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Click links below to view the Litespeed bikes
in our collection:
Unfortunately, the cupboard is currently
bare!
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Litespeed
Timeline |
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From the
Litespeed web
site
Long before Litespeed was a bicycle
company, it was functioning as a high end custom machine shop
specializing in exotic metals. What was then called Southeast Machine
created anything from items as simple as nuts and bolts for local
companies to items as exotic as underground tanks for liquid gun
powder for government agencies, and pretty much anything in between.
Southeast Machine was a family run business, and in addition to mom
and dad, 3 sons and a daughter were also part of the company. The
elder sons were fairly active runners. When the oldest son suffered a
running injury, he was told that he needed to ride bikes instead. As
that son went to a local bike shop he found himself not too impressed
with the selection and thought that he might be able to build a bike
from the titanium material they had in the shop.
After playing around in the evenings and
on a couple weekends the brothers had created a frame and eventually
took it to a local bike shop to get a fork for it. The guys at the
local bike shop kind of mocked them a bit about their attempt to build
bikes themselves, but that did not deter them. Eventually word of
mouth got out and several regional athletes asked about the bikes and
slowly the weekends at Southeast Machine were busy with crafting bike
frames. News by now had traveled across the country and several high
profile athletes were inquiring about the bikes.
In 1986 the family was encouraged to
show off a couple of their creations at the Long Beach, CA bike show
and eventually they traveled with a few frames on their back to
California. While they were at the show, someone made them aware that
another company was also exhibiting titanium bikes, but at the
opposite end of the hall. That company was called Kestrel, but
eventually ended up being called Merlin as the name Kestrel had been
already been taken by another company.
The response at the Long Beach show was
phenomenal for the family and it was now time to name the bike
company. "It is light and it is fast, how about Litespeed?" was one of
the suggestions that really stuck, but eventually it was decided to
spell it Litespeed.
Litespeed quickly got a great
reputation as a very experienced titanium manufacturer, and before too
long Litespeed was creating frames for many notable brands within the
bike industry, including but not limited to: DeRosa, Merckx,
Tommassini, Basso, Univega, Alpinestars, Marin and Rocky Mountain.
This work actually helped Litespeed in more than one way as basically
some of the greatest minds in cycling were sharing their bike design
philosophies with Litespeed and all the folks at Litespeed soaked up
all that information like sponges. Before too long, bicycle frames and
components were the main business of Litespeed and outsource work was
less and less accepted.
Litespeed was now touted as the world
leader in cycling technology, and to this day Litespeed has been
pushing the envelope of cycling technology development.
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1994 |
| Currently, 1994 is
the oldest catalog that we have so this is where we will begin.
For 1994, Litespeed lists 4 different
mountain bike models, two full suspension and two hard tails. Both
full suspension bikes use a similar design but with differing materials.
The Ocoee F/S uses a 6AL-4V alloyed
titanium in the two inch diameter, multi-shaped down tube and bottom
bracket shell. The rear suspension design, VariLink Suspension
Technology, uses a Fox Alps IV rear shock for a claimed 3" of travel.
The design is the fairly common long link type with the link attached to
the seat tube which activates the shock which is mounted to the bottom
bracket area. There is a pivot at the seat stay/drop out juncture.
Available in five sizes from 15" (4.65 pounds) to 21" (4.90 pounds) and
can be speced with a Rock Shox Mag 21 SL Ti "LT" (2.3" travel) or Rock
Shox Quadra (1.7" travel). The Obed F/S uses the same technology
as the Ocoee but substitutes a 3AL-2.5V down tube and is stock with a
Litespeed elastomer shock for 2"+ of travel or it can be optioned with
the Fox shock. Fork options are the same. The sizes are
limited to three, from 16.5 (4.8 pounds) to 20.5" (5.2 pounds).
The hard tail models use the same names
as the full suspension designs, minus the F/S designation. The
Ocoee uses an oversized tapered and butted 3/2.5 tube set and can be
fitted with a 1" or 1 1/8" head tube. The frame is available in 8
sizes from 14.5" (2.70 pounds) to 22" (3.75 pounds) and can be optioned
with either Rock Shox fork. The frame is available in the standard
brushed finish or a Brilliant Polished option. The Obed uses an
oversized 3/2.5 tube set and is available in 4 sizes from 14" (2.7
pounds) to 20.5" (3.5 pounds). Shock options are the same two Rock
Shox models. ! 1/8" head tube is standard as is the brushed
finish.
Litespeed likes to take native names from
there region. Ocoee is the Cherokee name for an area in the
Appalachian Mountains with some treacherous single track trails.
