Titanium, titanium, titanium, titanium…

Boy, it’s been non-stop titanium at the shop. It seems like every bike that comes in for repair is a titanium frame. Within the past few days, it’s been: Airborne, Morati, Seven, Dean, and Moots. The Airborne was a down tube replacement that Steve Potts performed. The Morati was a disc brake mount that Steve handled as well. The Seven was a randonneur out for the SFRandonneur’s 200k brevet. The Dean needed new pistons in the Hayes El Camino (ick) brakes. The Moots had a shifting problem that turned out to be a kinked cable housing among other things.

Believe it or not this Airborne had its down tube replace by Steve Potts. He cut the tube out and then performed a miracle with titanium by fitting a tube that was mitered at the head tube and double mitered at the bottom bracket. The tube was perfectly fit and then welded with Steve’s impeccable double-pass welding. After bead blasting, the frame looked like it was brand new. My job was menial compared to Steve’s by simply removing all parts, cleaning, replacing worn parts, and the building the bike back up. Turned out nice and will be a great bike for many more years.

From Repair Bikes

Believe it or not, but that’s the replacement down tube.

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…and that’s the bottom bracket junction with the new down tube. Impossible to know that it’s been replaced. Look at Steve’s weld compared to the weld of the chainstay to the bottom bracket.

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The Dean.

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The Morati, mid-build.

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The Morati’s new disc tab.

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And the cool Moots YBB. Upon noticing the kinked shift cable housing, I noticed the hydraulic hose was also badly kinked. It got a new hose and brake bleed. I so much would rather bleed Shimano brakes than anything by Hayes.

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(What’s playing: Helen Hall Honky Tonk Husband on KWMR‘s Roadhouse Twang)