I too had my Ti gravel bike done by Walty, although, I went indirectly via Carbon Speed. Reason for this was I've no experience with designing a bike frame, and CS helped me with that. There was an extra added cost but it was worth it. The frame was very well made and after a year (3k km) it is still a wonderful ride.

As for other Chinese Ti frame manufacturer, I am only aware of a representative Lily Liu (see screen shot). I don't know what company she represents but it's definitely not Walty. I'm guessing it's Hi-Light Titanium Bikes (see ss). Both have Ti frames, fork, stems, handle bars and seat posts. Honestly, I don't know much about either. I did inquire with Hi-Light once regarding a custom gravel fork and the price was just to high (US$800 iirc). That's actually more than what I paid Carbon Speed (includes shipping fee but less local tax/duties) 2 years ago for a whole gravel bike frame.

Btw, the screen shots are their FaceBook account. Both had joined a local Ti bike group I'm a member of. You might want to check them out. Again, I've no experience dealing with either and I don't know much about them too.


Edit: Was reading some of the post made by Lily Liu, she mentioned price is around US$750. Not sure if that's for a custom built or pre-built model.

I was unable to find in the local bike shops any of the 3 knee guards I was interested with. So I visited a local Fox shop and ended up getting a pair of Fox Launch Enduro. It was pegged at around US$75, tried them on for size and they fit pretty well. But when I was about to pay, the shop keeper told me they were on sale. So I ended up just paying US$30. Ahh, now I'm contemplating a pair of matching elbow guards.

I'm getting old plus I am not that skullful to begin with, so I'm considering using knee pads. I do use neoprene knee supports but those are useless for bumps & spill on trails.

I've narrowed down to 3 pads but I don't see a lot of comparison videos on youtube. So l'm hoping some of you here can give me some more information to help me decide.

These are the 3 models I'm eying. Do feel free to suggest others.

POC VPD Air
IXS Flow Evo+
Scott Soldier 2

I don't do drops & jumps just XC types of rides, so comfort for all-day riding type is what I'm looking for. Opinions on sizing is also important to me because I'm caught between Medium & Large (high end of M & low end of L). And to compound the situation, nobody is selling them locally so I can't do fitting.

I second the suggestion for Peter at XMCarbonSpeed. Great quality and sales service (both pre & after sales). A wee bit higher price but worth it in the long run.

I have this on my CS-496 29+ bike. Using 29x3.0 Surly Dirt Wizards.

http://www.xmcarbonspeed.cn/full-carbon-bicycle-fork-plus-mtb-fork-rigid-fork_p0048.html

Carbon Speed have a very good reputation here. I have done several transactions with them. But Peter of Carbon Speed is currently on holiday break though, he won't be back 'til Feb. 15.

Here's what it looks like on my rig.

A little heads up. The Chinese New Year is on Feb. 5. It's gonna be a long and busy holiday in China. If you don't get your orders in the next few days, it's going to be a long wait.

Took this bike on a trail route that I ride on my 29+ bike just to see if a CX could handle said route. Sadly, had to get down and push the bike on some section. The narrow tires didn't have enough grip, making those descent dangerous... at least for my skill level. But for most part, it was a blast.

Anyway, got the bike all muddy & dirty and had hosed it down when I got home. While cleaning the bike, I noticed something that I had completely forgotten during the planning stage... a drain hole. Not exactly a big problem but definitely something usefull if you go for internal cabling features.

I got 2 TA frames from Carbon Speed (boost & non-boost) and both came with the plastic TA protector and their respective TA skewer. My friend had 3 bikes (branded) and all came with a TA skewer. All the bike shops here that I have talked to says the frame should come with their TA skewer. You might want to check with your vendor.