Now let me start this thread by saying I am not bashing Litespeed. So far they have been johnny-on-the-spot with what appears to be a problem with the frame I ordered.

Ordered an Ultimate last August from Competitve Cyclist. Last August. They could not find me a 61cm frame, so I ordered the 2006 model year. I was pretty darn excited too when I saw the pictures. I bought the bike specifically for the shorter chainstay length, plus I wanted a Ti bike.

New frame arrives in late November. My neighbor, who is one hell of a mechanic went to build the bike up for me, calls me to say my wheels did not fit. Mavic SSC SL's. I went by and sure enough, the rear wheel came within 1mm or less to the clamp that holds the front derailleur (Campy Chorus). He called Litespeed, and the tech said the measurement should be 4mm.

On their site, you can even see how it should be close https://www.litespeed.com/bikes/2006/road/ultimate_.aspx

The tires are Verdestein 700x23. I ride them at 140 psi normally. They can go up to 175, which made them rub the clamp.

I talked to Litespeed and they said get the frame to a dealer nearby. The dealer confirmed the issue. Frame is sent back, and they said they would fix it. They even paid to have their dealer build me up my Caad8 so I had something to ride in the meantime.

Questions for everyone:
Do you know of anyone else having the same problem? Any tips I need to know when dealing with Litespeed? Any Cyber bike attorneys out there with advice (BTW I took my own photos too!) Has anyone used a bike with short chainstay like this and had similar issues? From the parts I am using, can someone say , "Oh yeah, don't use X and Y becasue they are too big/small whatever?"

I am a little nervous since this is not a cheap bike. Everything was bought through authorized dealers too (whew!). That would have sucked.

Thoughts?

Edit 1/31/06
Here's a picture:

I don't know why you need legal advise. What are your damages, so far. It appears the situation is being promptly rectified. Stuff happens. Let us know how it turns out.

Nice. Very nice. Comping you on the CAAD8 should show that Litespeed is at least taking your issue seriously and they're concerned with solving the problem. Let them get it squared away and in the meantime enjoy the ride on the Cannondale. It'll get resolved...

I meant the "legal advice" comment jokingly. Of course if someone had a story to share...

The Caad 8 was a bike I bought a few months back. They didn't comp the bike. Only the cost of the build up. I owned all the parts already. Either way I thought it was a nice gesture. +1 to Litespeed.

I predict that your next frame will be perfect. They don't want to send you two defectives in a row, I'll bet.

Good story so far, especially the positive reaction from Lightspeed. Do keep us informed.

Litespeed has excellent support and service. They are ~90% on first effort. It is beyond me how a jig welded frame could be off by 4mm, and pass QC. The newer US manufacturing models favor replacing QC with good customer support, which essentially means making the customer do the QC. This is why I'll never buy another Ford.

It's called Total Quality Management or some crap like that. In theory, everyone is responsible for quality. If you don't have someone looking over your shoulder, you get it right the first time. It looks good on paper.

By the way, 4mm is 15/100ths of an inch and they were only off 3mm.

Just ride without a front derailleur
Ride the big ring only

Sounds like amazing customer support on behalf of Litespeed and for the CAAD8
Good insight on their support...

-simplyred

If the tires rub at 175 psi, but not at 140, I don't understand what the problem is... unless you're riding on a track, even 140 sounds high unless you're quite a bit over 200 lbs.

That said, Ksyrium SLs have a max pressure rating of 138 lb (I think) -- using clinchers on those rims at over 140 doesn't sound safe anyways.

what's with the massive tyre pressure, dude?

+1

1mm away at 175 psi or at 140?

+2 on the tire pressure. You must have really smooth roads where you ride .

You know, I have heard so many stories from former Litespeed owners that they had difficulty getting warranty issues resolved with Litespeed, so this is a very nice update. Sounds like they're really taking care of you.

And I think you are wise to have been dealing with authorized dealers also - that's the value of good customer service and access to the distributor!

Thanks for pointing that out. I honestly had no idea what the rims were rated for. I bought the wheels new on the Cannondale frame, but never received an owners manual. Just now realized I must have lots of gear that I don't have an owners manual for. Scary. Thanks for pointing that out.

I weigh 210 6'4". I typically ride at 140 psi. I like having a little "extra" in there. I can't even use my pump to inflate above that. I think the shop did. Either way, at any psi, it just does not look right. I have this image of hitting a bump or whatever only to discover my rear wheel just locked becuase it rubbed up against the clamp. Both mechanics thought that was a possibility. I am going to wait and see what happens with Litespeed.

Thanks for all of the replies. You have made me less afraid of what "could" happen. I will post updates as soon as I have them. I will try to post pics too. Could someone send me a note telling me how to do this? When I tried earlier, I got a message asking for a web address. The pics are on my hardrive.

