bicycles type subsidiary industry bicycles founded 1986 headquarters ooltewah tennessee united states key people peter hurley ceo products bicycles parent american bicycle group website www.litespeed.com 1994 litespeed ultimate with 8 speed shimano dura ace groupo early trek carbon fork bontrager carbon seatpost cinelli criterium handlebars and grammo stem and speedplay pedals litespeed is a u.s. bicycle manufacturer founded in 1986 in ooltewah tennessee . 1 2 litespeed makes titanium and carbon fiber frame road racing bicycles and mountain bikes . litespeed along with triathlon specific bicycle manufacturer quintana roo is a subsidiary of the american bicycle group . contents 1 history 2 models 2.1 road 2.2 mountain 2.3 time trial 3 technology 3.1 aerologic 3.2 reactive pressure molding 4 references 5 external links history edit the company has its roots in a custom machine shop known as southeast machine that specialized in exotic metals . its interest in bicycles began when one of the workers took up cycling while recovering from a running injury . he used leftover titanium frames from a chemical job to build the first frame in 1986 . frame after frame was made until one was deemed show worthy and taken to the long beach bike show in 1987 . thus began the journey that would make litespeed the go to authority on titanium bicycles . litespeed bicycles have been tested and ridden by many in the competitive cycling and triathlon world tour de france cyclists greg lemond robbie mcewen and lance armstrong ; wheel inovator steve hed ; ironman competitors tim deboom and cameron brown ; olympians simon whitefield jeff kabush the itu triathlon world cup champion vanessa fernandes portugal and 59 time french champion and 13 time world champion jeannie longo . 3 in the 1999 tour de france lance armstrong rode a titanium litespeed blade painted and labeled as a trek during time trials . several professionals have ridden litespeeds painted as other brands . european brands such as eddy merckx and bianchi have contracted litespeed to construct titanium frames in their own lines . litespeed has also sponsored the professional cycling teams lotto adecco dfl cyclingnews litespeed calyon litespeed pro cycling and team maxxis . in 2014 litespeed announced that they would sponsor the astellas pro cycling team for three seasons . 4 litespeed has been a contractor and consultant to nasa for projects that require titanium intensive sub assemblies including the landing gear on the mars curiosity rover . 5 models edit road edit please visit litespeed.com to see current models . t series the titanium t series includes award winning t1 formerly the archon the t3 t5 and the t7 which was introduced in 2013 . the t1sl replaces the t1 in 2016 . it is 15 % lighter than the 2015 t1 . l series the carbon l series was introduced in 2012 . litespeed has four l series bikes l1r l1 sram red li2 and l3 ultegra . the l series is an all around road racing bike with an asymmetrical frame and uci approved . c series the carbon c series was introduced in 2008 . litespeed has four c series bikes c1r c1 dura ace ci2 and c3 ultegra . the c series is an aerodynamic road bike series . m series litespeed has two m series bikes m1 and m3 . the m series are built to exceed the demands of training and racing day in and day out with design features that are unheard of at this price point . non current titanium models classic ultimate catalyst vortex nachez tuscany liege palmares arenberg siena ghisallo veneto solano firenze teramo bella ardennes archon icon xicon tachyon blade appalachian mountain edit please visit litespeed.com to see current models . pinhoti sl named after the rugged trail system in georgia the pinhoti sl is the perfect titanium hardtail . whether geared or singlespeed it has amazing vertical compliance with perfect torsional rigidity . compact rear center and shorter wheelbase create an agile platform for quick and responsive handling . elevated seat stays yield more support and stability for a balanced center . 6 citico named after the citico creek wilderness in southeastern tennessee the pro grade archon inspired citico is the first mtb frame to use a t1 engineered 6al 4v 6 sided and flared top tube and an oversized bi axially ovalized down tube to maximize steering feedback accuracy and front end stiffness . compatible with both 26 and 650b wheels . 6 pisgah geometry identical to the citico the pisgah puts litespeed performance into service for any cross country single speed or urban mtb build . compatible with both 26 and 650b wheels . 6 sewanee a full suspension cross country race bike the latest sewanee features 90 mm of rear travel in a cold worked 3al 2.5 v titanium frame . compatible with both 26 and 650b wheels . 