The Obed models are named after Tennessee's Obed River.
Several parts are available to round out
your Litespeed bike. 300mm, 198 g Titanium seat posts are
available in 26.8, 27.0 and 27.2 sizes. Titanium is also found in
the bottom bracket spindles that ride on sealed cartridge bearings
inside aluminum cups. Three degree bend handlebars are also
optional and come in at 170g. Both quill and Ahead off-road stems
come in a 5 degree rise and lengths of 120, 130, 140 and 150mm.
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1995 |
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The Tellico is the new hard tail
model for 1995. It uses the suspension corrected geometry of Ocoee
but blends in a custom blend of 6/4 and 3/2.5 tubing. It is
available in the regular brushed finish as well as polished in nine
sizes from 12" (2.75 pounds) to 22" (3.27 pounds).
The Ocoee, Ocoee F/S (new Fox Alps 4R shock)
and Obed continue on pretty much unchanged.
The Obed F/S changed to a much simpler
aluminum Amp rear suspension mated to a titanium Litespeed front
triangle. The titanium
seat posts gets a simpler aluminum head design and goes up to 215 grams
while the stem offerings remain the same. The bottom bracket still
uses a Ti spindle but switched to a more Shimano-like sealed bearing
system (solid cover between the right and left bearings).
Forks are available to match to the frames
and your options include: Rock Shox Mag 21, Judy XC, Judy SL and Manitou
4. Two parts packages are also available so you can order a full
bike at one time. Two mountain groups are offered: an XTR kit with
Grip Shift 800 and Litespeed post and stem or an LX/XT mix with Control
Tech accessories. |
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1996 |
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1996 just finds a few minor
tweaks on a couple of models. The Ocoee has new tapered/ovalized
asymmetric chain stays for better crank and tire clearance. All
bikes go to a "stronger" graphics package and the Ocoee F/S gets a
yellow painted rocker link and the Obed F/S goes to a yellow Amp swing
arm assembly. A new model is
added on the entry level side, the Hiwassee, named after the Hiwassee
River which ranges from Nantahala, NC to the rolling hills of east
Tennessee. It appears from the catalog that this model will only be
available as a complete bike with a LX/STX parts mix, Quadra 21 and a
yellow powder coat finish.
Hard tail models are the Tellico (6/4), Ocoee (3/2.5, butted and
tapered), Obed (3/2.5) and Hiwassee (3/2.5 complete bike, yellow
powder coat).
The component and fork options carry over as do the seat post, stem
(minus the quill stem?), handle bars and bottom bracket (once again with
another bearing design) |
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1997 |
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The new rear suspension
design now features adjustable travel from 4" to 6" (MTS: Multiple
Travel System). The new design is a single pivot design with
titanium asymmetric S-bend stays and Z-bend "seat stays". A
Stratos air shock features a bar-mounted lever for lock out. The
MTS system is used on two models, the Machete and Owl Hollow. The
Machete uses a 6Al/4V bladed top tube, wedge shaped head tube and is
marketed as an aerodynamic down hill model. The Owl Hollow uses
the more conventional round 3/2.5 tube set. The shock mounts to a
mid tube on the frame.
On the hard tail side, the
Tellico (6/4), Ocoee (3/2.5 butted and tapered), Obed (3/2.5) and
Hiwassee (complete bike, now in natural Ti) are joined by the new Owl
Hollow. The Owl Hollow is named after an area north of the
Litespeed headquarters and features a bi-axially ovalized 6/4 down tube.
All models are now suspension corrected to a 2"+ travel fork.
Titanium 160g bars, titanium
bottom brackets and titanium Ahead stems are joined by the seat post
that now features an American Classic head on a titanium shaft.
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1998 |
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The Hiwassee becomes the entry
level full suspension bike for 1998 with an Amp-type strut rear
suspension (aluminum) mated to a 3/2.5 front triangle. The Unicoi
is a new model and has a pivot-less design that provides up to 1" of
rear travel via a small coil spring mounted in the seat stay wishbone.
The Cohutta is also a new design with a four-bar link (4.5" travel) and
adjustable seat tube angle (via a movable seat mast attachment system.
This is marketed as a dual purpose (cross country or down hill) bike and
is listed as being triple-crown fork compatible. The Owl Hollow,
with MTS, continues but switches the shock mount from a mid tube (now
eliminated) to the down tube. All full suspension bikes feature
red swing arms and new graphics with bold blue model names.
