Italian frame builder Titici has upgraded three of their Flexy XC and gravel bikes to be more capable all-around as they move to a third generation phase for the company. Unique from afar with their almost paper-thin toptube, the made-in-Italy bikes promise to soak up vibrations for fatigue-free riding while offering lots of individual customization at no extra charge.
Titici Flexy F-GR02 carbon gravel road bike frameset
Frame maker Titici has been building bikes in northern Italy in large numbers since at least the 1970s & 80s, for a large part of that as a contract manufacturer for other brands. But it was only really in 2017 that the Titici brand came into its current shape with their own thin Plate Absorber Technology (PAT) toptube design. Now with the backing of UYN, a clothing company just a few km up the road in Lombardy that also built its business producing for other brands, Titici is going into phase three of their development, updating their bikes we’ve seen before, and looking to build their name as a premium handmade-in-Italy custom frame builder offering truly unique bikes.
The heart of their custom carbon Flexy bikes is that flat PAT toptube. Not meant to really offer a suspension feel or even noticeable movement under the rider, it serves to damp vibrations (especially high-frequency vibration) before they get to the rider, while maintaining high lateral frame stiffness. Flexy is a bit of a misnomer of the bike family in reality, and looks like it is being phased out a bit in what is now called the F-GR02 for this carbon gravel bike. When you hop on and ride away the feeling is stiff & responsive, and the flex because of the toptube is pretty much indiscernible.
What’s new in Titici gen 3 or rather PAT 2.0?
Titici calls these bikes the 3rd generation of the brand, but really they are version 2.0 of the Plate Absorber Tech frame design. What that means is that the bikes get revisions to make them even more capable on all terrain, with more comfort, bigger tire clearance, more versatility & further customization.
A more sloping toptube design goes a long way to adding more seatpost to allow for more noticeable flex at the saddle, balancing with the vibration damping of the PAT frame. The GR02 also moves to a 30.9mm seatpost to give riders more choice: options for more internal dropper posts, a stiff seatpost, or a more flexy 27.2 post with a spacer.
But what is also key to remember is that all of Titici’s carbon bikes are made-to-order & full custom. These demo bikes feature extra modular internal routing ports, but Titici will build your bike just how you want it with only the ports & braze-ons you need, presumably with something like an extra set of under downtube or toptube bento bag mounts too, if needed.
Bigger tire clearance is also a key update as well thanks to a revised rear end. Titici’s first gravel bikes were limited to 700c, but the new GR02 has room for up to 700x45mm tires (the olive/pink bike is 700×40) or 650b x 50mm (this blue/purple/orange bike is 650×47.)
Building on wheelsize versatility, the new GR02 also adds rear rack mounts, in addition to braze-ons for full coverage fenders.
Custom means custom geometry, so Titici will work with you to dial in the perfect fit, thanks to tube-to-tube carbon construction.
But custom also means custom paint, too. Included in their regular price you can pick from Titici’s standard paint schemes like the olive & pink bike (below), but choose each individual color that you want. They also will do the color fade (above) for no extra charge, even in this transparent look that reveals all of the topmost layer of 3K weave carbon. There’s no hiding their craftsmanship when you can see every piece of carbon fiber come together!
The GR02 gravel bike is 1x specific, with a traditional threaded bottom bracket and a tapered headtube.
It features a new plate-style carbon dropout that allows for clean internal routing (or can be closed off it you go for AXS) with a replaceable hanger and 12mm thru-axles.
Titici sells the carbon F-GR02 gravel bike for 3990€ as a frame & fork kit only, including full custom geometry and a custom color scheme. Deliver time for the carbon bikes is about 8 weeks from when you iron out all the details.
Titici Flexy A-GR01 alloy gravel bike
In addition to the flex plate carbon bike, Titici also does an aluminum gravel bike too.
It doesn’t get quite so dramatic tube shaping, but still a slightly flattened toptube shape in a custom-shaped Dedacciai 7005 alloy tubeset for a bit of extra comfort.
The idea behind the alloy A-GR01 gravel bike is to offer high quality and a bit of customization, at a more attainable price.
The aluminum bike is still made entirely by hand in Italy, and features a threaded BB, tapered headtube & full carbon fork, 12mm thru-axles, modular internal cable routing, rear rack & full fender mounts, and room for 700c or 650b gravel tire setups.
The alloy gravel bike isn’t cheap though. But for 1790€ you get the A-GR01 frame & fork in one of five stock sizes, with the same custom color paint as the carbon bikes.
Titici Flexy F-XC02 carbon XC hardtail mountain bike
Back on the custom Flexy carbon PAT side, the Titici cross-country 29er hardtail gets a v2.0 update as well. It is still an XC race bike, so these tires that measured more than 2.3″ wide pushed the limit of real-world clearance at the seattube thanks to a wide internal rim width, but there was still plenty of space at the stays.
Again the frame features that distinct flat plate profile, with the extra sloping geometry for plenty of standover and lots of seatpost extension. Interestingly for the XC02, Titici sticks with the smaller 27.2mm seatpost in favor of lightweight setups and more seatpost flex (over more dropper options.) Internal dropper post routing is still available as an option, though.
The 1x-only 29″ hardtail features Boost spacing, a PF92 bottom bracket, and a tapered headtube.
This new XC frame also is a good highlight for the new branding on the bike. The PAT frames used to have ‘Flexy’ painted on the toptube just behind the headset, but now feature the Titici logo in relief at the thinnest part of the tube. Pretty much everyone who sees one of these bikes up close, walks up to squeeze the toptube where it thins. And now as they do so, they look to the logo and get to feel the relief there too.
The new logo is simply a vinyl decal under the final paint, but can even be done with a clear decal under a transparent paint job like on the fade gravel bike above.
More than just updating the toptube shape & looks, the new XC02 gets a new integrated front end as well. The bike is still sold as a frame-only, but uses FSA’s latest ACR headset standard with a mountain bike-specific ICR, Integrated Cable Routing stem that routes shift & brake lines entirely internally (up to 5 cables/hoses).
If you choose to build with an internally routed bar & stem, all shift cables or wires & brake hoses can go through the fully integrated Aerodynamic Cable Routing (ACR) headset into the frame. Or if you want a conventional setup, a normal FSA headset can be used together with standard routing into the frame. Remember, it is full custom after all.
The made-to-order Titici Flexy F-XC02 carbon cross-country hardtail sells for 3990€ for the frame-only, including custom geometry & a custom color scheme. Delivery time is the same as for the F-GR02. Once you settle on the custom frame, Titici dealers can build it up as a complete bike.
