Steel or Titanium

As an aside did you know Geoff Roberts (yes, from the famous Roberts family) will help you build your own steel bike? He runs courses down south that are very well respected.

It depends on what kind of bike you are going to build. For road bike I would choose some hi-end steel (like columbus XCr), for cyclocross or MTB the Ti is better.

Interestingly there's a review on here of the ti kinesis bike I mentioned, and there's a favourable comparison made to a couple of it's ti competitors, including Sabbath September which you've discussed above

http://road.cc/content/review/92814-kinesis-gran-fondo-titanium

You can't say one is always stronger/ stiffer / lighter than the other. Bespoke steel and ti can be made to prioritise weight/ strength/ stiffness to suit. That said, ti is likely to be lighter unless you spend £££ on something very fancy in steel..

Get some test rides in if you can

I have a Van Nicholas Ventus and the ride is fantastic. I ride sportives over crappy Devon roads and I find it very confusing. Also very easy to look after and less need to clean. I agree that raw Ti looks lovely unpainted. I have standard spec with Ksyrium Elites and is well under 8kg which is fine for most mortals

Hello, There's been lots of positive comments on titanium, my addition to them is that after a few thousand miles, strip it, re brush it and it'll look like brand new. Titanium is my passion so you can tell where this is heading! I'm a industrial design engineer with a background in precision engineering and metalwork. I designed bike components and bike lights for the last 8 years, steel, carbon, titanium etc! 3 years ago I designed my own titanium frames and had them made, then more and more for friends and family. I designed frames with no cost restrictions. Double butted tubing, tapered headtubes, 5 axis machining, every tube has been formed, even chainstay bridges, seatstay bridges. Design is in the detail! I launched as a brand after leaving my full time job at christmas, 7 months on we've just been made a finalist as 'breakthrough brand of the year' 2015. If you want a Ti frame, custom or an off the shelf design of mine, give me a call or email me from the website. www.vaarucycles.com . I'm also at the cycle show, NEC 2015, stand J42. VAARU - Elite Titanium Cycles.
I look forward to seeing your decision.
Cheers - James

Saffron Frame Works, based at Greenwich. Matthew Sowter built my stainless steel bike. Absolutely love it from the moment I saw it.
The fit is superb. Matthew sent me to Bespoke Cycling, Jermyn Street where I spent a lovely hour or two on a computerised jig. Getting measured and some helpful pedalling technique tips.
After just one week of ownership I rode from John O'Groats to LandsEnd without any adjustments and was always very comfortable. No niggles, no sore spots, no aching muscles. Day after day of riding yet I never once wished I wasn't going to get on my Saffron bike. I just whooped for joy. It was fabulous.

On Shap Hill the winds were so strong , 45-60 MPH gusts, that my bike blew up into the air. It is so light, equal to a carbon frame. As I grappled it to the ground my first thought was 'thank goodness its a steel bike'.

Love it. Love it. Love it.

I have both steel and TI, and love them both, although TI is a little stiffer, but still very comfortable for 100 mile plus rides. If you're thinking of TI, google Cielo Rosso, Neil knows his stuff and spec'd a great bike for me at very reasonable cost with DI2 and hydraulic discs.

Currently having my Custom Ti frame built. I chose Justin Burls to do mine. His frames look superb and the whole experience of sorting geometry and fine tuning has been Great fun.

Currently having my Custom Ti frame built. I chose Justin Burls to do mine. His frames look superb and the whole experience of sorting geometry and fine tuning has been Great fun.

Reynolds 953 Stainless from Birmingham built by Rourke in Stoke, Its would be on the list if I had the cash. If you want Ti then Enigma Suffolk or Sabbath from Macclesfield, no need to look aboard We have it all!!

I work in the bike trade and have access to lots of nice bikes, I chose Titanium. I have 5 1/2 bikes and if I could only keep one it would be my Sabbath September. Smooth, comfortable, light enough, looks great, lifetime warranty, loads of clearance for guards and decent tyres. I have two Ti bikes and I havent ridden anything yet that I would swap them for. I keep trying...

I have a Burls Titanium bought a few months ago and have to say it's an absolute joy. Just over 1k for the basic frame. It's like riding a magic carpet.

