CYCLIST MAGAZINE REVIEWS THE LITESPEED COLL DELS REIS
The big feature in this month’s issue of Cyclist magazine is an exploration of Slovenia, the small country producing a shocking number of world-beating cyclists, including Tadej Pogacar. It’s a story I’m keen on reading, but the one thing in this month’s issue that really caught my attention was a review of Litespeed’s new flagship road bike—the Coll dels Reis—in the “Tested” portion of the magazine, where Cyclist’s editors and writers ride and review the latest bikes and gear.
The review was penned by James Spender, and we're pleased to say that Spender loved his Coll dels Reis. Cyclist magazine isn’t free, so unfortunately, I can’t copy and paste the whole article here, but I’ll share some of my favorite highlights from Spender’s lovely and thoughtful review.
Spender is one of Cyclist magazine’s professional cycling journalists, and he describes himself as a rider who is “Looking for a classic racer with a unique sense of style for long rides in the country.” When we launched the Coll dels Reis this spring, Spender had the opportunity to order one for himself and maybe find his dream ride companion.
Using our custom bike builder, he ordered his Coll dels Reis with the Bronze anodized finish. He went all-out with the build, choosing a SRAM Red AXS groupset, ENVE SES 2.3 carbon wheels, an ENVE SES AR In-Route one-piece cockpit, our Litespeed Ti seatpost, and a Selle Italia SLR Boost carbon saddle. He also went full weight weenie by swapping the T47 bottom bracket shell for our Custom BSA Superlight BB shell, saving 59 grams, and the UDH dropout for our Litespeed SL dropout, saving another 35 grams. True to his “classic racer” desires, though, he chose to keep the 7-gram classic headbadge. All-in-all, Spender’s size ML Coll dels Reis weighed in at 7.02 kg (15.48 lbs), which he says is “hitherto unprecedented for a ti disc bike.”
Spender has been riding his Coll dels Reis for several months, and he even used it to take on the Maratona dles Dolomites, a tough 138 km sportive with 4,230 m of climbing. Through it all, his Coll dels Reis “didn’t miss a beat.”
“Thanks to its 7kg weight, it just climbs well,” Spender wrote. “Even the Maratona’s last climb, the Mür dl Giat – 400m long but with a 100m stretch at 19% – was dispatched with as much efficiency as I could have hoped for from any carbon climber’s bike.”
We never doubted that the Coll dels Reis would impress on climbs. That’s what we designed it to excel at! We were really hoping Spender would also notice its amazing ride quality, and he sure did.
“Titanium’s famous compliance shone through,” he said. “I always felt comfortable.” This was satisfying to hear, because this sublime ride quality is one of the features that our lead engineer, Brad DeVaney, has spent decades refining using advanced titanium tube shaping and manufacturing techniques. It isn’t just beneficial on long roads or long rides, but on fast descents too (which you encounter often if you do a lot of climbing).
“The Litespeed displayed exceptional poise on fast descents, tracking brilliantly through corners in a way that signals the right balance of stiffness and flex,” Spender said. “In this alone I’d put the Coll dels Reis right up there with the best-descending bikes I’ve ridden.” That’s super high praise coming from a reviewer who has ridden many of the world’s best road bikes!
Overall, we couldn’t ask for better praise for a bike that we’ve poured our heart, soul, and countless man-hours into producing. Perhaps the highest compliment Spender gave us, is that the Coll dels Reis has become his daily go-to bike.
“Despite having other test bikes on the go,” he said, “the Coll dels Reis is the bike I’ve reached for most since it arrived in June.”
If you are interested in reading the full review, as well as many of the other great stories in this month’s issue, you can learn more about Issue 168 here, or you can subscribe to Cyclist or buy this month’s issue here.
