# Used Raleigh Titanium Frames: a good idea?



## Lost81 (Dec 14, 2004)

Hi,

Anyone know anything about Raleigh Titanium MTB frames?

The information I have come across is at best, sparse; at worst, contradictory.
Some say that Raleigh used CP Titanium, others say 3/2.5.
Some say Raleigh Ti frames were made from recycled MIG fighter parts, others say that they were welded by garden gnomes in English gardens.
I'm confused!

I have a 18.5" 1996 Specialized M2 that I love and still ride daily to college and back, (as well as doing 1/2 centuries on slicks--please don't laugh). I wonder if a used 20" Raleigh Titanium frame (year and history unknown) is worth swapping over to.

The number of people complaining about cracked Raleigh Titanium frames (mostly riders in England) doesn't seem very confidence inspiring, however.


-Lost81


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## Elevation12000 (Jun 16, 2004)

The third article will tell you it is a kind of chemically treathed Ti, not 3/2,5. The tubing came from Russia and the frame was welded in the UK.

Raleigh Ti

I don't have experience with those frames.


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## DeeEight (Jan 13, 2004)

Russian OT 4 titanium is what is used as memory serves, which was a russian model code what was basically a modified form of commercial pure titanium, similar to american grade 4 stuff, which is round abouts 99ksi ultimate tensile strength (which btw is right where plain ol' aircraft quality 4130 CrMo tubing is), so perfectly adequate to make a bicycle frame out of.

see http://www.matweb.com/search/SpecificMaterial.asp?bassnum=NTIME75A for specs on a similar form of titanium as the OT 4 along with an explanation on the alloy modifications and industry codes for it in other countries.

While on the subject of other weird ti alloys, syncros used to use a Ti 6-2-4-6 alloy for their Ti BB spindles, and this http://www.matweb.com/search/SpecificMaterial.asp?bassnum=NALL50 is basically what that was.

RVT also used a russian alloy called Ti 5/2 where the 5 was Aluminium and the 2 was Manganese and there's basically no equivalent western alloy to it but essentially it came between the normal Ti 3Al-2.5V and Ti 6Al-4V alloys used in most american ti frames for example, in the strength departments.


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