Third Time's a Charm: Litespeed T3

[Lightweenie]

this is in my opinion the best looking, functional WW bike in here!

I have a question regarding the 303 aerospace you used on the handlebars. It is not replacing a clearcoat, is it? I assume for having lasting UV protection you would have to keep re-applying it every couple of weeks, or am I missing somethnig there?

[danbjpa]

Yours TI builds are better than the carbons.
With gum walls and slammed stem this bike looks evil like ones of the 'hammer's mafia' of dudemanppl, pinoymamba and friends. Haha

[KWalker]

One of the nicest looking builds in the entire forum in my opinion. Everything on the bike just 'works' so well together from an aesthetic point of view, and I can only imagine that it rides damn well too. The Boras are a great addition.

I would agree, but the stem/bar detract from it IMO. Gotta fix that gap in the tape by the lever!

[tvargas]

Beautiful bike. I plan to get a titanium frame soon (for the first time).

[terrible1]

Really sweet - an inspiration to someone just entering the ti-sphere.

Please can you provide your height, frame size and stem length? Proportions look similar to what mine'd be.

[RyanH]

Thanks all for the kind words.

The aerospace 303 kinda replaces clear coat. I'll get these cleared once I have a few parts I need done. The 303 makes the carbon a lot darker, which is a lot more aesthetically pleasing, but it begins to rub off after a few rides of riding on the tops and you can see where it rubbed off.

Regarding the Boras...

Man, I resisted getting these for awhile since I've been happy with my past wheels and I felt there was a lot of hype about them. Well...all I can say is they're amazing. Our new Sunday group ride has a lot of fast twisty turns that we go through at race pace. Once I put these on, all of those turns felt like I was going a few mph slower, not because I was actually going slower but because they retained so much grip and smoothness around the corner that I no longer felt like I was pushing it to the edge.

Then the part I was most certain was smoke being blown up our ___ was the hype about the bearings. I'm sure I'm not going any faster on these wheels but they truly do feel like they're rolling faster than anything you've ridden. Short story shorter, I really like these wheels...like a lot. I need me some 50s now.

They didn't get to stay pristine though for very long

[RyanH]

@terrible1

I'm 5'9 with a 32" inseam. Frame is a size small and stem length is 130mm.

[terrible1]

@terrible1

I'm 5'9 with a 32" inseam. Frame is a size small and stem length is 130mm.

Thank you!

[RyanH]

So, having trouble with the SISL and keeping it quiet. I had a very generous amount of copper paste on it and recently it's doing this:

https://goo.gl/photos/FMBh9ngsKRSFq3HW9

(sorry for the crap video)

I cleaned last night and per the manual, used blue loctite on the interface but on today's ride, I think I still hear an occasional click / creak. Was 12 hours not enough time to cure? Anyone else run into this? And yes, it's torqued down to spec with a torque wrench.

[garjo]

So, having trouble with the SISL and keeping it quiet. I had a very generous amount of copper paste on it and recently it's doing this:

https://goo.gl/photos/FMBh9ngsKRSFq3HW9

(sorry for the crap video)

I cleaned last night and per the manual, used blue loctite on the interface but on today's ride, I think I still hear an occasional click / creak. Was 12 hours not enough time to cure? Anyone else run into this? And yes, it's torqued down to spec with a torque wrench.

Recently I've had a similar issue with my Sisl2: i've discovered the lockring (and so the spidering) has loosed from the crankarm..

[NiFTY]

I had creask from my hollowgram like that and it was a loose lockring. The SISL2s are also predisposed to cracks around the crank bolt so I would check that too BUT given the sound you are describing it sounds like it is the lockring/crank interface.

[NiFTY]

I had creaks from my hollowgram like that and it was a loose lockring. The SISL2s are also predisposed to cracks around the crank bolt so I would check that too BUT given the sound you are describing it sounds like it is the lockring/crank interface.

[GJMadone069]

Nice build Ryan,

How do you compare this T3 with your Siena?
Do you prefer this smaller size?

[RyanH]

It's hard to compare since it's been such a long time. The Siena was my first real road bike. I did quite a few races on it as well. The geo on the frames is pretty standard and works really well. On the Siena, I've been up to about mid 60mph and it felt stable. Tight twisty stuff was good as well as its handling in crits. All I can say is that my residual memory of it was positive enough that after getting the Z5 SLi, I was back on a Litespeed again.

Compared to the Xicon, the T3 is notably better. The T3 stack in sz small is probably close to the Siena in sz M. The Xicon was taller. I've had a lot more time on carbon frames this time around when I got the T3 so it was immediately apparent that there was a increase in stiffness on the T3 compared to the Xicon. I might say also that the T3 is not a comfort bike. The R5ca had it beat in that regard. It's a race bike.

Size wise, the small works for me since it gives me about 10cm of drop. With a 72.5 hta, 74 sta and a trail of around 62mm, it's a good match for me.

[RyanH]

So, last week the day before my race, I went on a short ride in the rain. Near the end of the ride, both brakes were rubbing the wheel and my levers wouldn't fully return. Turns out Fibulas do not play well in the rain. I spent my Friday night swapping them out for Super Record since it was forecasted to rain during the race and then about an hour soaking and cleaning the Fibulas to get them to normal function.

Gained 90g. Braking felt different but not necessarily better. It's a shame the Fibulas can get gummed up so easily.