1997 Litspeed Ocoee

Here's one I've had for a few years.







Back in 1998 I was working 'in the trade'. The shop I worked for was owned by the then GT (and Litespeed) importer, Caratti Sport. Was riding some reasonable stuff in my own GT STS-1 & Zaskar (along with the demo i-drives ). Had always wanted a Ti frame but even at trade the price was too rich. However by the end of '98 it was decided the remaining 1997 Litespeeds would be sold off. This one was stashed in the store room by yours truely until I beat the manager down in price to a suitable level, somewhere around landed cost, a substantial saving on the original retail of £1895 (or £1795, I forget) frame only.

The original spec was pretty similar to what you see here, with the exception of syncros post, kore stem,SIDs, Time ATAC, Easton CT1 and Tioga tyres. This has been my main ride ever since, stuff has worn or changed to tweak position until the bike is as it stands today.

Frame: 1997 Litespeed Ocoee

Fork: Fox F80

Headset: Chris King
Stem: Thomson
Handlebar: Easton EC70
Grips: Bonrager foam
Barends: titec carbon

Brakes: XTR
Brake Levers: XTR

Shifters: XTR
Front Derailleur: XTR
Rear Derailleur: XTR
Cassette: XT
Chain: Dura Ace 9 speed
Chainset: Middleburn
Bottom Bracket: UN90
Pedals: Time ATAC CS

Wheels: Mavic Crossmax
Tyres: Panaracer Fire XC Pro 2.1

Saddle: Flite Alpes
Seatpost: Thomson
Seatpost Binder: Litespeed

As my main rider it's been upgraded over the years without any particular thought of keeping things 'period correct'. Guess I can just about 'get away' with the Thomson stuff. However the Fox perhaps aren't in keeping. However they totally rule over the SIDs I was running on here before so think I'll keep it as is

Litespeed

Nice Scoot John, whats it weigh? Panaracer Fires 2.1's are fairly meaty for such a Sveldt machine?

Re: Litespeed

Wold Ranger":2370javx said:

Nice Scoot John, whats it weigh?

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Dunno actually, not that light as it is. Was lighter with the USE carbon post, SIDs, syntace stem, SLR saddle, syncros ti bb and skinny bar ends. However none of this kit was reliable in the long run.

Wold Ranger":2370javx said:

Panaracer Fires 2.1's are fairly meaty for such a Sveldt machine?

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The machine maybe svelte but it's pilot isn't. As I said it was/is my main ride so just wanted one tyre for the lot - the fires seemed to be a reasonable bet and the folders aren't overly heavy iirc?

superb, i love it.

Lovely looking bike. Did you work for the Biketech chain of stores? They had a place in Bristol and another in Cheltenham. I think it was 98 when they had a massive clear out of stock - I picked up a 97 Litespeed Hiwassee frame for £600
I kitted it out with Syncros stem and post, a pair of White Industries hubs and Mavic rims, all at half price. I spent quite a bit of time in there scouring the shelves for bargains.
I kept the Litespeed for 5 or 6 years before selling it on to fund other hobbies. Now I'm getting back into bikes I regret selling - especially looking at the prices decent 90's Ti hardtail frames are selling for.

MarkLG":86dpi90b said:

Lovely looking bike. Did you work for the Biketech chain of stores? They had a place in Bristol and another in Cheltenham. I think it was 98 when they had a massive clear out of stock - I picked up a 97 Litespeed Hiwassee frame for £600
I kitted it out with Syncros stem and post, a pair of White Industries hubs and Mavic rims, all at half price. I spent quite a bit of time in there scouring the shelves for bargains.
I kept the Litespeed for 5 or 6 years before selling it on to fund other hobbies. Now I'm getting back into bikes I regret selling - especially looking at the prices decent 90's Ti hardtail frames are selling for.

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Yup, Bike Tech cheltenham. Which store did you get yours from, don't recall seeing one of those in 'nam. Certainly a good place for bargains..

pretty sure I went into Bike Tech in Cheltenham once in around 1993 and came out with a pair of purple skewers

Got mine from the Bristol store. They had a lot of nice kit in there at the time and there were some real bargains to be had. They were selling off Syncros, Control Tech, Kore, White Industries, Onza, etc at silly prices.

John":3cvxzvyy said:

However the Fox perhaps aren't in keeping. However they totally rule over the SIDs I was running on here before so think I'll keep it as is

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Great build. Although the forks themselves might not be period correct, the superlative "totally rules" is, which is ample justification IMO .

Still gets the odd outing, ridden a few times this week due to other newer mtb being out of action. Spec has moved on a little but not hugely.



For 26 years old not bad