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Reviews 1 - 9 (9 Reviews Total)
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Submitted by
Aaron
a Racer
from Murfreesboro,TN,USADate Reviewed: December 13, 2006
Strengths: light weight!, strong, rigid, excellent climber. great in the switch backs.Weaknesses: easy on the downhills, little squirly up front. hasn't happend yet but because it's so light i'm affraid to take it off any drops over four feet.Bottom Line: Litespeed has a good product. if you use it for its intended purpose, it'll never let you down. i dont know how many races i've competed in on this bike and time after time, year after year i thank my good friend shawn in chatanooga for recommending this bike to me. down hillers look else where obviously, litespeed is in the name. speed. good ole fashion cross country speed. so you huckers stick to yeti and foes
Favorite Trail: jail break
Duration Product Used: 2 Years
Price Paid:
$2700.00
Purchased At: chattanooga
Similar Products Used: gary fisher big sur.
Bike Setup: Upgraded to XTR, Disc, ritchy carbon risers, clipless, thompson stem, king head set, mavic ust.
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Jay
a Cross Country Rider
from Flagstaff AzDate Reviewed: October 16, 2006
Strengths: This review is actually for the excel sports macalu which is the same frame with different decals. The geometry with an 80mm fork is totally spot on. Well balanced great all around for a trail bike.Weaknesses: Lots to say here. Its been more durable than most 4lb aluminum frams out there but has not lived up to the ti hype. I have however experianced 4 very annoying problems.
The rear drop out bent - lightspeed initiall y would not do any thing about it - told me a replacment would be a ridicouls $700. Finally sent a letter to american bicycle group president and got back a cold but posative reply - they just bent it back into shape - didnt realize just how flexible ti is.
2. The bolt on disc adapter has a serious design flaw the whole length of the bolts used to mount it are threaded and not just the portion that actually threads in. This meants there is a little bit of slop and the threads put small groves in the frame and only red locktite and a lock washer will kepp the damn bolts in.
3. After 4+ years of very hard riding the aluminum insert for the seatpost creaks like hell because it is loose.
4. The customer service at lightspeed is so lacking. They built a good prodct but they dont stand by it like other fram builders of similar quality.Bottom Line: Its not a bad frame despite the poorly designed disc adapter bolts and the really creaky seatpost. The bent dropout is probably my fault for riding it so hard. What is not acceptable is the premium price with service that just dosnt stack up agains giant companys. Lightspeed refuses to tell me any way to fix the creaky insert and insists that it must be replaced in house. This means i have to strip down the whole frame again send it and be with out a my primary race rig for months and they will surley want hundreds of dollars to perform this "service" a creaky post insert is a design flaw in my opinion. Dont think that because you paid more than you would for a airborn special you get better service. The little tenessee bike company is no more they are now the american bicycle group and take positions when dealing with warranty issues that are more like those of the big tiawaneese companys.
Favorite Trail: Flag area trails are all great
Duration Product Used: More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$1100.00
Purchased At: Excelsport.com
Bike Setup: Mostly xt/xtr
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Randy Wiyninger
a Racer
from Moore, okDate Reviewed: December 9, 2005
Strengths: Longterm durabilityWeaknesses: wippy in the front endBottom Line: The jury is still out but there is noticably more front end wobbling going on which makes riding with no hands sketchy to say the least. It makes me think it may have a tendency to wash out under hard cornering. It sound like all I'm doing is bashing which its definitly different from anything I've ridden before but it could be that I haven't adapted my riding style to fit the bikes. Now as far as the rear end is concerned it is suprisingly stiff. Qverall the ride is great off road and the craftmans ship is supperb.
Favorite Trail: Mountian goat
Duration Product Used: Less than 1 month
Similar Products Used: All I've ever had are hardtails. Most alluminum but a couple of carbon as well.
Bike Setup: Full XT, Fox FX80, easton carbon post
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Tom
a Cross Country Rider
from Athens, GeorgiaDate Reviewed: December 2, 2005
Strengths: It may be a bit too soon, but I am loving the hell out of this bike. It is extremely light and I can place it just about anywhere on the trail. The finish is superb, but it is a titanium frame, so that should come as no surprise.Weaknesses: None so far, but I ride almost everyday. I use the bike on the trail and as a commuter so if any weaknesses do come up, I will be posting it here first.Bottom Line: I believe I got a bargain of a hardtail for the amount that I paid. This bike is awesome!
Favorite Trail: Conyers '96 Olympic Trail
Duration Product Used: Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$1400.00
Purchased At: From a friend
Similar Products Used: 2005 Trek 6500, 1997 Specialized Stumpjumper, old and very heavy Specialized Hardrock (circa 1994 or 1995)
Bike Setup: Litespeed Pisgah frame, XT front derailleur, XTR rear derailleur, Shimano XT Hollowtech Crankset, Thomson Elite stem and seatpost, Selle Italia Flite, Mavic x618 rims with Panaracer Fire XC Pro 2.1 tires, XTR front and rear non-disc hubs, XT v-brakes with Salsa Carbon brake arches front and rear, LX brake levers, XT shifters, Yetti Hardcore grips, Kore Lite1 handlebar, Rock Shox SID fork.
