Blue Ridge retro chic

To say that my Litespeed Blue Ridge has stood the test of time would be an understatement. Nearly 20-years on and it’s still in regular use, and holds a very honoured place in my bike room. 

I’m one of those cyclists who doesn’t drool over bikes and kit. I’m not a bike cleaner, or a chaser of the latest and greatest; in fact most of my kit would be considered ancient (or classic) to many – despite the fact that I’ve worked in the cycling media and bike industry for most of my life.

Well, I may not be a drooler, but I’m also not great when it come to getting rid of bikes and kit – hence my aging collection of steel, titanium and carbon bikes. To say I was a cycling kleptomaniac may be pushing it, I just never seem to get around to getting rid of things – although a change of continents a dozen years or so ago did force a much needed and appreciated culling of the rusting archives.

When I left for pastures new and yet to be determined I had one solitary case (slipping under the airline 20kg limit) and my most prized and useful bike – a 2001’ish Litespeed Blue Ridge. This is a titanium touring orientated bike, and one which had already seen more of the world than most people do in a lifetime, and it has been faithfully by my side ever since.

It was just after the dawn of the new century when I acquired the frame, along with a Litespeed lookout Mountain MTB frame, both of which have been with me and in use ever since – despite the arrival and departure of many younger siblings.

I’d raced on titanium bikes many years earlier, and had always had it down as my frame material of choice. Despite the dominance of carbon fibre, for me, titanium clearly rules the roost, especially when it comes to strength, comfort and travel ability – my main criteria (not that it’s a heavy material either).

An old friend had an earlier version of the bike, complete with bar end shifters and threaded forks, and apart from the ugly (then) signature yellow frame transfers it was real a piece of art, so when out of the blue an offer on this newer version came around I was somewhat over the moon.

I can still remember the day it arrived; I was grinning from ear to ear as I envisaged the adventures that lay ahead. There were a number of riders racing cyclo cross on the frames too, and it seemed to be the perfect tool for me, The bike was potentially something that I could ride sportives on, race if needed, ride offroad, had fixings for racks and accessories, was bullet proof and was silky smooth. It also came with neat white transfers too, perfect.

Back then component options (especially for lower gearing) were not what they are now. A friend gave me a Shimano 105 triple crankset and STi shifters. I had an old XT rear mech lying around, added some 105/Mavic wheels I’d had built for travelling with and Deda bars & stem, and polished off the build with a few finishing kit bits from the shed; bingo, the bike came alive.

It was love at first ride, and that feeling has only become more deep-rooted over the years. One of my first big rides on it was along the South Downs Way in the UK (270-miles offroad). I was with an MTB tour group, and was bombarded with questions as to why I was riding a “racer” on such terrain, which became somewhat tiresome. I was running a 28-bottom rear sprocket (which I couldn’t do any more) and 28mm semi-slick tyres. 

The route is chalk based, and when damp it turns to a skating rink, and so naturally it was wet. I was on tender hooks at first, not just about crashing; I didn’t want to prove the doubters right about it being a ridiculous idea.

It was jittery on the rough ground, and the climbs were tough at times, but the bike handled it almost as well as my regular rigid MTB, and thus opened up a whole new world of possibilities to me. 

Previously I often travelled with 2 bikes – a road and MTB, which was tough on airline baggage regs and also a real pain in the rear. The Blue Ridge now meant that with 2 sets of tyres and a 32 sprocket at the rear I could cut things down to one bike and still be able to ride all but the steepest and most technical MTB routes too.

Our next big mission together was Cuba, where once again we took on an MTB tour with very steep climbs. Sure, I was at a slight disadvantage to some on the real rough stuff, but not too far off. Since then this bike has travelled all over the world with me, even if I have worn through many of the components during that time.

It’s ridden many of the biggest gran fondo’s around the world, taken on epic road and offroad challenges, toured, and generally been my workhorse for almost 2 decades now.

Apart from the usual brake pads, chains and moving parts the bike has stood up well to the rigours of time. I’ve worked through 3 sets of STi shifters, which is a pain as triple is no longer de rigeur, hence new shifters are costly and difficult to get hold of. The rear mech has been replaced three times, the bars and stem replaced a couple of times, saddles and seatposts several times; but I’m still running the original old school road triple crankset.

My stopping system started out with an odd pair of old Shimano MTB calliper brakes, which I changed for TRP cyclo cross brakes 3 years ago. That was a mistake as they are nowhere near as powerful and I have to physically undo the cables to be able to take the wheel out. Perhaps it’s time to dig out those old callipers again.

I’ve used many sets of wheels over the years, but the original hand built 105/Mavic 32/36 setup still runs well, and is far more practical for travelling in remote areas (as I can find new spokes if needed). Tyres have come and gone – and for many years I ran Conti Top Touring tyres, and didn’t suffer a single puncture until they all but wore out, and so will be trying to source a new pair soon (they’re also hard to find here in Asia).

The downtube shifter cable stops have always been cumbersome, and the adjusters broke years back. That said; I don’t find that things have improved much (if at all) with the newer systems I have on other bikes.

For the past three years I’ve been riding a hefty aluminium gravel bike, which has taken over as my main workhorse. Compared to the Litespeed it’s something of a beast or burden. The Litespeed is far more versatile, comfortable, and stable, especially on rough terrain. It’s also lighter – yes, a 20-year old bike is lighter. The major advantage of the newer bike is the disc brakes, which make it hard to go back to cantilevers.

A couple of years back the carbon forks on the Blue Ridge got pretty well chaffed in transit, at the crown. They’re composite, with an aluminium crown and carbon legs and steerer. The local bike shop mechanic assures me they’re safe, but I am a tad concerned on that score. 

Replacing them in Asia is impossible, but the more I think about it the more it could be worth the effort of importing (or trying rigid MTB forks) – maybe even a set with disc mounts so that I could at least go half way towards superior stopping power. Add in a new set of shifters and a gear hanger adaptor to be able to run a 40T rear sprocket and the bike would be reborn, damn – lets do it! 

This (along with the Litespeed MTB) is one bike I never want to get rid of, even if I don’t use it again – we’ve been through far too much together.