It’s an unending quest to develop a road bike that is balanced, defined, and pure in its efficiency. A whirlwind of machinery and physics that makes every element of the ride—the long climbs, the serpentine descents, the unending rollers, the unending miles on pancake flat roads that vanish onto the horizon—an unmitigated joy. Marrying our finest technologies and capabilities, we’ve created a new hallmark in all-around high-performance road riding: the Spezia.
The Inspiration
In bringing this breathtaking creation to life, our imagination drifted to the Italian town of La Spezia. This northern coastal town is frequented by the Giro d’Italia and features everything you could dream of in a day of riding; flat coastal roads, punchy climbs like the nearby Biassa or the sustained descents (following the incredible views) from the Passo del Termine. It’s that “little bit of everything” that inspires the versatility we built into the Spezia.
The Technology
The Spezia brings aerospace grade titanium road bike construction to its absolute performance zenith. All Spezia tubesets—each with wall thicknesses adjusted in-house to meet exacting size-specific parameters—must exceed aerospace grade tolerances—and meet our precise weight standard before accepted for production.
The centerpiece of the Spezia is a true Litespeed exclusive technology: our 6AL/4V sheet-formed titanium top tube. Handcrafted from a flat sheet into a tubeset, our 6AL/4V sheet top tube is lighter than a standard tube yet delivers greater tensile strength. Watch the Video. The result is increased rigidity when climbing and sprinting. The Spezia’s front-end stiffness also allows it to track with confident control on descents.
Litespeed’s shaping prowess is on full display with the seatstays that are ovalized for drag reduction. A triaxially-ovalized downtube that is multi-shaped in a way only Litespeed can achieve. It yields a larger diameter weld point at the bottom bracket, resulting in greater power transfer capability and greater efficiency when driving on the flats or out of saddle on ascents. We focused on even the smallest details, including a CNC-crafted two-piece shell disc brake mount make for a surface that’s lighter and stronger than anything a 3D printed titanium product can achieve.
Every advantage that the Spezia represents is on full display; from the externally butted headtube to shaping. It’s all there for you to behold.
The Spezia is finished in a true modern performance geometry with tire clearance to 35mm, lowered chainstays, a minimally elevated stack for proper ride height, and a snug rear triangle for sweet-spot balance, whether climbing or descending.
The Result
Our lightest disc brake road model—over 200 grams lighter than any other titanium disc brake road bike made today. And one that has the most discerning ride quality of any Litespeed road bike—ever. Fit, stability on any terrain, and the new pinnacle of lightweight titanium build capability; the Spezia is the new high bar in high-performance road riding.
