# chinese titanium, xacd first ride



## t5rguy (Jul 4, 2003)

So I went out on a limb, and ordered a made to measure ti frame from XACD, Xi'An, China.
Besides the geometry, I specced a stiff bb area, which resulted in a 38.1 mm down tube. The top tube measures 31.8 mm, so that's oversized too, I suppose.
The geometry I gave was: 73 degrees seat tube, 74 degrees headtube, 56.8 mm virtual toptube, 98.5 wheelbase. It's a 58 cm c-t seat tube. The top tube has a slight slope. The head tube is 1 inch, it has a Alpha Q Sub 3 fork.

This afternoon I took it out for a first ride. I was pleasantly surprised. It worked out pretty much as I wanted, a nimble but stabile ride. I like it when I can see the front hub behind the rear of the bars when I look down, and I want the nose of the saddle to be about 8 cm behind the center of the bb. Very important to me is the feel of the bike when standing on the pedals and 'swaying' the bike to and fro. That's OK.
Since this is the first ti frame after many steel ones, I didn't know what to expect. As far as I can tell after two hours, the ti frame is much more silent, but also a little more 'dead'. Also, geometry seems more important than ti versus steel.

I know there's been a lot of criticism of XACD but so far, XACD came through for me, for surprisingly little money.


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## campybk (Oct 20, 2002)

*Nice build*

I love the understated no nonsense look of your bike. Did you order it directly from XACD?
Could you have gotten a 1 1/8th head tube?


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## t5rguy (Jul 4, 2003)

campybk said:


> I love the understated no nonsense look of your bike. Did you order it directly from XACD?
> Could you have gotten a 1 1/8th head tube?


Yep, I'm a no-nonsense guy; no frilly cut-out lugs for me. 
The bike is meant for abuse; I'm going to take it on vacation trips, which means transportation by airplane. Besides that, it'll be a winterbike. 
The 1 inch headtube is a result of my muddled decision making (at times). I believe you can order almost anything. And yes, it was ordered direct, only by e-mail communication.
Over a year ago I thought I wanted another steel bike custom made, this time ultra light, ordered the King headset and Sub 3 fork. Changed my mind later, now I have this ti bike, mostly fitted out with old parts, and a Scandium frame I still have to build up. The fork and headset had to go somewhere!
So this bike has 8-speed Record ergo shifters, to work with my old 7-speed freewheels. Those Dura Ace freewheels just will not die!


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## gogogomoveit (Nov 20, 2003)

very nice bike. do they offer oversized tubings?


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## t5rguy (Jul 4, 2003)

*oversized tubing*



gogogomoveit said:


> very nice bike. do they offer oversized tubings?


I believe the tubes are oversized. Anyway, why don't you ask the sales guy: [email protected] [[email protected]], his name is Porter.

You'll have an answer within hours, if not minutes.

Good luck.


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## Cejay (Oct 21, 2004)

OK so what did you pay?


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## soulsurfer104 (Jun 30, 2003)

*red?*

your "understated" look is crushed by the RED tires.


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## Nessism (Feb 6, 2004)

*Outstanding!*



t5rguy said:


> So I went out on a limb, and ordered a made to measure ti frame from XACD, Xi'An, China.
> Besides the geometry, I specced a stiff bb area, which resulted in a 38.1 mm down tube. The top tube measures 31.8 mm, so that's oversized too, I suppose.



Super rig! Congrats.

Regarding the tube sizes, 31.8mm = 1-1/4" and 38mm = 1-1/2". These are fairly common sizes but larger than some. TST uses these sizes on most of their frames and they provide a nice firm bottom bracket area.

Enjoy.

Ed


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## t5rguy (Jul 4, 2003)

Cejay said:


> OK so what did you pay?


Including shipping and the cost of transferring the money I paid about 460 euro's. The price of the frame (without fork) in USD is 425.


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## Cejay (Oct 21, 2004)

t5rguy said:


> Including shipping and the cost of transferring the money I paid about 460 euro's. The price of the frame (without fork) in USD is 425.


Ouch. That is quite a deal. Just a quick clarifacation. 460 euro is 586 USD so I am assuming you bought the Alpha Q Sub 3 fork from them as well.


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## HandyAndy (Feb 2, 2004)

You say that there has been a lot of criticism about xacd.What exactly?


