Frame tubes are among the least-known parts of a bicycle frame to many consumers, yet they greatly affect the way a bike feels and handles, how long it will last, and what it will do in a crash situation. Therefore, as an end-user, it’s always well worth stopping at tubing supplier booths at the Philly Bike Expo to learn more about the tubing options for your next custom bike. The suppliers often have a slightly different read of frame tubes than you’ll get from the frame builders. We’re not suggesting it’s any more or less valid, but it can help give a more complete picture.
Titanium Joe started coming to the Philly Bike Expo through a long relationship with Bilenky Cycle Works, and this is their second year with a booth on the expo floor. They had great news for anybody stopping by to see what’s up: A new line of higher grade titanium tubes from Japan that is quickly getting the attention of the custom frame building community.
With 22 years supplying top quality titanium tubes, bars, welding rods, fasteners, and sheets to the frame building and other industries, by now Titanium Joe has a fair measure of the market. They say their new material is competitively priced, and superior in quality. Company representative Troy McArthur said “quite a few” frame builders are starting to use it. Titanium Joe has a global customer base, but unsurprisingly the majority of their customers are US frame builders.
The main impetus for Titanium Joe actually came from outside the bike industry. They have customers related to the defence industry with specific demands imposed by the Defence Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement, DFARS for short, with respect to the quality of titanium. It didn’t take long to see that frame builders could benefit from this too.
The new tubing is a little more expensive than the Chinese sourced materials that Titanium Joe has offered thus far, and will continue to offer. But starting off with a higher quality titanium surface and overall material finish reduces the time to prepare tubes for frame fabrication, so if time equates to money it could even come out in the end as better value.
Titanium Joe was founded by Joe Szigeti in 2001, while he was working in customer service for an office fitting company. His brother was in the titanium trade and offered Joe some products to try selling on Ebay. Demand from frame builders quickly grew to the point where Joe could focus fulltime on titanium supplies, and his background in customer service helped build Titanium Joe into a trusted, reliable source. Today five of Joe’s family work for the company, along with two others.