My favorite bike is a used 2011 Lynskey Cooper Ti bike that I bought last New Years for $1500. It already had an Enve fork and Bontrager XXX Lite carbon rims. So simple but elegant in my eyes. Love it. Never going back to carbon.

I too have a titanium frame built by the same company last year. Already put about 1,500km on it and really loved it.

The bike was 9.1kg finished with pedals and bidon cages. Not light but maybe fewer donuts and I'll compensate. ;-)

Good to see more people showing the world what gems there are in Chinese bike parts. Good on ya mate.

Thanks for posting the process. Great to see that you are trying new things.

Wow, wasn’t expecting to be recommended a CM video after not seeing any of the channel for 4-5 years. I hope all is well with Maven and family. Such fond memories, it was such a great channel. Rhino, anyone remember him? Such a great character! Ah man, where has the time gone!? It flys by…💨

Great video Mark. Thanks for sharing and can't wait to see more updates done about this bike. You're dead right that titanium is very expensive from most of the bike brands. But still titanium is to drool over for me so this really hits the spot for what I would say is the majority of riders that would like titanium.

Sweet vid mate. Strikes back at the core of why I started watching you in the first place! Plus those circular tubes are just sublime!!

I am a big fan of titanium frames. My last 3 frames have all been from Lynskey, and I have been extremely pleased with all of them. It's great that you have been able to find a solution that works for you, and that you enjoy it. For me, the biggest surprise in the video is that De Rosa and Pinarello are made in factories that, admittedly in one person's opinion, are second tier.

been looking forward to this video for a while. thanks mark!

Mark thanks. I picked up a Waltly mountain bike frame second hand, and it's now my fave bike. Although I've got a Lynskey Ti bike, the Waltly is like a Porsche and fun to ride. Impressive quality!

Great to see ya face mate. Hanging to go for a spin. Hope this gets the ball rolling on some more content broseff. There's people having Cycling Mace withdrawals out there.. 😘

Nice video mark, something I’ve been looking to do myself. Keep up the good work 🤜🏼🤛🏻

I am a Ti convert. Light, lively, and no concern about cracking your carbon frame in a routine crash.

Soooo enjoy your vids, keep them rolling.

Great to see the Maves back on YT again..and his lad is getting waay bigger too. 👍

Good to see you back on KZfaq

Thanks Mark. I was one of your first viewers watching your in-race analysis. Glad you're still around. Noce video. Did you mention the Chinese wheel manufacturer? I have two sets of Yoeleo wheels, no problems at all with them. Thanks again, love Titanium, maybe some day will do it. 👍🏼

Beautiful bike-so good to see you! Doing CF again? Looking good. And Jack is growing fast! Cheers Mate.

Hey Mark, such a well presented informative video. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience. .... 👍

Good job on the build Mark bike looks stunning 🤙🏼

Awesome looking bike Maven. Great vlog.

Nice bike 👍And you’re looking good the training must be going well 😊

great vid, and thanks for exposing us to other options besides big box names

Great video mate, thanks for sharing.

Thanks Mark, I'll be doing this shortly.

+1 for farsports wheels. Great product 👍🏻

Great video thank you!

Thanks for this Mark, I’ve just been through a titanium build myself. In last few months Lynskey (Ti since the 80s with Litespeed and then Lynskey) had one of their Road frames shipped from their Chattanooga, Tennessee factory for US$875 ( inc. shipping to Aus). But usually they are a lot more than that although I got my Lynskey GR270 gravel frame set including carbon fork, titanium seat post and Cane Creek headset for US$1,500 so even with a US made known brand with history, titanium doesn’t have to be expensive. Good quality carbon frame sets are way more expensive. As far as carbon versus titanium goes, it’s a different thing, horses for courses naturally. Compared to my Canyon Ultimate, the titanium gravel bike with road tyres just doesn’t have the out-of-the-saddle power transfer or nippy tightness of carbon in the way it goes but titanium has so much comfort and compliance that it’s like riding on a cloud. No wonder ultra endurance riders like them for all day comfort and suit gravel as well. Mine is 9.3kg with 2x Ultegra and gravel tyres so no as light as a carbon bike but tough for the conditions

Sweet bike dude! ✌🏼👊🏼👍🏼

Simply having a naked titanium frame , unpainted corrosion resistant, that you can do a quick visual inspection with gives me confidence in a bike frame. A carbon bike that has a little creek that you can't find isn't fun to ride.

I’ve started the Waltly process thanks to this vid and others. Cheers mate.

You are looking in good shape brother despite the 4 days of gastro! Great info too.

Great Vid as always :)

Informative and encouraging 👍 Thanks 😊

this is awesome!

Thanks. Great info!

