Litespeed’s Ultimate G2 titanium gravel bike sees a “ground

New bike gets geometry update, wide tyre clearance and custom tubeset

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By Oscar Huckle

Published: September 28, 2022 at 12:00 pm

Litespeed has announced the release of the Ultimate G2 gravel bike, which sees a "ground-up redesign" from the previous Ultimate.

Litespeed says it has designed the new bike to accommodate what gravel riders are demanding: "more gears, more tyre, more comfort, more acceleration [and] more speed".

As a result, Litespeed has introduced new geometry and upped tyre clearance from 700 x 45mm to 700 x 48mm.

The brand says it tested prototypes of the Ultimate G2 on courses including Unbound in Kansas and the Belgian Waffle Ride in San Diego.

Litespeed says the result is "performance titanium gravel riding" for racing and everyday use.

The brand is also using the Ultimate G2 as a platform to launch several new cosmetic options, including a ‘Ceramic Color Coating’.

Pricing starts from £4,510 / $4,950 / €5,080 / AU$7,625 with Shimano GRX 600 components and there will be a frame-only option from £2,820 / $3,095 / €3,175 / AU$3,765.

You can configure your own build on Litespeed's website.

Litespeed has updated the Ultimate's frame to create a "gravel bike with the chops for surgical handling during high-paced riding, and a new degree of handling deftness and steering balance".

The frame uses 3AL / 2.5V cold-worked titanium, which means there's 3 per cent aluminium and 2.5 per cent vanadium in proportion to the titanium – the standard mix for a bike frame.

Litespeed uses a custom-formed tubeset for the new bike. The brand says it designed, crafted and tested the tubeset in-house, to deliver stiffness in the drivetrain and front end, improve comfort and even introduce some aerodynamic profiling.

The most notable visual update to the Ultimate G2 is the ‘Interlocked Dropped Seatstays’.

The triple-triangle-esque aesthetic sees the brand adopt a wide seatstay stance and extends them upwards beyond the seat tube. The seatstays meet the top tube a few centimetres in front of the seat tube junction.

Litespeed says this design allows it to achieve "exceptional tyre clearance" without the need for a seatstay bridge.

The chainstays have also seen some revisions, and the driveside chainstay uses a new CNC-machined titanium yoke. This is said to improve both tyre and necessary chainring clearance.

The head tube and bottom bracket are butted for additional weight savings, according to Litespeed.

The frame can be run with either a 1x drivetrain or 2x drivetrain, but Litespeed says if you’re running 2x, the front derailleur outer cable will need to be routed externally.

The Ultimate G2 will be available in sizes XS to XL. Litespeed claims the frame weighs 1,430g in a size medium.

As is customary with Litespeed bikes, you’re able to tailor the Ultimate G2 to your liking.

The frame comes standard with three bottle mount locations. You can select optional top tube mounts for a bento box or bosses to fit a rear rack, or both.

You can also upgrade from the stock PF30 bottom bracket to a T47.

There are multiple finish options, too. You can select different graphic colours and choose etched or anodised finishes.

With the Ultimate G2, Litespeed has introduced a new finish option for frame graphics called ‘Ceramic Color Coating’. This option is priced at an additional $495 and is available in Blue Sapphire, Hot Pink and Blue Mint.

These colourways are matched with a CCC-treated Cane Creek 40 series headset, seat clamp and colour-matched Lizard Skins DSP 2.5mm bar tape.

There are TiDize colour anodisation upgrades available, including new blue, purple and gold upgrade options. These include colour-matched anodised Wolf Tooth headsets and seat clamps.

Customisation extends even further with a range of eight complementary vinyl logo options.

You can choose to upgrade components such as the seatpost and handlebar too.

Technical writer

Oscar Huckle is a technical writer at BikeRadar. He has been an avid cyclist since his teenage years, initially catching the road cycling bug and riding for a local club. He's since been indoctrinated into gravel riding and more recently has taken to the dark art of mountain biking. His favourite rides are epic road or gravel routes, and he has also caught the bikepacking bug hard after completing the King Alfred's Way and West Kernow Way. Oscar has a BA degree in English Literature and Film Studies and has close to a decade of cycling industry experience, initially working in a variety of roles at Evans Cycles before joining Carbon Bike Repair. He is particularly fond of workshop tool exotica and is a proponent of Campagnolo groupsets. Oscar prefers lightweight road and gravel frames with simple tube shapes, rather than the latest trend for aerodynamics and full integration. He is obsessed with keeping up to date with all the latest tech, is fixated with the smallest details and is known for his unique opinions.

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