LiteSpeed’s long history of building titanium frames has led them from their renowned road bikes to mountain bikes and now their updated all-road Gravel bike. It claims to offer sporty and agile handling in a comfortable setup ready for long gravel epics or loaded bike packing trips. We saw a preview earlier this year during the Sea Otter Classic and from what we saw the production model gets wider clearance and a few slight tweaks.
The Frame:
![LiteSpeed Gravel](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1200 900"></svg>)
![LiteSpeed Gravel](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 4032 3024"></svg>)
Simply named the Gravel, the frame is spaced to fit up to 700 x 45mm tires front & back and it’s convertible to 650b with space for 2.1″ tires. It has front and rear thru axles measuring in at 12 x 100mm front and 12 x 142mm rear. Rack and fender mounts make an appearance on the carbon fork and rear triangle in addition to 3 bottle mounts and top tube bag bolts. Plus, the Di2 wires are threaded internally through the frame [the mechanical option has externally routed cables with barrel adjusters].
At the bottom of the frame, you’ll find a press-fit PF30 bottom bracket.
The Litespeed branded carbon fork is listed with rack and fender mounts, though there are just three mounting holes – one at each dropout, plus the usual hole through the crown. Fitted with flat mount disc brakes, the fork runs an internally routed brake line.
The Specs
The drivetrain is composed of Shimano’s Ultegra Di2 system and FSA’s aluminum Hollow Forged Energy crankset with super compact direct mount chainrings. Tooth counts are 48/32[front] and 32/11[rear]. The Di2 model is set up with R785 Hydraulic brake levers and uses 160mm Ice Tech rotors.
The Gravel is rolling on Stan’s NoTubes ZTR Grail wheels with their Bead Socket Technology [BST]. Keeping the rubber side down is a set of Panaracer’s Gravelking SK tires. They’re 700 x 38c and come setup as tubeless out of the box.
Rounding out the cockpit is a 31.8mm titanium LiteSpeed seatpost and a Prologo Scratch Pro T 2.0 seat. Up front are 3T’s 120mm ARX II Pro stem and their ERNOVA Pro handlebar, both are aluminum.
The Weight
Without pedals, the large LiteSpeed Gravel weighs in at 20.8lbs. After a week of riding its titanium build has proven to be a smooth ride on gravel and beaten roads, but we look forward to how it performs across the full spectrum of technical trails and smooth roads – plus an upcoming bikepacking trip down south. Check-in down the road for the full review.
