DeSalvo Titanium Fixed Gear

2020 Update

It’s often interesting, I find, to revisit a bike after it’s been in use for a long time. Twelve years on, my DeSalvo titanium fixed wheel is the only dedicated road bike I have, and that is unlikely to ever change. At the time forking out for a custom titanium fixed wheel frame felt like quite a bold move, and in retrospect it was a very good one. Other road bikes have come and gone , mostly gone, yet my love affair with this machine continues to endure. Tens of thousands of miles later very little has changed – it acquired a Syntace Racelite bar and Thomson stem, and that’s pretty much it. It continues to make me very happy very time I sling a leg over it and I regularly enjoy good, long road outings with it. Some new pictures follow.

It’s been through quite a few chains, sprockets, and chainrings but as you’d expect the titanium frame bears barely any sign of the mileage.
The Phil high flange track hubs have lost some of their original shine through years of all-weather riding, but thy still spin as smoothly as they did when new. Testament to the quality of Phil Wood bearings.
Lovely crisp dropouts.
Original Campag brake levers, second set of hoods.

 

2008 Original Post

After introducing the project a while ago, and having put some decent miles on it since I took delivery of the frame I figured it was about time I wrote about it properly. I can’t write a review in the conventional sense because being a custom frame but I can ramble on about what I wanted and whether or not I got it… By the way, the photos below are in black and white.. mainly because I like black and white, everyone knows what colour titanium is anyway and it makes the dirt harder to spot… not to mention the weeds in the various locations I grabbed photos…

ti-fix1

The basis for this frame had been forming in my mind for many months while cruising around Cornwall on various flavours of fixed gear machine. I couldn’t find exactly what I had in mind as an off-the-shelf frame so given that Mike DeSalvo already had my measurements from an earlier order for cyclo-cross frame it made sense to give him a call….and hand over a deposit. That was back in March ’08 right after I came home from Colombia. Fast forward five and half months (there’s a wait list..) to September and Mike’s first draft design arrived in my inbox. I’d asked for hidden mudguard eyes, no rear brake provision and a stiff frame for efficient climbing, and that’s what it looked like I’d get with some nice fat pipes. Mike’s solution for the rear mudguard eyes was to hide them inside the seatstays just above the dropouts, a small boss underneath the seatstay bridge and a boss in the rear of the seat-tube. Perfect. We went through a couple of iterations of the design, mainly cos I was mucking about the degree of top tube slope and the head-tube length… nothing to do with geometry, I’m just have a peculiarly fussy eye when it comes to making a bike look ‘right’..

The frame finally arrived in November looking really super; Mike won an award for his workmanship at last year’s National Handbuilt Bicycle Show in Oregon.. well deserved I think. In the box with it I also had a Chris King Headset, Reynolds Ouzo Pro fork, and a Thomson Elite seatpost (30.9mm dia) unexpectedly thrown in. Buried in all the packing material I also found a rather chunky stone-ware pint-mug with Mike’s logo on… bonus.

The important bit then.. did I get what I wanted… yep is the short answer. The frame has turned out to be very stiff laterally which makes it great for dancing up Cornwall’s steep hills yet it still manages to retain the classic ‘titanium spring’. The stiffness of the frame and the quick handling make for a very engaging ride, it feels like my Condor Pista EOM in terms of handling but rides ‘lighter’ if that makes sense. It really is the nicest bike to ride. As you’d expect for a custom geometry the fit is spot on, not much else I can say about that really. The look of the thing is perfect, a blend of classic round pipes with just a slight style ‘edge’ from the slightly sloping top tube. The hidden fender eyes make for super clean lines and I’m reluctant to spoil them by actually fitting guards come winter…

ti-fix2

For the record the build list looks like this (most nicked off my old Condor)

