Building My New Titanium Road Bicycle With Shimano Components

By Rick Schultz

I’ve had several manufacturers send parts to test recently, and coupled with a great deal on a Lynskey titanium frame, I’ve decided to document the building of this bike. Many people have asked how to put together a bike if they start with just a frame, so, here is my process.

There are around six brands of titanium bikes that everyone in the US has heard of: Lynskey, Litespeed, Moots, Seven Cycles, Dean and Merlin. Other brands are include here: https://www.roadbikerider.com/titanium-bike-brand-list/.

Frame: Lynskey Titanium HELIX Disc.

https://lynskeyperformance.com/helix-disc-road-frameset/

There are 4 main categories of titanium, each has its uses. CP (Commercially Pure) Ti is pure titanium. Next are the alpha alloys then alpha-beta alloys and finally beta alloys, which contain the most alloys and are by far the hardest to fabricate with. For example, there are at least 2 beta titanium types that can be heat treated to the point of making a usable knife blade. Pushing the envelope even further are Nickel-Titanium alloys such as NiTiNOL 50 and NiTiNOL 60. NiTiNOL stands for Nickel Titanium Naval Ordnance Labs.

Many have heard of and more than likely used NiTiNOL 50 which is also called a “shape memory metal” that is often used for eyeglass frames. These frames can literally be twisted, and will spring right back into shape. As for NiTiNOL 60, this is the toughest metal alloy ever made. So tough that it is the only metal that can be used for the internal parts of rocket motors. So, as you can see, there is a lot to choose from with titanium, and selecting the right grade is only half the challenge. The other half is knowing how-to fabricate it correctly.

Lynskey chose Ti 3-2.5 which is called grade 9 or ‘half-6-4’ and is a near alpha, alpha-beta alloy. If has a lot more strength than CP titanium and unlike Ti6-4, can be cold worked resulting in moderately high strength and good ductility. It is also easily weldable, which is usually how they make much of the tubing for bicycle frames, i.e., rolling a sheet into a tube and welding the seam.

The numbers used in Ti’s nomenclature represents the amount or percentage of alloys added to the titanium. In this case there is 3% Aluminum, 2.5% Vanadium, with the balance titanium. Ti 3-2.5 applications include tubing for hydraulic systems, golf club shafts, tennis rackets and bicycle frames. The only other titanium alloy used in bicycle frames is Ti 6-4. Twice the strength, but four times the difficulty in fabricating.

Fork: Lynskey Pro Road Carbon Disc Fork #6: Comes standard

Headset: Cane Creek 40 headset

Extras / Separate Purchase: Ti Seat Post, Profile-Design Stem, Cervelo supplied fork steer tube reinforcer.

A call in to Lynskey verified that all surfaces were faced, so I didn’t need to worry about going to a bike shop and have them pull out the cutters and thread chasers, already done! That saved a lot of time and money. They also highly recommended getting a small jar of Copper Anti-Seize, and prep all the threads before installing anything. I took a trip to the local auto parts store and found an 8 oz. jar.

The next thing was to clean up all the fingerprints by putting down a coat of wax on the frame. Once dried, it was time to prep the fork. I left plenty of spacers, since you can always cut a fork, but can’t put the carbon back on. Measuring against my Cervelo, I chose the height of the stem to match.

Stem Prep: I’ve seen way too many cracked carbon handlebars, cracked fork carbon steerer tubes and cracked carbon seatposts. Mostly from over tightening. But there were several forks that came in to the fitting studio over the years where you could see that the cracks started from burrs on the inside of stems. Seeing this has led me to always use a torque-wrench, always stay at or below the manufacturers recommended torque rating and to additionally deburr the inside of my stems.

To see an example, these two photos below show where the burr of the stem cut into the carbon fiber steerer tube. The second photo shows a crack caused by overtightening the stem.

One of the biggest offenders is the inside of the stem, where it clamps onto the steerer tube. In fact, if you take a look at the photo below, you can actually see a sharp burr. This is the part of the stem that comes into contact with the back of the steerer tube. The area that made the round impression in the photo above.

Using a 180-220 grit wet/dry sandpaper, wet sand until every edged surface is smooth. In the photo below, extra sanding required as these surfaces were SHARP.

Note: I did the same deburring on the saddle clamp. Since I’m running a carbon saddle with carbon rails, this is a very important step also.

Component Selection

Wheels: I already have a perfect set of wheels for the build. My Giant TCR Advanced 2 came with a PR-2 Disc wheelset. About on par with a $300 Shimano RS500 wheelset. I replaced those with a new set of Shimano WH-RS770 C30-TL Carbon Disc Tubeless wheels. I also added the Dura-Ace R9100 center lock disc brake rotors in 160mm front & rear. A pair of 25mm Hutchinson FUSION5’s and SQUIRT’s new Tire Sealant rounds out the wheelset.

Handlebars: I had a set of Ritchey carbon bars laying around so might as well use them. I checked them out for any crash damage or cracks, none found so they are good to go.

Saddle: I also had a 109gm full carbon Selle San Marco ASPIDE Superleggera laying around, so why not use that also? Its full carbon rails fit the seat clamp perfectly. If that hadn’t worked, I also had a spare Specialized Power, a new Selle SMP VT30C, Selle SMP F30C, Bontrager Montrose, Specialized Romin, Selle SMP Drakon and Dynamic. So, lots to choose from.

