My sort of vintage Ti road bikes.
06-29-08, 07:52 PM
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My sort of vintage Ti road bikes.
Also posted on the Road Bike Forum. The Catalyst is the bike that was built up with much very helpful advice from this forum.
Thanks as always,
RFC
I've always wanted a titanium road bike, so this spring I got two (actually three counting the MTB). One of the things I like about Ti is that, if the bike has not been crashed or abused, the frame is every bit as good as the day it was new. In addition, with the exception of some tubing shapes, there has not be a lot of significant recent innovation with all Ti frames. So that allows you to pick from the last twenty years of Ti design.
In my case, I really wanted a Litespeed Ultimate and found a very low mileage 1998 model (ridden one season and put away). It is accurately described by all of the usual Crit bike adjectives and, yes, it accelerates like a rocket and is a real thrill to ride. Although not race legal, I really like the bent seat tube design.
Suffering from the male tendencie towards accumulation, I then picked up a 1994 Litespeed Catalyst frame and fork, and built it up with a combination of new and used parts, including a compact crank. I wanted to keep some of the classic road bike appearance, so I installed the quill stem and Shimano 600 brakes (they match the Ti very well). This bike definitely has an all day quality to it, but is deceptively quick and climbs, descends and corners very well.
Oh yes, for the terminally anal, the seats are slide far forward. This is not a reach issue, but to achieve my standard cockpit triangle.
Now I'm looking for a 1990-94 Tachyon (700 wheels) or an Airborne Spectre.
Thanks as always,
RFC
I've always wanted a titanium road bike, so this spring I got two (actually three counting the MTB). One of the things I like about Ti is that, if the bike has not been crashed or abused, the frame is every bit as good as the day it was new. In addition, with the exception of some tubing shapes, there has not be a lot of significant recent innovation with all Ti frames. So that allows you to pick from the last twenty years of Ti design.
In my case, I really wanted a Litespeed Ultimate and found a very low mileage 1998 model (ridden one season and put away). It is accurately described by all of the usual Crit bike adjectives and, yes, it accelerates like a rocket and is a real thrill to ride. Although not race legal, I really like the bent seat tube design.
Suffering from the male tendencie towards accumulation, I then picked up a 1994 Litespeed Catalyst frame and fork, and built it up with a combination of new and used parts, including a compact crank. I wanted to keep some of the classic road bike appearance, so I installed the quill stem and Shimano 600 brakes (they match the Ti very well). This bike definitely has an all day quality to it, but is deceptively quick and climbs, descends and corners very well.
Oh yes, for the terminally anal, the seats are slide far forward. This is not a reach issue, but to achieve my standard cockpit triangle.
Now I'm looking for a 1990-94 Tachyon (700 wheels) or an Airborne Spectre.
06-29-08, 08:20 PM
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Wow, nice.
About the saddle being far forward on the rails -
Why not go to a slightly shorter stem? It looks like with the saddle at that farthest-forward position, it would effectively make a steeper seat tube and might mess with your pedaling mechanics. I am probably wrong about that though. Nice bikes!
About the saddle being far forward on the rails -
Why not go to a slightly shorter stem? It looks like with the saddle at that farthest-forward position, it would effectively make a steeper seat tube and might mess with your pedaling mechanics. I am probably wrong about that though. Nice bikes!
06-29-08, 09:49 PM
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Actually, I am after a steeper ST angle. With my body dimensions -- long legs, short torso, deep chest, and long arms, I'm much more comfortable and ride better with my body triangle tilted forward a bit. These Litespeeds, like Serottas, come with the standard 73 degree ST road bike angle. After much testing, I found that I am better off with something like a 74.5 degree angle.