Awesome Vid!!!!

Nice bike!

Yay! It's Maven!

Great bike, and your son looks just like you!

Classy building 🤟

Thank you a really good review

that is a straight up beautiful bike

This is a great help for those of us wanting to go that route the first time, thank you. That bike is beautiful, but I must ask how are the chainstays and seatstays holding up when fully loaded at top speeds? Any flex? Chainstay to seat post welds? Thanks

That's a sweet looking bike..😍😍

hoyeahh! Great video as always :D

Great one Mark, looking impressive and with the SRAM groupset. fantastic looking Bike.

It looks nice 😊

Thanks for posting Mark. I am keen to go titanium. Primarily because of the material properties with respect to ride comfort. But also like the thought of potentially being able to hand it down to my kid one day. Besides the new bikes on the market all seem to be same same and hyper expensive. Great videos as always.

I’m sure the guys at Curve will love this video...

Great video clip Mark,great value for money Ti frameset.You have some serious stem length on the bike in the background.Is it a Ritchey WCS Pro 140mm?Cheers.

Mark, That frame looks absolutely amazing. Titanium will last forever and is light and comfortable as well. Glad to see your bike videos again.

Great video

That’s a pretty nice bike

It's the geometry of the bike that has the greatest effect on handling, loaded or not.

Like the hardwood floors in your house.

Other Chinese frames to look at are XACD who make frames for Habanero and Titan Titanium. I’m about to get a custom titanium gravel bike frame with S&S couplers for about $1200usd delivered to Sydney. I had my frame designed by Steve Hogg so I know the design is going to be perfect. We already have a couple of ti Seven’s road bikes and a Habanero. For good quality carbon rims I build a lot of Lightbicycle rims but Nextie are also really good quality

Oddly enough Christmas is getting close!

Awesome Vid, I am looking at doing the same thing, what were the wheels that you put on it?

I bought a Hasa Ti800 for $2100 complete with Shimano 105 11 speed and rim brakes. Did Indipac team relay on it twice and it hasn't skipped a beat. It is my regular road adventure bike and is really comfortable to ride. I love my Trek Madone 7 series Project One when I want to do spirited effort or a race.

Waltly make real quality bikes. Seriously impressed by the craftsmanship evident in the frames. Highly recommended. I love the way the Factor guy classes carbon factories working for Cervelo, Trek, Giant, Cannondale as first tier, and De Rosa and Pinarello as Second tier. I think there are a few people who would question that.

Yer cervelos and cannondales? Someone hasn't been watching Hambini recently! Do highly recommend his long engineering breakdown/rant videos he's put up lately if you've got the time. Very nerdy, lots of good info and a fair bit of a laugh!

good info thanks...

Waltly frame are great value for money. Welding is pretty ordinary and I don’t like the way they do cable entry points but that’s just me. I built up one recently for a guy who races and he loves it and finds it plenty stiff enough. They used to try making frames to light and they had a rep for being a bit noodle but frames today are excellent.

Mark, great video, how about an update if you have had time to ride it! Your relative absence on KZfaq is keenly missed, you do great work!

Thank you Mark. Personally having been buying Carbon products from China for past 9 years with no issues,I would say the biggest problem for bike manufactures now ,is big brands having frames made in China for £400 and then putting a retail price of £4,000. If consumers have access to those same factories and so can ‘risk’ paying 10% of retail for a product....what do manufacturers expect? If anyone cares to check out Luescher Teknik on KZfaq it appears that ‘genuine’ branded frames have plenty of imperfections and often fail......

Awesome vid mark, do you know the tire clearance on the frame?

Dangerous frame

Hi Mark! Enjoyed the video.. thank you! Could you tell me the spec or components on your bike please... - what wheels - disc brakes - saddle -stem - handlebars - seatpost?!! I would be very interested to know! Dave Mac.

Yeah, I know 4 people who have ordered one. Same small issues with all of them - it is to be expected that something will be slightly out in terms of measurements or tiny details.

If these bikes can handle the power Mark puts out then they are certainly good enough for me and my fellow fat office workers. Thanks for sharing.

Good review indeed. I am in a process of helping my mate build a Ti frame out and we are looking at Waltly. Before we get to that, I concur with the need to understand your bike fit requirements. You used an Aeroad as a template, and given Aeroad is designed for speed and inherent stiffness neing carbon materials, we are looking to build out an endurance style bike. Are you able to comment on expectations when mirroring another bikes dimensions ? I am assuming by mirroring, you are simply sizing it that way, and naturally not all the performance attributes will come across. Appreciate your any relevant feedback.

Using a geometry from a bike you know you like is a GREAT way to go custom...

I'm sold. Ordering a gravel.

