2006 Litespeed Ultimate vs 2005 version

Andrepaul said:

I noticed that Litespeed changed their Ultimate model for '06 by having a complete Ti rear triangle vs the rear having carbon on the 2005 version. Does anyone know if the frames with the carbon rear triangle had any recurring durability problems? I assume they had the carbon there to stiffen up the frame. Has anyone out there had problems with the '05 or '04 Ultimate frame?

They did the same thing with the Siena (basically a compact version of the Ultimate). I've been racing an '04 Siena with no problems. Not sure why, although my first thought was that it could be cheaper to manufacture a full TI frame than blending it with the carbon seat stays. Guess we'll have to stay tuned for the official answer.

[font=Verdana]I have always wondered why they took the Ti out of the Ultimate’s rear-end and put the Carbon in, in the first place. The original Ultimate was a full Ti frame.[/font]

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[font=Verdana]They have restored balance to the universe, ask no more questions.[/font]

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[font=Verdana]HR[/font]

Carbon rear stays and integrated headsets sold bikes. Any real world benefit? No! That's why Litespeed elminated the intergrated headset and carbon rear stays. This is per Herbert at Litespeed who regularly paticipates over at weight weenies, he said that no carbon stays and regular headsets were what Litespeed heard from their customer and future customer base.

Andrepaul said:

I noticed that Litespeed changed their Ultimate model for '06 by having a complete Ti rear triangle vs the rear having carbon on the 2005 version. Does anyone know if the frames with the carbon rear triangle had any recurring durability problems? I assume they had the carbon there to stiffen up the frame. Has anyone out there had problems with the '05 or '04 Ultimate frame?