Litespeed Siena Dura-Ace

Price Paid:  $1400.00 at River City Bikes

Favorite Ride:
Hills of WI

Bike Setup:
Campy Chorous with various FSA CF components.

Summary:
The design flaw with this bike is the internal headset. The original headset cups that go in the frame ovalized, and then caused a creaking...an annoying creaking with every pedal stroke. The newer cups have been beefed up, but after the temp dropped to 30-40 F, my headset must have gone slightly out of adjustment, and the cups again ovalized, and the whole works started creaking again. This was after 2000 miles.
It took lots of hours and many replacement parts to figure out what was wrong with the front end on this bike. It was actually River City Bikes that clued me in. I had replaced basically everything up front (including the fork) trying to get rid of this creak. Now the bike is sitting on a hook in the basement and I'm hoping Litespeed stands behing their bike and does something with the problem. Essentially it needs a new head tube with a King headset.

Strengths:
Good looks, fairly light.

Weaknesses:
Internal headset is a bad design. I think Litespeed has seen the light and quite using this design.

Price Paid:  $4000.00 at bikepark

Favorite Ride:
maidstone to rye

Bike Setup:
Mixture record/chorus,Mavic kysriums

Summary:
Spent alot of money on what I thought was supposed to be one of the best titaniun bikes.It rides/handles well enough and is very comfortable (not easy to achieve both of these).Its big failing for me is (as previously mentioned) a most annoying creaking which is driving me crazy and back to my old Principia.After numerous time consuming trks back to the bikeshop |'ve almost given up.

Strengths:
Light,comfortable and handles well

Weaknesses:
That ******** creaking noise

Similar Products Used:
Principia rs6

Price Paid:  $0.00

Favorite Ride:
2003 Litespeed Siena Dura Ace

Bike Setup:
Frame: Medium/Large
Stem/Bars: Forgie XL (120/46mm)
Groupset: Shimano Dura Ace
Wheelset: Mavic Cosmos
Tires: Hutchinson Carbon Gold Elite
Saddle: Selle Italia SLR
Pedals: Speedplay X-1
Crankset: FSA Carbon Team Issue

Summary:
Within 5 minutes of climbing up the hills of Penn Valley on my new Siena, only one word came to mind: perfect. The 2003 Litespeed Siena not only climbs like a demon, it also descends with monumental control, and accelerates on flats with great agility. The Lit-TEC carbon/ti rear provides the right amount of flex and never felt noodly as some have described it. The Siena is a great addition to the Litespeed line-up and those who have a chance to demo the bike should do so... it will change any false opinion you may have about carbon.

Strengths:
The ride is very smooth and forgiving. I have upgraded from the Lit-TEC fork to a Reynolds Ouzo Pro Integrated Fork, so my results may vary from the stock model. This bike has snap from the moment I go from the saddle. I have yet to feel any hesitation and the rear of the bike seems to almost float over the road. The compact geometry allows more control over the top tube thus making the bike more nimble on any road texture or gradiant.

Cost: The average price with DA is around $4000, which is excellent for the quality of the product. Aside from offereing such a beautiful product, Litespeed backs up their gear with a full Lifetime Warranty for as long as YOU own the bike.

Weaknesses:
None that I have found (yet). I immediately upgraded the fork (previously mentioned) and the seatpost (Easton EC70 220mm).

Similar Products Used:
Merlin Extralite, Cannondale R4000.

Price Paid:  $0.00 at Local Bike Ship

Favorite Ride:
Enchanted Circle, NM

Bike Setup:
Look HSC fork. Alien carbon seatbost. Mavic Helium wheels. Dura Ace components. Ritchey WCS stem.

Summary:
The 2003 Siena is a quantam leap from the previous years models. This frame is very solid due to the compact size, carbon seatstays, and geometrically shaped tubing. It handles well, climbs well, and is comfortable. It is a great all around bike - than can be used for any type/distance road riding.

Strengths:
Comfortable over rough roads and long distances. Frame is as stiffer than traditional Titanium frames. Versatility. You don't have to worry about paint chips on the finish (if you buy the unpainted frame). Nice cable guides on head tube. Lifetime warranty. And, it just looks cool! (I get comments every time I go out on a group ride.)

Weaknesses:
Cost. Litespeed is very proud of thier bikes - but they are very well made. 2003 models sold only as complete bikes. (I was lucky to be able to puchase just the frameset.) It was difficult to find a long enough carbon seatpost that fit me. (I'm 6'2", and have the XL frame.) I get a creaking noise somewhere in the front end when I stand up and crank. (I am using a Look fork & Cane Creek Headset instead of the Litespeed fork) I'm not sure if the problem is due to the integrated headset design or the HS/fork installation. (I'm usually good at fixing squeaks, but I have not been able to fix this one yet.)

Similar Products Used:
Cannondale CAAD4, Look KG386. (I like my Look a little better than the Siena, but I like the Siena much better than the Cannondale.)