Litespeed Xicon Frameset

Yes, Litespeed still works in titanium and the Xicon, which is hand-made in their Tennessee factory, shows that titanium construction has evolved and improved over the years as well, and the result is a lighter, better-riding bike than Litespeed's titanium of old, and at a price that's still pretty competitive.The traditional rap on titanium is that it is "responsive." This used to mean flexy. With over twenty years experience in titanium, Litespeed has figured out how to take away the flex, but still make the ride feel exciting. They've done it with better shaping techniques and some oversized tubes and have foregone the expensive, complicated seamed tubing of days past.The folks at Litespeed, for all their love of how carbon-fiber can be manipulated, still love a traditional road bike, one that you can ride and almost forget that it's under you, so easily it handles. They were looking for both stability and agility, without being twitchy, what some used to refer to as a "stage race bike." Compare Litespeed titanium to their carbon-fiber brothers and you'll see slightly more relaxed angles and a slightly lower bottom bracket shell. Call this a result of working with some of the most traditional European builders, folks like Eddy Merckx, DeRosa, Bianchi, and the like. It's a ride that grows and grows on you, not one that screams at you the first moment you stand on the pedals.The Xicon looks at first blush, very similar to their Archon Titanium. It is. Many of the features are shared. They share a geometry, with one critical difference. The Xicon has a slightly taller head tube that allows a more relaxed, upright position should you want it. The Xicon uses only 3Al-2.5V titanium tubes as opposed to having some 6/4 in the mix. The tubes are tapered, shaped, and oversized, with more subtle shapes contrasting especially with the extreme shaping that goes on with the Archon top tube.The most critical feature of the Xicon is the bi-axially ovalized, oversized down tube.