Tyler’s Falconer Titanium Gravel Bike: Hand Machined Excellence – John Watson | The Radavist | A group of individuals who share a love of cycling and the outdoors.

Cameron Falconer has been offering titanium frames since we showcased his personal hardtail mountain touring bike two years ago. In that time, he’s made a few titanium gravel bikes, including Tyler’s. But this isn’t your typical framebuilder offering in that space. Like all of Cameron Falconer’s projects, this one’s special. Let’s check it out in detail below…

Tyler works for Ornot. He’s the brand’s photographer and occasionally takes on handyman duties. When he’s not chasing riders on photoshoots, he’s working on the millwork and layout at Ornot’s San Francisco storefront. Longtime readers might recall Tyler’s Icarus ‘cross bike from 2014. The Falconer is what his vision for the Icarus was, just a decade later. Big, 50 mm tire clearance, endurance geometry, and wide gearing spread.

The geometry is based on a 54 cm Specialized Crux with some tweaks, including a slightly longer front end, longer chainstays, taller stack, and more bottom bracket drop.

I caught up with Tyler at this year’s Lost and Found. After he took on the 100-mile race, I wheeled his bike over to my photo spot at sunset in hopes of capturing Cameron Falconer’s handiwork, which I admire so much. As I propped up the bike and aligned it correctly for framing, Tyler and I started discussing what makes this bike different from other titanium bikes on the market.

Cameron Falconer has made five ti bikes since opening up his orders back in 2023 when I shot his hardtail down in Patagonia, Arizona. Five might not seem like a lot, and even Cameron admits that his titanium sales haven’t taken off like he’d hoped. The frames start at $4,000, which is more than reasonable. Especially considering the amount of work that goes into each frame. No one is charging for every hour that goes into building a bike like this. Especially when they’re like Cam and are hand-machining hardware!

Out of those five bikes, Cam has made two bikes like Tyler’s, including one for himself. The detail I was immediately drawn to was the dropouts. I loved how they hugged the profile of the SRAM mech perfectly. Cameron hand-milled those dropouts himself. If you know about titanium, then you know how hard it is to work with at this scale. Other builders will 3D print these parts or order them from Paragon Machine Works.

When I asked Cameron for some notes on the bike, he replied:

“I made two sets of those dropouts on manual machines. Tyler got one, I got the other. Probably won’t do that again, lots of time and breathing coolant…”

There’s often a label of preciousness to custom bikes. Like they’re to be wiped down with a chamois and bike polish after each ride. Or that the owners are dentists or lawyers. But what it really comes down to is how important a bike that’s tailored to your bike fit, riding style, and terrain is to you as a rider. Sure, $4,000 ain’t a drop in the bucket but some riders go through a number of carbon gravel bikes in the time that Tyler has had this Falconer, which will arguably last a very long time, while maintaining its resale value.

For the Bay Area, where Ornot is based, and beyond, it’s hard to deny the allure of a well-equipped gravel bike that can take on pavement, dirt, and some fast ‘n’ flowy singletrack. Tyler’s been riding the piss out of this bike and that nice layer of dust covering it shows this is far from a precious object. It’s a precision tool, made by hand in a dude’s shop in Quincy, California.

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