What is a benefit of making bicycle frames titanium?

Answer 1

Titanium has three really big advantages. It's very stiff, but at the same time it absorbs road shock. More important, when a titanium frame fails it fails by bending.

Stiffness is a big one. A stiff frame doesn't flex when you push down on the pedals. A frame that flexes absorbs some of the energy you put on the pedal, which means that some of the energy you could have used to move the bike down the road is being used to flex the frame. Meaning you don't go as fast as you could have with a stiffer frame. Titanium and carbon are about equally stiff, followed by aluminum then by steel.

Shock absorption is another big one. No one wants to ride down the road feeling every piece of gravel. Steel and titanium frames absorb shock the best. Aluminum barely absorbs shock, but carbon? Oh man, a carbon frame will let you know if there's a crack in the pavement.

Failure modes are, to me, the most important reason to NOT buy a carbon frame. Now understand, bicycle frames rarely fail, but when a metal frame fails it bends. When a carbon frame fails it breaks, and dumps you on the ground at speed. People have broken bones this way.