I could turn it into a fixed gear!

Brief update.

Because of the Holidays, they have been slow getting a "Call Tag" to the LBS for them to ship it out. As I mentioned, they did build up my Caad 8, however the LBS said the litespeed guy who authorized it was on vaction. When they asked for payment, his asst said they were surprised that Litespeed would do this. Hence LBS is worried they will not get paid.

I will continue to post as changes happen.

Caad 8 is a great frame in the BB. Really stiff, but light.

It appears that Litespeed is doing the right thing. Shucks, everyone has problems. It is how you handle them that matters.

If the Litespeed employee you are dealing with is away on vacation, give it time. It is the holidays! As an added thought, it may be a good sign that no one else can authorize the pick-up in his (her) absence, Perhaps it means that your contact is Very high in Litespeed's food chain.

Good luck with it & please keep us posted. Bob

So any updates to the 2006 Litespeed Ultimate frame? Have your issues been resolved? If so, how does it perform? I just noticed that Competitive Cyclist has removed all the Litespeed bikes from their website. Is this a bad sign? I also noticed that Colorado Cyclist has changed out the Real Design HP Pro forks with Easton EC90 SLX forks (not a bad thing IMO). Wonder if something is happening at Litespeed?

I have a 63cm Litespeed Ultimate with a set of American Classic Hurricanes with Conti GP 400 700X25 @ 120 psi mounted on them and the clearance tire to front derailleur is close to a cm.

I'm 6"6" and 230 pounds and the ride is sooo smoooth!
Jim

Just so I know your reference point, what bike did you have before the Litespeed Ultimate? Does it still feel smooth on broken pavement? Is the BB on the Ultimate stiff? How's the handling?

I was riding a Marinoni custom steel(Zona) CX frame with Ultegra 9 speed and Open Pros. I put 12,000 km on it this year.

The Litespeed to me just seems to soak up the vibrations and it corners well without being too twitchy. The wheel base is about 103cm. I used the Amer. Classic Hurricanes b/c they are laterally stiff and when climbing hard off the saddle I've experienced no brake rub on the rims.

I ordered Campy Chorus with an an FSA SLK carbon compact crankset. I'm going to change the fork from a Real Design to an Alpha Q Z pro so as I get more beef in the steerer and I could use a couple of spacers.

The second ride on it I put in 80 miles and it felt really good as I'm a long distance type rather than a sprinter.

So here's the update as of 1/26/06

Let me start out by saying University Bicycle Center (UBC) in Tampa has been GREAT considering I bought the Litespeed bike through Competitive Cyclist. Don't flame me about LBS stuff becuase I bought a bike from these guys too in the past few months! They are a Litespeed dealer, so that's who Litespeed asked me to send the frame too. Back to the main story:

UBC called me this week and said Litespeed checked the frame and there was nothing wrong. They put wheels on it, and said the tollerence was just fine. I found out from UBC that Litespeed only had some Rubio (sp?) tires so they neglected to test with my current tire which is a Vredestein (sp?). Litespeed said with their tire it was OK. UBC made clear that was not the tire I had. That did not apparently matter to Litespeed. This is all per UBC.

Now is where the plot thickens. I paid my wrench friend to do the build up that we aborted. I am out $100 for his labor. UBC built my Caad8 back up. They now have to break down the Caad8 and build up the Ultimate. He said it looks like he needs to charge me for the build on the Ultimate. I understand, although I am not happy with the math. Furthermore, it sounds like he is concerend about what Litespeed is going to do on his end, since he was a big help (and he was) for a bike he did not sell. Sounds like Litespeed is going to give him a credit.

So now I need to take my Caad8 back to UBC, break it down, and have them build up the Ultimate, and I probabaly need to buy new tires so that they fit. Oh BTW the clearance is only 2mm unlike the 10mm (1 centimeter) the above guy mentioned according to UBC and Litespeed. Litespeed, according to my wrench friend, told him the spec was 4mm. Sounds like 2 is the new 4.

My gut says this is not looking good. So now I need to go after Litespeed about the $100 I paid my wrench, after they said the bike was wrong. Otherwise none of this would have started. And yes, it just doesn't look right. Could someone explain how I can load a photo on here so I can show everyone how uncomfortably close this looks?

Any thoughts? Again, I know the measurment is going to be close, but 2mm? Hell, at my weight (now 210) I could hit a bump and knock the wheel out of true and have a MAJOR issue trying to get home.

Oh, and can tires really vary that much in diameter?

Should I just give up, and ride steel for the rest of my life? I was hopping this Ti thing would work out, becuse I loved the ride.

Maybe I should take up sychronized swimming?

Your thoughts, fellow BF members?