Some thoughts now that I’ve put some 7,500km into my Twenty2.
Firstly it’s Comedian that convinced me to look seriously into the Ti market after I had a quick roll of his Baum. Obviously I was more than willing to have a go on it… thinking to myself… “can’t hurt to look right?” Well… he owes me money now.
After doing my research and finding a little known Ti builder out of Colorado, I got measured up and commenced my project. After many emails and calls back and forth to the States about aesthetic choices, desired ride and handling qualities, the fabrication was underway. Not more than 8 weeks later I was the nervous owner of an American Made, internal cabled, fully double butted, custom geometry (195mm x 44mm HT, 34.9mm ST, 44.5mm DT, 38.4mm x 610mm TT) brushed Ti finish with custom light blue anodizing logos and matching handmade custom headbadge Titanium bike frame.
So I put it in the stand and built up the 1.8kg frame with the correct groupset (Super Record) and rolled it out for a quick test ride. It came in at just on 8kg... which I was reasonably happy with considering my size and the ‘durable’ specifications we’d gone with.
Rolling out, immediately the little thud that I had so often experienced in the past from other bikes rolling out of the driveway, turned into a springy bounce… as if the energy was being returned to me rather than deadened into the road. Down the road it had this lively fresh feeling to the way it handled little bumps in the road. At first there wasn’t too much of a perceptible ride quality difference. I still felt just as fast as other bikes, but now I felt less beaten at the end of the ride. Up hills were no more of a chore than usual, but the down hills and fast cornering felt grounded and solid. Not sure how much of my experience is tied to material choice, probably most of it comes down to the geometry being (hopefully) exact for my measurements.
I’m fully enamoured with this thing… It just rides so beautifully whilst being a beast if I want to hammer along. I’m not really sure how to articulate how I feel about the ride quality. It’s just kind of effortless, grounded, fresh without feeling fragile.
To put it into perspective I recently picked up a 2nd hand frameset and again built it up with the correct groupset. I’ve been considering getting into some crits... and saving a bit of weight on hilly rides never hurts. BMC SLR01, at size 60cm with the tubs on weighs in at just under 6.8kg. Without a doubt the weight difference is notable especially when handling the bike, that is not riding it. There is a difference when riding, but not as great as I expected. It spins up a little quicker and is a touch punchier up short explosive hills. But it has this non-permanent non-grounded quality to it. It kinda floats under me… It doesn’t really return the energy when throwing it around as the Twenty2 does. It’s also not quite as stiff at the bottom bracket as the Twenty2, which I was surprised with.
Again, it’s difficult to articulate the difference in ride quality. Don’t get me wrong I will take BMC into the hills if I’m looking to go fast and long, but if I want to really ‘stop and smell the roses’ with the occasional hammer time, it’s the Titanium all the way. In the end choosing my bike in the morning my decision always feels a little subjective, but I just prefer to ride the Twenty2.
Anyway, here they both are.. in the same place, with the same shoes.
Twenty2 Campagnolo Super Record Bora Ultra 2
BMC SLR01 Campagnolo Super Record Bora Ultra 2
…and yes Steve… I blame you for “making” me spend money.
