Foldable Bikes Party: Litespeed T5 Gravel custom build

Wednesday, 4 November 2015

Litespeed T5 Gravel custom build

http://ift.tt/1KX66Vr

If you've built a reputation on handcrafted titanium since 1986, why change now for your first gravel bike?

Legendary Chatanooga builder Litespeed’s new T5G is a pure-Ti beauty, adorned in our case with the latest 1x drivetrain from SRAM, carbon disc wheels from Zipp and the very best finishing kit. (Most Litespeeds are built to order, so we asked LItespeed’s UK distributor Wiggle to put together an appropriately high-end bike.)

The T5 is Litespeed’s endurance bike, which has a taller head tube and shorter reach than its racier T1, T3 and T7 models. The T5 Gravel adds thru-axles, huge clearances and Litespeed’s signature bracing bar across the stays for the disc mounts.

The bracing strut is strong, but we’re unsure of its aesthetic appeal

The T5G frame is made from cold-worked 3Al/2.5V titanium. Its oversized tubeset is most notable for its massively oversized 44mm diameter head tube, which houses a carbon 1 1/8-1 1/2 steerer fork. The front is 2cm taller than the bike on which it’s based, the angles are half a degree slacker and it also has a fractionally shorter wheelbase.

Specs as tested:

Size tested: M
Sizes available: S, M ,M/L, L, XL
Weight: 8.4kg
Frame: 3Al/2.5v Titanium
Fork: Carbon,1 1/8 - 1 1/2in steerer
Frame alignment: Head-tube and fork dropouts very good, rear dropouts perfect
Crankset: SRAM Force 1, 40, 175mm
Bottom bracket: SRAM PF30
Cassette: SRAM Force 11-32T
Chain: SRAM Force
Derailleurs: SRAM Force 1
Gear levers: SRAM Force 1
Wheels: Zipp 202 Firecrest, 12mm thru-axle front and rear
Tyres: Schwalbe Racing Ralph Evo LS 33mm
Wheel weight: F 1.34kg R 1.72kg
Stem: Thomson 110mm
Handlebar: Easton EA70 42cm alloy
Headset: Chris King
Saddle: Fizik Gobi Kium
Seatpost: Thomson Elite 31.6mm
Brakes: SRAM Force Flat Mount