Litespeed Ultimate vs Vortex

Andrepaul said:

I'm looking into trading up from a 55cm 2005 Litespeed Ultimate to a 55cm 2005 Vortex (main reason is to go from a carbon to ti rear seatstay) and noticed some slight geometry differences such as:

Ultimate wheelbase of 96.3 vs 97.5
Ultimate Standover 79.9 vs 79.2
Ultimate headtube 16.1 vs 14.7

Is the headtube difference significant? How will this affect my riding? I don't want to go with this frame if it will be totally uncomfortable.
Thanks

The wheelbase and standover differences are small enought that they will probably be unnoticeable to most riders and shouldn't significantly affect bike fit for those frames. As I am sure that you know, the Ultimate has the carved out shape on the seat tube to allow shorter chainstays and a theoretically stiffer rear triangle.

The headtube difference will be a factor if you need the higher front end that the longer headtube on the Ultimate has. Of course you can compensate for the shorter head tube by using more fork spacers (within reason) and/or a higher rise stem, if necessary.

Personally, I like a shorter headtube since I like my bars low.

Andrepaul said:

I'm looking into trading up from a 55cm 2005 Litespeed Ultimate to a 55cm 2005 Vortex (main reason is to go from a carbon to ti rear seatstay) and noticed some slight geometry differences such as:

Ultimate wheelbase of 96.3 vs 97.5
Ultimate Standover 79.9 vs 79.2
Ultimate headtube 16.1 vs 14.7

Is the headtube difference significant? How will this affect my riding? I don't want to go with this frame if it will be totally uncomfortable.
Thanks

Possibly the most informative reviews made:

Read this, bikesportmichigan.comtuscany03.shtmlOpen ↗, okay so it's about the Tuscany

and this, bikesportmichigan.comvortex02.shtmlOpen ↗, this one is on the Vortex.

the frames are "related" by geometry, I test rode both back to back and choose the Tuscany over the Vortex for a number of small reasons before the price was entered as a factor.

Once you decide on the bikes mission/role choosing the the best one will become easier.

HR

I think if you can eliminate carbon in favor of titanium you're going in the right direction.

The finish on carbon is fragile. Titanium not so much. Titanium gets scratched and 5 minutes with a metal polishing wheel will fix it.

I think the carbon in the Ultimate frame is there for marketing purposes anyway. Seems really pointless.