In an effort to update the look of my bike, I've decided to replace the stock Litespeed fork with an Alpha-Q CS-20 fork as well as replace the entire Shimano Ultegra group with a SRAM Force group. The bike is a 2001 Litespeed Classic (the ugly yellow stickers will be replaced with nicer 2002 stickers BTW).

Any other suggested improvements (I hope to lose some spacers in the process too)?

Anyway, my question is, will the SRAM Force cassette fit onto my Shimano rear hub?

Hey, it's your money. Waste it if you want.


IMO, if you want to update the "look" of the bike, replace the most visible parts. Those would be the frame and wheels. Only Freds care about how those tiny little derailleurs etc. look.

Shorten the rear brake cable housing at the top tube/seat tube junction. When you install the force group use a shorter housing at the rear der.

The Sram cassette will work fine on your hub.

Thanks for the replies. The frame is one component I really want to keep. Anyway, not sure it's a fred thing or even a weight weenie issue I just want to "update" the appearance of the bike. Not sure whose bike this is (found it in a sig from member on BF) but I really like the look.

Your Litespeed looks much better than the bike in the photo. After all, it's a classic. And the yellow lettering is perfect. I much prefer the looks of a level top tube and round tubing. I also prefer Shimano to SRAM, now Campy Chorus would go well with your Classic. And your fork looks great.

Al

As someone else pointed out frame and wheels contribute much more to the overall look of the bike than the group, especially considering the group you have on your bike is relatively modern. If I really wanted to get the modern look with your bike a set of Zipp wheels and maybe one of the new Shimano squashed-octupus cranks (6700/7900). Some decent pedals would improve the look too, I'd probably put PD-6700s one there.

+1 (mostly)


Is your frame "natural" metal (Litespeed - prolly titanium?) In your pic it looks brown.

I kinda like the sig bike too, but IMO a light gray/silver or "winter camo" bar wrap would really spruce it up.

I still maintain that the biggest diff between the look of the two is the wheels. New wheels can also make a significant difference in how it performs - probably the biggest difference you can make with an upgrade.

Beautiful bike. Considering picking up one myself. Do you think you could fit 28's as pictured?

I doubt it. I have a '96 Catalyst (identical downtube decals, btw) and a '05 Firenze and I don't think 28 tires will fit either. Even 25s would be marginal depending on the make and model of the tire. These bikes, from the mid-1990's through the 2010's, were designed around 700c-23 tires. They are newer than the 1980's and prior road bikes with more tires clearance and the recent move to wider tires.

Zombie Alert! This thread is 10 years old.

...thus the OP has had plenty of time to regret his decisions.

thanks for the response. If you don’t mind, what is the stand over of this bike? And is it 55 or 57?

I wish I was this good at searching for threads
Dude replying like it was posted yesterday ahah, no hate bro hope you find your standover -- check here https://geometrygeeks.bike/search?q=litespeed

Biggest - and glaring - visual difference between this and yours is the frame, followed closely by the wheels. I would not even notice the drivetrain components.

EDIT:
Augh.... sucked in to a zombie thread!!!