I posted a "teaser pic" of my Litespeed a page or two ago , but i have since cleaned it up and this pic is dated tonight and is a pic of the bike in its current ready-to-ride (for me) format .

HAte to post up a book --- but long story short, i was a fair to middlin track racer spanning from the mid 90's to about 2003 --- I never cared too much about the road bike as long as it was reliable, and didnt get in my way or slow me down in the occasional crit i entered ---- I got a killer pro deal from Co Cyclist on one of their "team deal" Litespeed frames and that was that --- bike was built up balls to the wall for the time period , originally Dura Ace 9 , then in late 02 or '03 when D-A 10 started trickling down to the moderately connected riders i managed to snag it --- you might notice the Front Der and headset is Record though, -- this model Litespeed has a big seat tube and i just wasnt sure what size friggin' adapter i needed so i pulled a Campy FDR out of a parts drawer and it worked fine -- and Shimano has decided long ago to stop making headsets for some reason.

Another concession to stiffness is the straight seat stays -- at this time Litespeed had already been speccing the curved seatstays for a few years , but the pro's were complaining about the flex and supposedly this particular frame model was routinely sold sub contract to other firms to paint in their team colors for pro racing glory -- and the curved seat stays would have instantly been recognized as a Litespeed trademark


I was stoked -- I had a $5000 bike with a full pro build long before 5k bikes became commonplace, for about 1500 out of pocket -- it had the full Dura Ace kit to include the somewhat rare D-A seatpost (pictured below) -- which now i guess is obsolete due to integrated and aero seat tubes

This bike has cashed in a ton of crit prime's , logged thousands of recovery day miles , and overall has been a solid companion ------

--- fast forward a few years -- big time racing aspirations are over , except for the remote posibility of some masters class glory if i can lose some weight! --- faced with an ever expanding waistline (10" larger than it was in my racing days! - yikes -- the sick thing is, most of my peers still consider me a relatively normal looking dude! -- America is too fat) -- i told myself i needed one of the new bikes with the "comfort, randonneur, " geometry --- then i also reminded myself that my old bike may still be serviceable with a mod or two to make it more comfy ----- so $300 later i had a new fork with an uncut steerer, a funky riser stem from Performance, and a stack of spacers -- im already ready for a slightly longer, flatter stem though, -- my last ride i had to inch my seat back a tiny tad, but that started dinking with my hip angle

My bike is not as pretty as the Hampsten (drool machine! ) or some of the other Litespeeds/Merlins/Moots on this and preceding pages, but to me, part of the beauty is where it has carried me and what it has been through ----- check the BB pic, i'd like to think this is what happens to paint on a bottom bracket when a track sprinter gets through tearing it a new one in a town sprint!?, but i think paint and titanium simply dont mix that well in truth --- My bike has a Turbo saddle that probably has 40k logged on it if i were to guess --- the D-A group is still pretty darn fresh because it corresponded with the time i almost gave up cycling totally due to burn out and focusing on my new "big boy" career (the big boy career may be partially responsible for my excess stress and weight gain too, but i gotta shoulder most of the blame for that)


Mis matched wheels on it -- true -- the rear is a MAvic training grade wheel with a D-A 12-25 cassette i believe, but the front is a cheap track wheel i found that held air , when i couldnt run down the other MAvic --(its around here somewhere -- LOL )

I threw in a garage pic to show everyone how a guy can get sidetracked from his racing aspirations. The overly large industrial lawnmower suggests that i'm now a gentleman farmer of sorts, plus i spend plenty of time on motorized 2 wheeled machines of the dirt variety -- with a lone 5 year old Santa Cruz mtb peeking out from behind a Honda ---- i originally started riding mountain bikes , then road bikes almost 25 years ago to stay in shape for motocross, then while in college i couldnt afford motocross anymore, so switched my competitive fire to the bikes --but now that i'm in my 40's the tables have turned

If my trusty old Litespeed helps me dump about 50 pounds though --- i may treat myself to a new Archon or something custon with geometry thats actually proper for a non racer, but until then, i'm gonna keep staring at spacers and weird stems while i log the miles !! --

PArty On !


dont knock the mountain bike pedals too hard 10 years ago, you could get a nice pair of Sidis for $200-250 bucks or so ---- now double it - Geez . I just run Spd's and somewhat modestly priced MTB shoes (Sidi Genius MTB) now on all my bikes -- with that stack of headset spacers and that raggedly old saddle -- you can tell i'm not a style king anymore

-friggin bike still clocks in at 17.9 lbs as it sits though ---- clinchers, heavy ass seat, and a 36h clincher track front wheel --- never had any complaints about the weight of this thing