Fork: Reynolds Ouzo Pro
Headset: Chris King
Wheels: Goldtec track hubs on Mavic Open Pro rims Phil High Flange hubs on Ambrosio Excellence rims
Stem: Deda Zero 100, 110mm
Bars: Deda Nueva Sfida
Levers: Campag Record Carbon
Chainset: Truvativ Omnium track, 172.5mm cranks, 48T ring
Sprocket: Phil Wood, 18T x 1/8″
Chain: Miche Track 1/8″
Front brake: Campagnolo Record
Seatpost: Thomson Elite 30.9×300
Saddle: San Marco Regal-E

ti-fix3

A few words about the build… the chainline on the Goldtec hubs is quite outboard compared to most track hubs so I have a 2mm spacer behind the drive side BB cup to get a decent chainline. The Truvativ BB comes with spacers anyway so it all works fine. The Omnium chainset is great,  it was the only track chainset on the market to use external bearings (FSA I think have one now too) and the chainring is a massive 5mm thick… that combined with oversize axle, outboard bearings and super-chunky crank arms makes for a super-stiff unit. Combined with the stiff frame the whole package makes for a very good uphill bike, very little energy wasted when pumping the fixed gear up Cornwall’s gradients…

So there you have it, if you’ve got half a mind to have something a bit different you could do  lot worse than point your mouse to http://www.desalvocycles.com and if you tell Mike I sent you it won’t make the slightest bit of difference and you won’t get a discount (but I might on the next one, who knows… )

ti-fix4

Update June 26th 2010….

It was about time my DeSalvo fix rolled on a set of hoops to match the pedigree of the frame… the Goldtec/Open Pro wheels were fine but have been around a bit with more than 20,000km on them and they weren’t very shiny.

metal coloured stuff… and I really need to get around to giving that wall another coat of paint…

Now however the bike is rolling on some very shiny Phil Wood high flange track hubs built onto classy Ambrosio Excellence rims. These are actually the wheels off my Ganwell Pro which is now for sale. While I’m on the topic of Phil bits.. with reference to my last, and admittedly rather dull post where I wore out a Phil sprocket primarily because I forgot to check the chain for wear … the nice folk at Phil Wood got in touch to say “oh it should have lasted longer than that..” and despite me being slack with regard to replacing chains are sending me a new one… how nice of them ! :-)

a rear Phil…

Very much a super bunch of folk making some top notch gear over there. I did ask for a nice and shiny track crank in a 172.5mm or 175mm length while I was at it… sadly such a thing is not on the cards, at least not yet, but apparently we can expect some interesting new stuff come the fall..  Interestingly a Miche sprocket won’t work with a Phil lockring – too slim to retain the sprocket on it’s carrier.. and as none of my other spare lock-rings would fit I had to delve into the shiny things box for a very shiny 17T EAI Superstar sprocket.. I normally reserve these for TT use, and the 17T only for hilly races.. but then they’re beautifully made and polished so what’s the point in having them if you don’t use them.

… phront Phil…

As for checking my chain, with my geared bikes I keep a close eye on wear but you know how it is with a fixed.. they just go on and on and on without any attention until one day you suddenly realise it’s all worn out. Lesson learned, I’ll be paying a little more attention now.

19 thoughts on “DeSalvo Titanium Fixed Gear

  • How are the omnium cranks working out? I am considering the same transmission configuration (Goldtec / Omniums) for a Ti build I’m working on – it’s a Burls frame.

    • hey, I do like them – the retaining bolt slackened off slightly after a few 100 miles but that was just bedding in. They’re lovely and stiff and the ring looks like it’ll last a very long time. Only criticism – the external BB bearings don’t last that long… nothing will ever match the life of an internal bearing sealed unit or cup/cone bearings, and they have been exposed to some pretty shitty weather but I expected longer than 5000 miles. I guess fixed gear in the hills round here does put a hell of a stress on components. Anyway, rather than buy new units I bought some replacement Enduro bearings and pressed those in – so will see how they last. Still, when a pair of cups is only £20 or so does it really matter…..?!

  • Ooh, one more thing. Those goldtecs – are they going strong? I was considering them vs. Phil Wood. No chainline issues with the Omniums?

    • the Goldtecs are fab, I’ve had these wheels 3 years now through all weathers and around 15,000 miles (they were on other bikes before this one). I replaced the bearings in the rear hub (easy to buy cartridges off the shelf for about £10) about 1000 miles ago. Front has needed no attention. They are still in perfect condition visually – no corrosion, cracks or anything. The chain line is quite outboard on the rear hub but the GXP BB (or the crank, one or other) comes with some spacers – I have a spacer that is about 2mm wide between the frame and the drive side cup. Chainline is perfect :-)

  • Hey! I’m back!