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Submitted by
R D
a Cross Country Rider
from bristol, avon, ukDate Reviewed: October 1, 2005
Strengths: comfortable as hardtails go. quite light.Weaknesses: frame broke for no good reason and is therfore a POSBottom Line: while pedalling hard out of the saddle my 4 year old Pisgah cracked almost completely accross the downtube. Not jumping off walls or doing a 40mph decent, just pedalling hard. Add to this i've moved house and cant find the sales receipt and the friendly guys at litespeed dont want anything to do with it. Actually as it would have cost about $600 to fly it to Chattanooga and back to the UK anyway it doesnt really matter. without my receipt litespeed offered to fix it for $700. $1300, hmmm, bargain.
there's no way i'd buy another really. my giant composite frame is lighter, stiffer round the bottom bracket and takes the edge off the road buzz better. ah, but titanium's bombproof innit? ha! so the giant gets an extra point for still being in one piece unlike my litespeed POS.
i bought the litespeed believing all the hype about fatigue resistance and strength and actually thought i had a hardtail for life. what a POS. and after paying a massive premium i get POS service too.
if youre a sponsored pro or have money to burn then fair enough otherwise give your money to someone more deserving. i could get a made to measure Ti from Omega in the UK for under a grand! this litespeed POS is one mistake i definitely wont be repeating.
Duration Product Used: More than 3 years
Similar Products Used: giant composite
Bike Setup: mavic, xt/xtr, the ususal...
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Erik Trogden
a Racer
from Vista, CA, USADate Reviewed: August 5, 2005
Strengths: Light weight, quick delivery from Litespeed, it's not a DEAN (see my posting unuder Dean Scout, and Dean Colonel.) DO NOT BUY FROM DEAN!!!!!)Weaknesses: Frame flexes like crazy (I have the medium-large)! This is fine when climbing, but SCARY descending.Bottom Line: This ain't the first mountain bike I've owned as you can see from "similar products tested." My lap times and results have improved with the this bike. It's a racer. I must admit, I find absolutely no joy in riding it. It is a very efficient tool. Its weakness in descending is just unreal, and I'm comparing to two other hardtails I currently ride (a $149 Access frame and a $300 Cannondale CAAD3) The Pisgah smokes on uphill and flats, but hang on tight and get your feet out of the pedals on the fast fire-road descents! Weekend Warriors look elsewhere.
Duration Product Used: 3 months
Price Paid:
$1000.00
Purchased At: Adrenaline Bikes
Similar Products Used: Schwinn Fastback 5-speed, Diamondback Ascent EX (those were the good ol' days!), Cannondale CAAD3 (Singlespeed conversion), Gary Fisher Joshua Z2, Blur, Dean Scout, Dean Colonel, Access XCL (Singlespeed conversion).
Bike Setup: Totally XC with Sram X9 triggers (sweet), X/O rear, XT front, XTR cassette, FSA Carbon Pro Team cranks, Eggbeaters, Crossmax SL, Fox RLT (80 mm.), FSA seatpost, FSA XC115 stem, EC90 bars, Hutchison Python Airlights with Stan's, Performance Forte rim brakes.
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Mark
a Cross Country Rider
from State College, PaDate Reviewed: August 4, 2005
Strengths: Litespeed Sucks!Weaknesses: Non-replacable dropout.Bottom Line: Litespeed Sucks! They are no longer the nice american bike company fom Tennessee. They got bought out by some huge corporation and they basically no longer care about their customers! I had some problems with my bike (rear dropout) and called to talk to them. I talked to two different guys and they were totally not helpful and arrogant and jackasses! NEVER BUY A LITESPEED! If you pay that much money for a bike you should expect excellent customer service. They basically told me to screw off! Buying a Litespeed would be a huge mistake for anyone.
Favorite Trail: Rothrock State Forest
Duration Product Used: More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$850.00
Purchased At: Price Point
Bike Setup: All XT and XTR
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
LAMTNBKR
a Cross Country Rider
from Los AngelesDate Reviewed: July 28, 2005
Strengths: It Climbs like a banshee...Lite and smoothWeaknesses: NoneBottom Line: It's a lean mean XC Machine...All Expectations were blown away. If you are a serious XC rider/Racer This is a bike to consider. I also have a 20005 blur, which is now collecting dust. What does that tell you about this hardtail.......
Favorite Trail: Backbone...
Duration Product Used: Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$2000.00
Purchased At: Online
Similar Products Used: Stumpjumper,Epic,Blur.
Bike Setup: As described...Swapping Xt to XTR.
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Todd Kunkler
a Cross Country Rider
from Lakeview Terrace, CA USADate Reviewed: April 13, 2005
Strengths: The bike is light, solid and strong. Great bike for about any XC rides and a delight on the climbs.Weaknesses: None whatsoeverBottom Line: This is XC pure and simple; the way I love it.
Favorite Trail: About any of them
Duration Product Used: 2 Years
Purchased At: frame from a friend
Similar Products Used: Bianchi steel
Bike Setup: All XT with Avid, Thomson post and stem. Manitou Black fork.
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Reviews 1 - 9 (9 Reviews Total)
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