Rdmonster69

Took this bad boy out for a ride today. 26 miles .....my first ride since mid October.
First the good things.
1. Ride quality is excellent.
2. A few adjustments during the ride and the shifting was excellent.
3. Saddle height was spot on and the saddle was comfortable.
4. No weird squeaks or unexpected rattles save one.

Minor issues.
1.A slight sound from the front wheel under braking. I think its where the wheel hoop is joined and read it is a known quirk of the C24s and diminishes over time. We will see.
2.Derailleur may need some more adjustments as the cable stretches.
3. The seat shifted (nose tilted up a few times on some bumps) despite the clamp being tight. I will have to figure that out.
4. The handlebars are lower than my Domane and this is a more difficult position for my rebuilt neck. Also may have had issues due to my first ride after a long layoff.




I am very happy with how it turned out. For those who haven't read the build thread it's a Litespeed Classic frame from 2001 with all new DA 9100 components. I even put the decals on! It has DA C24 Carbon/Aluminum wheels. Padded Bontrager Isocore bars on a blendr stem and a Selle Italia Boost Endurance seat. Chris King BB and headset..

The bike is super smooth and super quiet. I'm used to the noisy hub on the Domane. This one is very subtle. Its quiet as a mouse with sore feet when pedaling. The Dura Ace pedals are also quite nice (obviously !!)I love riding bikes I have built from the ground up and its been a long time since I have done it.

Thanks to BF for encouragement and a few laughs. Last year at this point I was in a rigid cervical collar with a broken neck and non weight bearing on a shattered leg. Its no overstatement to say that cycling has been a major part of my recovery. I put down 1500 miles last year and when I started my left leg was a twig. It us still a tad undersized but it does its part. My ortho surgeon was ecstatic that I didn't have a limp.

Thanks for looking.

hbsyncro

Great job. Gotta love Ti.

Camilo

They make titanium press-fit head tube extenders for press-fit type head tubes which allow you to use a fork with a longer steer tube and get the handlebars up higher without exceeding the maximum spacer allowance spec'd by the fork. I believe Litespeed might make one for 1-1/8" head tubes, but my head tube is 1". I was able to find a 1" 20mm extender from Ti Cycles. I took out the Chris King headset, pressed in the extender (same as pressing in a headset) and then cut my new fork (see below) steer tube accordingly and pressed the headset back in (all with DIY tools). If you look close, you can see that there's an extender in place, but it looks pretty OEM because the ti matches, and you don't even notice it from a normal viewing distance. You might check that out.

BUT... it won't work unless you are interested in buying a new fork and cutting the new steer tube accordingly longer.

I had a similar issue with the '96 Classic I built up "modern-ish" (Sram Force 10 speed, etc). The handlebars were quite a bit too low in spite of maximum 40mm spacers below stem allowed by the fork spec. Turns out I wanted to buy a new fork anyway (to replace a perfectly functional, but rather heavy and kind of ugly aero fork with a metal steerer), so I bought a very nice and light full CF Columbus Minimal fork and am happy I invested in a fork for my new-to-me titanium bike. I figured that the frame deserved a top notch fork and I got the double value of being able to raise the handlebars.

PS: I re-brushed my Classic and then applied the same decals as yours - I think they're '01 Classic decals? I just happened to like them better than the original '96 ones that were also available. I searched the Litespeed decal pages and they were the ones I liked best that had the same basic features as the original - iconic yellow Litespeed decals on the downtube, and the Lynskey signature. In the name of transparency, I made a little label to go alongside the "Classic" decal on the top tube so it now says 96 Classic (the "96" being small and unobtrusive).

PBC peugeot

perhaps the slipping seat post is trying to tell you something
swapping on a straighter seat post that moves you closer to the bars could be less aerodynamic, but may be easier on your neck

Rdmonster69

Possibly and a fair point but I am going to give it a few more test rides before I decide to go that route.

I have made several adjustments during the build for a few things .....for example. The reach to the bars is similar to the reach on my Domane as far as top tube length. I achieved this by using a set of bars with modestly less reach. Otherwise they are identical to those bars. They are lower but similar in reach from the seat to the hoods. I also ran the sear very slightly forward in the seat post clamp but well within the limits on the seat rails. I can adjust it a little. There is also the possibility that I didn't have the seat clamp properly tightened : /

The Litespeed is slightly longer in reach than my Trek 2.3 but the handlebars are they same height. Its a 60 and the 2.3 is a 58 as is the Domane.

