Bikes of the Bunch: Mosaic RT-1

To be very honest, titanium was not my first choice in materials. I originally wanted a steel bike made by an Italian. But former head mechanic at Above Category and current Shimano Tech/Rep, Peter Lucas, suggested I look at this small custom bike builder from Boulder, Colorado called Mosaic. So I did.

I knew that if Chad carried this builder in his line up at Above Category it was going to be great. The RT-1 is a full custom Titanium frame, made by an award-winning master builder in the USA.

This is my first custom bicycle so it’s my first experience with a professional-caliber fitting. That said, I’ve worked extensively in snowboard slalom racing and coaching and we are constantly adjusting a racer’s position over his board. There are many parallels between the two processes. Chad is very comfortable with fitting procedures and I’m comfortable with him, so the whole process was very easy for me.

I described what kind of rider I am and what I was looking for in a new bike and they took it from there. The process was simple, easy and confidence-building. From the time we placed the order until it arrived at Above Category was around six weeks, give or take.

The bike is built up with Dura Ace mechanical, Enve 6.7 wheels, Enve Road 2.0 fork, Chris King components, Fizik saddle and Ritchey cockpit. I think it weighs in the vicinity of two gallons (roughly 7.5kg).

So how to does it ride? It’s very responsive under acceleration and high-tempo riding. I wouldn’t say it’s overly stiff but it is very comfortable and rideable with great responsiveness … and it’s quick. I want to ride it, and I want to take lots of pictures of it on my rides.

If you’re thinking about purchasing a custom titanium bicycle I highly recommend looking at one of these. They are superb in every way and timelessly elegant. I’m thinking about a HardTail from these guys as we speak. That says it all!

Read more about the Mosaic RT-1 at the Above Category website.

Jamil Jaafar

what a beauty!
OverIt

Love it.!!

One day I will spoil myself with something like this, either made for me or by me. In the meantime, my China Ti is the closest I’ll get. It would be interesting to ride something bespoke like this to see how ‘bad’ my bike is, as I’ve no baseline atmo.
TeeHDee

Amazing looking bike
RickyD

Hands down the nicest bike if seen….period
Tnort87

saw one of these in New Farm (Brisbane) yesterday
Cliff Nichols

Wow. Manages to be ‘plain and simple’ but with exquisite detailing all at the same time. Stunning.
acid

gee, wow, this looks very much like my custom Baum Titanium, which was made in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, a lot closer than Colorado USA 8^)
I wanted almost 6 months for mine and almost 5 years later it rides as magically well as is it did on the day in 2009 when I first picked it up…..
Titanium is a forever material (as much as forever is?).
Carbon is great and yet utterly disposable and steel will eventually fall apart too (albeit after many years, if its well looked after).
Titanium does not need any looking after and will not fall apart as easily and as quickly as will carbon, steel and aluminium.
Highly recommended. Sure, its 500 grams heavier than many of the main-stream carbon frames but its still worth it as it cures the N+1 syndrome that affects so many of us….. 8^)
- joe
  
  I had my custom IF Steel Crown Jewel in 5 weeks from the USA.Riding custom makes so much sense.Should have done it earlier 8^)
- Mark
  
  I went for custom steel and don’t regret it. Ti would have been nice but it’s out of my price range. But if money was no object, I would go for custom carbon. It doesn’t fatigue, it’s inherently damage tolerant and it’s pretty repairable these days.
Ian

Early morning ride in the hills with a mate before work this morning and then I get to look at this beautiful bike (helped by nice photos BTW). An absolute stunner.
Reinforces my previous thoughts that my ‘keeper’ bike will have a Ti frame and be built by a low volume supplier. I’ve been very fortunate to recently buy some custom built wheels and the service I’ve had has been outstanding. At the rougher end of the stick, the service I’ve had over the same period from one of the biggest players in relation to the bike itself has been very average. At least I can add the wheels to the Ti frame when I’ve saved enough to afford it :)
Tim David

yep - that is nice!
JulesT

Crankstar in Brisbane has been rolling out some beautiful Mosaic’s as of late. Their collaboration RT-1 that was at NAHBS this year has to be the best bike I have ever seen. There are more pics of it on theradavist.com
jackseph

Beautiful bke.
I have a Ti Merlin Magia. I got it at least 3rd hand. Had it for almost 6 years. Old DA mechanical. It’s awesome.
Between Baum, IF, Mosaic, Condor, Firefly, Enigma… So much choice
Wakatel Lu’um

Almost as nice as a Firefly…
http://subcontinentalcyclist.wordpress.com/ Ankush Agarwal

This bike is poetry. My Fuji Alu frame will look like donkey in front of it.
Richard Smith

I do really like Mosaics, and the UK distributor lives a mile from my house, so they’re very tempting… but they always seem to feature enormously oversized tubing. The top tubes especially seem a bit over the top; they just look a bit heavier than my 51kg could manage!
- Chad Nordwall
  
  For a 51kg cyclist we’d recommend a much smaller diameter and heavily butted tubeset. Lance is 200+ so he gets the most over sized tubes. It all depends on weight and riding style and also takes in some consideration of the routes you ride/race. This is and always will be the advantage of a custom frame.
  - Richard Smith
    
    Cheers for getting back to me Chad! I figured that tube selection would probably be influenced by the size and riding style of the end user, only all the Mosaics I’d seen in the flesh and those pictured on your website feature what I’d consider to be super oversized tubing. It’s great to know that lighter stuff is an option.
    Keep making beautiful bikes!
binotto

A really beautiful bike - immaculate detailing.
mattb

I’m weighing up Ti for my next frame as, like this bike, they are beautiful. That is definitely a dream bike.
Something that is bringing in doubts if that I have not heard anything from Cycling Tips about his custom Baum since it was built, but you seem to love your SWorks’. Always seem to spot Wade on carbon, not Ti. Is there a reason for this?

Does Ti just seem like a great idea at the time? Beautiful but is Carbon simply better?
- echidna_sg
  
  14 years on and my litespeed palmares is still as good as it was on the day it left the showroom. I got it at 6 years of age and the only thing these modern versions have done that is an improvement is the tapered steerer tube, otherwise I’ll stick with my full 6:4 titanium frame for life… The chris king headset and campagnolo record 10 speed crank from factory are the only pieces that have lasted throughout. I’ve worn through 3.5 groupsets, half a dozen wheelsets, over 100k km and 20 or more international flights, it just doesn’t get any better. It helps I’m super “average” and don’t need a custom frame!
Browny

That is stunning!
John Bateman

I saw this bike 2 days ago at the top of Hawk Hill (San Francisco Marin Headlands). Truly beautiful.

Bikes of the Bunch: Mosaic RT-1

by Lance Kennedy