Bella Blue - The Beautiful Litespeed

My beautiful new Litespeed, a 2005 "Bella" is here. The bike build went beautifully thanks to Steve Loebach, manager of Carmichael Cycles and fellow cycling buddy and all-around wonderful human being.

Here's a shot of her in her finished state:

We robbed all the good stuff from my poor Fuji. Dura Ace components from stem to stern with one wee exception: I still have Ultegra brakes...

At the bike shop, Steve, Jett, and I debated changing the crankset out to either a Dura Ace or Ultegra. We left the shop with the decision to use the Ultegra due to cost, availability and (for me) looks (I liked it being a matte type of metal rather than shiny). Later on, Jett and I had doubts. Why didn't we go for Dura Ace? Opportunity lost. Oh well. But Steve our psychic bike builder, who knows us better than we know ourselves, realized we would be happier with the Dura Ace. And he was right and it is gorgeous. I love the look against the raw titanium and blue paint.

The previous 2 shots we "finished product" shots. Here are a few shots of Jett adding some finishing touches. Here's Bella in our backyard. The Fuji has mis-matched carbon bottle cages. This was unacceptable. Bella deserves matching cages! (And sorry, Dave, no titanium cages for me. I like the carbon touches here and there: handle bars, seat post, bottle cages).

One thing that has been a major problem has been my pedals. I was using Look Keos and Jett was using Shimanos. That means that while we are the same height and do fit the same size bike, our shoes wouldn't let us easily swap rides. And those darn Keos were harder than heck for me to clip in and out of... Here are some cool Shimano Ultegra pedals. The color is uber cool against the titanium. (Look at Jett's hands - she has the tiniest mitts ever. I am somewhat proud of my man-hands!)

And here are the matching bottle cages. Looks fly, doesn't it?

And my very sad Keo cleats. Very grungy. How did Jett put it? There was a lot of landscape in there.

And here's my new Shimano cleat - and Jett's older Shimano cleat: matching! She later changed her cleats out too. Now we are both fresh and new in the cleat department...

That's it for now. Will post photos of some of our gorgeous Sacramento rides in the near future.

Beautiful Sunday Ride in Penryn

The Litespeed is still in the shop - but halfway completed!

We joined our Folsom cycling crew for a ride Sunday in gorgeous weather. We rode to our favorite coffee shop, Trailhead Coffee and Cycling Lounge in Penryn.

We met Kim's new friend, Chris Armstrong, a very yummy and welcome new addition to our group. Here's a shot of me, Jett, and Chris. Can't wait until my camera is out of the shop!

Litespeed Adventures

Hello All,

Well, the new Litespeed frame and fork have safely arrived at our favorite Sacramento area bike shop, Carmichael Cycles. Shop manager Steve Loebach is a very dear friend and a key member of our Sunday cycling posse.

Jett and I brought Fujigirl to the shop this morning and held a pow-wow/strategy meeting with Steve this morning.

We are going to rob from the Fuji:

1. bars
2. seat
3. wheels
4. rear derailer
5. all components

We are replacing:

1. pedals (will get Shimanos like Jett's so we can more easier share bikes)
2. crankset
3. front derailer
4. cables


I have a correction to post. The reason this Litespeed hung in a shop for 5 years... When the inexperienced bike mechanic assembled this bike, he screwed in the bottom bracket without first applying "ti prep." He got the bb in 90% of the way when it came to a full halt. Then they could not remove it. Stuck in both ways! The guy we bought the frame from rescued the bike and took it to a special shop where they literally cut the bottom bracket out.

We were a little worried about the threads, but Steve checked them out and thinks they'll be fine. And even if they aren't, Steve has an "English tap" and can retap the threads! Hooray!

Okay, one little glitch... We realized today that the front "badge" or medallion on the frame is missing. We have 2 little holes where it is supposed to be attached, so it is clearly missing. How to find one? Must hit the internet, I suppose.

My camera is on the fritz and in the shop. Once it is liberated, we'll post some snaps of the Bella...

A Litespeed Named Bella...

Hello Cycling Friends,

This poor blog is woefully out of date. But new inspiration has arrived: Her name is Bella and she is a never-been-kissed (or ridden) 2005 Litespeed. Here's a glamour shot from the Litespeed website:

My new (5-years old) Bella is somewhere between Seattle and Sacramento in a box held by UPS. Once I get my Bella and my camera together, I'll snap some shots and post them.

Jett (the cyclist formerly known as Mary Ann) and I were in Seattle last weekend to visit friends and attend the 22nd annual Seattle Bike Swap. The bike swap is a 2-airport hanger swap meet for bikes, parts, and accessories. You can get killer deals at the swap.

Jett, Mary (best friend of Jett and Whidbey Island inhabitant), and I spent a few hours at the swap. Mary (more of a casual cyclist) had her fill and was waiting in the car. I was pretty fried, but still game to hang onto Jett's backpack (so as to not lose her in the crowd) as she wandered over to look at one more table...

Then magically a beautiful blue titanium Litespeed frame levitated before us. Seriously, right in front of our eyes, the Litespeed rose up from the ground to eye level! To be honest, the seller was moving the bike frame from the ground onto a bike mechanic stand. We didn't even really see the guy - only the gorgeous blue Litespeed.

But a conversation ensued. He frequented a bike shop and saw this bike hanging in the shop for years. It turns out a rookie bike wrench assembled the titanium bike's bottom bracket improperly. The bottom bracket needed to be removed, but the bike shop did not have the tools/technology. This guy bought the bike and found a place that could cut the bottom bracket out without damaging the frame or its threads. He bought the bike frame for his sister, but she had an economic meltdown and told him she could not pay to have the bike rebuilt.

Lucky us! I have a crappy Fuji frame (it creaks and groans) and excellent Dura Ace components. Jett and our favorite bike mechanic, Steve, will rebuilt pretty Bella with my good components. Fujigirl will become my back-up bike.

Bella should be delivered tomorrow. Let the fun begin!