Ben Christian of RoadCycling.co.nz reviews a Litespeed Siena provided by New Zealand distributor Bike Fixation.  It turns out to be the perfect bike - climbing, sprinting and descending like no other.

I couldn't help but feel excited about the opportunity to ride the new Litespeed Siena. When David Johnson of Bike Fixation offered a demonstration titanium Litespeed for a couple of weeks there was no hesitation. It was time for a ride!

Titanium frames have a reputation for being stiff, light, and an unnatural ability to absorb the vibrations from the rough chipseal roads like we have in New Zealand.  Added to this Titanium has a long lifespan and wont rust and is extremely resilient. This seems the perfect bike for New Zealand conditions.

The Siena came built with some other components supplied by Bike Fixation, including the Topolino CX2.0 wheels, and Feather brakes. (reviews of these components coming later).  Added to this the Campagnolo Record and we were in for a good two weeks of riding.

Litespeed Siena

(c) RoadCycling.co.nz

The two weeks that I had the bike available seemed like it would be plenty of time to get a good feel for how it handles, see what the critics thought of it sitting outside the coffee shop, and generally get to know the Siena.

After picking up the bike, and spending the night doing a few setup adjustments, the first ride was the next day and a gentle 50km spin with the Tarbabies group on Easter Friday. The ride was around the Wellington bays, One of the iconic rides in New Zealand.

First impressions of the bike were impressive. At the start of the ride was a steep downhill section with 3km of descending. This is a descent that we do every week and knowing the hill well means the bunch usually go quickly.

The Siena was completely up the task and exceeded my expectations on the descent.  I managed to get to the base of the hills in the front of the bunch. First test done - handles well on the descents.

The next test for the Siena was the 5 km climb up to the Wellington women's prison. The moment the road started heading up there was a distinct feeling of power on the Siena. This bike was a climber and with a very noticeably stiff bottom bracket, everything that went into the pedals went onto the road.

Needless to say, having a great climbing bike isnt the only thing that you need to get to the top of the hill in front, but it sure helps. It also helped that the demo Siena was kitted out with a compact crankset from Campagnolo.

The remainder of this first ride was pretty uneventful, with the bunch cruising around the bays. The Siena did a pretty good job of absorbing the bumps of the chipseal roads and I would almost say it did it better than the Carbon frames I own. Titanium has a reputation for being able to absorb the shock of the road as well as Carbon and it certainly felt as though the Siena was doing just that.

Over the course of the next two weeks I managed to get another four rides on the Siena the longest being just shy of 100km. Over some large climbs, down some winding decents and smashing it on the roller coasters. During this time the conclusions of my first impressions were cemented and I became more and more impressed with the Siena.

Litespeed Siena gear cable stops

The geometry of the Siena frame is slightly different than the other Litespeeds in the same range, in that it has a longer headtube. This provides a more relaxed riding position although the Litespeed website quote the design as providing "no nonsense Time to Race package" After riding the frame for two weeks I can vouch for the comfort of the geometry, but I have no doubts this is a bike that when the hammer goes down, it will deliver.

David Johnson told RoadCycling that the "Siena represents the perfect solution, with a slightly relaxed geometry and great value for money". The Siena is slightly cheaper than the Archon and Icon, other models in the range, but in his book, "it offers 90% of the performance".

The Siena frame shares the headtube, downtube, seattube, and downtube designs with the Arcon and Icon, meaning that the performance characteristics are similar. The weight of the Siena is nothing to write home about being 1.29kg for the test frame, however the interesting thing is that this never seemed an issue.   The overall bike felt light to pickup, and light to ride.  I guess that is because the full bike is reportedly only 7.3kg. 

The following quote on the Litespeed sums up nicely how I feel about the Siena after two weeks of riding. "The Siena is the bike you know will climb, sprint and descend like no other. The Siena defines a titanium race bike." It sure does. Shame I have to give it back tomorrow.

For more details on availability within New Zealand contact the New Zealand distributor

• David Johnson
  
• www.bikefixation.co.nz
  
• This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Pricing for the Siena frameset is NZ$7199 at time of writing, and includes a King Headset and choice of Easton EC90SL or AlphaQ GS-10 forks. The test bike has the AlphaQ GS-40 forks which are a $50 additional option.

This fits nicely just above the soon to be launched Litespeed Xicon coming to New Zealand in June.

Some features from the Litespeed Website

• 3/2.5 Titanium alloy tubes offer the unique Litespeed titanium ride.
  
• Shaped top tube with design profile from the Ghisallo offers exceptional stiffness and weight ratios giving a smooth yet "Snap" type ride feel.
  
• Oversized 3/2.5 Diamond shaped down tube delivers stiffness to both head tube and Bottom bracket ensuring ultimate power transfer and "rail" like handling.
  
• The oversized seat tube locks the bottom bracket into a solid junction of tubes that maintain power transfer, low weight and compliance needed for those long hours in the saddle.

Photos (c) RoadCycling.co.nz

Related article:

• Litespeed Xicon launched in New Zealand

If you would like to share a review on your new kit, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Please check these specifications with your local bike shop. The opinions expressed in this review are the personal views of one kiwi cyclist, qualified only by hours on the saddle on New Zealand roads.

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