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Liteville 301?

6K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  crank1979 
#1 ·
Has anyone had any experience with the Liteville 301 in the 140mm or 160mm configurations? I'm wondering how it might compare to a Pivot Mach 5 or Firebird in terms of pedalling and suspension performance.
 
#2 ·
The good folks over at Syntace sent me one of their 301 Liteville frames, fully equipped
with some great components like DT Swiss wheels and Fox Shox. The bike is really light and very rugged. I really like the look of the oversized tubing and matt black finish.
The rear linkage also has really clean lines, that I was looking for.


The suspension linkage is great stuff that really tunes out rider power and still is fully active.
If you look at the Liteville 301 frame on their website, you'll notice the top linkage bar keeps the wheel on a more vertical path to tune out pedaling influences. The X-12 rear axle setup also helps to ensure a really rugged rear linkage.

The Liteville 301 Rocks.
 
#3 ·
Liteville 301 - initial ride report.

I took the Liteville out to Appin to test it on the familiar race loop and the Lost Track.

I'll get it out of the way from the beginning, I didn't want to like the bike. I've been a massive Pivot fan and wanted the new Mach 5.7C. I own a Mach 5 and a Firebird that I have experimented with a great deal; changing settings on pretty much everything, swapping parts around and testing it all on the Appin tracks I'm familiar with. Ordering the Liteville frame wasn't a problem, that went smoothly, although it's not a DW Link like my other bikes. I'd test ridden one a while ago in a size too large for me and it felt okay so I decided to buy one based on this but as soon as I'd paid the deposit I thought I'd made the wrong choice. I've progressed from hardtails to single pivots to Horst Link bikes, then the SC Nomad VPP design and onto the DW Link Pivots. So for me this felt like a step back. I know, stupid thinking.

Then the first set of forks had a scratched stanchion right out of the box, local distributors took a month just to respond with "sorry we can't get that part" and then online shops were out of stock which only increased the build time. The RF Atlas cranks I wanted to use wouldn't work - that was my fault and could have been avoided if I'd researched more thoroughly earlier on. The white grips got dirty as soon as I opened the packaging. My mate couldn't find my spare seat I'd lent him.

So, off to Appin. I forgot my shock pump. I set the sag to the 'soft' setting at home an couldn't fiddle out on the track.
I went for a quick spin down the first bit of singletrack, brakes not yet bedded in, handlebars a bit wider than on my other bikes, fork settings pretty well sorted out and just clicking through the gears. Everything is going well so far.

Riding along with some others and the Liteville pedalled extremely well. Better than I remembered during my original test ride. It pedals as well as the Mach 5, yet is a little more plush. Up the first climb and it felt 'fresher' than the Mach 5. The climbing feels more like the Firebird than the Mach 5, it grips up everything and while it feels very active, it didn't at any stage feel inefficient. This was the same sensation I felt when standing and pedalling. There is a little bob but nothing that feels as if it's robbing me of the effort I'm putting in. The bottom bracket is a little lower than the Pivots, but I'll experiment with the rear shock pressure to have it riding a bit higher in its travel and see how that goes. I had one big pedal strike that I knew was going to happen but the frame was just telling me to keep the speed up and pedal! The other noticeable thing that was different from my test ride was, when testing I felt the rear end hanging up on square edged stuff, but not this time around.

The light weight is certainly noticeable when climbing, but also through the turns. It corners and descends very nicely. The front end pops off everything easily, but never felt unsettled. I'll probably slow the rebound down a little for the next ride. The rear shock seems fairly basic but works beautifully. I never needed to flick the lock out lever and slowing the rebound down is easy enough on the track with gloves on thanks to the large dial.

With the integrated chain tensioner the bike was very quiet. It did cause a problem with the rear derailleur though. The derailleur has the clutch mechanism that stiffens up the spring that allows the jockey wheels to swing. When in the 36t cog on the rear it wouldn't shift back to the harder gears. Once I found this out I flicked the release lever on the derailleur and rode the rest of the track like this. Shifting performance felt the same, besides actually changing! No nose from the drivetrain with the lever in the 'off' position either. When it needs replacing an XT will be put on instead. Front shifting was great and my worry about the 38/26 combo was over nothing. It worked great. The brakes bedded in quickly and they are significantly more powerful and grabby than the old XTs I have on all of my other bikes. They'll take a little getting used to.

So overall, despite not wanting to, I really like the Liteville. The small size is perfect. The lower weight makes a big difference, it climbs both smooth and technical stuff brilliantly, accelerates as well as my Mach 5, and the geometry is spot on for me.
 
#4 ·
hi all, been looking at the 301 for awhile, now that my endo has decided to give up on me, and the warranty being over, this looks set to be the replacement.

any opinions on this and the knolly endo?

i still have a delirium around, love both of them, but with the local dealer being a problem to deal with, and knolly hq deciding to just push things to the local dealer. looks like i'm heading to a new frame from somewhere else.
 
#5 ·
I'm still happy with the Liteville 301.

I did just get a Nicolai Helius AC Pinion that is also very nice. The suspension action seems a bit smoother than the 301. I'd like to try the 301 now that it has the Fox shock, where mine has the DT shock and feels a bit me XC compared to the Nicolai.
 
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