hi, i want to buy a titanium bike, looking for recommendations.
**what i have:**
80s cannondale touring frame of fifteen years (image attached for fun), used as a getting-around vehicle and touring bike for many years when i lived in the US. i love how light it is but the ride is kind of harsh on the poorly-maintained asphalt where i live, and doesn’t work in the countryside (can’t fit bigger tires).
**what i want:**
a bicycle that i can use at home (middle east) and touring elsewhere without limiting myself to perfect paved roads. really want to be able to happily ride on dirt, forest, gravel tracks as comfortably as on asphalt. i had the chance to test ride a used litespeed ti road bike in the city where i live and loooved how the titanium felt (but the frame was way too big for me).
\- titanium frame (what fork material?), super high quality welds, will last me a million years
\- comfortable geometry suitable for touring, can support panniers etc
\- suitable for mixed use – higher BB? fatter and knobbier tires (what tires should i be aiming for if i want some kind of sweet spot between paved urban and bumpy unpaved rural?)
this kind of thing is not popular yet where i live but i’m heading out on a eurail trip in september so can maybe try things out in bike shops on my way.
**questions (but feel free to lay out your opinion on anything remotely related)**
\- is it a dumb idea to jump from spending a few hundred (craigslist, fifteen years ago) to a few thousand, not having experienced basically any modern bicycle technology firsthand?
\- does the road/gravel/touring sweet spot i’m imagining exist? what do i need to look for geometry-wise?
\- what brand and model? litespeed (flint [https://litespeed.com/collections/flint/products/flint](https://litespeed.com/collections/flint/products/flint) or arenberg [https://litespeed.com/collections/endurance/products/arenberg](https://litespeed.com/collections/endurance/products/arenberg) or t5 or cherohala?!?), lynskey (HELP too many options), van nicholas (HELP too many options), reilly (gradient? [https://www.reillycycleworks.com/products/gradient-complete](https://www.reillycycleworks.com/products/gradient-complete)), ribble (endurance ti? [https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-endurance-ti-disc-sport/](https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-endurance-ti-disc-sport/) or cgr ti? [https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-cgr-ti/](https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-cgr-ti/)), habanero (cross? [https://www.habcycles.com/cross.html](https://www.habcycles.com/cross.html)), spa cycles?!….
\- if i’m really going to spend the money — production or custom frame?
\- what size do i need?! online calculators say different things… who to trust? height 171.5 cm, inside leg length 80 cm, arm length 55.5 cm if it matters
\- better to buy a frame and have a trusted LBS build the complete bike or order a complete bike? i am not currently knowledgeable about all of the many other pieces that make up the finished bike
thx for any and all advice
https://preview.redd.it/zbg2jotx72jb1.png?width=878&format=png&auto=webp&s=e59c4bd25cdd44c6f6da24a8a3a59fdc8f61b958
by moon_planet_sun