Light Makes Right! Michael's Bespoke Litespeed Watia Build

To say that Michael Eichinger of Austria loves gravel is an understatement. Having ridden three different gravel models in Litespeed's range, he wanted to finally build and ride our newest gravel model, the Watia.

But Michael, this true connoisseur of Austrian gravel riding, doesn't do stock builds, He wants to make his bikes the lightest they can be. So he builds his bespoke, with some of the most sought after parts from Italy, Germany and elsewhere.

Then, he proceeds to get them all dirty.

Michael wants to share his personal approach to the assembly of his new Watia gravel bike.

Having a Litespeed T5 Gravel, Gravel and the Ultimate Gravel in his quiver, the next step for him was to check out our newest—and for his requirements most versatile ride: the Watia. For Michael, the versatility of a gravel bike is of critical importance because in Austria the weather conditions are variable at different times of the year. While the summers can be very hot and dry, the winters can be very cold, with trails muddy and streets full of salt. Therefore the bike has to work well in different circumstances, both off-road and on.

He wanted to build his bike as simple as possible with some exclusive lightweight components, so he decided to use the Campagnolo EKAR 1x13 groupset (40/9-42).

The crank is a Easton EC90 SL with a Cinch Powermeter Spindle and a Garbaruk 40T chainring.

For a better comfort and reducing the weight he uses a AX Lightness carbon seatpost paired with a Tune Komm-Vor saddle.

The brilliant shaped handlebars from 3T provide even more comfort with a super nice flair at its drops, countered with straightness at its hoods.

When it comes to tires and wheels, he doesn’t want to commit himself yet, but wants to experience a few options. At the moment he decided to use a Campagnolo Shamal Carbon wheelset paired with Maxxis Rambler 45mm tires.

For more detailed information, please have a look at the part list below.

Michael Eichinger's Custom Watia Build

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