# Litespeed Icon



## keninshiro (Jun 27, 2007)

Hi all,

I just joined the LS troop with this 08' Icon which my LBS build up yesterday... i took it for a spin this morning and dare i say the ride is fantastic! My previous bikes were Airborne Zeppelin, BMC SL01 and Scott Addict R4 and non of them rides like the Icon. I've always wondered how a LS would ride and i guess i have my answers... the Icon blast off with every pedal input but yet smooth on jittery roads... all i can say is "Hell YES!":thumbsup: 

I've build mine up with 07' record set, Campy Eurus wheelset, King, K-force, Flight team edition saddle, Ritchey, Tune, look and Tiso bling parts.

Ride on,
Eric.


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## rusty4x (May 14, 2006)

Very nice....really like the yellow mixed with the ti. Where did you get the red cables?


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## SleeveleSS (Jun 3, 2007)

It's good looking. Not a fan of yellow, but that's just personal preference. Everything looks well put together and coordinated. Do they clearcoat the whole frame on that bike? What size is it?


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## keninshiro (Jun 27, 2007)

Rusty ~ The red alu cables are from Aligator, they are called I-link... similar to what Nokon is offering but at a cheaper price point.

SSS~ Litespeed currently clearcoat all their frames... IMHO, they look much more finish than bare Ti tubes which also helps prevent oxidation. My Icon is in small size, 52.5 top tube... they look much nicer with longer head tube but alas, i wish i was taller...


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## ewitz (Sep 11, 2002)

Hope you enjoy it.

I briefly had the Archon, couldn't get rid of it quick enough.


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## TiDreaming (Jul 20, 2007)

ewitz said:


> Hope you enjoy it.
> 
> I briefly had the Archon, couldn't get rid of it quick enough.[/QUOTE
> 
> How come??..was thinking about getting one myself.


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## ewitz (Sep 11, 2002)

I got it in my head that a Ti frame would be a lifetime frame. Just have to add and subtract new parts as required. But if the ride of the bike is uninspiring what you end up with is a lifetime with a bike you don't really like.

I didn't find it to be a bike that I wanted to race on. Not stiff enough and the steering wasn't particularly quick. Since I prefer crit racing it was the wrong bike for me. Maybe when I stop racing something like the Archon will make sense, but for now I am on a 595.


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## SleeveleSS (Jun 3, 2007)

keninshiro said:


> IMHO, they look much more finish than bare Ti tubes which also helps prevent oxidation. My Icon is in small size, 52.5 top tube... they look much nicer with longer head tube but alas, i wish i was taller...


I have never had problems with oxidation with my bare Ti frame. Has anyone else on here?


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## keninshiro (Jun 27, 2007)

ewitz ~ Sorry to hear that your LS experience wasn't a good one... It's true that pound for pound, a Ti frame would not match a Carbon frame... BUT, where i ride... the road conditions are quite bad and to train on a hard full carbon frame has 2 major problems; You waste more energy trying to maintain a line because you kept bouncing around (road jitters and pot holes are 2 different things) and the worse you'll most likely face is a crack frame that you won't know till it snaps.... pros get replacements, we have to buy them....sigh! At the moment, the Icon somewhat strikes a balance between a frame that is forgiving enough to train with yet stiff enough to race on... it won't fly like a F22 but F16 isn't slow either...

SSS ~ I for one sweat like a pig, the biggest enemy for any bare material is sweat... it leaves ugly oxidation patina on tubes...including Ti....if you clean your bike often like i do, you won't have the problem but if you leave it on, it'll get harder to remove each time you drip sweat on it.


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## nickb4 (Jan 24, 2006)

keninshiro said:


> Litespeed currently clearcoat all their framesQUOTE]
> 
> Does that mean you will not have to deal with the decal peeling that seem to plague many Litespeeds? If so, I'm all for a clearcoated Litespeed.


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## SleeveleSS (Jun 3, 2007)

nickb4 said:


> keninshiro said:
> 
> 
> > Litespeed currently clearcoat all their framesQUOTE]
> ...


