Modern Materials

How you can benefit from handmade aluminium, carbon and titanium.

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Steel might be the predominant material in the world of custom bikes, but that does not mean that if you want a made-to-measure titanium, carbon or even aluminium frame it cannot be done. We look at how three progressive British brands do it.

UK-made titanium

Around 50 per cent of Sussex-based Enigma’s UK-made frames are bespoke and the company can also custom-build frames it makes in the Far East.

But, says sales manager Richard Lambert, it’s not just a question of following the customer’s bike-fit. With a bespoke frame costing upward of £4,000, it’s important it looks good too.

Titanium is a less forgiving material to work with than steel, says Lambert. Clean conditions are vital, while too much heat will cause the metal to react with oxygen in the atmosphere, weakening it. Plus, you can’t cold set the metal like you can with steel as it will just spring back to its original shape. It’s an incredibly skilled job.