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NOS TELEDYNE TITAN TITANIUM ROAD RACING FRAME VERY HARD TO FIND COLLECTORS ITEM LESS THAN 2000 WERE MADE IN ALMOST PERFECT CONDITION DATES BACK TO THE EARLY 70's SEAT TUBE C/C = 56.5 cm - C/T = 58.4 cm = 23" TOP TUBE C/C = 55.6 cm FRONT SPACING = 105 mm REAR SPACING = 120 mm TOTAL LENGTH HEADTUBE = 154 mm WEIGHT : FRAME = +-1380 gram + FORK = +-535 gram FOR ENGLISH THREADED BOTTOM BRACKET BOTTOM BRACKET HOUSE IS STAMPED : "S/N TL001576 MOD A3UIR" FOR ENGLISH THREADED HEADSET SEAT TUBE IS MADE FOR SEATPOST 26.8 mm - YOU CAN FIND A MATCHING SEATPOST IN MY STORE
TUBING : TITANIUM A TELEDYNE TITAN FOLDER WILL BE INCLUDED The Teledyne Titan was the first mass-produced titanium frameset. Made of commercially-pure (CP) titanium, it had a softer ride than many present-day frames. Less than 2000 were made, and sadly, many did not survive the race-day crashes and early fatigue failures (corrected in higher serial numbered models).
The price point ($250-$300) for the bare frameset would buy a complete Campagnolo NR/Reynolds 531 bike in 1973, so many went unsold.
Teledyne Linair modeled the ride of the Teledyne on what was arguably the gold-standard of the day, a Reynolds 531 frame they hooked up to flex and strain gauges.
The Titan framesets were reinforced in areas that brought the flex ranges close (but not exactly) in harmony with the 531-tubed frameset.
Many riders used these subtle differences in ride characteristics to their advantage, as you could jump out of a tight corner in a criterium much like having a spring under you.
The manufacturer was a southern California based aerospace firm named "Teledyne'. Teledyne was based in Gardena, CA, where they specialized in working with exotic metals like titanium which required special processes to fabricate frames. It is a little known rumor that the bike division was formed as a way of obtaining titanium during the cold war years of the early 1970s. Russia is where all the titanium was at and they were not about to send military grade titanium to the USA for them to make weapons with, but bicycles was another story. The US got the titanium and the bicycle part of the company promptly died but managed to win several races. Multiple national cycling champion Ron Skarin won a Red Zinger stage and the Tour of Sommerville twice on a Teledyne Titan and Pete Penseyers won the Race Across America (RAAM) on one. The history of the Teledyne would not be complete without mentioning Barry Harvey (a British cycling champion, who emigrated to Canada), who was the first to introduce his titanium frame technology to the cycling community at the US Grand Prix in 1972. Soon after this he worked out a deal with a California aerospace company to go into the bike frame manufacturing business. The Teledyne Titans were actually made from commercially pure titanium which is not as strong as the current 3/2.5 (aluminum/vanadium) alloy blend. The commercially pure metal was easier to work with than the harder alloys. In 1975, Teledyne was producing frames for the North Hollywood Wheelman team. (VeloBase)
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