Very nice, however the rear brake mount issue could be a huge problem for someone who doesn't have very professional bike shop nearby. It's not a small issue, it's a big one!

Great review! What TI finish is this? Brushed right?

Hope you got a replacement gear hanger at the same time as you received the frame. It looks like it is treaded for the 12mm through axles

Could you do a review on that Belcarra saddle please? How dose it compare with the other high end saddles out there?

i am genuinely curious how the 90 dollars carbon fork hold out? would love to hear an update on your experience riding the bike for the last few months.

Looks great I am thinking of doing a Titanium order, what did you pay for your wheels.

Oh the disc brake facing thing.... my Lynskey had that problem....

Great looking bike Maven👍 Love it 😊

Great video Maven! Where can I get those wheels?? Thanks mate

Hi great video! I'm in the middle of the process to have my own frame from Waltly. Can You tell how is the bike doing after 3 years of use?

Mark 6 months on since you shared this video, pls can you provide an update. How’s it been, has it lived up to what you expected, hows the quality now is it standing up to the use. Any problems issues etc. Would love to see an update. Many thanks

Hi Mark, I ve been looking for a new set of carbon wheels. Could you please let us know where you got them? Thank you.

hey Mark, what fork you are using for this frame. great build!

hello. i just went through a similar process and i see you have the same rear dropouts as my frame with that teardrop piece that seems to hold some kind of thru axle nut. can you please tell what you did for this? what thru axle size did you wind up using? was there an axle nut? thank you!

something like this but with t47 and external cabels and maby a wishbone will be my next build. this and rapidtitan are one of the only affordable ti frames with thru axles

Beautiful bike! Did you use double butted titanium or just normal straight gauge? Thank you!

Would like to see you at Peaks next March

You should get a titanium fork for that titanium frame. Cure your worries about carbon fiber.

Lynskey Performance does sell some frames on eBay for relatively cheap. Some for under $1000 USD. Few years ago they had top end frames for $700 USD. Great for someone looking for a Ti frame, not so good for those of us that got one at a bike shop. Kind of de-values your bike. They do make good frames, not absolutely 100% perfect.

Hey Mark What tyres have you gone with on the bike?

Lovely bike, here in the UK I have a Kinesis titanium with Sram red etap disc, I'm fairly sure it's a Chinese made frame, not a problem and build is top quality, 👍🚴‍♂️

A very neat build. If you don't mind sharing. What was the cost break down of your entire build? You did share about the frame, fork, seat post clamp. But not the rest of it :)

Mark, Hello from a former subscriber! I unsubscribed about a year ago when your channel stopped being the Cycling Maven and became Bringing up Baby. I hasten to add, I was a big fan of Hanna and Jack, (I really wanted you two to get married already!, I see that you did . Congrats.), however, I signed on for your insights about cycling, so when the channel changed, I decided I would bid you all a fond farewell (and I do mean fond). Anyway, during my ride yesterday, I thought of the three of you and wondered how you all were and this morning there you were in my thumbnails . . . talking about bikes no less! Coincidence? You decide. I checked out your recent videos and it seems you are back to mostly bike stuff. I am going to watch them later today. BTW, it looks like you lost weight. Good on ya mate! Regards to Hanna and Jack.

if im going to build a custom ti frame & geo, id go with Caad12/Supersix geometry but with thru-axles & threaded bottom bracket (maybe t47)🔥 mechanical ultegra, paul klampers/growtac equal and slap some Hunt or maybe Light Bicycle wheels on it too🤤

Hi Mark, great video, sick bike indeed. Wondering... when I first discovered the Chinese carbon goods "revolution" for myself while searching on ebay, at first I felt it was game changing and that I could now afford a full carbon bike. I wanted to believe it wasn't too good to be true, but after checking out various forums, articles, video reviews etc. I discovered people having bad experiences and that it can be unsafe. It seems likely that there must be some legitimate Chinese manufacturers producing adequate goods for affordable prices but feel like it's risky and difficult to know which companies you can trust. So I concluded that I don't feel comfortable taking the risk on any unknown Chinese carbon manufactures on ebay, amazon, aliexpress etc. But I recently discovered there are Chinese manufacturers offering affordable Titanium goods as well and they're don't seem to be the hesitation and negative reviews like with the carbon goods. So long story short, when I watched your video it got me reconsidering Chinese carbon goods when you mentioned you bought some Chinese carbon wheels as you seem like a knowledgeable and trustworthy source. So my questions are: - Would you be able to recommend any reputable/quality Chinese carbon manufacturing brands? - Did you buy Chinese forks as well or are those brand name? - Was your wheel purchase well informed and you feel confident of the quality, or have you simply decided you were willing to take the risk?