The US brand Litespeed, known for its exclusive titanium frames, has been diversifying into carbon for several years now. As it already has aerodynamic expertise from its sister brand Quintana Roo, which is primarily at home in triathlon, it made sense to jump on the aero trend at an early stage. The Archon C1R is undoubtedly one of the most striking aero models on the market. High, flat tube profiles allow the bike to race even when stationary - an impression that is confirmed in the wind tunnel, where the frame reaches the good level of the Scott Foil. A unique selling point is the integrated seat dome, which is less hard than similar designs, but causes problems when transporting the bike. Riding stability is at the lower end of the test field, but this should hardly bother experienced racers - and the Archon C1R is aimed at them. Unusually for an aero frame, the gear cables are routed on the outside of the down tube, which is only available on the frame set that the German importer Shocker Distribution assembled for this test. On the fully equipped versions of the model, the cables run inside the frame.
Price 8,000 euros (frame set 3,000 euros)
Weight 6.3 kilos
Reference/Info www.litespeed.com
Weight frame/fork/steering bearing** 1,085/418/71 grammes
Frame sizes*** S, M, ML, L, XL
Seat/steering angle 73,5°/73,5°
Seat/top tube/head tube 660/545/136 mm
Wheelbase/caster 960/52 mm
Stack/Reach/STR**** 536/385 mm/1.39
EQUIPMENT
Fork Litespeed
Steering bearing FSA (top 1-1/8, bottom 1.5 inch)
Brakes Ciamillo Zero G Ti
Circuit SRAM Red
Bottom bracket FSA K-Force Light (50/34 t., BB30)
Wheels/tyres Enve 8.9/Schwalbe Ultremo (inner tube)
Handlebar/stem Enve/Enve
Saddle/post Fizik Arione CX/integrated
*The overall grade includes: the aerodynamics grade with 20 per cent and the grade for the frame set with 80 per cent. The grades are calculated up to the final grade with all decimal places; however, for the sake of clarity, all grades are given with rounded decimal places.
**Weighed weights.
***Manufacturer's specification, test size bold.
****Stack/Reach: projected vertical/horizontal measurement from the centre of the bottom bracket to the upper edge of the headset cap; STR (Stack to Reach): Values 1.45-1.55 mean a sporty riding position, below that race-like, above that comfortable.