Bottom Bracket: I also found a brand new hybrid ceramic BB in gold accents that matches the head badge. Parfait! Favoloso!

The Rest of the Stuff:

Here is where it becomes a little tricky. Sure, everyone wants the best groupset, but right now (8/2020), the industry is expecting a new Dura-Ace 9200 groupset. Right now, no one knows what this is exactly going to be? 11-speed, 12-speed? Wired, wireless? Coupled with the great events of 2020, the new Dura-Ace could be out tomorrow, or next year! So, here are the options I am looking at:

1. Dura-Ace R9200
   PROS: New Top of the line (when it comes out)Absolute latest and greatest
   CONS: Guessing it will be even more expensive than current Dura-AceWho knows when it will come out? After it is out, who knows when it will be immediately available (to us consumers)? If it is a 12-speed, then all new parts and accessories will be needed. Will the R9270 Di2 be immediately available as well?
2. Dura-Ace R9120 or R9170?
   GENERAL
   PROS: Top of the line, best of shifting and available now.
   CONS: What if R9200 comes out the day after I install this Dura-Ace groupset?
3. R9120 mechanical for hydraulic disc
   PROS: less expensive compared to Di2
   PROS: Price drop when R9200 comes out?
   CONS: not Di2
   CONS: will be superseded by R9200 (probably soon, but who knows?)
4. R9170 Di2 for hydraulic disc
   PROS: Di2
   PROS: Price drop when R9200 comes out?
   CONS: more expensive than mechanical
   CONS: will shortly be outdated
5. Ultegra R8020 or R8070?
   GENERAL
   PROS: available now
   PROS: will still be current model for at least 12 more months
   PROS: about ½ the price of Dura-Ace
   PROS: almost as good as Dura-Ace
   CONS: almost as good as Dura-Ace
6. R8020 mechanical for hydraulic disc
   PROS: less expensive compared to Di2
   CONS: mechanical not Di2
7. R8070 Di2 for hydraulic disc
   PROS: Di2
   CONS: more expensive than mechanical
8. 105 R7000
   GENERAL
   PROS: available now
   PROS: will still be current model for at least 18 more months
   PROS: about 30% less than Ultegra
   PROS: almost as good as Ultegra
   PROS: least expensive of the latest generation 11-speed Shimano
   PROS: can use until 9200 comes out
   CONS: will then need to sell if want to upgrade to 9200
   CONS: no Di2
9. HYBRID (BEST MIX of PRICE/PERFORMANCE)
   GENERAL
   PROS: available now
   PROS: best price/performance
   PROS: use R7000 crankset now, R9200 dual power later
   CONS: minimal cost savings compared to full R8000

Three Decisions

1. Wait for 9200 or build the bike now. If wait, do I have another bike to ride in the meantime? YES
2. Di2 or Mechanical?
3. Component Grade

Anyway, here’s the Copper Anti-Seize I picked up at a local auto parts shop. Less than half the price of what the bike shops charge for a container half as big, Meaning, by going with an 8oz jar of Permatex, I get two times the anti-seize for half the price of the bike shops brands. Why is that?

After a lot of thinking, I decided to go with the Shimano 105 R7020, then wait until next year when the 9200 should be readily available for everyone. But then the mechanics I spoke with all said that the quality vs. price difference doesn’t really justify the R7020. They all said go with the Ultegra R8020, because it doesn’t cost that much more, but is a lot closer to Dura-Ace quality than the price and quality comparative differences between 105 R7020 and Ultegra R8020. Unfortunately, almost everything is sold out right now.

They also said Shimano should be getting in a big shipment of parts around 9/1/2020. So, I’ve placed the Ultegra R8020 parts on order. Really only the shifters and associated disc calipers, along with front and rear derailleurs. Since this frame requires a ‘braze on’ front derailleur, I also had to get a SM-AD91-L Braze on 34.9mm adapter. It was also recommended to get the shifters and calipers as a set, since all of the hoses are included.

In the meantime, I installed the bottom bracket using the Copper Anti-Seize, as well as both bottle cages. These are Elite Vico Carbon cages — very robust and exceptionally light at just 23 grams. The bottom bracket is a hybrid ceramic model.

Replan

Nothing ever goes to plan. I have a Dura-Ace 9000 crankset with dual 4iiii power meters. Works on every bike I have except, of course, the Lynskey. The non-drive side chain stay has an outward bend right where the power meter is attached to the crank arm. So, there goes that plan.

Luckily, I have an option 2. Lot’s of work though.

Considerations. My Cervelo is a Direct Fit BBRight so it is a BB30 derivative, i.e., 30mm spindle. But the Lynskey uses a Thread fit 24mm spindle Bottom Bracket. The Cervelo can take either (with the correct adapters), but the Lynskey is basically a Shimano configuration. So, I had to

• remove Ultegra crank from the Cervelo,
• new bottom bracket bearings for the Cervelo,
• clean up Rotor crank and
• install Rotor crank on the Cervelo,
• clean up Ultegra crank,
• install Ultegra crank on the Lynskey,
• install Assiomo Faviero dual power meter pedals on the Ultegra crank.

And now it’s just a matter of waiting for parts, and then I can show you how it all ends up.