Up and coming No. 22 Bicycles, named for the periodic number of the metal, is truly tearing it up in titanium with their line. The brand, based out of their Johnstown, New York facility, features a five man workshop with over fifty years of titanium framebuilding experience between them. They are known on the fixie crit scene for their flashy winged rigs at Red Hook, but their line extends elegantly to cyclocross, gravel, and mountain. Overall, the bikes are sleek and infinitely customizable for what seems like a straight-forward titanium package. For Philly Bike Expo, they shared several fresh top tier models, both integrating carbon seat masts into the equation…
The Silver Wing track frame is the next step from their existing fixed model, the Little Wing. As it is across the No. 22 line, the tubing is externally butted via CNC to tailor the ride to each rider’s needs. With this model, a continuous bonded-in carbon seat tube extends from the titanium bottom bracket cluster, extending through the seat cluster. Shown is No. 22’s mirror finish option (a $1000 premium), which makes the frame flashy enough under velodrome lights for even the fanciest track sprinter.
The frame features tapered headtube for integrated headsets with tapered steerer forks and an English threaded BB. Also, the dropout allows for an inch of adjustability for the rear axle to accommodate multiple gearing configurations on race day. It is available as frame only for $3999 MSRP and a frameset for $4,499 in their raw Ti finish. If consumers are interested in the complete build shown at the Philly Bike Expo, the will be looking at something around a $7000 MSRP price tag (without mirror polish). Lead time for frames are 6 to 8 weeks.
Changing gears to gears, the new Aurora is disc version of their Reactor road race frame. The Aurora shares the carbon seat tube/mast of the Reactor and Silver Wing models, but has the subtle flat mount brake interface and 142x12mm thru axle No.22 dropouts of the Great Divide.
This model is similarly available with a 6 to 8 week timeline, with custom cast titanium topper and built with custom CNC butted tubes for your riding style and stature. With the raw titanium finish shown, you can get the frame only at $4,299 MSRP or frame and fork for $4,799 MSRP. For the build shown at Philly, with complete SRAM Red Hydro and 3T LTD cockpit, consumers could expect to drop $10,500.
