2000 Litespeed Ultimate
2000 Litespeed Ultimate
Wow. A Litespeed Ultimate. Was there a cooler bike available in the late ‘90’s?
It’s difficult to reflect upon the Lance Armstrong era in cycling without coming across some jarring and dated racing bikes. There aren’t many that you’d call “timeless”, that’s for sure. This Litespeed however seems pretty awesome even with twenty-five years in the rear view mirror.
The Ultimate was a titanium bike that tipped the scales nearly as lightweight as a carbon fiber bike. The Ultimate was racy and plenty stiff for sprinting or climbing with its big bladed downtube. Unpainted with a raw titanium finish it looked like something made for the military while polished or painted versions sparkled like jewels.
The timeless qualities of this bike are more about design omissions than the features that are included. For example: nobody decided to glue carbon fiber seat stays or chain stays into an otherwise all-titanium frame; a common practice in this era intended to make aluminum bikes seem more comfortable, steel bikes to seem lighter weight and dull grey titanium bikes to seem more interesting.
Classy coat of arms style badge
Dedaccai handlebars and stem
Bladed 6/4 titanium downtube
Dura-Ace 7700
Fizik Pave saddle, American Classic ti post
The graphics are muted as well. The frame lacks racing stripes or team replica decals, the Litespeed brand is only present in a handful of spots and not dozens of places.
While the styling lacks the telltale signs common to turn-of-the-century bikes, the components are all the most popular from those years. There is the ubiquitous Shimano 2 x 9 speed Dura-Ace 7700 component group. Speedplay lollipop pedals (actually this bike was traded in with Time pedals on it but I stole them for my own use). Dedaccai (Deda) bars and stem, an Italian handlebar brand that seemed to appear out of nowhere in the late ‘90’s and ended up on every pro bike for a decade afterward.
Litespeed dropout detail
Wheel cut-out
Bottom bracket shell
What else? Speedplay pedals
Fizik saddles were new on the scene in the late ‘90’s and this bike was equipped with the excellent Pave model. The wheels? Well, they’re the traditionalists choice for 2000. Mavic Open Pro rims hand-laced to Dura-Ace hubs. Built after the Spinergy/Campagnolo Shamal/Mavic Helium fad of the mid ‘90’s and clearly bucking the Rolf paired spoke/Mavic Ksyrium trend that was raging when this Ultimate first rolled down the street.
Interested in this timeless titanium wonder bike? If you’re tall enough for the 60cm frame size and have $2500 burning a hole in your pocket, it’s all yours.