THE FUTURE OF TITANIUM
Canada’s T-Lab is doing things with titanium that no bike manufacturer has ever done before. We wanted to find out more…
When thinking about titanium frames, certain names will be top of the list because they’re well-established, highly respected builders. In no particular order: Lynskey, Moots, Litespeed, Enigma, Reilly, Van Nicholas and Seven create almost exclusively titanium frames. They’ve been doing it for a long time, they have huge customer loyalty and refined designs, so why take a chance on a newer company with limited market presence?
Well, whether they’re o -the-peg or custombuilt, titanium frames from the aforementioned builders generally all utilise round tubes, sourced from the catalogues of the same companies. The reasons for this are the same as to why titanium is a wonderful bike frame material: its enormous strength and durability – but while ti tubes deliver huge longevity, they also mean the frame is not very malleable, and beyond simply cutting and bending titanium tubes, things get very complicated. But this is where T-Lab has chosen to rise to the challenge.
T-Lab’s Roberto Rossi explains: “We see ourselves as making new-school ti bikes for those who are intrigued by titanium, but who do not want to make any compromise with regards to performance and contemporary aesthetics.”
Titanium explained
The best tubing for any metal frame is seamless, meaning it is mechanically drawn and not rolled from a sheet then welded, creating a seam. A frame’s characteristics can be influenced by the grade of material, its diameter, how it’s joined and the frame design.
Titanium is graded in accordance with the percentage of other materials that it is alloyed with, principally aluminium (Al) and vanadium (V). Grades 1-4 are unalloyed and commercially pure, o ering great ease of welding and manufacture. Grade 5, also referred to as 6Al-4V (6 per cent aluminium, 4 per cent vanadium), is the most commonly used titanium alloy, and significantly stronger than grades 1-4. Grade 9 has 3 per cent aluminium and 2.5 per cent vanadium, making it a compromise between the workability of grades 1-4 and grade 5’s greater strength, so it's more suitable for cold working.
Cold working is the plastic deformation of metals, usually done at room temperature, and mainly consisting of squeezing, bending, shaping, shearing and drawing. The mechanical stress causes a permanent change to the material’s structure, increasing strength, but results in a better surface finish and greater dimensional control than hot working.
In from the cold
T-Lab’s proprietary tube-shaping techniques are a very closely guarded secret. “The often-used joke applies: If we tell you, we'd have to...”, jokes Roberto.
Grade 9, US-sourced 3Al 2.5V seamless titanium tubes are cold-worked in T-Lab’s Montreal facility, as heat would negatively alter the metal’s properties. The tube shapes on T-Lab’s frames are guided by its former experience in carbon fibre manufacturing, finite element analysis, scientific trial and error,
plus physical testing. The company admits that some of the shaping is aesthetic, but ultimate performance is still the driver. During the technically challenging development phase, tubes didn’t always shape perfectly, but the process is well sorted now.
Tube shapes we’ve become familiar with on carbon fibre frames are di cult to replicate in metal. In general, a frame tube’s shape, diameter and profile a ect the final frame’s ability to deflect for comfort and to be sti where it matters, optimising power transfer. Hydroforming is one method, and shapes metal tubes, including titanium, by using a hydraulic mould and very high-pressure fluid to form complex tube profiles, but hydroforming titanium correctly is expensive, and it’s not widely used.
Taking things a step further, flattened, ovalized and flat-sided tubes characterise T-Lab’s designs, sometimes within the same tube, and they’re all created by hand. The top tube is heavily flattened, its profile resembling an eye, but it also flares in height at each end to maximise its connection. The seat tube is necessarily round at the top for the seatpost,
“Our bikes are for those intriqued by titanium who do not want to compromise on performance and aesthetics” Roberto Rossi
but as well as a subtle curve away from the drivetrain by the bottom bracket, it has flattened almost completely covering more of the BB shell's width and creating more rear wheel clearance.
T-Lab describes the frame tubes as isotropic when they have a round profile – that means that the material’s properties are identical in all directions – but anisotropic when cold-worked into a specific cross section, meaning that the material’s properties and strength are aligned in the same direction, rather like wood grain.
“The process is indeed a closely guarded secret for us,” says Roberto seriously, “as it represents our intellectual property and the basis of what distinguishes a T-Lab bike. Radically shaping ti like we do without compromising its nature, is the culmination of a long development process that involved much testing and that was guided by many years of bike-building experience.
“In essence, our unique shaping capability was developed in order to address the fundamental issue traditionally presented by titanium: it didn’t always o er the lateral sti ness desired by today’s cyclist (as compared to carbon).
