I Can’t Stop Crushing on This Titanium Bike’s Sublime New Gravel Edition — and Its Unique Custom Feature

Blackheart’s lovingly crafted Gravel Ti looks ready to rip trails and turn heads.

Published March 21, 2025

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If steel is real and carbon fiber is ultralight, wtf is titanium? To some degree, the best of both worlds.

Prized for its corrosion resistance, strength-to-weight ratio and “biocompatibility,” the metal is stronger than aluminum, lighter than steel and more affordable than carbon fiber.

blackheart gravel ti frontish — By design, the Gravel Ti has clearance to accommodate seriously beefy tires. Single track, anyone?

While its ability to bond with bone tissue makes it great for medical implants, those other qualities seal its appeal as bicycle frame material, a truth Truckee, California-based Blackheart Bike Co. knows well.

No matter what Gravel Ti build you go with, you’ll end up with a clean-looking bike you can ride anywhere, evolve with as times change and maintain without losing your mind. A highly functional and future-proof piece of art, essentially.

No wonder, then, that the cult favorite manufacturer has followed up last year’s excellent All-Road Ti with a frameset that has me even more stoked: the rough-and-tumble yet gorgeous Gravel Ti.

Wicked frame

While BlackHeart offers 11 complete builds — ranging from a Shimano GRX RX820 1X (+$1,900) to a SRAM Red AXS 2X (+$4,550) — the real story here is the frameset, the shiny, roughly six-pound skeleton from which your dream bike can emerge.

At a not-inconsiderable price of $3,299, it’s making me drool for a couple reasons.

First off, the color and shape — unadorned by anything but a simple BlackHeart logo on the elegantly sloping top tube — are just classically stunning.

blackheart gravel ti frame — Behold the (more or less) six-pound framework for your fantasy.

Second, the BlackHeart team clearly put a lot of thought into the design, and then introduced just the right amount of modern innovation to produce something that has everything I need and nothing I don’t.

Highlights include dropped seat stays, fully integrated cables, a 3D-printed dropped drive side chain stay, premium 3/2.5 double-butted titanium tubing, electronic 2X and mechanical 1X compatibility and a SRAM universal derailleur hanger.

blackheart gravel ti backish — While the Gravel Ti can accommodate 2x drivetrains, good luck talking me out of an unfussy 1x like this guy.

These qualities ensure that no matter what build you go with — any of theirs or even your own — you’ll end up with a clean-looking bike you can ride anywhere, evolve with as times change and maintain without losing your mind.

A highly functional and future-proof piece of art, essentially.

All forked up

I would be remiss not to mention the fact that, in addition to a vast range of complete builds, BlackHeart also offers a fun and easy way to ensure your bike is one of a kind.

See, for an extra $200, they’ll custom paint your ENVE carbon fork. It’s not just any old paint, either: it’s Cerakote, an ultra-thin, highly durable, heat-cured ceramic paint.

blackheart gravel ti fork colors — Those 22 little colored boxes above represent just 15% of the Cerakote-powered fork options.

We’ve seen this material used to treat the blades and handles of various knives and multi-tools, and it not only adds a color pop, it also boosts abrasion, wear, corrosion and chemicals.

While 22 colors are shown on the product page, Blackheart says those are only the most popular options. You can select from any hue in Cerakote’s H Series, which currently numbers … 142. (Yes, I counted.)

At the moment, I’m all about H-141 Prison Pink (shown) but hey, as they say, you do you.

Availability and pricing

The BlackHeart Bike Co. Gravel Ti is available for preorder now, with delivery expected in May. Available in nine sizes, the frameset alone costs $3,299, while complete builds start at $5,199.