I would sell your component set and get as much as you can out of it and buy a 6700 ultegra set OR if you ok with SRAM, you can get a full rival set which is lighter than shimano.

If you are looking for weight drop and gain some performance:

Componenets mentioned above
Wheels (depends on what kind of riding you do. a lot of climbing? a lot of flat? How much do you weigh? I'd like to know that before suggesting any wheels)
light bars. Anything between 190g-210g
lighter seatpost
lighter stem
Exustar Ti pedals
KCNC TI skewers
planet X brake calipers
aerozine seatpost clamp
chineese carbon cages (can get su 20g cages on ebay for around $12/cage)
Bartape-I like my microtex, but it provides little to no padding at all. Lizardskins provides fantastic grip, good amount of padding and is lighter than the fizik.

aside from the wheels, what I listed could drop a good 2lbs off your bike if not more.

Do you like your saddle? If it works, dont touch it. Otherwise here are more than enough options out there to get something that is light and looks good.

obviously, several of these items I listed wont effect much performance gain, but it will fit into your goals of dropping some weight.

Thanks for the tips. Sram red would be nice!

Per wheels - I do a bit of climbing. Nothing extreme, but usually around 2000-2300 feet in a 20 mile loop, double that if I have time to do the loop twice (not often). I weigh 175lb right now. I considered ordering a set of UD matte carbon china wheels in the 38 depth flavor. Current wheels are Mavic open pro, which, if I'm not mistaken, weigh around 2100g.

Saddle is fine far as comfort goes, but it's not necessarily hot, and the red doesn't match anything else on the bike.

What would your budget be like? Something to get piece by piece over time or could get a couple things?

What would your budget be for a set of wheels? You mentioned Chinese wheels so it makes me think you are looking for best wheel for as little as possible?

Some months I could buy couple things and others I would only be able to get individual piece/set. Wheels, for example, would be the only purchase one month if I could get them for under 500.

He should buy mine :)

Bottle cages don't match.

One thing that catches my eye is that the frame looks too small for you given the high handle bar and big extension on the seat post. But have some custom built wheels that are in the 1300 +- gram range since you do climbing. That will make a large difference on the bike weight.

Ok, so now are you set on carbon or would you be open to a sub 1400g wheelset around $500?

are you talking about the litespeed??? if so, what are you talking about with the big extension on the seat post? that seat post is not what I would personally call HIGH.

Yeah that Litespeed seat post is not that high at all.

6speed, I'll send you a PM

Bianchi, what wheelset are you talking about? I know we are off topic, but this is interesting...

I'm most definitely not the most knowledgeable cyclist when it comes to wheels. But, for a budget of $500, I was thinking about a couple options:


Rims:
Kinlin XC279 23mm Deep- 490g/ 23mm wide/ 28mm depth/ $60per rim (might be able to get cheaper depending on retailer?)
Velocity A23- is 450g/ 23mm wide/ 19.5mm depth/ $80per rim (might be able to get cheaper depending on retailer?)


Hubs:
SL211 Superlight hubs from bikehubstore.com
Novatec F482SB (I believe Nagrom Used these)
White indurstries T11

Spokes:
CX-Ray
Laser

If I'm not mistaken these set ups should bring you in sub 1350g for around $500

I am talking about the Litespeed. The post is out or up pretty high. Not dangerously so but high. And the stem sits on a large riser stack, both of which lead me to comment that to my eye, this small frame, (52 or less?) looks too small for how the rider has positioned the seat and cockpit.

Personally, I'd avoid any deep carbon wheels on an older bike...I just think they look a bit silly. What Bianchi has suggested, would complement the frame well.

Good point because in cycling looks > aerodynamics and weight.

Cranky this morning, eh?

It is the hot r not thread.
You can get a light wheelset without slapping carbon on the bike.

That said, they wouldn't look as bad on the litespeed as they would some other 10-15 year old bikes.

But thats just, like, my opinion man.

Not IMO - they can sometimes looks great. I find the opposite to be less visually appealing - shallow rims on a new aero frame looks silly.

Hey guys, sorry I haven't responded to pms and my apologies if I'm hijacking part of the thread. I don't have enough posts to send pm's - I can see them, but I can't reply. :(

I kinda felt like the litespeed was too small for me. It is a 53 frame. The seat height is just about perfect for my leg length but the drop from seat to bars hurts my neck if I go any lower. Maybe I just need to get used to it or take out a spacer each week to allow my neck to slowly adjust.

Would carbon bottle cages look weird on this frame? The front cage is a king ti and the rear cage is just something temp I stuck on there for a long ride last week. I will be changing them soon.

The carbon wheels I am considering are 38mm but I am concerned about braking. I am liking the idea of the wheels you proposed bianchi.

6speed...sending another PM

Absolutely love the CAAD10 from a few pages back

that frame looks like it was left inside a hot car in a Phoenix summer, melted slightly, and then cooled off and remained in a distorted state.

Sorry but not enough logos, I see some blank space....

I agree with bmcphx, but its not enough to make me really dislike it.

Hot, though I think debadging the wheels would help it not look cluttered with logo's.