# Bontrager ti-lite



## merak (Sep 5, 2008)

Hello,

Does somebody have an idea about the value of this frame ?
(bontrager ti-lite, titanium, 750 exemplary,1996-1997)


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## sho220 (Aug 3, 2005)

wow...that frame is a work of art.  

Value = priceless!!!


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## Boy named SSue (Jan 7, 2004)

merak said:


> Hello,
> 
> Does somebody have an idea about the value of this frame ?
> (bontrager ti-lite, titanium, 750 exemplary,1996-1997)


A complete one just failed to sell on the bay with an opening bid of $700. It has some issues kept me away.


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=339257


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## muddybuddy (Jan 31, 2007)

That is a purty frame. Welcome to the forum. As you are new to the forum you might want to check the FAQ thread at the top of the forum for some useful information.


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

muddybuddy said:


> That is a purty frame. Welcome to the forum. As you are new to the forum you might want to check the FAQ thread at the top of the forum for some useful information.


Right. Its the thread juuuuust above this one.


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## merak (Sep 5, 2008)

Rumpfy said:


> http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=339257


ok,

I read this, it was hard for me who don't understand english very well ^^
About the bontrager frame, I have read on a deutch site, that the value was 2000 dollars ( frame alone)
it's not too high ?


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

:|

go for it.


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## KDXdog (Mar 15, 2007)

I'd sell it to the Dutch....fast!

$2000 american dollars seems high to me. 

Ti Bontragers don't seem to bring the same dollars as, say a ti FAT or early Boston Merlins.

Welcome to the site. English speaking people here sometimes don't understand english very well either!


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

Yeah, unlikely you'll see $2000 USD....or even half that number.


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## muddybuddy (Jan 31, 2007)

If someone offerd you $2,000 for that frame, take the money and don't look back.


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## bootsie_cat (Nov 3, 2004)

*Ti Bontrager*

Ti Bontragers were not even Bontrager made. I think they were made by Ti Sports? Anyway Keith didn't make them and he was not personally proud of them- they made a whole batch and had to sell them. He was happy when Trek bought Bontrager because they also bought all those Ti frames. I am pretty sure angles were off too. I don't remember if they came out steeper or slacker than Santa Cruz built race and racelites- but they definately were not the same. When Trek was selling them off they were really cheap for a complete XT bike with a Rockshox.


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## Boy named SSue (Jan 7, 2004)

bootsie_cat said:


> Ti Bontragers were not even Bontrager made. I think they were made by Ti Sports? Anyway Keith didn't make them and he was not personally proud of them- they made a whole batch and had to sell them. He was happy when Trek bought Bontrager because they also bought all those Ti frames. I am pretty sure angles were off too. I don't remember if they came out steeper or slacker than Santa Cruz built race and racelites- but they definately were not the same. When Trek was selling them off they were really cheap for a complete XT bike with a Rockshox.


I've always understood it entirely different than this. They were made after the Trek buyout (by TST as you said). Never heard anything about the angles being off. Never noticed it either. Keith rode one for years too. He did the trans-alps ride on one. May still ride it but I usually see him on FS bikes now.

The Chineese made protos were a different story. Keith personally destroyed one at burningman by throwing it on a bonfire. The second has an equally fun fate IIRC. Those were made before the buyout and the project was dropped until it could be done correctly.

The cheap selloffs were through supergo. $1500 for a complete as you described. XT with a judy TT. Only had XLs and XS, maybe some smalls. The larges and mediums had sold fine. They also were selling off races at the same time for $1000 with the same build. I checked to see what they had when the ads started running and it was only the odd sizes.

good bikes, just not collectable. $2k is what they sold for new. Way above the current market price.


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## bootsie_cat (Nov 3, 2004)

*Ti Bontager*

Yes, it was TST.
If you see Keith- ask him. I am pretty sure the were made pre-trek. I am also pretty sure about the angle thing too. They (Trek) also had a whole pile of Racelites that they turned into complete bikes and pretty much gave away.


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## Jupke (Mar 14, 2007)

KDXdog said:


> I'd sell it to the Dutch....fast!
> 
> $2000 american dollars seems high to me.
> 
> ...


Germans speak german. Native: deutsch.
Dutch speak dutch. Native: nederlands. 

About the current value of this frame: 1000 euro's (about $1400 as we speak) is a more realistic price at least in Europe. Over here recently some Rocky Mountain ti bolts (same era, same manufacturer?, same attention to detail and finish, slightly higher cult-status) were on sale fetching 900-1400 euro's ($1250-1950). Can't speak for the US market.
Then again if a group of bidders realy want the object prices can go crazy.

Good luck,
Ben

P.s. Over here http://www.dirty-pages.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30721 a dutch guy tells about the restoration of his ti-lite. The weld in the second picture was cracked. He personaly brought the frame over to Darren Crisp in Italy were it was repaired after consulting Ti sports about some construction details. Third picture shows an aluminium insert (preventing that an aluminium seatpost over a period of time would be "cold welded" to the titanium) that had to be removed from the seattube .Further pics show the proces of changing the sandblast finish into a brushed finish.


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## Boy named SSue (Jan 7, 2004)

Jupke said:


> P.s. Over here http://www.dirty-pages.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30721 a dutch guy tells about the restoration of his ti-lite. The weld in the second picture was cracked. He personaly brought the frame over to Darren Crisp in Italy were it was repaired after consulting Ti sports about some construction details. Third picture shows an aluminium insert (preventing that an aluminium seatpost over a period of time would be "cold welded" to the titanium) that had to be removed from the seattube .Further pics show the proces of changing the sandblast finish into a brushed finish.


Same guy used to post here as Jeroen. If you search for threads he started, I think he posted this here too.


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

Jeroen never posts here anymore. What a bastard.


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