    I have a question re. the omnium cranks, and I’d be most grateful if you could answer it!

    The problem is that I fear the frame I’m using (not a Burls one incidentally) might be a bit askew.

    When I stick my GXP BB and Omniums/Chainring in my 68mm shell and rotate the chainwheel, the spider knocks of the chainstay. It does this even when I add the spacer on the drive side, taking the chainline to ~ 42.5 mm.

    My question is: When you install the cranks, should the chainwheel be as far inward as possible on the drive-side, when everything is tightened up? This is just a check to ensure I haven’t n00bed up the installation of the Omniums.

    • hey, oh dear that doesn’t sound good. the drive side crank should go on as far as possible, it sounds like your chainstay must be very fat or quite outboard on the BB shell. With the spacer on my drive side I only have about 3mm of clearance between the spider and chainstay… how bad is it? I have been known to take a grinder to the back of a crank spider on occasion… not that I’d recommend it as a solution. send me a photo if you like. i’ll email you my address.
      cheers
      M

  • can you tell me if the omniums use a road or MTB based BB cups , i have bought an omnium crankset 2nd hand and need some BB cups now

  • I have a serrota Ti fixed frame. We seem to have a similar approach to bike build and fit, I too have goldtec hubs on Open Pros, Thomson stem and seatpost, but have the Sram carbon levers.

    Currently using Sugino 75’s but the tart in me feels that the Omniums would be a better aesthetic choice, and like the external BB’s on my other bikes.

    Are there any problems with spacing the Omniums out with one of the plastic spacer rings – I have an option on a 2nd hand set of cranks, but they dont have the spacer rings, though I have some left over from installing a Chris King BB on the mountain bike.

    Part of the reason for wanting the Omniums is to eventually upgrade to the Chris King BB so I then have them installed on all my bikes.

    • hey, mine now has Phil hubs but the Omniums are still going strong. No probs with spacing, I have been mucking around a bit and have a selection of spacers from 0.5mm to 2mm scrounged from my LBS. Hope BB spacers from chainreaction will do just fine. It’s a great, stiff crank.
      cheero

  • Hey there!
    Beautiful frame and gorgeous build. Coincidentally I’ve gota fixie with the same exact fork on it- lightweight, cheap secondhand with low offset.
    I was wondering what the frame weight was on this bike? I’ve been looking into getting a custom ti fixie frame made myself and this looks to be on the higher end of things.
    Cheers

    • hey, cheers. It’s a super frame and the fork matches it perfectly. as for frame weight, I can’t help you I’m afraid, I have no idea… even less now after almost 13 yrs…. I asked for stiff rather than light so it won’t be at the low end for Ti frames.

      • No worries at all mike thanks for replying! I hope the bike keeps serving you well for another 13 years.

  • I must congratulate you on your build, the lines/geometry of this bike just seem so “right”. I do have a question on your choice of ti tubing. By using smaller gauge tubing, compared to the now ubiquitous oversized head and down tubes used by everyone from mass market ti builders, to custom builders like Mike DeSalvo, do you ever feel your build is overly flexy? I will be working with Mike this spring on a build and far prefer the classic look of smaller gauge head tubes and down tubes as you have used here, but sometimes am concerned I may be left with a “noodle” bike, aka overly flexy bike. I would love your thoughts on on relative stiffness of this bike versus others you own or have ridden. Thanks again for sharing your beautiful build!

    • cheers, that’s very kind of you!

      with regard to the build being flexy.. no, never, it’s absolutely not flexy. Best person to talk to is probably Mike himself, but my own view, and experience, is that for the majority of riders that are not sprinters of Mark Cavendish-esque ability the whole oversized trend is largely irrelevant. IMO it came about as yet another tool in the marketing arms race, enabling manufacturers to claim the usual xx% stiffer etc etc that consumers like to believe is hugely relevant to their riding experience. I suppose that builders like Mike Desalvo ultimately ‘have’ to follow suit because of fork/headset availability and customer expectations. My own opinion, if you’re not racing sprints it’s most likely not much of a factor…
      As an addition, I would note that by the standards of, say, the ’90s and earlier the tubes on this are already oversized… but some of those frames really could be noodly.

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