EB15: Litespeed builds Ku:wa adventure road bike, plus lightweight SL versions of T1, Pinhoti

Wait. How did they get the road levers to work with the xtr front derailleur. Thought there was a different ratio or something?

If only there were a device from which one could glean such information.

*T1SL*

Adventurers prefer frame bags? Wannebees perhaps, as it is virtually impossible to travel three weeks with frame bags exclusively.

The coolest thing Litespeed ever did was the insane Kitsuma. http://fstatic1.mtb-news.de/img/photos/8/6/4/5/_/large/Litespeed-Kitsuma-05-2006009.JPG The thinking there was nuts…let’s build a “freeride” hardtail and make it way more expensive than any meathead who buy one could afford. A titanium Surly Instigator 1.0.

Reg Linsky.

Linsky is new startup by the some of the original founders of Litespeed. They have had nothing to do with Litespeed for +20 years since American Bicycle Group took over Litespeed.

Linskey is not doing custom titanium for the likes of NASA as AMBCG, AMBCG/litespeed is still the place to go if you want NASA grade custom TI construction.

AMBCG also owns Quintana Roo (tri bicycles), RealDesign (carbon wheels/forks) and from 2000 to 2011 they owned Merlin Works.
The Merlin Works brand was more or less discontinued in 2011 and sold of in 2013 with no knowlagde or production faclity transfers.

From 2000-2012, until AMBCG stopped marketing the of the Merlin Brand, Merlin and Litespeed where produced under the same roof with a shared infrastructure and distribution facility – but by by separate design and production facility.

Merlins had since the beginning in 1986 been designed by Tom Kellog from Spectrum – just as the Reynolds and RealDesign carbon forks. Spectrum never contributed to Litespeed appart from Toms design input of the RealDesign and Reynolds Ouzo forks. Litespeed and Merlin geometry and TI designs where quite different.

In 2012 AMBCG stopped doing OEM TI jobs for Sprectrum, the Merlin brand and the in house production af RealDesign carbon wheels and forks. Spectrum TI is now beeing produced by Seven.

Seven is a startup of former Merlin Works empoyles who didn’t move with the Merlin production line to Tennese.

just like Kent Ericson sold off Moots, Merlin and Litespeed where sold of by the original founders 15-20 years ago.

I ride my 2006 Merlin Works CR 2/3.5 – and think its still one of the best ti frames ever built, a 55,5cm weighs in a 1115g. The tubesets are still state of the art; izespecific with ovalized and tappered – but stil plain gauge and drawn (not a welded shaped plate) – and the welds? I havent seen anything looking as nice as those 2006 AMBCG welds, neither from moots or baum (or on litespeeds). Saw a Rewel ti frame in Italy a few weeks and even that wasnt close.

Its super comfy on long rides and stiff enough for mty 80-100kg for climbing and decenting.
The only drawback is that i’d like to be able to fit more that 28mm tyres and disc brakes…

A Baum Corretto frame is about $8K, I believe, so significantly more than this

Did anyone else see the use of an XTR side swing FD and a shimano road hydro shifter? I’m more interested if this actually works properly and is endorsed by shimano

So you throw a cross fork on a mtn frame and you get a whole new kind of bike?
Good luck with that seat angle.

There is no way I would ever buy a Ti frame with a press fit BB.

@endurobob I don’t think it is endorsed per se but it has been reported to work great provided you keep all derailleurs XTR di2. The brain is in the derailleurs. Shimano want auto trim to work correctly so they made sure you can’t mismatch anymore front and rear derailleur of the same group. People used to do that when migrating from ultegra 10 to 11.

Shifters are not more than switches. The di2 system works the same if you use road, mtb, alfine or even standalone satellite shifters.

@Jason- I agree. PF bottom brackets are bad news in general.

“Wannebees perhaps, as it is virtually impossible to travel three weeks with frame bags exclusively.”

utter rubbish.

@K11 – could you be confusing “custom” with the quality of the builder.

If I am a normally proportioned, say 165 lb, 6ft male looking for a racing bike over rough roads, my “custom” bike will not vary much from another 165 lb, 6 ft male’s custom bike by the same builder? If one makes 2 bikes the same, are they still custom?

I agree that custom bikes allow one to do unique things for their specific riding and weight, but if you are a normal person, you can also by off the shelf bikes specifically tailored to certain riding types and I am unsure that custom offers any real advantage. I ridden some incredible custom bikes. I think their quality had more to do with the builders skill than their being custom. And should this builder have started making off the shelf sizes, the bike would be just as incredible if you fit the design weight and geometry.

T1SL for the win down here in Florida. It’s a beautiful machine. I would say i’m gonna build it up with the Sram Force 1X but then i’d just set myself up for all of the negative nancy’s to come crawling out of their holes.

Old post but my .02. I’ve owned four Ti bikes, three Litespeed’s. Yes, they can and do crack but I woulnd’t say it’s common. The comment about not wanting to build a ‘wet noodle’ frame just to get it under 1kg…uh, whadda you call a Ghisallo? It was a noodle under 1kg for the sake of getting it under a kg. But I digress. Their carbon frame is nice but really had some engineering faux pas in my small size that I couldn’t get around so I ditched it. Overall, I love what Litespeed builds and what it’s trying to do. I’ll probably buy another one at some point. I wish they did some custom work b/c I always have a nit picky tweak I’d love to have done. Lynskey started Litespeed, now off on his own. Litespeed is ABG like Quintana Roo, etc., an owned brand but still same great people.