Why dosn´t litespeed get any love?

[AmberGambler]

Well just as the title says, why dosn´t litespeed get any love?

Ill keep reading listings where vintage Titanium Litespeed frames and parts go for fairly cheap compared to other "quality manufacturers". Sure its not as iconic as Merlin or rare like the Ibis Ti frames but still.

I just dont understand why...

 

[GT-Steve]

Plenty of love for them here... I've owned at least three differnt Litey's

 

[Anthony]

I think you're absolutely correct. The value of a Marin Ultimate frame seems to be greater than that of a Litespeed Ocoee, even though both were made by Litespeed and the Ocoee was a higher standard.

I can only think that by being the biggest titanium builder, Litespeed got itself a bit of a Ford image, lacking the romance of the smaller brands. They did their best by putting a David Lynskey signature on every frame, but I guess everybody knew that David Lynskey was just the boss of the factory and had never laid a finger on the frame.

I don't know whether this lack of love thing is also true in the USA though. It's interesting that the owners of Litespeed and Merlin have chosen to keep Litespeed going and abandon the Merlin brand (which seems to be as good as dead now). Maybe this is partly because Litespeed has a bigger name in road bikes than mtb, but clearly they think the Litespeed name is worth a lot more than Merlin over there.

 

[gtRTSdh]

Probably the story of Litespeed not honouring their lifetime* guarantee to an original owner when a tube cracked.

*valid only before the bike is ridden

 

[AmberGambler]

Probably the story of Litespeed not honouring their lifetime* guarantee to an original owner when a tube cracked.

*valid only before the bike is ridden

Yeah Ive hear that story as well but think also that it might be more to it than the guy was/is claiming.

I really dont understand because from what I gather they make nice stuff, I mean how much of difference can it be when it is the same welder doing the job?

In my quest to find out and sort of an impulse buy won this little baby just over 1hr ago. Dont really need it and dont know why I bought it since Im redoing the Merlin but as impulse buys go, think could have done worse...

 

[sylus]

Purely volume but there is love for the litee

Most of the the uber back in the day bikes that were exspensive have a lot of admirers but not so many owners. So it makes sense that mass avaliable bikes by contrast will get lots of chatter say orange, kona etc but the small amount of lites sold will mean small amounts of owners chatting.

Percentage wise I think many of the more exsclusive bikes punch well above their weight

 

[mikee]

because they're not a 97 rockhopper ?

 

[AmberGambler]

because they're not a 97 rockhopper ?

We are talking titanium here my friend, or did the 97 rockhopper come in Ti version...

From pure craftsmanship point of view I can not hold much against them since some of the best Ti frames have been build and are being build in their workshops. Sure you will have quality control issues but you will have that with any product. The way you deal with it is what differs companies and I can agree that my experience with abg has been "luke warm".

And with regard to lifetime warranty good luck claiming that one back if you have a merlin or a morati. Everything will brake down, it all is a matter of time and enough pressure...

 

[hamster]

I think rarity reduces the level of chat compared to more mass-produced bikes. In the UK at least they are rare.

Certainly the brand cheapened itself after sale to Americal Bicycle Group (Al Litespeeds... :? ) and there were also some aggressive designs in terms of weight that failed in the field from cracking. They were simply too thin.

My 1994 road frame is going strong, but compared to today's plastic bikes is heavy.

 

[Groundoggy]

I'd think darn near anything made of Titanium deserved much love.

Definitely considering Litespeed if/when I ever build a Ti bike. As a GT fanboy a Xizang is probably my dream bike but I'd consider almost anything for starters.