Carbon fiber set out to solve these problems, but the material is essentially still in the design and exploration phase. It’s lighter, yes, but it doesn’t behave quite the same way as steel and aluminum because it’s a fiber. Fibers have directional strength and rigidity, which means a single strand is only strong in one direction. Carbon fiber must be layered in sheets at different angles, to ensure strength in all directions. This works great for a fork, which handles a straightforward torque, but what about a frame? Designers aren’t yet sure how a carbon fiber frame reacts to the different directional forces that a cyclist flows through during an average ride.

Then there’s the issue that carbon fiber layers must be bonded using epoxy. The more epoxy you use, the heavier the bike. But if you don’t use enough epoxy, the ride is about as uncomfortable as riding an aluminum bike. This is because carbon fiber actually has no shock absorbent qualities at all (shocked, aren’t you?). So to make it more comfortable, you add more epoxy, which makes it heavier. Put another way, carbon fiber is lighter than steel as long as the frame maker doesn’t overdo it with epoxy, and more comfortable than aluminum, as long as he doesn’t 'under'-do it.

So while we figure out how much carbon fiber is actually an improvement over other materials, and precisely the best way to layer it, some custom manufacturers and a few commercial ones have started producing frames made from titanium. Also called “the space-age metal,” rustproof titanium has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any metal. It’s as strong as steel, but 45-percent lighter.

Carbon fiber aficionados immediately dismissed titanium, claiming it was too absorbent and too flexible. This was in response to titanium’s low density: it’s 60-percent less dense than rigid aluminum. But it was quickly discovered that a titanium frame gets more rigid the thicker you make it. That means that builders will use a larger diameter on a titanium frame in order to bring it to the level of stiffness preferred by cyclists, which happens to be just larger than a steel tube, but not as large as an aluminum one. Titanium is so much lighter than other materials, that using a bit more still keeps it well under the weight of most other frame materials today. That means titanium, in theory, is superior to all other materials in that it’s lightweight, strong, and rigid, yet comfortable. Plus, a titanium frame will last as long as you want to ride it, as it doesn’t wear, is virtually crack-proof, and won’t rust.

So what’s the problem? Price. Bikes made from the space-age metal have out-of-this-world prices. The material itself is pricey, certainly more so than steel or aluminum, but the real instigator is the manufacturing process. Titanium frames are more difficult to construct than those made from other materials. The main reason is that titanium tubes are joined by Tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding, which makes the process more difficult to machine. There is also a shortage of titanium specialists, who are competent at welding the frame together. Consider that the best titanium frames should be fabricated by an honest-to-goodness aerospace builder, preferably with 10- to 15-years experience.

Furthermore, R&D fanatical Europe has been slow to adopt titanium technology. The big companies producing titanium bikes, like Litespeed, Airborne, and Merlin, are all American. This means we’re not getting as many resources obsessing over titanium production. Next time I’m hanging out with Ernesto Colnago, at his lovely home located just across the street from Colnago World Headquarters in Cambiago, Italy, I’ll be sure to give him an earful.