Litespeed

Litespeed is a U.S. bicycle manufacturer based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, that crafted its first bicycle in 1986. Litespeed is best known as a producer of high-end titanium framed road racing bicycles and mountain bikes. From 2002-2006, Litespeed also produced designs using aluminum and carbon fiber construction but returned to hand crafting titanium bikes exclusively in late 2006. Litespeed is owned by the American Bicycle Group, which is also the parent company of bicycle manufacturers Merlin and Quintana Roo as well as component fabricator Real Design.

In the 1999 Tour de France, Lance Armstrong rode a titanium Litespeed Blade during time trial events which had been painted and decaled as a Trek. Throughout the years several professional cyclists rode Litespeed bicycles painted and decaled as other brand bicycles. Additionally, a number of bicycle manufacturers, including European brands such as Eddy Merckx and Bianchi have contracted Litespeed to construct titanium frames to be rebadged and sold within their product lines.

Currently Litespeed sponsors the DFL-Cyclingnews-Litespeed and Calyon/Litespeed Pro Cycling road teams and also sponsors the Maxxis mountain bike team. The World Cup ITU Triathlon champion Vanessa Fernandes (Portugal) also races on a Litespeed.

Litespeed's sales are driven by bikes built to stock geometries, but the company continues to offer custom geometries and even full custom bike designs on a commissioned basis. The company also sells a number of titanium accessory items including seat posts and derailleur hangers

Litespeed has acted as a contractor and consultant to NASA for projects that require titanium-intensive subassemblies.

Current Road Models

Archon: A racing bicycle that represents Litespeed's roadgoing flagship. The Archon incorporates high-grade 6/4 titanium in its top tube in order to promote greater torsional stiffness and reduce weight, and this material is exclusive to the Archon within Litespeed's current lineup. The Archon incorporates a number of tube junctions that are welded in a contoured pattern that Litespeed calls a "wrap," and this is claimed to increase the stiffness of the junction. The Archon is available in traditional flat top tube and compact (sloping top tube) geometries. The Archon is somewhat atypical of the latest generation of racing bikes in that it does not utilize an integrated headset; a traditional threadless headset with external bearing cups is specified by Litespeed.

Icon: A racing bicycle that incorporates many of the design elements of the Archon, but offers a more supple ride at the expense of marginally greater weight and reduced stiffness. The Icon lacks the 6/4 top tube of the Archon. The Icon utilizes softer 3al-2.5v titanium for its entire frame, but it incorporates many of the tube shaping techniques and contoured ("wrapped") junction welds that debuted on the Archon. The Icon is available only in compact geometries.

Ghisallo: A racing bicycle that is designed to be one of the lightest framesets available, regardless of construction material. The Ghisallo differs from the Archon/Icon pair in that it favors weight reduction above all other design priorities. While a medium Archon frame is listed as 1078 grams and the equivalent Icon is claimed to measure 1180 grams, the equivalent Ghisallo frame is claimed to weigh 770 grams. Compared to both the Archon and the Icon, the Ghisallo trades a measure of lateral rigidity for reduced mass. The Ghisallo is available only in a pronounced compact geometry.

Siena: A racing bicycle that represents the middle of Litespeed's model range. The bike favors stability and ride comfort but retains a reasonably performance-oriented compact geometry.

Bella: A racing bicycle that features frame geometry specifically designed to accommodate the physical features of female riders.

Ardennes: A racing bicycle that incorporates some of the features of Litespeed's more expensive Ghisallo and Siena models but features greater weight than the high-end models. The Ardennes features impact-damping tapered seat stays that are similar in some respects to those featured on the Siena and geometry that bears similarities to the extreme compact layout of the Ghisallo. Less aggressive tube butting and shaping accounts for this models relatively higher weight and lower price.

Sportive: A road bicycle that favors comfort and stability over light weight and race-style control response. Unlike Litespeed's other road models, the Sportive cannot be described as a race-oriented design. It is designed to offer a comfortable touring ride and serves as an entry-level model for the Litespeed model line.

External links

* [http://www.litespeed.com Litespeed Company Website]