Thread: Titanium Bikes
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Old 05-27-21 | 08:55 AM
  #88  
Litespud
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Joined: Oct 2017
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From: Chapel Hill NC

Bikes: 2000 Litespeed Vortex Chorus 10, 1995 DeBernardi Cromor S/S

Originally Posted by metabike
Hello,
Looking for help identifying the Litespeed model of the frame shown in photo. Looking at old catalogs it looks like a Tachyon tri-bike, but this frame takes 700c wheels vs 650's that are shown in the catalogs. I found a thread that talks about Litespeed supposedly offering a road version of the Tachyon and while the seat tube angle looks more road than triathlon, I can't verify that anywhere.
Any help will be very much appreciated,
John
Based on catalogs, I'm pretty sure its a Saber (slightly dropped seat stays are characteristic) from MY2001. The first year of production (2000) used 650 wheels, while in succeeding years, 650 vs 700 was frame-size-dependent (57cm and up used 700Cs). What's throwing me is the presence of a pump peg on yours, which AFAIK was only included in MY2000 frames, but maybe they changed their minds after they released the 2001 catalog, and included it for MY2001. The other thing is the "butted" head tube, which was also a MY2000 feature - I think 2001 used a straight head tube. The other TT bikes of the era were the Tachyon ( also used 650 wheels) and the Blade (had an aero addition to the head tube). So, I would have said it was a 2000 Saber, but the 700C wheel size says it's a 2001....with some 2000 features, but I can't rule out a 2002 (don't have an '02 catalog to confirm). The Saber was sort of "aero-lite" - not as all-out as the Tachyon or Blade, but with more aero features than average for the time - dropped stays and shaped seat tube and downtube. Your fork looks like the aero version of the Ouzo Pro that was specced for road Litespeeds of the era.
The company changed hands some time in '99, at which point it's likely that the Lynskey signature disappeared off the chain stay. Since they were presumably building MY 2000 frames in '99, there are likely MY2000 frames out there with and without the signature - which is also a decal, so not permanent. The presence/absence of a signature isn't definitive. FWIW, my 2000 frame came with a signature.

Last edited by Litespud; 05-27-21 at 10:06 AM. Reason: updated info and typos
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