Titanium, at a Decrease Price

Titanium isn’t the material that comes to mind for the “average cyclist that doesn’t count every gram or measure every watt,” but that’s the target customer for BlackHeart Bike Co. The brand wanted to make owning a forever bike frame accessible to more people.

With premium titanium framesets costing $4,000 or more, BlackHeart’s Allroad Ti, at $2,999, is one of a few brands lowering the bar to the wonder material that literally lasts forever. I tested the Blackheart Bike Co. Allroad Ti, built with an SRAM Force AXS 2x drivetrain and HUNT 40 Carbon Gravel Race wheels (MSRP $6399) for 6 months.

I traversed my local hardpacked and rocky dirt ribbons, which are connected to poorly maintained chip-seal country roads. The bike was almost always covered in dust, mud, and often both.

In short: In one word, the BlackHeart Bike Co. Allroad Ti is solid. The bike combines the legendary damped ride feel of titanium with its forever durability. The vibration-damping ride accompanies a neutral geometry that’s easy to ride on both gravel and pavement. And the bike sends out a “here for a good time” ethos.

BlackHeart Bike Co. Allroad Ti Specifications

BlackHeart offers what I deem semi-custom bikes. It generously offers nine frame sizes from 46cm to 64cm and no fewer than 11 different builds. Every appropriate groupset, including power meters, is an option. The builds can be further honed with wheel choices, upgrades to ENVE carbon forks and CeramicSpeed bottom brackets, and rider cockpit dimension options.

The 3.5Al-2.5V double-butted titanium frame is future-proof, accepting electronic and mechanical drivetrains, both 1x and 2x. It has a 31.6mm round seat post, a T47 bottom bracket, and an SRAM Universal Derailleur Hanger.

In addition to the impressive number of build options, BlackHeart Bike Co. offers the Allroad Ti as a frameset. This includes the frame, carbon fork, headset, titanium seat post, seat post collar, thru axles, and a spare rear derailleur hanger.

To further make the BlackHeart Bike Co. Allroad Ti your own, the brand can add a Cerakote finish on the proprietary carbon fork, available in a massive array of colors.

The Allroad Ti fits tires up to 40mm wide on 700c wheels or 50mm wide on 650b wheels. The maximum chainring sizes are 50/35 for a 2x and 44 single.

There are three water bottle cage mounts and seat stay rack/fender mounts.

Frame Geometry

The BlackHeart Bike Co. Allroad Ti frame and fork have an almost bland, neutral “square” geometry. Nothing stood out to me, and the numbers suggested a neutral-handling bike that seemed good for the demands of light gravel and country roads.

My 56cm test sample, with SRAM Force 2x and Hunt 40 Carbon Gravel Race wheels, weighed a verified 20.8 pounds. It had two titanium water bottle cages but no pedals.

The BlackHeart Bike Co. Allroad Ti on the Dirt and Tarmac

Most of my forays on the BlackHeart Bike Co. Allroad Ti were mixed-surface rides around my home in Wimberley, Texas, which was about 80% gravel and 20% bombed-out chip-seal. It was on the rougher side of all-road riding; the gravel sections were hardpacked caliche clay base covered in everything from slick and dry talcum powder dust and pea gravel all the way up to softball-sized boulders.

Vibration Damping

Coming off nothing but carbon frames for a long time, the titanium frame immediately felt wonderful and like home. My first road racing sponsor was a titanium bike brand, and the familiar way the material resonated and damped vibrations were such a welcome change. This smooth feeling was undoubtedly aided by the BlackHeart Bike Co. titanium seat post.

The feeling of a titanium frame is hard to describe. It resonated at a lower frequency than carbon or steel, slowing and muting the vibrations from the wheels. It felt significantly “softer” and more “springy” than carbon. And, compared to carbon, it vastly improved comfort and reduced fatigue. I gladly traded the additional weight compared to the carbon all-road bikes I was testing concurrently for the vastly improved ride quality.

The frameset’s vibration-damping quality on gravel was even more amplified on the road, which, to some, doesn’t make sense. Road vibrations typically have a higher frequency but lower amplitude. Titanium damps this type of vibration even better than the ones served up by most gravel surfaces. The ride on the road with just over 30 psi in both of the 40c tires was sublime.

On Lean

The BlackHeart Bike Co. Allroad Ti’s neutral and square geometry has a shorter top tube than what I’m used to on most of my more race-oriented bikes. On gravel, this required taking some pressure off the bars not to push the front when conditions were dry and loose. This shift wasn’t drastic; I just slid back on the saddle a tad.

On tacky dirt and pavement, the relative front-end bias made the bike turn on rails compared to my longer all-road and gravel bikes. It felt quick but still planted. There was no nervousness in the front, and I had confidence while pressuring the side of the front tire as long as the ground was solid.

When the ground wasn’t solid, the titanium frame tubes’ damping and flexing characteristics helped keep the tires in contact with the ground compared to carbon bikes. This was especially noticeable on rougher chip-seal pavement and combined with the Pirelli Cinturato Gravel H rubber; I had a lot of fun seeing how quickly I could take fast, wide-radius turns. The frame’s damping characteristics gave me Moto GP-like confidence. Not as much as road race bikes, but much more than gravel bikes.

