Litespeed Archon C1 Review-Race Tested in Pontevedra ITU

Professional triathlete Zach Winchester raced his new Litespeed Archon C1 at the Pontevedra ITU Premium European Cup in Spain this past weekend. Since ITU triathlon races are draft-legal during the bike portion, the Archon C1 is an obvious choice due to its smartly designed aerodynamic properties which we call Aerologic. Now, the C1 is ITU race-tested, and Zach's review appears below. Thanks to East Ridge Bicycles for supporting Zach and Litespeed!


Bike set up:

Frame: C1 - size ML
Comp group: SRAM Red with Quarq powermeter
Wheels: Zipp 404 tubular at roughly 115psi
Stem: 3T aluminum
Handlebar: Easton aluminum
Saddle: ISM Racing
Pedals: Speedplay X1

According to Zach, the ride of the Archon C1:

To start, I should have run slightly lower tire pressure, as the roads were not exactly smooth, and they were slightly wet. 110psi or less would have felt much better. That being said, the C1 is the stiffest and most responsive bike I have ever ridden. Additionally, the bike is balanced very well; by this I mean when cornering, at high speed descents, and quick decision maneuvers, I felt as if the bike stuck on the road underneath me, as opposed to me having to manipulate the bike. Does that make sense? One thing I will note is that this is not a forgiving frame. Due to the construction of the seat/chain stay bottom bracket interface, there is no give, which I like and need as a cyclist. However, I am 28 years old and need a bike like this. On the flip side of the coin, I don't know how this bike would feel underneath a 65 year old going for an easy spin around the Battlefield or doing 3 Mountain 3 State. In my opinion, there are very few bikes at this caliber, and the C1 definitely belongs in the small fraternity of super bikes.



Thanks Zach!