Sad Ending for the Titus

The end has arrived for my beloved Titus bike, which I’ve had since the end of 2004. That’s over 20 years of giving me many enjoyable moments, as well as helping me through the low points of many long rides as well.

The milestones that I’ve reached on it are numerous:

  • My first double century in 2005
  • My first overseas bike tour in France in 2005
  • My first brevet series in 2011
  • My first solo 508 in 2011, as well as many team 508’s
  • As part of team RAAM in 2013, and RAW in 2014
  • As recently as my bike tour in Italy this spring

I noticed earlier this year that there were some cracks forming on the down tube near the bottom bracket. I kept an eye on them, and everything was stable all through my bike tour in Italy in May/June, and a number of rides this summer.

Unfortunately, one of the cracks started growing longer, and I felt that it was only a matter of time before the the frame failed completely as a result. Fortunately, I have Ellis to ride now, but it was a sad moment for me today when I took off the crank and bottle cage to get a closer look. That look revealed that the cracks had almost completely circled the frame. I had briefly considered just using it as my rain bike this winter, but it doesn’t feel safe to ride it at all.

So I salute my noble Titus for all that it has given me, and retire it with some sadness and with a great amount of gratitude for it giving me so much joy and adventure.

The first picture I have of the Titus on my bike tour in France in 2005. The components had completely changed by the end, but the frame stood up well
The view of the left side of the seat tube, where there are cracks between all the cutouts of the Isogrid
A longer crack on the back right side of the tube, with the crack between the grid cutouts visible on the upper left of this picture. There is also a crack between the cutouts on the upper right that I only just noticed when I looked at this photo
The crack on the front ride of the seat tube. This is the crack that I noticed lately was increasing in length. There is also a crack I only noticed in this photo, starting at the bottom of the cutout on the left of the photo.
Here are the longer cracks on the right side of the seat tube. There is about an inch between them, and with the cracks increasing in length, it was only a matter of time between they would cause a catastrophic failure of the frame.

Posted: October 27, 2025 by

Category: Cycling