Bespoke Colorado framebuilders Mosaic have just unveiled a new urban commuter bike that will stand out in a crowd. The new CT-1 blends aesthetics with utility, then comfort with agility. Built around thru-axles, disc brakes, and a 1×11 drivetrain, the new Mosaic aims to be a fast, fun, maintenance-free commuting bike that will stand the test of time…
Mosaic Cycles CT-1 titanium commuter bike
If you think that Shimano Metrea groupset looks right at home on the CT-1, it’s no coincidence. When the group was ready to be unveiled, Shimano worked directly with Mosaic to build a bike for the North American Handmade Bicycle show, specifically to showcase their new groupset. Thus the CT-1 was born. Building the frame from titanium was a no-brainer for a bike meant to be ridden year round in all manner of weather, ensuring corrosion will never be an issue. For more stability, Mosaic have dropped the bottom bracket more than on most road frames (80mm on the CT-1 compared to 70-72mm on their RT series) while leaving the head tube angle steep-ish and wheelbase measurement short to keep the bike’s handling snappy.
Tech details
Riders will be happy to see a tried and true threaded bottom bracket on the CT-1, as well as external cable routing. Following the trend of road discs, the CT-1 uses flat mount calipers, plus 12x100mm front & 12x142mm rear thru-axles. Up front a 44mm headtube houses an ENVE GRD fork (with integrated fender) spinning on a Chris King i8 headset. While shown here with 32mm tires, Mosaic claim that the frame will clear most 38mm tires, or 35mm with fenders. In addition to fender mounts, two water bottle mounts and rear rack braze-ons should provide plenty of cargo capacity for even the longest commutes.
The CT-1 is available in 5 stock sizes or optionally with custom geometry. The frame is built of 3A/2.5V straight gauge titanium tubing, though it would have been nice to see some butted tubing at the CT-1’s $4450 starting price for frame/fork/headset.
The standard finish will be raw titanium with media-blast logos, with paint jobs like this yellow one being an option. Still, for the cyclist who has everything except a stylish ride to work, the CT-1 might just be the ticket.