Climbing and Descending

Again, the characteristics of the BlackHeart Bike Co. Allroad Ti’s titanium frame were appreciated on the steeps. When climbing, particularly while standing, the springiness of the titanium double-butted tubing felt good, regardless of being less laterally stiff.

The amount of flex afforded by the frame seemed to sync with pedaling and helped keep the chassis more stable and the wheels applying more consistent pressure to the ground. This helped maintain rear wheel traction on the steep pitches covered with loose dust and gravel.

The same could be said about the descents. The frame’s damping ability helped maintain control and a more consistent tire patch contact with the ground. The feedback was muted enough to add to comfort and control but not so much that vital information wasn’t making it to my hands or rear.

Compared to the carbon all-road and gravel bikes I was concurrently testing with similar tire volumes, the Allroad Ti took a significant edge off some of the most white-knuckled, bottle-jettisoning descents in my area into manageable places to gain speed.

SRAM 2x Force AXS Performance

Since BlackHeart Bike Co. offers its Allroad Ti in so many variations, I will just touch upon the 2x SRAM Force AXS parts kit. First off, the component group was stunning in appearance, perfectly accentuating the unpainted, barely branded Ti frame.

The glossy black carbon components stood out against the plain but instantly recognizable raw titanium hue. To me, black carbon and Ti are perfectly matched.

Shifting

The SRAM Force AXS 2x groupset shifted just like SRAM’s Red AXS, which is to say, incredibly well. The quick and reliable wireless shifting was hard to beat, regardless of groupset hierarchy or price. I think most people would have a hard time discerning the Force’s shifting performance compared to the World Tour-winning Red groupset.

For years, I’ve been fortunate enough to test almost every groupset from Shimano and SRAM, and I much prefer SRAM’s shift lever logic. The left hand for lower gear, the right hand for higher gear, and both for the front derailleur required zero thought or fiddling between two buttons with the same hand.

I never dropped a chain or missed a shift during the testing period, whether it was wet or dry, bumpy or smooth.

Braking

The SRAM Force brakes were great once the discs were bedded in. I never experienced fading or any other negative. However, the initial bite and progressiveness weren’t on par with Shimano GRX units. But I’m truly splitting hairs here. And like the shifting, most will be hard-pressed to differentiate the performance of Force hydraulic disc brakes from Red.

Ergonomics

I have medium-sized hands, and I felt that the SRAM Force brake hoods fit well and were comfortable even in the rough. The braking from the hoods definitely required two fingers, but the leverage ratio felt good, and I never felt like I had to apply brute force to get the BlackHeart Bike Co. Allroad Ti to slow down or stop.

The shift levers were typical SRAM, so much larger than Shimano. With only one to hit, it was incredibly easy, even when the bars were nearly rattling out of my mitts. I also appreciated the SRAM levers’ perceptible click as a tactile reassurance that the shift was completed.

The Force carbon cranks and CNC chainrings delivered the feeling of efficient power transfer and looked incredibly good while doing so. This was the one part of the groupset that everyone commented upon. The recent update gave the crankset a modern look that showed off SRAM’s manufacturing chops.

HUNT 40 Carbon Gravel Race Wheelset Performance

Like the BlackHeart Allroad Ti frame, the HUNT 40 Carbon Gravel Race wheels simply felt solid. The mid-depth rim felt both supportive and laterally stiff, but it didn’t feel overly harsh. Much of this was due to the tires, but I did feel that the HUNT rims balanced aerodynamics, efficiency, and compliance in a ratio that fit all-road riding well.

The wheels also proved durable. My usual gravel haunts are notoriously rough on wheelsets, as there are plentiful square edges that are difficult to see. The limestone boulders and caliche clay road base are nearly the same color and are usually covered in a layer of dust.

I have learned never to lock my elbows out or have a relaxed grip on the hoods. Countless times, I braced for impact at the last millisecond and apprehensively awaited the sounds of a blown tire and cracked carbon. But to my pleasant surprise, it never happened. The added compliance of the titanium frame may have aided.

Conclusions on the BlackHeart Bike Co. Allroad Ti Bicycle

The BlackHeart Bike Co. Allroad Ti with the SRAM Force AXS and HUNT 40 Carbon Gravel Race build book title: Solid is as solid does.

The bike delivered reliable and predictable performance in every aspect with the benefits of a titanium frame. The vibration-damping and springy feel, combined with the sheer durability of the wonder element, are things no carbon fiber frame can match. The ride characteristics will theoretically last forever, and you’ll never worry about this frame getting wrecked from falling over while leaning up against the coffee shop window.

Although the $2,999 MSRP for the frameset and the $6K+ SRAM Force/HUNT Carbon Gravel Race build prices are still high, they are significantly lower than comparable bikes from other premium titanium bike brands.

Yes, the BlackHeart Bike Co. Allroad Ti weighs more and is less laterally stiff than carbon race bikes. And there’s no aero profiling anywhere on the frame. But as BlackHeart states, it’s not catering to cyclists who care about those things. And for that tribe, the bike constantly let me know that it was here to have fun for a long, long time.