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## t5rguy (Jul 4, 2003)

*frame w/o fork*



Cejay said:


> Ouch. That is quite a deal. Just a quick clarifacation. 460 euro is 586 USD so I am assuming you bought the Alpha Q Sub 3 fork from them as well.


425 USD for the frame w/o fork, 105 shipping, 12 for 4 ti crank bolts, 20 transfer cost.
Their own brnad full carbon fork is 80 USD. Seemed too cheap, I'd rather use the Sub 3!
Euro vs. USD has changed since I ordered.


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## t5rguy (Jul 4, 2003)

*xacd criticism*



HandyAndy said:


> You say that there has been a lot of criticism about xacd.What exactly?


This is the link. There's more on MTBR. The main problem seems to be warranty. That's always difficult when you're 10.000 km's away. But I took that into account. Judging by the accuracy of the built frame vs. the design drawing (and where do you get that?!), and the quality of the welds, I'm not worried. But then you never know.

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=11991&highlight=xacd


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## eduvauchelle (May 19, 2005)

-------------------


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## andresmuro (Dec 11, 2007)

t5rguy said:


> So I went out on a limb, and ordered a made to measure ti frame from XACD, Xi'An, China.
> Besides the geometry, I specced a stiff bb area, which resulted in a 38.1 mm down tube. The top tube measures 31.8 mm, so that's oversized too, I suppose.
> The geometry I gave was: 73 degrees seat tube, 74 degrees headtube, 56.8 mm virtual toptube, 98.5 wheelbase. It's a 58 cm c-t seat tube. The top tube has a slight slope. The head tube is 1 inch, it has a Alpha Q Sub 3 fork.
> 
> ...



I have a custom made frame from them. It probably has about 10,000 miles. I wanted a road bike with a 75.5 degree seattube. That is what I got. It rides great. Nice, clean, utilitarian. Im very happy with it. 

Andres


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## Retro Grouch (Apr 30, 2002)

Kudos on the build! I love seeing old Campy Ergo stuff still going strong.


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## David Loving (Jun 13, 2008)

Very nice! congratulations on an excellent purchase and a nice build!


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## boneman (Nov 26, 2001)

*How long did it take?*

I live in Shanghai. This would be too easy and the price, well that's interesting. Yes, there are a number of aerospace companies in both Xi'an and Chengdu and it is one of the 7 pillar industries supported by the government. How detailed was the design process? Did you also spec BB drop, chainstay length, head tube length etc? Nice looking rig.



t5rguy said:


> So I went out on a limb, and ordered a made to measure ti frame from XACD, Xi'An, China.
> Besides the geometry, I specced a stiff bb area, which resulted in a 38.1 mm down tube. The top tube measures 31.8 mm, so that's oversized too, I suppose.
> The geometry I gave was: 73 degrees seat tube, 74 degrees headtube, 56.8 mm virtual toptube, 98.5 wheelbase. It's a 58 cm c-t seat tube. The top tube has a slight slope. The head tube is 1 inch, it has a Alpha Q Sub 3 fork.
> 
> ...


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## CleavesF (Dec 31, 2007)

Remember you guys. Chinese titanium is not the same material as American or European Titanium! Beware!


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## bwana (Feb 4, 2005)

You all do realize that t5rguy posted in 2004, right?


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## DrSmile (Jul 22, 2006)

CleavesF said:


> Remember you guys. Chinese titanium is not the same material as American or European Titanium! Beware!


If I'm understanding the brimming sarcasm correctly, you're inferring that Chinese titanium may spontaneously combust when spoken to?


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## Broken wrists (Jul 11, 2010)

Hi, got my XACD ti frame, very sturdy, photos in my gallery. I'm eager to build it up. 
Frame has 38 mm down tube, massive couplers, stout chainstays and weight 2000 grams. 
Jimbo


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## Kontact (Apr 1, 2011)

CleavesF said:


> Remember you guys. Chinese titanium is not the same material as American or European Titanium! Beware!


Okay, what is it, then?


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## Maximus_XXIV (Nov 10, 2008)

Let's see if that poster from 3 years ago answers....

And Chinese Ti will melt in moonlight, unlike carbon that melts in the hot afternoon sun.


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