bikepacking wheels. Bike looks rad though, and that SS ti frame - *swoon*. That's what I'm going to have you build me one day.

[Chad]

John's 27.5+ Bikepacking Rig // Photo Credit: John Watson of The Radavist

Love that paint!!!!

[fortyfour]

Cool. The low spoke count (24/24) caught my eye as an "interesting", choice for bikepacking wheels. Bike looks rad though, and that SS ti frame - *swoon*. That's what I'm going to have you build me one day.

The temporary wheel set is a pair of Sram Roam 60's.

[fortyfour]

[the bottle ride]

Wow- I love the ti bike you posted on IG.... I don't want to compare it to any other builder because it is clearly your own - but it certainly got me excited the way certain builders of Ti got me excited back in the early 90's. (Mean that as sincere high praise)

Anyways - really excited for you: it looks the business

[fortyfour]

Wow- I love the ti bike you posted on IG.... I don't want to compare it to any other builder because it is clearly your own - but it certainly got me excited the way certain builders of Ti got me excited back in the early 90's. (Mean that as sincere high praise)

Anyways - really excited for you: it looks the business

Thank you. That means a bunch. Ironically, not only is this the first Ti mountain bike I've made but it will be the first Titanium bike I've ever ridden. No one I knew in my past had one and I was never in a financial position to purchase one. The first ride out on this will be pretty interesting.

[fortyfour]

[Gattonero]

holy sh*t, that is PURE!

[Matthew Strongin]

Eff yeah, Kris.

[fortyfour]

[fortyfour]

Head on over to the 44HQ Blog to read up on where I've been, where I am and where I'm headed with all things Titanium.

[dogrange]

Exciting Kris, from your blog it sounds like you have really done your homework on this. Inspiring to see you pushing forward and expanding your skills and knowledge.

[Matthew Strongin]

Kris, great writeup and the bike looks fantastic. It's got that 44 Bikes vibe for sure. I'm starting to become mountain bike curious again so I'll be paying close attention. Congrats, man!

[fortyfour]

Head on over to The Radavist to check out a bikepacking trip along the Central Highlands Loop in Tasmania! Photo Credit John Watson // The Radavist. Enjoy.

[Shoogs]

Thank you. That means a bunch. Ironically, not only is this the first Ti mountain bike I've made but it will be the first Titanium bike I've ever ridden. No one I knew in my past had one and I was never in a financial position to purchase one. The first ride out on this will be pretty interesting.

My 44 replaced a Ti ElMar. I loved the Ti, it didn't drive or ride like my 44. I'm looking fwd to a back to back including swapping wheels, to get closer to what you'll experience.

[fortyfour]

Head on over to The Radavist to view the full gallery and read up on all that went into making this bikepacking rig a reality.

[fortyfour]

[fortyfour]

And just in time for Old Saint Shred // 44 Bikes Official "Flow Team" Issue Skull Caps made to our 44MIL-4 Specifications by California's very own YANCO. Pick yours up at the 44HQ Web Shop. Guaranteed to keep you warmer and make you faster. You need this...

[dgaddis]

Good write up on the new ti bike Kris.

I've only had the chance to ride one ti bike, a Vassago Optimus Ti I got to review when I was writing for Singletracks. They sent me a frame and I put all my own parts on it. When I sent it back, they sent me a steel VerHauen (sp?), which is the same geometry as the Optimus. I've read of many ti bikes being too flexy (a result of chasing low weight I assume), but the Optimus was FAR from flexy. All the tubes where huge compared to the steel bike. And, as it turned out, I actually liked the ride of the steel bike better. For my weight and riding style the steel bike felt better, it had a bit more give, was a bit more comfy. The ti bike wasn't uncomfortable, I did two 100k rides on while I had it (with a rigid fork), but I liked the steel better, which surprised me. It was a cool experiment, riding two bikes with the same parts and geometry, but one steel and one ti. Of course the beauty of custom is it can be tailored specifically for each rider, and seeing you experiment with it and trying different tubes to see how they effect the ride, that's encouraging. Anyhow...keep up the good work, it's fun to following along on the journey.