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## keninshiro (Jun 27, 2007)

Yup...the clearcoat goes over the decals as well... so pros and cons; i like mine with decals, the clearcoat adds bling... those who hates it will have a hard time removing them...


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## teoteoteo (Sep 8, 2002)

Just a bit of clarification on some posts. Litespeed doesn't clearcoat all of their frames. They only clearcoat the painted ones like the Icon and Archon. If you buy any frame brushed (including archon and icon) it won't have any clearcoat.


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## keninshiro (Jun 27, 2007)

Thanks for the clarification!


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## raymonda (Jan 31, 2007)

Sweet ride!!!!!!!! Nicely done!


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## Daddy yo yo (Apr 2, 2005)

first of all i gotta say that i fell in love with litespeed bikes at this year's eurobike in germany. i've been looking at litespeed archon and icon bikes (for me, litespeed's most beautiful bikes) before but since i saw these bikes there, i really fell for them!

yellow... well, a very strong colour. reminds me of livestrong or the tdf's yellow jersey: a classic cycling colour. although personnaly i would have gone for a more decent colour (white or dark blue), one can build a really nice bike with that frame. however, i do not particularly like this build. this is no offense, but - for me - this build is a little too colourful. with a strong main colour like yellow, i would have totally gone for completely black parts. the red bits do not match the rest of bike, at least not for me. the same goes for the white bar tape and white saddle - these parts would have been perfect on a white icon frame, but on this one, i don't like the white bits, even though it matches the litespeed font on the down tube.

just imagine this (yellow) frame with black tires, black cables, black bar tape, black saddle and a black headset. the yellow frame would be highlighted by almost invisible black parts and thus shine even more! maybe, but most likely not, i would use a tiny pinch of yellow in the tires, for example in michelin's krylion:










or in schwalbe's ultremo:










finally, i'd also recommend thinner bottle cages, such as c'dales immix cages (carbon fibre & titanium):










or even lifeline's titanium cages (available at wiggle.co.uk):










king cages, in my opinion, would look a little too classic/old on this modern ride.

as i said, no offense. i hope... no, i know that you won't care too much about my opinion. i just wanted to express my thoughts on this beautiful frame. enjoy your ride! :thumbsup:


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## keninshiro (Jun 27, 2007)

Hi Daddy yo,

No offence taken... one man's meat is another man's poison.

I've had bike build into what you've describe before... an all white Scott Addict with just black and red bits; a BMC SL01 in black and yellow...only! But i'm tired of all those syncronized-color coordinated-team bike wanna-be... more tired of the all black carbon super lights... (no offence to other owners).... i just wanted to build a bilng bike. I race too so it's not a show-only bike.

Anyhow, thanks for stopping by!

Cheers,
Eric.


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## keninshiro (Jun 27, 2007)

Here's an updated look of the bike... changed the stem and tires to white as well to make white the dominant color, yellow secondary, red and black bits as high lights. 

Cheers,
Eric.


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## raymonda (Jan 31, 2007)

I like the white tires but prefer the black stem. Sure do wish it were mine.


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## ti bones (Feb 24, 2007)

keninshiro said:


> Here's an updated look of the bike... changed the stem and tires to white as well to make white the dominant color, yellow secondary, red and black bits as high lights.
> 
> Cheers,
> Eric.


Wow, beautiful bike! Nice photo.


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## Daddy yo yo (Apr 2, 2005)

keninshiro said:


> Hi Daddy yo,
> 
> No offence taken... one man's meat is another man's poison.
> 
> ...


hi eric,

i'm glad that you didn't take offence! and i have to say, i do very well understand your point of view. you were simply tired tired of owning "boring perfection" bikes. you went from boring to bling-bling whereas i went the other way. i once had an aggressively colored bike which i grew sick of after a while. so i went for a more decent color: grey.

anyway, a titanium frame will always look decent. i think that with the white uprgrades your bikes looks a lot better than before! :thumbsup: enjoy it!


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