Not that I don’t love getting a few emails now and again - it’s great to hear people have found the site useful – but I realised that the answers to some obvious questions weren’t as easy to find as they might have been.
So to save my creaky old fingers from some typing, here’s a collection of the most common questions people have mailed me about – with the answers…
Do feel free to drop me a line and say ‘Hi’ though 
Did you have to send XACD a drawing of what you wanted to make or how did you start the order?
I just emailed Porter (xacd@ti-bike.com) a detailed description of the key dimensions and features of the frame, XACD then came back 24hrs later with the CAD drawing which I then commented on and we made a few ammendments to. I think each frame drawing went through about three versions before I was happy everything was nailed.
If you’re thinking of something a bit special though you might want to send over a sketch of what you’re looking for to help them out.
How long did the frame take to arrive once the drawings were approved?
After approval of the drawings it took four weeks; a week for the payment to clear from my bank, two weeks for the build and then a week for delivery.
How much does it cost to get a frame made?
That all depends on how strong the US Dollar is compared to where you are, and what options you go for! Ti Bride cost me around £420 all in, including bank charges and delivery. I had a few small tweaks to the design which added a few extra dollars.
Love You Long Time had fewer options to keep the price down but ended up costing more as the jolly old pound was on its knees; around £500 all in.
What are the different options I can have with a frame and how much do they cost?
These are some prices from around a year ago just for a guide – you should contact Porter (xacd@ti-bike.com) to check what the current prices are.
Custom MTB frame: $495
Cold Worked Stress Relieved (CWSR) tubes: $35
Double butted tubes: $80
Triple butted tubes: $135
Bending down tube: $95
Bending small tube between toptube and seattube: $35
Breeze style dropout: $35
Breeze style dropout with replaceable hanger: $85
Litespeed style dropout: $95
Quality control with radiography, etc… : $290 +
Engraving on headtube: $65
Engraving on downtube: $135
Design logo polished onto both sides of the downtube with sand blast finish on the rest of the bike: $80
Design logo polished on inside of chainstay on 1 side: $40
Engraving chainstay: $65
Head tube gusset with 2 plates welded: $45
Head tube gusset CNC machined: $155
Brush finish: $50
Shipping costs (EMS express): $155
Bank fee: $40
One thing to remember though is that this is just a starting point, they can do pretty much anything you can think of – for the right price!
How much import duty/VAT will I have to pay?
I was lucky with customs and both frames have sailed through without attracting attention. You might not be so lucky though, so be prepared to budget +15% import duty and then +17.5% VAT if you’re ordering from the UK.
Do you know anyone in the Far East who can make Steel or Aluminium frames instead of Titanium?
Currently no, but there must be plenty of them out there given the number of UK brands having Far Eastern steel frames made. XACD seem to be pretty unique in being prepared to deal directly with single orders.