6 cohutta features the industry s first 29er specific titanium tubeset . 6 time trial edit blade the legendary litespeed blade has been reintroduced as a limited edition carbon frameset in litespeed s 2016 model lineup . 7 the blade is a super minimalist tt frameset designed to excel on the hillier windier more challenging courses and no penalty on the flat fast days . 7 astellas pro cycling competed with carbon litespeed blades in the 2015 uci road world championship ttt team time trial . the original blade models were crafted with titanium material and ridden by many great cyclists such as lance armstrong . technology edit aerologic edit a key feature of litespeed s c series of aero road bikes aerologic is the incorporation of aerodynamic elements into frame design without the penalty of excess weight . aerologic features on the c series include a shrouded water bottle mount on the down tube aero tuned tube cross sections a morphed shaping of the seat stays and a proprietary bladed and bowed aero fork . 8 reactive pressure molding edit litespeed s reactive pressure molding rpm is an advanced molding method utilized during manufacture of litespeed s newest composite frames . the three primary benefits of rpm are weight reduction increased stiffness and improved durability . this advanced process allows designs elements far beyond what can be accomplished with conventional bladder molding . unique features such as an all carbon head tube compatible with the most precise zs style press fit headsets as well the multitude of aerologic aerodynamic elements are incorporated without the need of solid permanent components and unwanted filler materials . the result is higher performance with no weight penalty plus additional benefits of improved strength impact resistance and stiffness . 9 references edit lynskey helix os . bicycling . mar 2013 . retrieved 2013 09 12 . the lynskey family formed litespeed in 1986 titanium s first family . bicycle guide . nov dec 1992 . retrieved 2013 09 12 . litespeed s 30th anniversary . litespeed bicycles . retrieved 2016 02 17 . litespeed returns to the pro peloton . chattanoogan.com . february 1 2014 . retrieved 2014 02 01 . matt cole oct 4 2007 . litespeed titanium is going to mars . bikeradar . retrieved 2012 07 17 . nasa has built the landing gear using titanium fabricated by litespeed . a b c d e . litespeed http www.litespeed.com ls bikelineup.asp mountainbikes . retrieved 6 april 2014 . missing or empty title help a b blade time trial carbon litespeed bicycles litespeed bicycles . litespeed.com . retrieved 2016 02 17 . aerologic windproof . litespeed . retrieved 8 april 2014 . reactive pressure molding . litespeed . retrieved 8 april 2014 . external links edit litespeed company website v t e american bicycle manufacturers current american star bike friday bilenky cycle works bohemian brooklyn bicycle co. bontrager calfee design cannondale catrike centurion chumba racing co motion columbia cortina cruzbike cycle force group dahon diamondback dynacraft bsc electra ellsworth handcrafted fantasy toys lowrider bicycle & hobby felt fuji fyxation gendron inc. gt haro huffy ibis independent fabrication international surrey company iron horse italvega jamis k2 sports kent international kestrel litespeed magna marin masi melon milwaukee mongoose moots next nishiki novara pacific pope priority pure cycles quality quintana roo r e rans designs razorusa redline rhoades car ritchey design rivendell roadmaster richard sachs santa cruz santana schwinn seven shelby shinola soma fabrications specialized surly terracycle terrible one tommaso torker transition trek turner suspension univega valdora van dessel sports villy custom volagi waterford precision wilderness trail worksman yamaguchi yeti zigo defunct american american machine and foundry chicago clark kent e. c. stearns eagle fat city fleetwing gary fisher gormully & jeffery jmc klein kogswell lemond lotus merlin murray overman pocket rambler ross serotta sol stelber sterling wright components bell sports bicycle technologies international coker tire fox racing shox fyxation giro hayes brake burley design rockshox slidepad speedplay sram l.h. thomson zipp rolf prima retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title litespeed & oldid 736094593 categories companies based in tennesseecycle manufacturers of the united statesmountain bike manufacturersvehicle manufacturing companies established in 19861986 establishments in tennesseehidden categories pages with citations lacking titlespages with citations having bare urls navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages edit links this page was last modified on 25 august 2016 at 03 48 . text is available under the 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