“Essentially, at various key areas on the frame, we cold-work seamless Grade 9 tubes, taking a round cross section with isotropic characteristics and creating a sort of anisotropic cross section to enhance strength and sti ness exactly where it’s needed. The cold working is key, as it doesn’t a ect the inherent ride quality and durability of titanium. The shaping results in a profile that is up to 30 per cent sti er (laterally and in torsion) in tests versus typically round tube ti frames.
“What you end up getting, based on what our customers tell us, is a bike that accelerates and performs like a high-end carbon bike but with the grace and durability of titanium. Truly the best of both worlds.”
Just as important is welding. Titanium is highly reactive to oxygen, but the feature that prevents it corroding also makes welding it a painstaking process. The inside and outside of the tubes are purged using inert argon gas to displace oxygen-rich air, and help create stronger welds, millimetres at a time.
An unusual feature of the frame is the T-One rear dropout. These modular dropouts bolt on to the frame and carry the thru-axle, rear-mech hanger and rear-disc brake caliper independently of the frame itself. They’re easily replaced and should prevent frame damage
“What you get is a bike that accelerates and performs like a high-end carbon bike but with the grace and durability of titanium” Roberto Rossi
should something go wrong, and can also be swapped to create alternate configurations, such as single speed.
“Once again, the lead design directive was to optimise sti ness and performance (including more precise shifting),” says Roberto. “From there, we wanted to make the bike as futureproof as possible. When you make long-lasting frames, you want them to be as versatile and adaptable (over time) as possible. To us, that is a key component to delivering higher quality and value.”
Going custom
Of course, these bikes won’t be found by the dozen in your local bike shop, so getting one built is a custom process. My transatlantic discussion initially centred on what sort of bike I would be interested in. T-Lab currently o ers the R1 and R3 road models, plus X3 for o -road, and my love of bikes that can be ridden anywhere made the latter the clear favourite. I enquired about interchangeable wheel sizes and even greater tyre volume and Rob said I could be one of the first to try the then-updated 2019 X3 model, which is designed for 700c x 45mm and 650B x 51mm tyres.
At Rob’s request, I collated the geometry figures of my favourite endurance bikes and discovered that those figures were close to T-Lab’s 2019 aggressive gravel geometry for a medium frame size. I added a wish list of features I’d ideally want on my perfect bike, such as mudguard eyes, and started thinking about drivetrain, cable routing and so on.
The first proposed frame drawing pdf that I received a week later immediately looked ideal. I find some standard geometries fit well, and my design had only tweaked T-Lab’s geometry a little, very slightly shortening the top tube, reach, stack height and chainstay lengths. It seems those years of Guru bike fitting are still paying o . For 2020, the X3’s standard geometry has been amended, giving it 8mm longer chainstays, a steeper head angle and shorter wheelbase.
Finishing style
With the geometry nailed, it was time to decide on the frame’s finish. To be honest, finalising the geometry and how the bike would hopefully function was far easier than giving the everlasting material a forever finish. T-Lab’s options allowed for the tubes to be given a brushed or bead-blasted finish, plus part or wholly painted in a variety of 18 colours, and the full carbon fork needed tying in too.
Several stock finish patterns demonstrated the potential e ects on each area of the frameset, showcasing the artisan flair available, but I’m quite traditional and I'm mostly attracted by the metal itself. Almost impossible to mark or scratch, a bare titanium frame is a beautifully elegant and practical thing, so I was nervous about adding comparatively fragile paint to it.
The final order included the optional custom geometry, internal cable routing, third bottle-cage mount below the down tube and mudguard mounts. There is also the option to have your name etched in to the top tube, which personalises a bike more than a sticker ever can.
Flying visit
While finalising the eventual specification of the X3, I was invited to ride the first ever Canadian round of the Grinduro gravel race series, which gave me the opportunity to visit T-Lab while I was over there.
The company’s unassuming, easy-to-miss facility is on the south side of Montreal. After months of email conversations, it was good to put Rob’s face to his name as he walked me through the showroom and the di erent parts of the production process.
Watching craftsmen at work never gets tiring, and it was particularly interesting because my finished X3 had arrived just before I left the UK. Unboxing it produced some involuntary noises as the intricacy of the tube shaping, quality of the welding and stunning overall look could be seen in the metal at last. Although I saw most of the production areas, of course, I wasn’t permitted to see how the tubes are cold worked, so it remains a technical mystery for now.
As well as the titanium range, carbon fibre repair business, and potential future uses for CFRTP, T-Lab is also working on a custom aluminium bike line and a prototype hardtail titanium mountain bike frame with beautifully shaped tubes, which could be followed by a full-suspension bike in time.