So from the two rides you've had the chance to do so far, how does it compare to your steel bike? Do you know what you'll do differently on Proto #2 yet (still early, I know)? Did you weigh the frame or bike? How does it compare to steel?

[fortyfour]

Good write up on the new ti bike Kris.

I've only had the chance to ride one ti bike, a Vassago Optimus Ti I got to review when I was writing for Singletracks. They sent me a frame and I put all my own parts on it. When I sent it back, they sent me a steel VerHauen (sp?), which is the same geometry as the Optimus. I've read of many ti bikes being too flexy (a result of chasing low weight I assume), but the Optimus was FAR from flexy. All the tubes where huge compared to the steel bike. And, as it turned out, I actually liked the ride of the steel bike better. For my weight and riding style the steel bike felt better, it had a bit more give, was a bit more comfy. The ti bike wasn't uncomfortable, I did two 100k rides on while I had it (with a rigid fork), but I liked the steel better, which surprised me. It was a cool experiment, riding two bikes with the same parts and geometry, but one steel and one ti. Of course the beauty of custom is it can be tailored specifically for each rider, and seeing you experiment with it and trying different tubes to see how they effect the ride, that's encouraging. Anyhow...keep up the good work, it's fun to following along on the journey.

So from the two rides you've had the chance to do so far, how does it compare to your steel bike? Do you know what you'll do differently on Proto #2 yet (still early, I know)? Did you weigh the frame or bike? How does it compare to steel?

Hey Dustin!

I'll be doing a more in-depth write up on the blog in a bit after I have more time on the prototype, but the initial plan was to change the TT from a 1.375 O.D. to a 1.5" O.D. and change the .625" O.D. seat stays to .75" O.D. But after that first ride, I now am thinking I'm going to keep all that the same but actually change the DT from 1.75" O.D. to 1.5" O.D. The ride is stiff but those .625" O.D. stays really have a unique ride quality to them that beneath my 187 pound frame felt really nice. Not rubbery mind you. Which I was skeptical about actually. Those .875" formed chain stays are laterally STIFF. You stomp on the pedals and that bike snaps into action. Acceleration is really good. I was noticing I was putting less effort into hill climbs with each pedal stroke. Maybe I'm in better shape/stronger but it seemed sudden with the change in material. The chain stays are identical as I make them in steel with a few refinements for Ti. The two bikes (Steel vs Ti) are identical. Everything is the same from geo, to spec and components. So it's a true apples to apples comparison except for the material difference and the exception of the DT diameter and chain stays. I think it's really important for this material to take rider weight into account because of it's inherent ride quality. So how stiff or how resilient do we make a bike for a particular clients needs? That's where these prototypes become vitally important I think. That will give me a lot of feedback and allow me to be able to tailor that particular bikes ride to what that particular client wants and needs out of their bike. I have a friend who's been testing some equipment for me since day 1 so it will be interesting to get his take as we're almost identical in size but he weighs about 40 lbs less than I do. So how does that same built feel to him comparing it to a bike I built for him which is just about as identical to my own in steel but his weight differs significantly?

Truth be told, I absolutely love how my Steel version of this bike rode. I was a bit hesitant to take parts off honestly and felt a bit sad at first! I think I'm going to build it back up actually with parts I have on hand so I can test them back to back. Should be interesting to do that.

Weight wise, it is a prototype and I wasn't really looking at weight first but rather as an afterthought. All tubing is straight gauge FYI. And my parts spec is pretty burly as you can see. I could probably stand to lose a lot of weight in the wheel set ironically? The fork is a beast too (Fox 34) and you can actually feel it's a little front heavy when it's not loaded up with tool wrap and two full water bottles. Frame comes in around 3.1 lbs vs the steel frame comes in around 5.5 lbs? ST is 17.5" (center to top) and my saddle tip to center of bars measurement is 22" to give you an idea of size. I need to find a better scale but this one came in around 23lbs with that component spec. I may upgrade the cranks to Next SL's and look at a few other places I can shave some weight. A previous single speed in steel came in around 21 lbs so if I can replicate that with this build and be 2 pounds under that frame weight... We're looking at a sub 20 lb SS in Ti. Not too bad for a mountain bike!