You won’t find a Ti Cross Deluxe listed on the Independent Fabrication website. It’s not a production model. It’s an invention of my imagination and the desire to create a bike for hacking through winter out of a mountain bike frankensteined to a load of cross bike bits. I am very grateful to both my friends Tim Johnson at Sideways Cycles (the original UK Independent Fabrication Importer) and Simon Barnes (Bike Shak, Altrincham) who did a bit of leg work for me on new bike options and parts.
In the end a fellow IF enthusiast, Jam Price (of Worcester Cycle Centre), parted with one of his fleet which ticked all the boxes. So a raw titanium Deluxe frame set was coupled to a pair of Pace rigid carbon forks with a Green Chris King Headset. An eBay sourced second hand 105 equipped Merida cross bike provided everything except a chainset and pedals. Jam also provided a Chris King based wheel set which will also be destined for this bike eventually once they’re related onto suitable rims.
It’s not light (about 22lbs) but feels totally solid when you put the pedals down and crank out some power. I’m looking forwards to getting some riding in this winter.
R O T H A R . C O M 