The hardtails appear mostly unchanged except
for the new graphics (bold blue model names). Models include the
Tellico (Ralph Lauren Polo team bike), Owl Hollow, Ocoee and Obed.
The bottom bracket is no longer listed but
the seat post, bars and stem continue on. The post still appears
to use the American Classic head design. |
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1999 |
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1999 sees the end of the true
full suspension bikes which are replace by soft tail designs.
Titanium is much harder to manipulate and is prey flexy in the smaller
tubing diameters which makes full suspension designs tough to do.
The price of aluminum full suspension bikes continues to fall which
makes the titanium bikes seem even more expensive. It is also
expensive to machine the small suspension bits and mounts out of
titanium. The pivot-less soft-tail design makes takes better
advantage of the properties of Ti. Titanium flexes nicely and has
an almost infinite fatigue life which are perfect in the soft-tail
world. The Unicoi continues from 1998 and is joined by the Tsali
which adds a 2" bi-axially ovalized down tube. The sliding
stanchion is also titanium nitride coated on the Tsali.
The hardtail line still consists of the
Tellico, Owl Hollow, Ocoee and Obed.
Each model now has its own font for the
model name.
The titanium bar, Ahead stem and seat
post are joined by a new aluminum handlebar (155g, 5g lighter than the
Ti)
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2000 |
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Model Year 2000 brings on quite
a few detail changes. The Tsali and Unicoi continue on as the soft
tail bikes with the following changes. The Tsali uses a new 10
sided seat tube, new drop outs (w/ "L" cut out), engraved bottom bracket
shell, new stainless steel seat collar and optional bolt-on disc brake
mounts. The Tsali uses the same bi-axially ovalized 6/4 down tube
and titanium nitride coated slider as the previous year. The
Unicoi also continues with multiple upgrades including: four sided down
tube, 10 sided seat tube, optional bolt-on disc brake mount and new
asymmetric chain stays.
The new Tanasi (Cherokee word for which
Tennessee was named) is the top hard tail. The main frame is
constructed from 6/4 with a triangular shaped tope tube, 10 sided seat
tube and four sided down tube. Also included are the new
engraved bottom bracket , disc brake adaptable drop outs (w/ "L" cut
out), stainless steel seat collar and new seat stay design. The
Owl Hollow continues on basically unchanged but does included the new
drop outs, seat collar and bottom bracket shell. The Toccoa (North
Georgia river) is also new for 200 and uses similar shaped tubing to the
Tanasi but using 3/2.5 titanium instead of 6/4. Triangular shaped
top tube, 10 sided down tube and four sided down tube. The frame
uses the disc adaptable drop outs (w/o the cut out) and a standard
bottom bracket and seat collar. The Pisgah (National Forest near
Asheville, NC) becomes the entry level bike constructed of 3/2.5 with a
four sided down tube and disc brake adaptable drop out.
Bars (Ti and aluminum) continue as do the
Ahead stems and seat post. The seat post changes to the Control
Tech style head.
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2001 |
| For 2001, the big
news is the addition of Rock Shox SID shocks to the Tsali and Unicoi.
This gave much more control to the suspension than the previous coil
spring. Other than that addition, the bikes are both nearly
identical to the 2000 models.
The Tanasi, Toccoa and Pisgah all carry
over as well. The Owl Hollow is gone and the Kitsuma (trail near
Black Mountain, NC) is the new model. The new model is more of an
extreme use bike and features a curved top tube for more clearance, disc
brake only, top tube/down tube side gussets and a new "big hit"
geometry. The 10 sided seat tube is found on the Tanasi,
Toccoa and Kitsuma.
Parts carry over unchanged from 2000.
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2002 |
| For 2002, the
Unicoi is the sole soft tail model as the the Tsai disappears from the
line.
All models feature a new oversized
integrated head tubes and new drop outs. The Pisgah continues as
the entry level model while the Tanasi anchors the high end. The
Lookout Mtn. is the new mid-priced offering. The Lookout Mtn. is a
3/2.5 frame but is disc specific with a triangular top tube and 4 sided
down tube.
Parts, once again, carry over from the
previous year.
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2003 |
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The 2003 model line up is the
same as 2002. The Tanasi gets a lighter weight tube set and new
cable guides that are more hydraulic brake friendly. The Lookout
Mtn. continues as a disc specific model and also uses the new cable
guides as does the entry level Pisgah. The Unicoi continues to use
the Rock Shox SID to give up to 1" of rear pivot-less travel.
The catalog does not mention and Litespeed
made parts nor are they shown on the catalog bikes. |
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