I’d just like to report my experience with XACD as this seems to be the forum that had the most recent queries about their work. I have had two custom full suspension titanium frames built by them in the last year. The first for myself, the second for my wife. I did the design work on Solidworks based on the tube diameters and wall thicknesses provided by Porter early on. I chose them over Titan and Waltly partly because there were more reports of better quality with XACD, and partly because in early conversations with each, XACD was more forthcoming on tubing choices and their fabrication experience and process.
My contact, as mentioned was Porter, who gets a bad rap on various forums. While I admit how he communicates can be viewed as brusque, I think for the most part it’s an artifact of English being his second language. Full disclosure, I am American born Chinese so some of the communication style and cultural differences are normal to me. It is interesting to note that at several points his writing style seemed to switch to that of a native English speaker, though he swore it was still him. I think the difference was the use of translation software vs not. Overall, I give Porter high marks for taking care of my bike projects and delivering a great product. He was always quick to respond with very complete answers, and I can be painfully detail oriented. These two bikes are a joy to ride, are light and stiff in the right places, all parts fit as intended, and the suspension works fluidly as envisioned.
My frame took 3 months to fabricate and arrive at my door after approving the final design. Since it was my first go around, finalizing took about 1 month. That frame was nearly perfect to my drawing, so it encouraged me to design another. My wife’s frame, though it was actually more complex due to trying to shave some weight, took 2 weeks to finalize and 2 months to arrive.
The second frame did arrive with a pretty major alignment issue resulting from shipping damage. Porter handled it professionally by arranging for shipping back to China and making repairs at his cost. This process took two additional months, with 5 weeks due to transit time back to their factory over Chinese New Year. I paid for shipping back to help defray the cost, though it wasn’t proposed by Porter. (You need to take care of your supplier where you can.) When it got back, it was perfect, and my wife has been ecstatic about how it rides.
My frame came out to 7lbs, without shock, just as predicted by my Solidworks model. It’s a 165mm travel bike for my 5’9” height built for rocky and steep descents. My wife’s frame weighs 5.9lbs#, again as predicted. It’s a 150mm travel trail bike for her 5’4” height that has already helped her blow away her PR’s on every climb and descent after only 3 months of ownership. Geometry is within tolerance and finish is gorgeous. Could I have designed them to be lighter? Probably, but I was more interested in stiff, durable platforms for long travel suspension.
XACD reportedly has more than 35 years of frame fabrication in its history and has made lots of private label bikes for well-known companies. It shows in the workmanship. And at a price less than a top brand carbon frame, with the strength, corrosion resistance, and fatigue life of titanium, this was a no-brainer. If you have the ability to design what you want, and desire something different from what’s available, I can’t recommend them enough. Just be patient, communicate clearly, and ask lots of questions. Porter is more than willing to educate his customers. Be prepared to scrutinize every dimension on their line drawings as you approach approval. It is a lot of work and attention to detail, but the results are totally worth it, at least to me. There’s an indescribable satisfaction to riding a bespoke, unique, frame that does everything you wanted.
If you have any specific questions regarding the experience I had with them, please feel free to ask.
