WHY CHOOSE A CERAKOTE FINISH FOR YOUR LITESPEED TITANIUM FRAME
We're excited to introduce eight new Cerakote finish options, available on all Litespeed models for 2026. If you're unfamiliar with (or need a refresher about) Cerakote, we'll explain why we think it's the ideal finish for a Litespeed titanium frame. Here's everything you need to know.
What Is Cerakote?
Bright White Cerakote
Cerakote is a ceramic-based coating originally developed in the firearms industry, where they prioritize extreme durability, tight tolerances, and corrosion resistance. It has since found its way into aerospace, automotive, and now cycling products, where it has been embraced as a premium finish for high-end titanium frames. Compared to traditional paint, Cerakote has much higher abrasion resistance, corrosion resistance, chemical resistance, and hardness. But it’s also so thin that a Cerakoted frame is generally 100–200 grams lighter than a comparable painted frame.
The ultra-thin Cerakote ceramic film is applied to Litespeed frames as a single coat, and this process requires a lot of prep and precision. After a frame is built, it gets soaked in a cleaning solution to remove all oils, grease, and residue from the manufacturing process so the coating can adhere properly. Threads, contact points, and logos are carefully masked off using heat-resistant tape and plugs to ensure clean lines before application.
Blue Titanium Cerakote
The Cerakote coating is then sprayed onto the surface and cured in an oven, creating a super-hard and tough finish. It's so thin, there’s an almost seamless transition between the Cerakote finish and any raw or anodized areas of the frame. This is something we can't achieve with paint. When expertly applied, it's tougher and more scratch-resistant than traditional paint or powder coat.
Why We Chose Cerakote for Litespeed Titanium
Dark Matter Cerakote
Titanium is already the most durable frame material available. This is exactly why Cerakote is a natural pairing. Titanium is known for its outstanding strength and corrosion resistance, and Cerakote enhances this. Its abrasion-resistant properties provide extra protection against wear and tear while enhancing your bike's appearance with a pop of color. It requires no clear coat, but it’s extremely resistant to chipping and fading, which makes it the perfect long-lasting finish.
There's also the weight advantage. The main reason many riders choose a Litespeed titanium bike is that we build the world’s lightest titanium frames using the most advanced titanium tubesets. Conventional wet paint can add up to a pound or more to a bike's weight. While we can paint our frames (and have in the past), the most traditional titanium finish has been raw, to accentuate the material’s lightness.
Rose Gold Cerakote
Over the past few years, we’ve explored anodization options such as Ano Blast, which allowed us to add color without additional weight. Because anodization adds no weight, it is still the finish of choice for our flagship Coll dels Reis, which is the world’s lightest titanium disc-brake road bike. But a major drawback of anodization is the limited color range.
Cerakote, however, has changed the game. It is applied in such a thin layer that it comes in at around one-tenth of the weight of paint. When you care about weight, that matters!
Gold Cerakote
Then there's the aesthetics. Cerakote has a unique satin look, and unlike paint, it is so thin that it actually feels like it's part of the material. To the touch, it's more like anodization. You can still see and feel the ripples in every weld. It doesn’t hide flaws. It becomes part of the titanium rather than an addition to it. For a Litespeed frame, where craftsmanship is something we celebrate, that quality matters.
There’s one more perk, too. Cerakote has hydrophobic properties that help prevent the buildup of dirt, mud, and road grime, making your frame easy to clean. A quick wipe with a cloth is often all you need to get the finish looking brand new. Litespeeds aren’t built to sit inside. They’re made for cyclists who ride hard and don’t fear the elements. For us, Cerakote is the obvious choice.
Cerakote Colors That Enhance Legendary Titanium
Litespeed frames are built to be timeless. Your finish should be too. Cerakote's combination of durability, low weight, corrosion protection, and stunning visual quality makes it the ideal complement to any Litespeed frame. With a color-matched Cerakoted fork, it takes any titanium build to the next level.
Cerakote finish options are paired with either Satin (bead-blasted) or Brushed raw titanium accents for the rear stays and bottom bracket area. The Litespeed logo on the downtube is raw or anodized, and riders can choose the color to complement their finish.
Take a closer look at our eight new Cerakote finish options. Discover a color to match your ride:
Left: Blue Titanium, Burnt Bronze, Crocodile, and Rose Gold Cerakote. Right: Satin raw titanium finish.
Left: Bright White, Blood Orange, Dark Matter, and Gold Cerakote. Right: Brushed raw titanium finish.
