California Dreaming

Just returned from a brief holiday trip down in the Los Angeles area, and was lucky to borrow a S&S travel bike for the trip. This nice titanium machine was built by Davidson bicycles, a fixture in the Seattle area. Lightweight and strong, titanium is a great choice for a travel bike, ready for anything you might run into, and ready for years of service.

The great part of the S&S design is that these bikes are full-size and ride like a standard bike, while breaking down into a plastic case that is standard luggage size (no oversize charges or random surcharges here). Once you arrive at your final destination you simply reassemble, and within a hour you are ready to hit the road.

The Davidson looked and rode great, and this model has already seen more than 4 years of good use. I had never ridden a titanium frame before, but this beautiful machine was a perfect first example. Fine, even welds and a clean brushed finish drew a few looks on my rides, and the beefy tubes created an excellent ride. I have heard plenty of talk about titanium running soft after years of hard use, but from my brief experience, I noticed nothing to give that impression. I put the bike through only about 200 miles and about 15,000 feet of climbing, but it felt stiff and ready for each climb I approached. Multiple trips into the mountains around Santa Clarita were solid tests, and I also accompanied some friends on a hilly trip through some great spots in LA.
I hope to get some more ride time on this great bike in the future, but was definitely pleased with the performance this time. Some great ride reviews shortly!