To paint titanium or not

[dhurwitz]

Hi,

I just ordered a Ti frame.  I have the option of painting it or not.  It's expensive, and nothing is more beautiful than a bare Ti bike.

But I am leaning towards painting it bright yellow, for two reasons:

1.  Reduce its theft attractiveness
2.  Be more visible

The visibility part I handle anyways with clothing and blinky lights front and rear.  The real question is theft avoidance.

What do you think? 

And of course, I will be locking it.  But still.

[John Nettles]

I would leave it bare.  If you want theft avoidance, do a flat black or some other "boring" color.  Scratches and dirt help too.  Not joking.  If traveling in a high-crime area area, would you want something that stands out or "just another bike"?

As far as viability, I have a Tonka Yellow colored frame and from behind you really can't tell the difference, especially with packs on.
Best, John

[Pat Lamb]

I'm with John: leave it unpainted or paint it something boring.  I can't remember off the top of my head if it's bead blasted or "brushed" (aka sanded?) that leaves the finish pretty much flat.  That would be my first choice. 

If you're going to paint it, I'd go for brown over black.  The builder will want to make it shiny, and shiny black attracts some people.  Shiny brown is rather boring.  I'd prefer flat brown, to make it as unappealing as possible, but I doubt your builder will do that -- they want the bike to look like it should be on the cover of Buycycling to attract more business.

[John Nettles]

Flat brown?!?  Pat, you want to have at least SOME appeal to your own bike.  Dang, that would be ugly.   

[DaveB]

Another vote for leaving it bare.  All paint adds to a Ti frame is cost, weight and vulnerability to chips and scratches.  Paint, particularly a bright color, certainly won't make it less attractive to thieves.

[John Nelson]

Do whatever will make you smile every time you see your bike. Nothing else matters.

[RonK]

Leave it natural rather than polished. Mine still looks good without being overt.

[zzzz]

I got my custom ti bike painted. In retrospect it was a mistake. It was a big enough mistake 6 years on and many scuffs and a few chips later, next time I’m feeling flush w cash I’m going to have the paint removed and go w the bare metal.

If you go bare it will also get delivered faster.

Pete

[DaveB]

I got my custom ti bike painted. In retrospect it was a mistake. It was a big enough mistake 6 years on and many scuffs and a few chips later, next time I’m feeling flush w cash I’m going to have the paint removed and go w the bare metal.

Be aware that if you have the paint stripped the finish of the bare Ti under it may be pretty rough.  Years ago Litespeed offered a paint option at an additional cost of about $300.  They also did much less surface preparation and finishing so instead of a smooth, brushed or bead blasted finish like the bare bikes, a stripped frame was quite unfinished.

[zzzz]

Thanks Dave, I was not aware of that possibility.

pm

[Ghspalding]

Hi,

I just ordered a Ti frame.  I have the option of painting it or not.  It's expensive, and nothing is more beautiful than a bare Ti bike.

But I am leaning towards painting it bright yellow, for two reasons:

1.  Reduce its theft attractiveness
2.  Be more visible

The visibility part I handle anyways with clothing and blinky lights front and rear.  The real question is theft avoidance.

What do you think? 

And of course, I will be locking it.  But still.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ghspalding]

Leave it as is and be careful on the security thing. Have a 12 Fargo Ti. Just looks great 5 yrs later and lots of miles. Just a simple clean look and I smile when I ride too!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Pat Lamb]

Flat brown?!?  Pat, you want to have at least SOME appeal to your own bike.  Dang, that would be ugly.   

Just MHO, but I think the older brown paint job looks better than the newer green slime paint in the back.



(From https://pdlamb.wordpress.com/about/)

[John Nettles]

My firs "real" bike, a Takara 723, had a lime green paint.  Even the LBS referred to it as baby $hit green.  But is the brown paint in the picture FLAT brown or glossy brown?  That is a huge difference to me.  Sort of like glossy vs flat black.  John

[dhurwitz]

Well, I was leaning towards painting it yellow, then I was leaning towards leaving it bare. Major angst. The final decision came down to what John Nelson said earlier, which echoed the advice given by a good friend with a red-painted Ti bike: do what puts a smile on your face.  Either way will look great.  In the end, I ordered it matte yellow.  I will post pictures when it arrives in 8 weeks.