Why MRD Is Building Titanium BMX Race Frames — Not Carbon
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As we head toward 2026, I want to properly explain the thinking behind the next MRD BMX race frames: the 20” Ti Pro and 24” Ti Pro.
These frames are not retro reissues, and they’re not exercises in nostalgia. They are purpose-built race frames, designed for modern start hills, modern riders, and real-world BMX racing conditions.
Just as importantly, they represent a very deliberate material choice: titanium, not carbon.
That decision isn’t based on fashion, trends, or marketing. It’s based on how BMX bikes are actually used — and abused — and on what I’m prepared to stand behind as a manufacturer.
BMX Racing Is Not a Clean Environment
BMX racing is brutal on equipment.
Bikes get slammed into start gates.
They get tangled in pile-ups.
They get thrown in vans, cases, trailers, and airline holds.
They get knocked in pits, leaned against railings, and clipped by pedals.
Even at the highest level, BMX bikes are not treated delicately — and they shouldn’t have to be.
Any frame material I choose has to tolerate contact, crashes, transport damage, and everyday knocks, not just perform perfectly in a lab or under ideal race conditions.
The Problem With Carbon in BMX
Carbon fibre is an extraordinary material when used in the right context. It offers excellent stiffness-to-weight performance and outstanding fatigue resistance under controlled loading.
But carbon has a fundamental weakness that matters in BMX: poor tolerance to point impacts and hidden damage.
A carbon frame can suffer: Internal delamination, Crushed laminate, Micro-fractures around bonded inserts without showing obvious external signs of damage. A frame can look fine and still be structurally compromised.
The reality is this:
most riders do not regularly inspect their frames for internal damage, and they don’t have access to ultrasound or specialist testing. That means damage can go unnoticed until failure — and when carbon fails, it tends to fail suddenly and catastrophically.
I’m not comfortable selling race bikes that rely on riders spotting invisible problems to remain safe.
That doesn’t mean carbon is “bad”. It means it’s just not the right material for MRD BMX bikes.
Why Titanium Makes Sense for MRD
Titanium offers a different balance — one that aligns with how I believe BMX race bikes should behave over time.
Titanium provides: Excellent fatigue life under BMX race loads. High impact tolerance compared to carbon. Ductile, predictable failure behaviour — it bends or cracks rather than shattering. Visible damage when something is wrong. Possible Repairability if the worst happens.
If a titanium frame is damaged, it can usually be inspected visually, measured, and assessed properly. If it’s beyond use, that’s clear. There’s no guessing.
That matters to me — not just as a designer, but as someone who raced at the highest level and understands what riders actually put their equipment through and what their real needs are.
Performance Without Marketing Myths
Choosing titanium doesn’t mean compromising on performance.
The Ti Pro frames are being designed around: Stiffness where it matters: BB area, chainstays, front triangle. Stability and tracking under power. Geometry suited to modern start hills and current racing speeds. Durability over seasons, not just a single campaign.
I’m not chasing the lightest possible number on a scale. I’m chasing race-credible stiffness, reliability, and longevity.
A bike that feels right out of the gate, tracks predictably, and can be trusted season after season is worth more than saving a few grams on paper. This isn't about making the lightest and stiffest bike I can, it's about making the best bikes I can for modern BMX race tracks for BMX racers of the best abilities.
Made in the UK — Properly
As with all MRD frames, these bikes are made in the UK.
That means: Design work happens here. Tubing is sourced deliberately and methodically based on needs not stock. Tubes are mitred, welded, and finished here. No outsourcing the hard parts. No dilution of standards. Final alignment, seat post reaming, headtube and BB facing all done here.
This approach isn’t the cheapest or the fastest, but it allows full control over quality, geometry, and construction — and it keeps skilled engineers and fabricators doing work they care about.
That has always been the MRD Bikes way, and it isn’t changing.
What Comes Next
The 20” Ti Pro and 24” Ti Pro frames will each be available in three sizes at standard cost + custom pre orders which carry a premium.
Prototype testing will come first.
Pre-orders will only open once that process is complete.
There are no dates yet — and there won’t be rushed ones.
If you want to follow the project properly — from sketches and CAD through to 3D modelling, prototypes, and testing — you can sign up to the 23fm newsletter on this website.
This is the first MRD project planned for 2026. There are others in development, and details will follow in good time.
Thanks for the continued support. It genuinely allows small-scale, high-quality manufacturing to exist — and to be done properly.
— Tim March