Talking Titanium
It may not be obvious, but there is a simple connection between a cardboard box in a dim basement in 2020 and some mutilated genitals at the beginning of time.
Let me explain.
Gaia and Ouranus had many kids, some of them so obnoxious that their father locked them up. Beauty is, however, in the eye of the beholder, and few mothers recognize faults in their offspring. So of course Gaia was quite vexed when her children lost their freedom. She tried to conspire with another group of offspring - normal-looking enough to avoid their father's solutions on how to treat ugly. The youngest one took the bait, and to make the story short and blunt, Cronus chopped off his father's balls and threw them in the ocean.
The Titans were named. Not with the connotation we know today - strong, big and powerful. When Ouranus yelled "Titan" at his son Cronus, it was meant as an insult, meaning the straining one, and included all his sibling, too. He cursed his son and said Cronus's own children would turn on him. Eventually that happened, but that's another story. After all, this text is about a bike-building project.
Fast forward to 1792. When Martin Klaproth made his most recent discovery, it is not known how he celebrated. Or maybe it was known, but I certainly don't know. Moreover, he didn't make the discovery entirely by his own, but he was the one giving name to element number 22 in the periodic table.
Having no idea what attributes the new element possessed, Klaproth went down a familiar path when deciding on the name. Just like when he discovered uranium, he wanted to give the new element a neutral name, something that wouldn't be prone to misinterpretation. So it was by sheer luck that he chose to name the element which, in its metallic form is known for its strength, after some of the strongest creatures from mythology: titanium.
The first step of the build project: Unpacking. Possibly the most strenuous step.
We move on the the present, and the basement of an old but well-kept apartment block in Oslo, Norway. There is a carboard box on the floor inside a tired and small storage space. The neon light reflects on the walls that had its one and only layer of paint applied back in the 1950s, giving the ambient a yellowish hue.
The wooden panel running along the hallway indicates that this is where tenants keep some of their belongings, protected by doors of the same kind of wooden panel and padlocks of different sizes and brands.
The cardboard box has recently arrived on a shoulder from the local parcel pick-up point. The receiver knows what the box contains, yet the butterflies in his stomach flaps their wings when he cuts the duct tape with the murderously sharp knife. There is cardboard, so much cardboard. Old shoe boxes, something from a computer store. The sender has done such an outstanding job securing the load that he unquestionably could have made an alternative career out of preparing precious goods for shipment.
A familiar brand, an unfamiliar feel.
Finally, the prize is visible: A complete bicycle frame which encouraged the journey back to Mr Klaproth and all the way to Cronus and his sibling. The titanium frame is the winter build project.
There is a strange fascination with all things titanium in the outdoors community. However, the metal's quite hefty price tag impedes products from being readily available. In the medical realm, titanium has been used for years. Its anti-corrosive and non-toxic features makes it perfect for implants and joint protheses. Furthermore, titanium is as strong as steel, but 45 per cent lighter.
It's the strength-to-weight ratio that makes titanium products particularly alluring for outdoor use. A titanium cup will last a lifetime and is practically weightless. As an added bonus, its non-toxicity means it's not a contamination hazard once forgotten at a camp site (as it inevitably will; lifetime duration in practice means maximum a year until its incautiously left behind somewhere).
For the cyclists, carbon introduced both light and strong frames. However, nothing beats a titanium frame when it comes to vanity. During my last build project – Poli – I mentioned my dream build was a titanium bike. Back then budgetary constraints and some good old common sense made me stick to steel.
In due time, this will be a complete bike.
Apparently the steep price of titanium is linked to the processing being very time-consuming, so my titanium inventory has therefore been limited to the following: a screw in my left wrist; a tooth implant; and a pot measuring 0.9 liters, mainly used for boiling water when camping.
However, decisions had to be made fast when the titanium frame now sitting in front of me in a sea of cardboard appeared among other second hand items online. The piggy bank was crushed with one brutal hammer strike to finance the acquisition.
Let’s salsa!
The frame is identical to my current everything bike - a steel Salsa Vaya named Celia. Celia makes me happy. Steel puts a smile on my face. Titanium? I have never ridden a titanium bike before. But it is titanium. That can't be wrong. I have some ideas on how the final bike will look like, but in this process patience is king and progress will be reported.
Welcome to the team, Themis.