A word on comfort and cycling for me .....there will never be any comfort. My neck is a wreck. (Sweet rhyme). It was severely broken in December 2020 with attendant basilar skull fractures and snapped ligaments. I am held together with screws, rods and luck. A higher handlebar position only does so much. I have bone spurs in every joint in my neck. I made a mistake by making my first ride this year 26 miles instead of 15 or 20. My joints, muscles and the like aren't ready like they were at the end of last season when I was able to do a few 60 milers. That being said my neck is telling me I can ride again today and I WILL keep it around 20 and reassess the seating position etc of my new build.

Bruizer

Beautiful bike. I’m so glad you used Dura-Ace. Your bike was worth putting a top end group set on!
I cringed when you described how your neck is held together, you are one tough customer! Good luck and enjoy your great bike

Rdmonster69

Thanks !! Cycling has taken on a new meaning for me these days !!

Rdmonster69

Second ride .....neck feels much better so I think I just need to build up my bike stamina. No movement on the seat and its super comfy. Shifting was absolutely perfect so no new adjustments for now. Still a ticking under braking from the front ...... about 90% sure its the seam in the brake track.

Bike got some appreciative looks from my fellow riders ..... no mistaking Titanium!!

I did have a flat today .... perfect puncture right through the tread. Glad I packed a spare tube because it was too darn cold to futz around with a patch.

rekmeyata

get a stem with a greater degree of angle, or put spacers in to bring the stem up if you find yourself with problems later.

You might need a better seat post clamp, if you over tighten the one you have you will probably break the clamp at the treads. Ask me how I know.

My only concern is, did your doctor ok you to ride a bike? Most crashes involve the head and neck, I would be concerned about something really bad happening to the rods in your neck as a result of a crash, and of course the neck itself. It seems like to me you're taking a chance of becoming paralyzed? or did the doc say that could never happen?

Rdmonster69

I appreciate the suggestion and the concern ! I think I just need to get my body in riding shape to mitigate some of the issues. I will see if my Domane is easier on me pretty soon. As for my neck .... I have a super active lifestyle. When I had my first post surgical appointment with my Neurosurgeon I ran down the list of my favorite ativities like Cycling, Motorcycling, Jet Skiing, Dirtbikes etc. They were all in hisdry professional tone "Not Recommended". He tells me my neck is at risk for injury since it is fused and doesn't rotate very much.

Now that I am fully recovered he says he understands that life has to be lived and I should understand the risks. That I am more likely to suffer a neck injury if I have an accident that stresses my neck. I choose to live much the same as I did before. I gave up dirtbike dreams and don't wheelie my sport bike or drag knees anymore, I bought an airbag vest, I ride my bike pretty careful. But I will live life.

gratuitous neck pic .....now thats some serious Titanium there

icemilkcoffee 

Those seatposts with the round cylindrical clamping fixtures are not as foolproof as the good ole fashion two-bolt pedestal clamps.
Also- is that a Ti seatpost? Probably not the best idea to have a Ti seatpost in a Ti frame.

veganbikes

What is wrong with a ti seatpost in a ti frame that would radically change from carbon or aluminum or steel in the end treat it like any seatpost and make sure it has the proper grease or paste on it and check it with some regularity to make sure it doesn't seize.
I can see the first point that is fair but ti on ti is not bad if you follow proper seatpost maintenance.

Rdmonster69

It was different than what I am used to thats for sure.

What would be the problem with a Ti seatpost in a Ti bike ? Its an option from most Ti bike manufacturers. It was rock solid after the last ride so I dont think I had it torqued down enough.

Rdmonster69

I was typing at the same time as you lol. I put anti seize on it although they are similar metals. Just figured it was a good idea.

icemilkcoffee 

There is a tendency for Titanium to 'self-weld' together. As Veganbike said- you can prevent this from happening with grease, etc. But the safest thing to do would be to use run a carbon seatpost there.

veganbikes

Yeah but in the end with a little bit of removing the seatpost once and a while and checking things, maybe cleaning and re-greasing or using anti seize I wouldn't worry too much. If you are a triathlete who is serious enough to do bathroom stuff on your bike and also do the normal never really take care of it then yeah I might do something different but removing a seatpost once in a while ain't so bad for the potential extra comfort and safety of having metal posts rather than crabons.

masi61

Rdmonster69 - just curious about the amount of setback on that titanium post: from the photo it looks like a significant amount of setback like a person with a really long torso might use. For most folks with more normal proportions, I’m thinking just a slight setback might be more natural / comfortable right out of the box, especially considering your neck issues.

