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Thanks Jack. I was going to throw them old Sidi shoes away. He he he.
Ti frame are great. I have a Litespeed and Merlin custom frames. However, for road bikes Carbon composites are the best materials. That is if you want to be competitive = fast.
It was just my observation based on what the Pro cyclist were using at Tour de Italia and Tour de France. Likewise, most fast guys in my group were armed with carbon speed weapons. I haven't seen anyone who had a Ti or Aluminum frame road bike who won the tour. I could be wrong.
Levi, you know that pro cyclists don't get to pick the frame material of the bike they ride. Most pro's don't get to pick the brand of bike - the team usually picks the brand of bike. It is usually not based on bike performance (all of the major bike manufacturers make very good bikes), but economics - who is willing to pay them the most money to ride their bike. Only big bike companies can afford to sponsor teams in big races. No big bike company (as far as I know) who sponsors a team makes bikes out of anything but CF. Also, economics plays a major role in this equasion. Bike companies want people to ride frames that generate the most profit for the bike companies. CF is an awesome material and I'm not going to argue against it. Just saying that the "pro's use it" argument is not as solid as many people think. I tend to think there are lots of great frame material options, each with its own pro's and cons. The importance of design of the bike and construction of the frame are often overlooked. Among the well known (small) frame manufacturers there are framebuilders who can make a bike tailored to a rider's specific needs, preferences and size. The best of these companies (listed by Ladydog) have a cult following among people who pay large sums of money to buy their products. Heck, several former pro's who can ride anything they wish are known to purchase these bikes for their personal bike stable. Often, these bikes are made of steel or Ti or a combination of a metal and CF and custom made to the rider's size. It would be very difficult (and not profitable) for a large bike company like Specialized or Giant to make a bike in this manner. Not to say I ultimately get a cool Tarmac, S2 or TCR! Those are cool bikes and my opinion changes every time I think about it. Cheers,J