Justin the owner will chat to you about your types of riding. Then he will take your measurements and help you with excellent advice like get a 44mm headset.

Bike looks fantastic. I have put my review up on his site. Check it out.

Www.burls.co.uk

if you're going down the custom route you should be able to specify a bike in either material to suit whatever your priorities are for stiffness, weight and comfort. Even off the shelf there's plenty of choice..

..FWIW I ride a ti factory built Kinesis bike and its relatively light (just under 8kg in a large) and feels rigid and taut but comfortable enough for very long days out. I've built it up to be fairly stiff in the cranks and wheelset, but equally could have gone for greater comfort with a different choice of wheels.

I don't have any experience of steel (not counting the racer I had in the 80's as a youngster!). The only thing you will not get is the absolutely minimal weight of an expensive carbon frame, but you *should* be able to beat it in terms of comfort and longevity, all things being equal.

Definitely test ride if you can though

I have a Van Nicholas Ventus and i had an Genesis Volare Steel , the Genesis was a great Bike, 9kg with Campy Centaur Red and Campy Zondas Wheels, cool bike a little heavy for a daily use with more than 50km a day ride , end of the week i was a little tired of the legs, so i bought a VN Ventus Frame and mount the Genesis Stuff on the VN, Resuming, the VN is a greater bike indeed, the titanium gives a beautiful ride, very smooth but more stiff than the Genesis, the genesis was more comfortable but slower and heavier , i like both and i f i had the money i was the genesis frame again , but i Prefer the Ti bike, it corners better, climb better, i can even race with the Ti and go for group rides at the weekend with my friends Carbon Shiny Bikes, and most of them i left behind , y Ti as a weight of 7.7 kg, so i you ah the money, buy a Ti Frame , it look good , i liked the Genesis to, but i prefer the VN . hope it helps .

Ti Rules

Legend bikes in Bergamo Italy build in Titanium, steel, carbon/ titanium, and carbon. I have 2 of their bikes, I would not rate either better than the other, one is steel and the other carbon. Legends custom build & customer service is amazing and they will assist you in deciding the best frame material for you use.

Legend bikes in Bergamo Italy build in Titanium, steel, carbon/ titanium, and carbon. I have 2 of their bikes, I would not rate either better than the other, one is steel and the other carbon and they service the purpose for each was designed for beautifully. Legends custom build & customer service is amazing and they will assist you in deciding the best frame material for your use.

Having just helped a fellow cyclist lift their titanium framed bike off the roof of their car. It was extremely light, even lighter than my carbon bike. It did have some light wheels , but I was very impressed, I wouldn't hesitate to get a titanium frame.

She said it was beautiful to ride for comfort

My only advice is to go and ride some of both varieties... Any ones will do to begin with, just so you can see if you can actually feel any differences, and if so, pin down what the difference is...

If you can spot a consistent difference between the materials and are able to form a preference, you have your first answer. If you can't, then you can make your choice on pure aesthetics alone. Then you can choose a builder - preferably after a test ride of their wares.

I have a 1989 Bianchi in Columbus steel tubing and a 2009 Zerofour in titanium. I love them both.

all personal choice really, certainly a lot more guys out there building bespoke frames in steel as its easier to manufacture, so you'll have a lot more choice.
A good option would be to try and find a few bikes of both metals, with similar frame designs to what you desire and have a good test ride on them to get feel of it.

Titanium is pretty inert so its not going to rust on you, and left bare looks stunning i.m.o, but there's absolutely no reason that steel wont outlast you as long as you clean it occasionally :).

If your wanting a bit of racing history, Steels probally the way to go. The likes of rourke and many other U.K artisans have been building bespoke steel framesets for decades (40+ years), with many of these companies having a list of wins which would take me far too long to write (or even copy and paste...). Plenty of new guys on the block too, winning design awards here and there and everywhere. I really like the stuff that demon frameworks builds, interesting gusseting (which is making a bit of a come back) and hes relatively local to my region http://www.demonframeworks.com/gallery/

As I said, its all down to personal taste, what the bikes going to be used for and how far your willing to travel to get the build of your dreams.