Litespeed Archon C1 - New ride
 

So here she is all built up. Sz L super stiff, very rigid front end, very smooth ride. This feels more areo under me than my TT bike. A real head turner in person with the UD Carbon finish in the sun.

http://i46.tinypic.com/fmphyd.jpg
http://i48.tinypic.com/r8rnl4.jpg
http://i47.tinypic.com/2dcelnk.jpg
http://i45.tinypic.com/w000vd.jpg
http://i46.tinypic.com/2h88jev.jpg

This is now one of my favorite bikes.
Too bad it will be a while 'til I can afford one...

Nice job!

There was a guy in the 1,2 field on one here last week. The frame tubes look massive in person.
How much does yours weigh? You have quite the weight weenie build going on there. :)

Well I've got about 1500km in the saddle thus far on the C1. I think the best way to describe my experience with this bike is that my Archon T1 is in the basement with no brakes, no wheels, no pedals and no miles on it since the C1 arrived.

I've ridden the C1 in the rain, in the cold, on some hills, on the flats, on rough roads, smooth roads, and super windy pulls along the lake.

I've been super impressed with the bike as I never come home feeling beat up or that the bike is too harsh, even after some high speed runs on rough roads. The bike never feels sluggish and corners extemely well now that the street cleaners have been out. I'm still a bit wary to test the limits of the cornering, but it will certainly go where you point it.

I've got the position dialed in and swapped over my light pedals, the Gravitas brakes, and now run multiple wheelsets. The changes dropped the weight down and I'd almost forgotton how much better the Gravitas are than the old Negetive G's I was originally running. I finally figured out how to get the expander plug to work and get the HS preload right -this was probably user error on my part, but in fairness there were no directions and this was the first time I'd seen this setup.
The only complaint i have is the BB creaking. (I'm sure it is the BB as I've checked and or replaced everything else). Now the BB30 pressfit bearings are the only component I did not personally install, since I was hoping not to buy a $50 tool for a single time use, so i can't say for 100% certain that the bearings were installed to their full depth, but they were greased and pressed properly. This is an annoying little thing that happens some days and not others and will come and go on a ride. I think it may have something to do with the temperature change and the steel races expanding differently than the Al BB. In any case, this does not appear to be limited to my experience as I've read many posts here and elsewhere of BB30s developing creaks and clicks (usually after riding in the rain/mud which I have done both). The fix is simple as you just remove and reinstall using a retaining compound. The only reason it has not been done is the retaining compound I chose is a bit hard to come by (Loctite 641) it is medium strength and designed for removeable parts. FSA used to ship it with ther BB30's but stopped for some reason. Anyway, word on the street is that this is the fix.

The only other thing I can really say is I get stared at a lot. I rode past a group of guys riding Cervelo S3, R3, Tarmacs etc and everyone commented on how great the bike looks. Most were shocked it said LITESPEED on the massive downtube, but the classic black on white is a home run in the opinion of most.

A parting shot of the perfect pairing Ciamillo Gravitas on the Litespeed Archon C1 (sorry the bike is so dirty, she's not a pagent queen)
http://i41.tinypic.com/s16f0w.jpg

They should call that bike the Litespeed Lazurus

http://books.google.com/books?id=isU...sement&f=false

Great looking bike!

woah

nice bike.

i see you're from detroit, i think its safe to say that your bike is worth more than the mean home price eh?

dude sweet ride.....I once owned a Ti Litespeed....What is the bike made for? General use, racing, TT....Looks very cool...IS it super stiff? BB is HUGE.

so litespeed is making carbon. i thought they stopped doing it.

Lovely bike. BUT, I have to say that the new Litespeed logo / name is really very over stated and not nearly as cool looking as the old yellow name on the Ti bikes of yore.

Hence the Lazarus comment.
http://books.google.com/books?id=isU...sement&f=false

That bike is drop dead gorgeous!!! Good luck with it. Ride long and hard and lots. Enjoy it and don't pay any attention to the sour grapes.
Most of us are just a little envious.

OP: After months of looking my wife surprised me with a Litespeed C1 frame for Christmas, do you have any updates? How has the bike lived up to your initial reactions?

Nice job!

Looks great. Have fun riding it

very nice!! what's the weight?

I had my recent bike purchase down to that litespeed and the one I ultimately chose. It is a super sweet looking ride, almost makes me wish I would have chosen differently. ;)

Scale and frame enroute, I'll post pics of both when they get here. I'm stationed in Germany, shouldn't be too long.

Wow! Well done...:thumb::thumb::thumb:

I know it's been a long time coming, but the bike is finally in the shop being built. Here's what I've got in it so far:
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...d/IMG_0705.jpg
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...d/IMG_0703.jpg
Uncut:
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...d/IMG_0702.jpg
Cut:
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...d/IMG_0760.jpg
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...d/IMG_0913.jpg
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...d/IMG_0876.jpg
KMC X10
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...d/IMG_0873.jpg
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...d/IMG_0872.jpg
Until it makes me mad enough to buy the 2012 version:
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...d/IMG_0868.jpg
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...d/IMG_0867.jpg

Sorry for the poor pic quality, just noticed that...