Litespeed Ghisallo-weight weenie dream bike

[jmg3]

[quote="xnavalav8r"]I'll post a photo of the final build in the next few days.[/quote]


What is the rake and feel of that fork? I have reynolds ouzo crit and often dream of something cooler but still stiff

[jmg3]

I have the same bike!

[xnavalav8r]

I believe the rake is 43mm. I can't remember off the top of my head. It feels every bit as stiff as the Easton EC90SL it replaced. I have noticed a bit of flex when climbing out of the saddle which manifests itself in a creak at the skewer. I think this has as much to do with the Carbon-ti titanium skewer I am using. When I installed a steel skewer the creaking went away.

[jmg3]

I am using a reynolds ouzo crit, way better than the ec90 slx which was flexy like a flag in the wind

[tochnics]

nice weight for that kind of money!
amazing to see a ride with Da to be that light
i am freaking jelous but il get over it

my tlo bar came out 140 grams (40 c-c )
and my extralite ul2 was 86 grams (110mm)
so its pretty light

also red shifters would give u a 100+ grams weight reduction

question: the 7700 and 7800 Da front and rear mech have alu adjusting screws, why did u upgrade with Ti ones?

[xnavalav8r]

I went with titanium for one reason... the aluminum ones used a phillips screwdriver to adjust. The heads were beginning to strip after a couple years of use. The titanium bolts use a 2.5 mm hex head which should hold up better. I originally installed nylon bolts but they also used a screwdriver head and stripped/twisted the first time I tried to make an adjustment.

[xnavalav8r]

Well, the bike is finally complete and rideable. It's a dream for sure. I still plan to upgrade handlebar and stem (schmolke TLO and extralite) and get a lighter set of wheels (Lew rims with Tune hubs) but everything else is finished.

A few notes regarding deviations from the original build plan...

1. Power Cordz DO NOT work with M5 brakes. I tried several modifications but nothing worked. I went through several sets of Power Cordz trying. The guys at IO Dupont are really stand up guys who stand behind their product. When I explained the failures I had initially, they sent me several sets of brake and derailleur cables to try free of charge. The derailleur cables work fine in ever application I have tried. The brake cables on my DA equipped bike are working perfectly. This is a great product, just not with M5 brakes.

2. My experiment with Nokon carbon cables for brakes ended in failure. They just won't hold up to the forces associated with hard braking. I had two catastrophic failures of the carbon "pearls" on my front brake and decided to call it quits. The rear brake worked fine, but I decided to go back to aluminum Nokon on the rear just to be safe. More braking force on the front brake would explain the failures on that end only.

Unfortunately, the bike blew over while I was taking these pictures. I had literally just finished wrapping the bars with new tape and a gust of wind threw the bike down on its side. Tore up my new tape job at the bar end and ripped my favorite saddle. Blah!!!

Anyway, enjoy the photos...

[rascel]

My experiment with Nokon carbon cables for brakes ended in failure. They just won't hold up to the forces associated with hard braking. I had two catastrophic failures of the carbon "pearls" on my front brake and decided to call it quits.

You should not have started it anyway, those nokon carbon pearls are for shiftcables only, how many times did we mentioned that here already ?

Despite that nice bike with heavy wheels ...

[Newton]

Anyway, enjoy the photos...

Nice car

[mathi]

Bike looks well
I love my TLO /Syntace combo but i am also a small rider so have never had any serious flex issues , would possibly consider a Extralight stem in the future

[TheBugMan]

"Unfortunately, the bike blew over while I was taking these pictures. I had literally just finished wrapping the bars with new tape and a gust of wind threw the bike down on its side. Tore up my new tape job at the bar end and ripped my favorite saddle. Blah!!!"...

That really sux (>_<)! Looks great though. Can't wait to see it with lighter wheels.

[okilite42]

xnavalav8r Ted, don't know if your still out there... I'm a retired Marine on Okinawa and am trying to put together a Ghisallo similar to yours. Under $6000.00 seems a long shot for me, I don't know if i'm patient enough to wait it out on ebay. Any recommendations?
Thanks, Paul

[HanSolo]

Very nice ride but I would never go with DA for a WW ride. Sram Red Shifters and RD own all in the weight department.

[mathi]

Why not , whats wrong with Dura ace ?

[xnavalav8r]

xnavalav8r Ted, don't know if your still out there... I'm a retired Marine on Okinawa and am trying to put together a Ghisallo similar to yours. Under $6000.00 seems a long shot for me, I don't know if i'm patient enough to wait it out on ebay. Any recommendations?
Thanks, Paul

Paul, mine was well under $6K. I understand the impatience, but I did mine entirely on Ebay and it was well worth the occasional wait. You might be able to find some good deals in the "for sale" section of this website, but everything will most likely be used... though used by competent and caring cyclists and mechanics. I bought everything for my bike new on Ebay except the wheels. Those I bought used from the Toyota United team (on Ebay) and immediately changed the bearings to ceramic. It took me about a year to get it where I want it, but it was worth it. I may upgrade to lighter wheels eventually, but am satisfied for now.