Masterful welds by De Rosa

While steel is still the staple of most builders and carbon an emerging force, titanium is fast becoming the material of choice among both the established names and the 'new wave' of custom builders.  While the mainstream industry is still fixated with carbon-this and carbon-that, it seems a customer-driven resurgence is on the cards for builders in titanium.

Legends De Rosa report a steady growth in orders for their Ti2 and Titanio XS models – each one individually built to order by Doriano De Rosa.

Still with Italian builders, newer names like Paduano and Nevi are experiencing renewed interest in their titanium offerings – interest on a par with the '90's 'boom years' for titanium.  And while not at Eurobike, Italy-based Texas boy Darren Crisp of Crisp Titanium is working flat-out to satisfy demand for his services – the majority of orders to  fashion-conscious Italians.

Meanwhile, Aussie Darren Baum was wowing them at Eurobike with the exquisite road and MTB Ti offerings from his range.

It's hard to pin down exactly the reasons for titanium's renaissance; perhaps many were converted to titanium's cushy ride in the '90's - when the trend was to build it stiff, stiff, stiff from alu and steel.   Maybe its word of mouth driving demand.   It could be many had chosen mass-production carbon or alu frames, only to be let down by the promises made by the marketing machines.

Whatever the reason, titanium is now where its at.

Here's the pick of the bunch....