Thread: Litespeed
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Old 10-31-06, 01:41 PM
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kensuf
My idea of fun
 
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Gainesville, FL
Posts: 9,920

Bikes: '06 Litespeed Tuscany, '02 Kona Lavadome, '07 Giant TCR Advanced, '07 Karate Monkey

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As of this morning I'm at 205 and I'm riding a Tuscany. I've had it for just under a month, so only have about 600-700 miles on it so far, and I'm not a "big clyde" but I'm happy.

Although I'm not a "big" clyde, I do put out a decent amount of power for a non-racer (based on the various calculators and a friends powertap, I can sustain 350+w for an hour). I guess that's what I get for developing my riding while I was still 250-260.. At any rate, I don't get any of the "noodly" effects of titanium that everyone else always complains about. I think the GET (shaped and larger diameter tubing) is what makes the bike stiff. But I thoroughly enjoy the dampening feel of titanium.

Depending on your weight though, I might be a little worried about the Supersphere/Ultrasphere wheels. They're pretty light and have a low spoke count. A guy from ABG (the parent company that owns litespeed and real design) said they should hold up fine to my weight, and they felt pretty bombproof for the first three weeks, but I did break a spoke this past weekend while climbing a steep hill at close to 20mph.

After breaking that spoke, and learning how much of a pain in the rear it is to replace one on those real design wheels (let's just say you need to take the hubs apart to get to them), I'm thinking that some Mavic Ksyrium Elite's will be arriving in the near future.. If you're going to be buying new, you might be able to work out a deal with the shop at the get-go and upgrade the wheels without taking too much of a hit.
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