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Does Titanium give you more damping than a steel frame of say 853 reynolds?
No. You can make a spring from either material (as you could with carbon and that does have a damping property of sorts)
Frames just have a different amount of flex and it's not as much to do with material, all to do with design and tube sizes. I've ridden overly-flexible frames in steel and ti, though they're more common in ti (or were, maybe less so now).
No.
A few years go Charge Bikes let some riders test ride a steel and Ti frame they used to make back to back. They were the same geometry and painted the same colour. Nobody could tell the difference.
It depends on construction as much as anything else. In the case of charge, they made pretty stiff frames out of both.
But if you take a frame that plays to the material's cliches/perceived strengths, it gets pretty difference. Like, frinstance, a 26er Soul and Soda, you'd never mistake one for the other. The soul has the classic "springy", lively feel that steel lovers tend to obsess over whereas the soda has a softer, lazier, squishier feel. To my brain, it feels like the soul springs back fast while the soda sort of gently returns to the start. (owned both, lusted after teh soda for ages then didn't like it as much)
My Ragley Ti had some of the same feel but not as much due to construction/design differences
So basically titaniums only advantage is its strength to weight and disadvantage being its more expensive?
Well, not quite, its fatigue/elasticity characteristics are good too (basically to make a soft frame, you need to be able to make strong thin tubes, and you need it to not just fatigue to death when it bends- like bending and straightening a spoon). The strength to weight isn't just about making light bikes, it makes thin tubes which makes bendiness
But none of that dictates what you do with it- you could totally make a ti bike that's as solid as a Stiffee and as heavy as a 456.
If comparing 853 to Ti,it is virtually impossible to answer.Just about every so called 853 frame will at the very least have cheaper tubing on the seat & chainstays.Having said that,I have a 2Souls QuarterHorse which I am told is a fully 853 frame.I do not know for certain if this is true.However it is the nicest steel frame I have ever ridden.Not quite as comfortable as a Ti Cove (now sold) but with a spring to it that the Ti frame lacked.The difference in comfort had to be looked for.
The Ti one will be more likely to crack...
The Ti one will be more likely to crack…
In the wrong hands!
To me the big advantage of Ti is that I don't have to worry about scratching the paint on my bike.
Would be just as happy with stainless steel.
My last steel commuter cracked. Cracks depend on weight, construction quality, material quality appropriate design.
Most ti frame were built to be light.
Light strong cheep, pick one.
Back in the 90s my father had a Merlin titanium and I had a custom built 853 frame built by Sonic Cycles in London. The Merlin felt much springier and the frame was a little bit lighter. That seemed to be the general consenus back then, but tubing deisgn has changed since then.
JP