Can I ask what the top tube length on the Litespeed frame is? And can you share how tall you are?

genejockey 

Litespeeds seem to have short headtubes for the size. It's one reason I passed on a bunch of 57cm frames that showed up various places, and waited for an Ultimate in 59cm to show up. Since it's a '95, it also came with a threaded fork, and as luck would have it, a Chorus headset which has a tall stack height, so a standard stem puts the bars in the right place for me.

Camilo

I found the same thing. It think it might be because they were designed for threaded headsets and stems. A normal stem would be a fairly normal low-ish handlebar height, but if you need it higher (like me) a tall Nitto stem could be used.

My 96 Classic has a top tube that is within my size range, but the head tube is very short. I maybe should have gotten a larger size - with a longer top tube requiring a shorter stem, but with a taller head tube. Luckily I stumbled on the press-fit titanium extension option as a quick way to remedy the situation, since I was planning on replacing the fork anyway

If the frame had come with the original threaded fork and headset, I would have just used a tall Nitto quill stem (which I happen to have). And, knowing the head tube was short, it was my vague plan to convert back to threaded and do that. But the path of least resistance at the time was to go with the readily available immediate solution: the 1" X 20mm head tube extension from TiCycles, and 1" Columbus Minimal all CF fork. It was easy and quick, but not exactly cheap - but worthy of the of the beautiful frame. Converting to threaded with a "worthy" threaded steel, ti or CF fork - not one of the cheap steel ones that are readily available - wouldn't have been any cheaper I don't think. Plus I would have had to replace the nice Chris King threadless headset it came with!

masi61

I’m 5’11” & ride this little titanium frame that has a 54cm virtual top tube length:



The head tube is like 135mm. The 13cm stem does have a 5 degree upward rise to help if I have a sore back.

Rdmonster69

The top tube from the center of the seat tube to the center if the head tube is 60 cm. (Same as the seat tube I guess as the bikes a 60 ?)I have a 90 mm stem and a short reach handlebar.I am just shy of 6'2. The posts on the Lynskey site are either 0 set back or this level. All my posts seem to have a little so I went for that.

The reach to the bars is a little bit more than my Domane. I'm gonna give it a few more rides as is but may swap it out for one of my other posts if it still bothers me. My mtb post and older Trek seem to have less set back.

rekmeyata

That plating looks nasty. I have two small straight TI rods in my lower back, I have fallen and crashed the bike once and landed on my back doing something and fell, and nothing happened to it, but it's not as nasty as yours is. I hear you on living your life, that's why I still ride my bike regardless of the rods. I just brought it up for you to make sure you knew the risks, for you the risk is far greater than for me from the looks of it. As long as you are aware of the possible outcome of a crash gone bad, and you accept that, then like you said, you need to live your life, for better or for worse.

Camilo

I think the concern is over blown if not non-existent relative to any other seat post.

Both Litespeed and Lynskey (The only two I'm familiar with) sell titanium seat posts for their titanium bikes and have very simple installation for ti-ti connections: I was told by both to use copper anti-sieze. No matter what combination of seat post to frame material you use, you need to use something aluminum to metal: grease or it might sieze; CF to anything: friction paste or it might slip and/or sieze; titanium to titanium: copper antisieze. So there's no difference in difficulty in keeping a titanium from siezing than other metal seat posts or keeping a carbon seat post from slipping.

Rdmonster69

I was told that any crash that could injure my neck before has a higher chance of injuring it now. My doc was referring to motorcycles where the impact forces are far greater. My risk is that instead of having 7 flexible vertebrae to absorb an impact I now have only 4. I also have about 50 % less rotation and extension. I am aware of what could happen and could live in a bubble or get after it. I'm getting after it. Last year I scared the sh** out of my self when I washed the front end of my mountain bike out and ate it. Actually went head over backside. Stood up in a cloud of dust and was fine.

The last year and change taught me how borrowed our time on earth is. When you are sitting in your truck spitting out broken glass and wondering if your truck is gonna explode before ems can cut you out you don't take anything for granted.

I'm gonna be careful for sure....but ride motorcycles and bicycles.

icemilkcoffee 

It's a matter of what is the worst case scenerio. With the carbon post the worst case scenerio is the post slipping. With the Ti post the worst case is seizing. Which one would you rather deal with?